When we were involved with the traditional funfair industry, we maintained a number of power generators to provide light and electricity for our equipment. When we gradually moved into the private hire market we sold them off as it was a condition of the hire service that the client provided power. We did keep a single small compact generator, more for sentimental reasons than anything else.
This was used very infrequently when a client couldn’t source power, and we would charge an small extra for taking it with us. Truth be told it was a pain, it took three or four men to man handle it into the back of a van.
Over the lockdown period our business started to change and we were being booked for larger outdoor catering events. More often we found the clients didn’t understand our power requirements, so it was decided to add some large power generators, along with refurbing our single remaining small unit.
We engaged Fairtech Fabrications to custom build a trailer for the small unit. The design brief was that the trailer needed to be large enough to take our bigger gensets. Additionally we wanted to find a way to make the smaller units easier to demount into the back of a van or trailer.
Form Follows Function
The end result was spot on. Whilst not winning any awards for good looks, it made the process of transferring the generator into a van so easy that the young ladies on the team could manage to do it without any fuss.
Compact Trailer For Demountable Gen Set
We also took the opportunity to clean and respray the engine and exhaust system. Along with coating the generator case in our new favourite product. Upol Raptor. A tough urethane coating designed to line the beds of pick up trucks. So far we have coated our freezers and jacket potato ovens with the product, and left them not only looking like new, but also able to take more of the knocks that our staff seem to dish out to them.
Our New Branding
We also took the opportunity to add our branding to the case, along with social media details.
10kva-Generator
Many thanks to Fairtech Fabrications for a job well done.
Another of our quick look at major fairs, a little different this time as it is in the Netherlands. Dating back to 1570, the Tilburg Kermis is the largest fair in the Benelux region, attracting over a million visitors annually which makes it big by any standard.
Playing host to upto 250 attractions spread over a 4.5km city centre site Tilburg is held around the third week in July. Like many fairs in the UK, it started as a market, being held to honour Tilburg’s patron saint. Unlike many UK based events though, the local community and businesses play an active part in the event. With local pubs and restaurants staging music events, large scale DJ sets and themed evenings. A stark contrast to the UK based scene, where many local businesses close for the duration of the fair.
Tilburg Fair
Pink Monday
One of the most popular days of the fair, is Pink monday (Rose Maandag). Celebrating lgbt values, it brings gays and lesbians from across Europe, with many of the attractions sporting pink decor for the day. Attracting over 350,000 visitors this is a definite boost for the event. The slogan for the day is “Be Gay For A Day”
Pink Monday SloganPink Is The Colour
The event even has it’s own radio station. Kermis FM, offering a mix of information about the event, traffic data and kermis style music.
The final day of the Tilburg Kermis sees a massive procession towards the pius harbour. Culminating in a 15 minute firework display.
A resumption of our look at current and historic ride manufacturers in the funfair industry sees us looking at the now defunct company of Frank Hrubetz.
Dating from 1939 and at one time the second biggest ride builder in the U.S.A., the company finally closed its doors in 1992.
Frank Hrubetz originally worked at the Eyerly Aircraft Company, which was a well know manufacturer of aerial rides, based originally on a training device they designed for pilots. That company went on the develop the Loop a plane and roll a plane, two of its best selling designs which Hrubetz helped design.
In 1941 a partnership was formed with Earl 0. Bushnell to create Hrubetz and Bushnell. In addition to amusement rides they also manufactured heavily for the war effort during World War 2.
Hrubetz Paratrooper Ride
Hrubetz Rides
The main stay of the Hrubetz range were;
Paratrooper – Suspended seats with a canopy over the top to resemble parachutes.
Round Up – Also known as a meteorite in the UK, rides sit inside a cage which rotates at high speed sticking them the the mesh panels
Tip Top – A cross between a UK trabant and a waltzer ride, not really seen in the UK.
Tip Top
Fireball – Basically what we would call an octopus in the UK
Fireball
Spitfire – Another oddball not seen over here. A weird cross between a paratrooper and a dive bomber.
Spitfire
The Hrubetz era came to and end, when Frank Hrubetz retires and sold his business to his son-in-law who renamed it Kilinski Manufacturing Company. This eventually became ManCo, then Datron Industries Inc.
In 2009 Battech Enterprises purchased the assets of Datron and continue to service some of the Hrubetz range in the present day.
Take a walk on the wild side. Not your usual beef (now we have nothing against beef, and are very partial to a good juicy beef burger, but beef is a bit, erm vanilla). We now have a range of exotic wild meat burgers.
During the after Christmas part of the year, when our work load drops rapidly for a couple of months. We use the time for maintaining and refreshing our equipment. Improving what we do, and adding new lines to our services.
With the new found spirit of democracy permeating the business. We now hold group sessions to actually discuss things. Truth be told, I still prefer the old system of benevolent dictatorship, but I am co-operating at the minute.
In the interests of bringing you the tastiest burgers possible we undertook a series of ‘tastings’ to check out the potential contenders. Here is a round up of what the butcher told us, and what Emmerson and I thought of the meat.
Now I admit, this one is unusual, I mean, usually its the crocodile doing the eating.
They Said; This one has the look and texture of chicken with a bit of a shellfish taste to it.
Jason Said; This one wasn’t bad, it was more chicken like than beef, but had a faint tang of prawns in the aftertaste. Not my favourite, but edible.
Emmerson Said; Not a big fan, too fishy tasting for me.
Ostrich Burger
Birds, Rather Big Ones
Just in case you don’t know, an Ostrich is a bird. Now I know this conjures up images of a robin or something. That’s about as far away as you can get from this bird. Its big. Bloody big in fact, upto 9ft tall in some cases. It is also bloody heavy, weighing as much as 2 adult humans. Oh, and its also bloody fast. Reaching 40m.p.h in bursts and being able to maintain about 35 m.p.h over long distance runs. Makes you wonder how they catch the bloody things.
This one is quite healthy. Well, for meat. It is a red meat (ha, bet you were expecting white like a chicken, which is also a bird). It is lower in fat than beef and high in protein. During the mad cow disease days, or Bovine spongiform encephalopathy to give it its true title (for the record I can actually pronounce that). There were a number of initiatives to replace beef with ostrich, but it seemed to fizzle out after a couple of years.
They Said: A great healthy alternative, low in fat, high in protein and taste delicious
Jason Said; Weird being red meat, cos you really expect a bird to be white. Not bad, similar to beef.
Emmerson Said; I liked this one, not too strong a taste, but different.
Kangaroo Burger
Big Burger, Little Burger
Another iconic animal, hailing from the land down under. I know we all tend to think of them as cute and cuddly, but an Aussie friend tells me they are a real pest. Oh, and they are definitely not cuddly, being heavily muscled and potentially quite dangerous. Personally I voted against this one as it would feel too much like eating Skippy. (If you don’t know who Skippy is, ask your mum, or possibly grandma).
They Said: This one is a very tender, heavily flavoured meat.
Jason Said: I liked this a lot, a strong taste that stood out.
Emmerson Said:The bold earthy flavour definitely puts a bounce in your taste buds.
Wild Boar Burger
A Touch Larger Than A Pig
This one is another animal, that if you haven’t seen one tends to get associated with a pig. These can be huge. Like, massively huge. Weighing upto around 330kg (about 4 average sized humans). These can be aggressive, are heavily muscled and bloody heavy. There are plenty of documented cases of people being killed by boars.
They Said : A nutty, sweet flavour, but lower in fat than pork.
Jason Said: Another flavoursome meat that stood out.
Emmerson Said: Eatable, but not my favourite.
Now we also have another entry to the menu that has been democratically voted on. I wish to go on record as being dead against this one. But sadly, not everyone is as sensitive and deeply caring as me. This one is the;
Zebra Burger
Poor Ziggy
I think it smacks of cannibalism. We choose an anthropomorphic zebra for our company logo, then decide to eat him.
They Said; “This one has a subtle taste compared to the others”
Emmerson Said : the taste is similar to a beef burger but different , slightly disappointed the burger didn’t have the stripes in.
Jason Said : OH MY GOD! I can’t believe we just ate Ziggy!!!!
African Buffalo
Buffalo
Weighing anything upto almost a ton. This is one big chunk of meat. Gawd knows how many burgers is walking around in this image.
They Said; A very health and tasty alternative to beef. The burger is high in nutrients such as protein.
Emmerson Said; Definite liked this, stronger than beef but very similar.
Jason Said; Loved this one, very beef tasting, but a stronger flavour.
If fancy a walk on the wild side and would like to book our Exotic Burgers Service, then check out our burger services.
Of the many different catering options we offer, the favourite amongst our own staff are our Barista coffee carts. We are all definitely coffee aficionados. In fact a funny anecdote is that the managing directors stubborn little sod daughter has overtaken the elders on the team and fast become the best barista much to the annoyance of her father. (The last paragraph was written by said stubborn little sod).
Over the years we have used a number of different coffee blends. To be truthful, the vast majority of people can’t really differentiate the subtle differences between many blends. Equally, most commercial blends are so similar in the beans they use and the roasting process that there isn’t really much of a difference anyway.
We decided to come up with a blend all of our own, obviously it needed to be commercial enough to please our clients, but equally we wanted it ’boutique’ enough to please us.
Small Boutique Roasters
After much searching we hit upon a company that was not only fairly local to us, but would work on producing a blend to suit our requirements. After taste testing a number of offerings we finally all agreed upon the ‘one’. Well, in this case it was the ‘three’, as a stubborn little sod on the firm wouldn’t agree to the majority choice, and it was felt that we should also offer a darker roast.
Steppenhengst
So can we introduce our new in house coffee blends, Steppenhengst, a Brazilian blend made with 100% Arabica beans (we have nothing against Robusta, but find that on the whole we prefer Arabica), this one has notes of Caramel, peanuts and chocolate.
Steppenhengst Coffee Blend
Hoof Rot
Our second choice of coffee blend is the charmingly entitled HoofRot. Hey, one of the drawbacks of democracy is that we actually have to give other staff members a say in choosing names. This time its a Columbian roast (yes they grow rather good coffee, as well as other ahem stimulants), a nice blend of vanilla, butterscotch and chocolate notes, it tastes better than it sounds.
Hoof Rot Coffee Blend
Zucking Febra
Our final concoction is one you don’t want to pronounce after over imbibing the alcohol. This one is a Robusta/Arabica blend, but a darker roast than the others. With notes of Toffee, Cocoa and spices this is a blend of Brazilian and Ethiopian beans, and a stronger tasting brew than the others. That could be the Robusta making its presence known or simply it being a darker roast.
Zucking Febra Coffee Bland
Weird Coffee
Many people drift through life thinking Nescafe instant is the epitome of coffee evolution. Whilst other connoisseurs can tell you the origin of a bean from a single sip. An interesting theory evinced in a book from Stewart Lee Allen entitled Devil’s Cup postulates that the explosion in creativity and advancement of the human race can be attributed to the stimulant properties of the brew.
The Devil’s Cup
It provides an interesting take on the history and development of coffee throughout the ages. And indeed at one time coffee houses were hotbeds of intrigue, insurrection and business development. The famous Lloyds of London insurance company actually started in a coffee house. Coffee is a heck of a complex subject once you start delving beneath the surface of your usual instant/Starbucks or whatever blend. There is a vast range of blends, strengths, roasts etc. as well as some pretty way out coffees.
Kopi Luwak
One of the stranger coffee blends out there. Little cat like creatures called civets eat the ripened coffee cherries. These are digested, stripping certain enzymes from the coffee bean during the process and then pooped out. These are collected and processed the usual way resulting in a coffee claimed to be almost chocolate like, with much of the usual bitterness removed. In honesty, having tasted it, I can attest to it being a fabulous tasting coffee.
What I would like to know though, is who exactly, whilst wandering the highlands of Indonesia, happened upon a pile of Civet shit, and thought I know, I will search through it to see if there is anything useful in there. And having noticed the undigested beans, promptly thought wow, I bet they are ever so tasty if I roast them and make coffee!
Monkey Spit Coffee
Another of the sounds disgusting, but supposedly tastes nice blends. Just as it sounds, the monkeys eat the cherries, then spit the beans out. Supposedly imparting a vanilla flavour to them. I am pretty dubious about this one, though never having tried it, it might well be true.
Black Ivory
Pretty much the same idea as Kopi Luwak, only this time instead of little compact bundles of cat poop to search through, our intrepid producers need to sift through steaming mounds of elephant shit. Touted as the world’s most expensive coffee. Black Ivory is on our bucket list to taste, though at around £88 for enough beans to make 4 espresso’s, this is never going to be a regular option on our coffee carts, and might be relegated to the bucket list of strange things we fancy doing.
Black Ivory Coffee Blend
lTo hire a coffee cart for your event, check out our services at Coffee Crazy
Sometimes it’s hard coming up with a consistent stream of posts for blogs, Facebook, Instagram etc. Although we offer a wide range of catering services, eventually the images all begin to look the same. Sure we throw in some funny stories, anecdotes, news items etc. But it is hard to keep in front.
Ziggy
When we began the new rebrand of the business, we had a logo designed professionally. This turned out to be an anthropomorphic zebra, which we promptly christened ‘Ziggy’. Mainly because whilst we were arguing for a name, we happened to be watching a documentary on David Bowie, during his Ziggy Stardust period. We liked the name, so our hero was born.
Ziggy
We have just taken a new team member on, who is a professional artists. He will be adding stories to our blog posts, and undertaking some design work for us, and he will also be creating a comic strip starring our aforementioned hero Ziggy. This will probably be monthly, but if it is well received it could be more regular.
It will consist of short 4 panel strips. Many will be humorous stories, hey we like making people laugh. But it might well also contain news, commentary on current affairs, thoughts from us, basically a hodge podge of ideas, that hopefully will add a touch of fun to our blog service.
So visit us regularly and keep an eye out for “The Book Of Ziggy.”
Born from an egg on a mountain top, monkiest, mon…… erm no wait, thats the wrong legendary hero.
Monkey was a popular 1980’s Japanese TV show based on a 16th century Chinese novel. Noted for its dubbing, bad acting and crap prosthetic effects, it was so bad it was a cult hit.
Our here though, Ziggy, had a different birth. We liken it to the super soldier serum used on Steve Rogers to create Captain America. We took the best in anthropomorphic beings and supercharged him to create the Boda Zapha, the new look to our long standing catering company, the leader as we venture into our new incarnation of CRAZY & Co.
Ziggy, a fusion of quirk, crazy and sub zero coolness
Ziggy Is Our Leader
As we move into a post pandemic phase, which has seen a massive increase in the work we are winning, Ziggy will be our main branding on our catering units, photo booths etc. With staff uniforms, vehicle branding, even a bi weekly comic strip starring our hero to spice up our social media.
