Ems15, Author at Crazy & Co.

The Fairground Industry Adapts World Wide

24 November 2024

Over the years the fairground industry has faced many changes and obstacles in which it has had to adapt in order to keep up with the changing times. Now Fairgrounds, Amusement Parks, Circuses, the event industry as a whole has been stopped due to the unprecedented times of Covid. With many of the Showmen having to find alternate work, and many of the amusement parks having to change their way of running in order to meet the guidelines.

The fairground industry throughout the world has been affected by the virus. The rules that have been put in place in each country have made it hard to operate. In the fairground industry, with both Showmen and amusement parks comes land. Either to set up the equipment on or store the equipment. Land can be rented out in order to earn the land owner money

Many places have began to adapt fairgrounds and amusement parks in order to earn their money. In Japan theme parks are now giving out ‘work passes’ and encouraging people working from home to work in their theme park instead.

Benton County Fair

Benton County Farigrounds in america have opened up their space for mass vaccination. The vaccination program is run on a first come first served basis, however you are not allowed to camp here in order to be front of the queue. They expected that people would be in the queue for around 7 hours, as the vaccinations took place. The site however offered portable toilets!. The fairground site was chosen by the government due to the size of the land and the access already in place. Due to the fairground industry usually attracting hundreds of visitors there was already an entrance and exit to the site. This made it easier when rolling out the vaccines as it was more accessible to the general public than other sites. Due to the success sites all over the states are being used for the mass vaccination program.

Oregon State Fairgrounds

Due to being out of business for over a year now. This current abandoned state fairground has utilized their space for a homeless accommodation shelter. A non for profit organisation approached the showmen in a hope of giving shelter to over 100 homeless people. The area has over 30,504-square-foot in area which means that the shelter wont affect the mass vaccination program there. The organisation said, the showmen are charging a very low rent to the city for the state-owned property on a short-term basis.

The Fairground Industry Affected Worldwide

With Covid going on for over a year it has proven difficult for many of the fairground industry to operate. Many fairs have been cancelled in the past year and in the upcoming year. All around the world showmen have helped through the crisis, weather it be giving out land, donations, or work access.

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Fun Story, funfair events, General

There was a tree surgeon who ate a goldfish

20 April 2023

Have you heard the old wives rhyme, There was an old woman who swallowed a fly, I don’t know why she swallowed a fly, but no one knows where it came from or if its true… well a new one I heard this week was There was an old tree surgeon who swallowed a goldfish, I don’t know why he swallowed a goldfish.

The tree surgeon decided at a fun fair that he would swallow his girlfirends prize fish that she had just won and wash it down with half a pint. His girlfriend filmed the incident and then posted the video onto social media primarily her snapchat story with the caption “He ate my fish”.

Snapchat Video

The snapchat video was a 14 second clip that showed the tree surgeon holding the very real and live fish in his palm before he then put it in his mouth and swallowed the fish and then taking a large swig of his beer.

At the end of the video you can then see him opening his mouth to show the viewers that the fish has gone and he sticks his tongue out to prove that he has swallowed the innocent live animal whole.

The video was filmed in Bridgewater Carnival in Somerset in September. Once the video had been shared it spread very fast and was then reported to the RSPCA by all the concerned viewers.

The Tree Surgeon was named as Josh Coles from Devon. He was ordered to appear at Exeter Magistrates court where he then admitted to a charge of causing unnecessary suffering to a project animal, he initially denied the charge, but changed his plea to guilty to avoid the trial. The magistrate stated that the goldfish would have experienced stress and unnecessary suffering as it was eaten alive with no other outcome than dead.

He was fined £300 with an £85 victim surcharge. Considering the victim is now a deceased goldfish, it does beggar the question of who does the surcharge go to?

There was an old tree surgeon who swallowed a goldfish and then entered denial

Coles tried to deny that any animal had been harmed and stated that it was just a stunt for social media and he hadn’t swallowed it. He then claimed that the fish which had been won at the fair was already half dead.

Fish are a traditional prize that can be won at the fair on many of the different game stalls. The fish usually come with a small plastic fish tank, stones and fish food. All fish that are won at the fairground have been properly looked after in the weeks leading up to the fair coming to town. The favoured prize by many of the kids who visit the fair love winning a pet. It is a horror that a grown adult would then find fun in this by swallowing it.

The outcome is that goldfish are now banned from being given out as prizes at Bridgewater fair. As just handing them out in plastic bags without any checks isn’t an acceptable way to do things. Strangely, having bought fish a number of times for our office aquarium, they have always been handed over in plastic bags without any checks in whether I have a suitable tank or know how to care for them.

Different rules for different people I suppose.

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Fun Story, funfair events, General

George The Goldfish – dies at 44

18 February 2023

People always say that fairground fish don’t have a long life span. That couldn’t be further from the truth, for a couple called Keith and Mary in Worcester and George the goldfish .

When Keith Allies now 75, won two fish for his then 18 year old girlfriend as a romantic gesture at the local fair naming them George and Fred. Neither knew that this fish they named George would then become Britain’s oldest fish dying just before it turned a ripe 45 (yes that’s right George the goldfish made it to a strong 44 years of age!)

The couple married 5 years later and kept the fish as pets in their family home. George surviving for over four decades outlived two family dogs.

The passing of George the fish

George the goldfish passed away after a month of being ill and struggling to swim around his fish tank. He is set to be buried in the family’s back garden next to their other family fish Fred who had passed away a few years ago aged 42. Mary said that she had rang her daughter Emma in tears to tell her that their family fish had passed away as after all these years he had become part of the family and was adored by everyone.

Mary also added that they didn’t expect the fish to last a week. Never mind 40 years, and after out living the two family dogs they began to think that the fish may live on to outlive some family members.

George the goldfish – oldest in Great Britain

George the goldfish is said to be the oldest in Great Britain and possibly the world. Which means when he passed away he has left a legacy behind. George and Fred have had numerous goldfish tanks in their life span. The largest being three feet wide in order to give them more room for swimming around. They was fed regularly and always made a fuss off by the family.

I reckon the key to a long healthy goldfish life is plenty of exercise swimming around the bowl. A healthy meal of fish food flakes and clean water

It turns out that its quite common for goldfish to have a similar lifespan. An article at Tankarium discusses this further.

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Catering, Event Planning, General, Photo Booths

Tips For Planning A Wedding

11 February 2023

Planning a wedding is one of the hardest tasks you’ll undertake. With so much to think about such as the venue, budget, food, the guest list. How to make it special, flowers, color schemes, bridesmaid’s? This can seem an impossible task however I hope these 10 tips for planning a wedding will help all the brides to be.

Start Planning Early

If you have set the day of the wedding and saved your date it is then time to begin planning. Even if your wedding is three years away in 2022 it is never too early to get on top of the planning and contact suppliers for what you want. Starting early can insure that you get everything you want and remain relatively stress free. The sooner the better. We have brides and grooms contacting us and placing bookings for one of our services such as the catering or the photography years in advance to ensure that were not already booked out that day. Our candyfloss and ice cream carts are always a lovely addition to a summer wedding. Something unique for the guests to make your wedding more memorable. Or maybe some mulled wine or luxury hot chocolate for a winter wedding? Book soon to avoid disappointment.

Setting A Budget.

Budgets are very important for weddings especially with hidden costs that can just creep upon you. You and your partner need to sit down and crunch some numbers to get a set budget that you can set aside for your wedding. Don’t forget hidden expenses such as dress alterations, beauty expenses and gifts for bridesmaids, flowers, the venue, music, invites and all the other costly things for a wedding.

Book The Best Photographer You Can

Your wedding album and other photos will be the main way that you will remember your big day for the rest of your life, so you’ll want to make sure that you find the best one in the industry. Make sure to see some of their previous work to see if it fits the standard and style that you dreamed of for your future wedding album, you could also ask friends and family who they may have used so you can get real reviews from people or ask the venue who they may work with to find a good deal.

There are many ways in the wedding to capture the special moments. Your photographer and videographer will capture the main bulk and every second of the day. As it is now the 21^st century and guests will have mobile phones these will also capture the day I’m sure they’ll be many snaps and Instagram posts of your guests enjoying themselves and of course the bride and groom. Many weddings also enjoy a photo booth. We provide a number of different photo booths for weddings, from your standard photo booth in a box to the more unique ones like a taxi cab photo booth or an only fools and horses three wheel van.

Select A Theme

The theme doesn’t have to be an actual theme it could just be a colour scheme, but once decided on it will be easier to design your wedding around this for example table decorations and flowers you can match up with the colour scheme. Alternatively themes you could use for your wedding is chic, boho, festivals, vintage, wild west themed, whimsical, southern inspired, modern or traditional.

Create The Guest List

This is usually a very stressful task so maybe better to get it over and done with quickly. You will need to sit with your partner and family to create the list of who you would like to be at your special day. This will need to referenced with how many people your venue can hold. Some people start with the guest list first and then try to find a venue that will hold the same as the number of guests they have planned to invite. The list may also need to cut down, decide who can have plus ones or if you’re going to invite kids to your wedding.

Give Your Groom Some Responsibility

Your hubby to be may not have been planning this day since he could walk and talk buuuut he will definitely have opinions and preferences and some of his own ideas. Remember its not just your day and that its also about him too so let him have some say maybe he wants to choose what’s on the menu or helping to organise the budgets or even the music and venue. We have had weddings where the bride has secretly booked the Only Fools and Horses photo booth for their Del boy fanatic husbands.

Accept You Can’t Please Everyone

This is yours and your partners wedding, no matter what you do make sure that you and your husband to be are happy with the arrangements. Sometimes other members of the family get involved and sometimes it can lead to disputes trying to please everyone. This is your time to be selfish. Make sure that the plans are your own and what you and your husband to be are happy with.

Be Prepared

In the famous words of the girl scout motto be prepared! Write down a list of things that could possibly go wrong at the wedding. Make a plan to get round this. This way if anything was to happen you’d be prepared to handle this like a boss. It wouldn’t ruin your day or stress you out. For example make a box of necessities such as a needle and thread of every colour available for any misshaps with dresses or suits, bobby pins, deodorant, pens, flip flops, plasters, extra cash, pens and paper and safety pins.

Food Food Food

Choose the menu when planning a wedding that both you and your groom will enjoy, don’t worry too much about everyone else’s opinions and dietary requirements because trying to please everyone will be too hard. Make sure there is food at all times of the day for example the wait from the church to going into the meal can be a long time without food, or after the meal when the party starts it can be a hungry time later in the night maybe have snacks or a late night barbecue on offer for them. We offer a number off different fun finger foods to keep hunger at bay such as crepes, hire hot dog carts, popcorn, donuts and ice cream.

Finally Remind Yourself What’s Truly Important

Try not to do anything wedding related two weeks prior to the wedding. This will help you to clear your mind and make sure that you can enjoy every part of the big day that you have planned. When the planning is getting on top of you do one thing at a time, maybe create a checklist and try and check one thing of each week or month to make planning easier. Make sure you keep the big picture in mind, their will undoubtedly be argument’s, stressful times and difficult times throughout the whole planning of the wedding but remember that at the end of it you will be married and be spouses and live happily ever after…

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Catering

Savoury Crepes

6 April 2022

Sports commentator and broadcaster Ian ‘Moose’ Abrahams has recently broke twitter with his latest weird food fetish tweet, about the filling he likes in his savoury crepes.

In the many years that we have been experienced crepe makers we have found that Nutella and strawberries or lemon and sugar are the top choices for sweet fillings and recently having offered savoury option cheese and ham or a tomato and pesto being the top choices there. Now the fillings are all down to personal choice and were not judging here however the twitter trolls have been out in full force judging poor Abrahams for having one particular savoury filling in his crepes.

TUNA!!! Is the culprit of the twitter agg! So someone out there –perhaps some warped and weird cook – is out there cooking crepes and filling them with tinned tuna chunks and people like Abrahams is loving it.

I mean as I said before we don’t judge here and tuna chunks are nice aren’t they? But many of the social media population don’t agree. The Sports Commentator has attracted a lot of attention for sharing his love on savory crepes on twitter. Many people are angry, many concerned and many are relieved that they can finally admit the same.

One tweet read ‘Ian mate you need locking up for this’ whilst another quoted “That’s the sort of thing a stoned student would eat. What’s for second course? Porridge with cheese spread?”

Check Out Some Savoury Crepe Recipes

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Fun Story, funfair events, Funfair Rides

An Insta Worthy Coffee Shop

22 July 2021

Nottingham…yes that’s right I said Nottingham is home to an Insta worthy coffee shop…with a twist. The twist being the fairground theme oh and the hidden tattoo parlor too!. Neon Wolf opened in January.

An Insta worthy coffee shop at Darby Road

The coffee shop that can be found on Derby Road, is home to fluorescent pink lights creating a candy floss like haze and both dodgem and waltzer cars for tables and seats. Don’t worry though the custom made cars have been fitted to the flooring meaning that you won’t be spun round whilst enjoying your coffee. You also don’t have to dodge other people in your dodgem car whilst trying not to spill your tea!.

The fun theme to this coffee shop has caught the eye of many Instagram users who have deemed the cafe as an Instagram worthy coffee shop. In today’s society that is among one of the best compliments to receive. There are now 4.20 billion social media uses around the world. This figure has shown a growth of over 490 million people in the last 12 months. With more than 37% of the population using Instagram it’s important that businesses utilize social media. Due to the coffee shop being Insta worthy it means that visitors will be more likely to take photos and share it to their Instagram site. This meaning all their ‘followers’ will see the post. This is basically free advertising as once people see the photo they may wish to visit the coffee shop too

Custom Designs

The waltzer car has been manufactured especially for the cafe rather than being a second hand piece from a waltzer. Being custom made ensued that then cafe could put their own touch to the center piece. They had them fitted out with velvet seating and labelled with the phrase ‘sorry mum’ and ‘cry wolf’ in reference to the hidden tattoo parlor under the cafe. The dodgem cars have been restored as they was in very bad condition. With the outside framework being reconditioned and the interior being fitted with the same velvet seating as the waltzer cars.

Goose Fair Vibes

Many visitors have said that the cafe gives them major goose fair vibes. Nottingham goose fair is one of the biggest events on both the showmen and public’s social calendar’s. The goose fair turns up to Nottingham the first week of October and can be traced back more than 700 years. Originally a trade fair selling geese among other things it has now evolved into one of the largest fairs in the country. Nottingham Goose fair is now home to more than 500 attractions.

So for 51 weeks of the year if your missing your goose fair fix then you need to visit Neon wolf.The Instagram worthy coffee shop and take a seat in the waltzer car and imagine your being spun round till your dizzy!

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Event Planning, Fun Story, funfair events, Funfair Rides

“Work From Home…If You Can”

23 May 2021

‘Work from home if you can’, has been the echoing call, since the first lock down in march. The call from Boris Johnson and his team.

Due to the current pandemic many businesses have been closed and working from home has been of paramount importance. With many people turning rooms in their homes, or escaping to the garage to put together a make shift office.

One you probably wouldn’t think of is a work from theme park set up. In Japan they have announced a new initiative in order to encourage working from home. The initiative being to utilize their theme parks. A large theme park in Tokyo is offering ‘workcation’ packages. Giving employees across Japan the opportunity to work next to a beautiful pool or even on a Ferris wheel! yes that’s right you can work from a Ferris wheel.

The park charges 1,900 yen which is roughly around £14 for a weeks ticket pass. The pass includes a booth located at the pool and an hour in a private carriage on the Ferris Wheel. WIFI services are located throughout ready for you to connect your laptop or tablet to.

Japans, Work From Home Management

Japan, although a large country has managed the pandemic very well and is currently near normality with the rest of the theme park also open, which means that after a hard days work you can pay a little bit extra and purchase a park ticket allowing you to chill and unwind on all the fairground rides available…although remember you cant scream on the scary rides because that is against the covid rules.

Japan has primarily moved their businesses to being based at home. The government requested companies to have around 70% of their employees working from home. With this in mind they have been coming up with new inventive ways to encourage staff to take this option, Firstly they introduced the Theme park scheme, and then secondly they placed workstatiosn around National parks that people could rent and visit in a hope that people would reconnect with nature.

An IT solutions firm FLEQ was among one of the first companies to encourage employees to work from the theme park. In the first week around 10 employees used the amusement park as their new office. Feedback from the employees was all very positive! however some said it was hard to concentrate at first as once on the Ferris wheel they just wanted to admire the view!.

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Fun Story, funfair events, General

Abandoned Spreepark

12 December 2020

Spreepark is a derelict amusement park located on the outskirts of Berlin, abandoned and eerie. It has been abandoned for over 10 years. Throughout the park you can find remains of children’s rides and game stalls as well as life size dinosaur statues. The park was originally created and set in 1969 and was called Veb Kulturpark Planterwald. Set up by the Communist government in East Berlin. The park thrived throughout the communist era until the fall of the Berlin wall 20 years later.

In 1991 Norbet Witte took over the park and renamed it ‘Spreepark’. Making many changes he transformed the amusement park, adding grass and water landscapes and bringing a line of new modern rides from the Mirapolis amusement park in Paris. Mr Witte changed the park numerous times and even added an English village. However it later came out that Norbet Witte was a controversial park manager and was involved in illegal activities such as smuggling cocaine, which he achieved by hiding it in parts of ride equipment that he shipped between Peru, Germany and Belgium. Due to this information surfacing the park was closed down in 2002.

2002

From 2002 the park remained shut down, with erosion and nature soaring throughout the park. Causing destructive damage and in 2014 a fire started by arson destroyed much of the equipment in the park. Due to this the government increased security on the site with new fences around the perimeter. Miraculously in 2016 a company put forward a plan to take over the park. To transform it into a location for arts and culture. The company Grun Berlin GmbH was owned by the city of Berlin. They forwarded the proposed plans in late 2018 and are considered to be implemented over several years.

As of last year many of the attractions was removed. However some of the main features such as the large Ferris wheel and rollercoaster remain. Along with the restaurant from the very first year of the park being open, and a water ride, carousel and cinema from the takeover period.

The park was the only of its kind in the communist era. Covering around 74 acres it welcomed around half a million visitors per year at its peak popularity. The Ferris wheel (photographed above) was the parks most popular feature. Being upgraded in 1989 to celebrate the 40^th anniversary. Adding more cabins to the ride and increasing the height of the structure .

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Fun Story, funfair events, General

Hide And Seek With Mr Beast

27 September 2020

Mr Beast

Jimmy Donaldson who goes by the name Mr Beast is a 21 year old famous YouTube star. Reaching fame for his expensive stunts and philanthropy, he has over 34 million subscribers to his YouTube channel.

Mr Beast is no stranger to accompanying his stunts and challenges with a hefty price tag reward, his latest stunt involved the well-known game Hide and Seek, an abandoned amusement park and a 70K cash prize. Imagine playing a game of hide and seek with Mr Beast and coming home 70K richer!!!

The Game

10 content creators was chosen to play hide and seek with Mr Beast. Each contestant had their own face cam and walkie talkies. The aim was for them to hide somewhere in the abandoned run down theme park. The whole video had an eerie hunger game feel about it. On the video you see that Mr Beast tracked down three competitors. Then told the remaining 7 that they had an alarm in each of their backpack’s that could not be turned off. Mr Beast then introduced the option to close down different parts of the theme park. Forcing the remaining contestants in hiding to be forced out of the park and having to hide in new places.

Mr Beast looked everywhere in the theme park eliminating contestants as he went along. Looking under arcade cabinets, around the back of old fairground rides and underneath them. Even in the attack of buildings.

After 4 hours of the game Mr Beast finally crowned the winner and handed over the cash price!

Mega Galore Milkshakes

Milkshakes are a very popular drink bursting with flavour. Many dessert places have now created fancy Mega Milkshakes . Full of chocolate bars and whipped cream, and other high calorie additions. I have to say it’s a lovely dessert but oh so many calories. Many popular flavors incorporate other desserts such as bananas, donuts and waffles a far cry from the first eggnog alcohol versions of condensed milk drinks.

Happily, our milkshakes are a fabulous treat, but far healthier than these mega shakes.

When making our milkshakes we use ice cold milk, a dollop or two of ice cream. Blended with flavored powder and a selection of treats such as a skittles, Oreo, twixs, areos and so much more!. Our blenders create the perfect texture without loosing the thick taste of an iconic milkshake.

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Author: Ems15

The Fairground Industry Adapts World Wide

Benton County Fair

Oregon State Fairgrounds

The Fairground Industry Affected Worldwide

There was a tree surgeon who ate a goldfish

Snapchat Video

There was an old tree surgeon who swallowed a goldfish and then entered denial

George The Goldfish – dies at 44

The passing of George the fish

George the goldfish – oldest in Great Britain

Tips For Planning A Wedding

Start Planning Early

Setting A Budget.

Book The Best Photographer You Can

Select A Theme

Create The Guest List

Give Your Groom Some Responsibility

Accept You Can’t Please Everyone

Be Prepared

Food Food Food

Finally Remind Yourself What’s Truly Important

Savoury Crepes

An Insta Worthy Coffee Shop

An Insta worthy coffee shop at Darby Road

Custom Designs

Goose Fair Vibes

“Work From Home…If You Can”

Japans, Work From Home Management

Abandoned Spreepark

2002

Hide And Seek With Mr Beast

The Game

Other Videos

Milkshakes Galore

Mega Galore Milkshakes