Memorandum by Paul Needham (TF 21)
"THE CONTINUED VALUE OF HISTORIC TRAVELLING
FAIRS"?
My first thoughts are of surprise the question
would need to be asked at all but perhaps it is because we've
grown up and have forgotten.
As a child its value was obvious. As a child
I looked forward to Christmas, Birthdays, Easter, Bonfire Night
and the fair coming. Decades later I spend a lot of my time on
the fairgrounds and have lost count of the number of times I have
been asked "when's the fair open mister" by some small
boy or girl. Often an hour before I knew it would be open. "Am
I tall enough to go on the Hard rock this year?" (a Miami
ride) "I was too short last year but me mum says I've really
shot up since then". Another group will be taking the "mickey"
out of each other"are you gonna dare go on this year"?
Others remembering anecdotes from the fair's last visit "where's
the waltzer this time"? "it was here last year"!
"Is it the same price on here as last time?" they ask
me. All milling around for nearly an hour or so and as soon as
the car covers came off they ran jostling to find the best seat!
This happened several nights in a row with much the same faces.
Do playstations only work when the fairs gone? Soon the fair's
in full swing with children pulling parents hither and thither
"can we go on here Dad? Me Mum says we can". "Oh
go on Dad!" Teenagers queueing to go on rides, I'm too scared
to, girls to impress the boys! Boys trying to impress the girls!
Crowds sat around the back of the waltzer listening to the latest
tunes with light shows better than any night clubfree to
all no entrance fees here! The screams of the girls"if
you wanna go faster you gotta scream, let's hear you scream come
on"! The eyes of the children on the juveniles, shining brightso
full of joy, ringing the bus bell or driving the train, value
here I'd say. Come into the town centre on a grey cold February
day and witness the transformation the fair brings with its vivid
colours and flashing lights. The smell of hot dogs, candyfloss
and toffee apples. The ground shudders with the movement of the
rides and the air's alive with music and laughter. You know it
won't be there forever but after 10 days it starts to feel part
of the town, like its always been there and you almost can't remember
what the streets looked like before, but come the dawn and its
gone, just marks on the ground.
I could mention the Showmens Guild bought a
Spitfire for the war effort or the work they do for the disabled
and charities that, I've been given the run of thousands of pounds
worth of equipment many times to measure for a model with nothing
asked in return save to "show us it when its done",
but I'm straying from the point.
The way some grown ups behave you'd think they'd
never been children and the "knockers" and "moaners"
in society always make the most noise. Were there no fairs there
would be something else for them to complain about for sure. The
silent majority are just thatuntil its too late!
The fair's gone now and the greyness reappears,
the IRA cease-fire could collapse, famine, plague, war in God
knows where, the awful side of life returns. It was always there
of course, we'd just forgotten it for a while. The fair like some
roller coaster Hollywood blockbuster, an assault on all our senses
took it away,truly escapism on a grand scale.
"It'll be back though Dad"? "It
will won't it Dad"? "I hope so son", "I hope
so"!
Paul Needham
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