I sometimes think that half of the funfair rides manufactured around the world are built by Italian companies. Todays quick profile is based on the Treviso based company of Bertazzon 3B.
Started by three brothers Luigi, Ferruccio and Marcello Bertazzon in 1951. They quickly moved into producing dodgem tracks and go-karts.
By 1963 the company was formally established, as Bertazzon 3B (for 3 brothers).
Modern Production
The company now is a major player in the ride production world, with Carousels, dodgems, dark rides, the Matterhorn, flying chairs and rail rides amongst others.
The company is, to use a modern buzz word, vertically integrated. All this means is that they pretty much produce everything they need in house. Some small stuff such as galvanising is done by outside contractors, but pretty much everything else they design and build themselves.
Dodgem Cars
One thing that Bertazzon do seem to stand out for is the breadth of dodgem cars they produce. Not just a couple of different styles with a range of paint jobs, they have some pretty unique stuff available, and seem open to the idea of building custom cars for clients.
They also produce a ‘drifting’ car, which as the name suggests drifts like a rally car when a button is pressed.
No, not our favourite Rolling Stones song, Jumping Jack Flash. Gas Gas Gas is a reference to the recent news that the government is going to ban the sales of Nitrous Oxide, or laughing gas as it is commonly known. Evidently some people like to breath it in for its psychoactive properties. Whereupon unfortunately it can cause illness, nerve damage and even death.
Now why is that on a blog for a catering company you might well ask. Easy, the substance is also sold in mini cylinders which fit into a whipped cream dispenser and turn fresh cream into squirty cream. We make massive use of it on our hot chocolate, and waffle/crepe services.
The alternative to this is the cans of squirty cream, nasty UHT treated ‘cream’ that is four times the price.
Why are blanket bans imposed that affect the massive majority of people who use the product responsibly, because some minority of cretins find an illegal use for it. How about trying the radical idea of punishing those who sell it for the purpose of sniffing, or those who actually imbibe it illegally, rather than all those who don’t.
Coca Cola
It is a similar story with Coca Cola, and other ‘high sugar’ drinks. I don’t drink the stuff very often. But on the rare occasion I fancy a tin, I find myself in the position of having to sell body parts to pay the exorbitant cost. Why so dear I hear you cry. Because there are a large number of irresponsible parents out their who pour gallons of the stuff down their kids throats, resulting in some massively obese kids, oh sorry, my blogs AI inclusive language system is telling me not to use that word, they are now to be referred to as kids with higher body weight. WTAF, instead of playing stupid word games to try and wallpaper over the cracks, why not concentrate on educating parents not to make their kids of higher bodyweight.
Of course putting the price of Coke up with this sugar tax, is going to instantly transform the said parents into health freaks that only dispense wholesome good food to their kids. Of course it bloody isn’t, the same useless parents will just find something else, equally as unhealthy to shut their little darlings up.
Alcohol
We are heading for a similar position with alcohol. Due to some people not being able to control their drinking, there is a clamour for a minimum alcohol unit price. Seriously, you think this will suddenly dry an alcoholicperson with alcohol use disorder out?
I have personal experience of people with drink problems. The cost of the product bears no resemblance to the amount they drink, They will beg, steal, borrow, sell their kids, whatever to buy what they need. The only thing a minimum price will do, is take more money off those people who drink responsibly. Instead of punishing everyone else, why not come up with a scheme that actually helps those people who need it, all that the extra revenue will do is line the pockets of the retailers.
Most of our equipment is powered by electricity. Many items such as the funfair rides can’t connect to a standard household supply, and require generators to run them.
Generators tend to run from diesel fuel. There are a handful of smaller ones that run from LPG tanks, and occasionally a petrol powered example. But by and large diesel is the fuel of choice.
Unfortunately when you have generators containing diesel, and quite possibly additional diesel in storage drums, there is the potential for spillage. When diesel spills it spreads, a lot. A couple of litres can cover a wide area depending on the surface type.
Spill Kits
To insure against the risks of spillages, we have just added spill clean up kits to all of our generators, and a couple of portable units for use with contracted in suppliers.
Fuel Spill Clean Up Kit
A selection of products are contained, starting with plug and dike putty which is designed to harden on contact with fuel to plug the leaks. A selection of absorbent socks to dam fuel from flowing into drains or watercourses. Absorbent granules and pads to soak up the spill. and a spray containing bacteria that converts oil or fuel into CO2 and sugar to clean the traces of the spill up.
Oh and handy plastic gloves and refuse sacks to keep you clean whilst you dispose of everything. And a handy instruction sheet to allow anyone to use the kit.
Spill Kit Instructions
Oh and just in case you are wondering, about step one referring to Fred Miller. Well, he is one of the team who is possessed by the spirit of Frank Spencer of Some Mothers Do Have Em fame. If we ever have a major diesel spill, Fred will be involved somehow. He will have tripped and pulled a pipe off, or pressed the wrong button or something.
Many of the funfairs around the world have a long and storied history. Some started as feast days, other ‘hirings’ where able bodied men presented themselves for potential work.
Today’s post is the world famous Hamburg Dom, which dates from the 11th Century. The whole shebang started when the old Mariendom cathedral was used as a shelter by the local merchants and entertainers. This was a tradition which lasted centuries, until the cathedral was demolished in 1804.
The merchants remained ‘homeless’ until 1893 when a new location was found for them in the Heiligengeistfeld event space in St Pauli district.
The name Dom is the only link to the days in the old Cathedral or ‘Dom’ in German.
Originally a winter market was held on the site. In the 30’s a spring market was added to help ease local merchants through the economic crisis. Post World War 2 a summer market was introduced as well.
Nowadays Hamburg DOM is the largest fair in Northern Germany and the longest running in the country with three seperate 30 day events. Like many modern events the fair is primarily a fun fair with a huge selection of modern rides, games and food outlets, over 200 in all, definitely putting up around the top of the major European events.
The events have a tradition that Wednesday’s are family days, where special rates are on offer for kids. Every Friday night they offer hugh firework displays.
The summer DOM hosts rainbow day, to coincide with Pride week, including a separate parade through the fairground.
Hamburg Food
Like many European fairs, food is a big part. Hamburg being known for Schmalzkuchen, it’s famous fried bite sized doughnuts, also roast almonds, currywurst and sauerkraut.
Over 60 stalls serving these treats along with the usual fare of coffee, candy floss etc. Oh, and one major difference between the UK and European funfairs, is that they tend to serve beer, mulled wine and other alcoholic beverages.
Lockdown during Covid had many effects. Most of them not good. However sometimes adversity leads you down a new path. In our case a more profitable one. We had always provided what we called fun catering services. Doughnuts, candy floss etc. During lockdown we had a number of our corporate clients ask us to provide catering services more along the lines of a main meal.
This led us into providing a range of services such as gourmet burgers, Chinese noodles, jacket potatoes etc. This was a good move as it turned out. However it did rapidly create a major problem for us. Namely that of power requirements.
For doughnuts etc, the client would provide a single 13 amp socket which was more than adequate. however when we moved up to mains catering, we would have for instance a couple of chip fryers, a couple of hot plates for the burgers, a chip warmer and perhaps a water boiler.
All told we could quite easily need not far off 40 amps. So the conversation would go like this.
“We need at least four seperate 13 amp supplies”
Client, “Yep no problem”
Only on the day what would happen is would set up, ask for our power supplies and be handed a 6 way adaptor with the comment that 4 were for us, and the other two for the DJ and pizza van. So they were intending to run around 60 amps from a single 13 amp supply. Predictably we would either melt the socket, or more usually blow the fuse or circuit breaker.
10 K.V.A. Generator
10kva-Generator
We already had some 10 K.V.A. portable generators, which combined with some new LPG powered equipment we obtained, allowed us to carry out most events.
Unfortunately many venues don’t allow the use of LPG due to the purported safety risks. So eventually we decided that we would need more electrical power.
66 K.V.A. Higher Power
We investigated what was on the market, and took an in depth look at what are requirements were, and come to the conclusion that around 30 k.v.a. would be fine.
So obviously we went out and bought one with a bit over twice the power at 66. Why you may ask?
Easy, 30 would do us for the time being, but any expansion or multiple items at the same time and suddenly we would be back to struggling with power again. Additionally the larger unit was only some £800 more than the smaller version. Was physically the same size, and used the same engine, so running costs should be on par. In short the only difference was the actual electrical alternator which converts the engine motion into actual electricity.
Multiple Sockets66kva GeneratorSpill Kits
We had a selection of single and three phase sockets added for ease of use, had our new branding applied to the unit, and added one of our new spill kits to provide insurance in the case of any fluid spills.
We also had a custom built trailer unit made from our friends at Fairtech Fabrications, this allowed us to transport the unit behind any of our range of vans.
One of the worlds oldest amusement parks. Tivoli dates from 15 August 1843, when Georg Carstensen first opened the park after being granted permission by the King.
Originally it consisted of exotic and enchanting gardens that amongst other visitors so impressed one Hans Christian Anderson that he was inspired to write the fairytale, the Nightingale.
1844 The Tivoli Boys Guard
Constantly on the lookout for new ideas, Carstensen introduced the Honorary guard. From small beginnings this grew to not only become a cultural icon, but also evolved into a musical education centre for children.
Carstensen sadly only ran the park for five years. Leaving in 1848 when he enlisted to fight in the war against Prussia. This led to him being fired by the Tivoli board citing breach of contract. On his return to Denmark in 1857 he founded a rival park at Alhambra in Frederiksberg in competition with Tivoli. He didn’t actually get to see this one in operation, dying from pneumonia at the age of 44.
1874 The Peacock Theatre
Erected in 1874 the current theatre is the oldest building in the park, and protected by law. A bit like our listed buildings. The theatre has the motto “Shared joy with the people”, engraved above the stage in Chinese letters.
Hans Lumbye, the composer was in charge of the music from the start of the park. A violinist and prolific composer, he put together some 800 pieces of music. Known in some places as the ‘Strauss of the North’, he composed the world famous Champagne Galop. Touring with his orchestra during the Winter months, he sadly died the same year the theatre opened.
The Restaurant WIVEL, later called Wivex became a notorious water hole for a group of infamous First World War profiteers. Later the national broadcaster used it to broadcast dinner concerts. Eventually it closed in the 1960’s.
1914 Tivoli Roller Coasters
Tivoli had a roller coaster in 1842, a seven second thrill ride.
In 1914, the new coaster was opened. Called Rutschebanen (or roller coaster in English), this is still operating today, making it one of the oldest wooden coasters in existence. Up until the installation of moderner cars, it actually had brakemen riding in each car to slow it on turns and downhill.
Sabotage
During World War Two, the park suffered two unfortunate instances of sabotage, when pro Nazi Danes snuck into the park after it closed and planted a number of fire bombs. Extensive damage was caused and the park was closed for two weeks whilst the damage was rectified.
1951 Walt Disney Visits
The first Disneyland was opened in California in 1955. Walt Disney, its founder paid a number of visits to the Tivoli park in 1951. He enjoyed the ambience of the park and was hoping to impart something similar to his own park.
Today the park has in excess of four million visitors per year. Making it the second most visited seasonal amusement park in the world, and the biggest in Scandinavia.
We are in the process of building a new coffee van, this time based on a vintage Citroen Acadiane van. We wanted to give this more of a 1970’s vibe so commissioned the rebuild of a vintage Cimbali lever pull espresso machine to fit in with the ‘vibe’.
Claude Our Soon To Be Little Citroen Coffee Van
Coffee Grinders
We also needed a new coffee grinder and wanted a more utilitarian looking grinder to go with this. The modern stuff is all flashing lights and in built computers, we wanted something that looked, well, a bit more solid.
Some one recommended the German brand Mahlkönig. After a brief look online, it looked solid enough to fit the bill, and came with a fabulous recommendation. So we bought one.
Jeez, when I actually went to collect it I was stunned. This wasn’t just solid. This was the King Tiger Tank of grinders. I think it is actually heavier than the single group coffee machine we are having refurbed.
The company was founded in Hamburg in 1924. Initially it concentrated on the production of electric motors. But in the 60’s made the decision to concentrate on the production of coffee grinders.
The company rapidly established an enviable reputation for quality coffee grinders, leading up to its present day position as one of the market leaders.
Anyway stay tuned for images of our little red coffee van as it is due to be launched in the next few weeks.
10 March is national popcorn lovers day in the UK. The legendary snack which is a mainstay of cinema’s the world over.
The earliest evidence of fossils in Peru suggests that humans have been popping corn since 4700B.C. Which must make it one of the oldest continuous snack foods in existence.
In the modern era they were popped on stoves, until the creation of Charles Cretors steam powered popcorn cart in 1880, which commercialised the process.
Cinema Popcorn
During the great depression, popcorn was so cheap that it became a massive seller. Indeed many farmers switched production to corn to take advantage of this. When WW2 rationing cut down on candy production, popcorn sales tripled. It’s initial introduction into movie theatres wasn’t welcomed by the owners, who felt it distracted from the films.
This changed however when they realised the profitability of it. The 1938 installation in to Dickinson’s theaters by the owner Glen W. Dickinson Sr. of popcorn machines led to the realisation that he could earn more from selling corn than tickets for the film. He eventually began buying up popcorn farms, and reduced the price of his tickets to get more people in to eat his corn.
Popcorn Cart
Whether you like it sweet or salty, we can provide a fabulous popcorn service for any event. Happy popcorn lovers day.
In 1926 Hendrik op het Veld formed Veld Koning Machinefabriek (Veld Koning Machine Factory). This was abbreviated to Vekoma, and another legendary Dutch ride builder was created.
Only inline with many amusement ride manufacturers, it actually wasn’t. Originally it built farm equipment, and equipment for the mining industry.
After the 1956 closure of the Dutch mining industry, the company switched to producing pipework for the petrochemical industry.
1970’s And The Move Into The Entertainment Industry
The US based roller coaster manufacturer Arrow Dynamics contracted Vekoma to build the steel work for their European rides in the 70’s. As demand in Europe increased Vekoma eventually licensed the technology from Arrow and began building rides in their own right with 3 coasters being produced in 1979.
Named the Super Wirbel the first coaster was an inverted double corkscrew installed in Holiday Park, Hassloch Germany. Two of the first riders were the German Formula 1 drivers Rolf Stommelen and Harald Ertl , eventually they produced 7 examples. They went on the produce the Invertigo, Boomerang and Whirlwind coasters.
Alliance With Chance Morgan
In 2006 they formed an alliance with the USA based manufacturer Chance Morgan, with Chance building the steelwork for the coasters. They produced four in total during this period.
Acquisition Of Bussink Wheels Of Excellence
Vekoma acquired the Wheels of Excellence range from Ronald Bussink, whereby Bussink would continue to build the 100 metre wheels and Vekoma would build wheels in the smaller 40-80 metre market. They terminated the agreement with Chance in 2012, but licensed the R60 metre wheel to a new offshoot of chance called Chance American Wheels.
Madhouse And SkyShuttle
Vekoma also manufacture a couple of other attractions. The most curious in the aptly named mad house. Designed to give the riders the illusion of weightlessness and spinning upside down. In actuality, it is an updated version of the ‘Rib Tickler’, a ride that graced British fairgrounds in the 80’s, though never presented as well as the Vekoma version.
The other is the SkyShuttle. Raising riders upto 50 metres into the sky with a gently rotating gondola, the ride allows spectacular views over the full site.
Acquisition By Sensei Technologies
In 2018 Vekoma was acquired by Sansei Technologies a Japanese based company who specialises in both Amusement rides and elevators. The agreement was that Vekoma would continue to be run as a separate entity, so hopefully the brand will continue.
Operating nationwide over the years we have provided attractions and services at a multitude of different events and venues. Some we visit once then never see again. Others we seem to turn up at regularly. Some we find to be awkward venues that we would rather not be at. Others like Bert’s Barrow quickly become favourites. Usually it’s down to the people in charge. They can make a venue welcoming, easy for us to operate at and make us want to return.
Bert’s is a family run farm, that has been turned into an events venue. Usable for smaller events such as weddings. Or equally lending itself to larger corporate events, with full funfair rides etc.
We have provided attractions for family fun days at a few events there and found Charlotte, Jason and the team to be accomodating and made the events just so easy for us. Definitely worth a look if you want to run a corporate function in the West Yorkshire area.
Pumpkin Time
They also offer a great time around Halloween when you can go picking your own pumpkins. Pet dogs? No probs, take them with you. With funfair rides and other attractions it makes a great day out for the family.
