A German entry into our manufacturer series today. This company can trace their roots back to 25 year old Paul Mack who began building wagons and barrows in the German town of Waldkirch in 1780.
Mack Carriage
His son took over in 1787, and diversified into building stagecoaches, as well as building pipe systems and drilling wells.
Showmen’s Wagons
Mack continued to expand and build wagons, stagecoaches etc. By 1880 they began to receive commissions to build showmen’s living wagons, as well as parts for rides in the growing amusement ride arena and stalls for showmen.
Roller Coaster
In 1921 Mack built it’s first wooden roller coaster. Built for Siebold & Herhaus the ride first operated in Switzerland before touring Europe. It’s first car ride followed in 1936 and a bobsled ride in 1951. By this time the company had a steadily growing export business to the United States.
Mack Wooden Coaster
Classic Rides
The company created a number of well known classics, including the Music Express (a caterpillar type ride), Sea Storm and Wild Mouse coaster.
Their client list pretty much covers the globe, with Mack rides both old and new operating both on travelling funfairs and fixed parks.
Musik Express
From Builders To Operators
The Mack family visited the United States in the 70′, seeing the amusement parks over there were inspired to build their own. They purchased the park attached to the historical Balthasar castle in Rust. The resulting park named ‘Europa-Park‘ opened in 1975. Despite scepticism, it actually had some 250,000 visitors the first year. Rapidly climbing to over 1 million annually within 3 years. The park is now the largest in Germany, and the second most popular in Europe after Disneyland. It now averages 5.75 million visitors annually. The park has also regularly been voted the world’s best them park.
Europa Park
In its 240 year history, Mack Rides has built a huge number of both travelling funfair rides, and 146 roller coasters, the vast majority of which are still operating.
Another of our series of attempts to answer some of the questions we have happened across on the internet, as well as those we seem to be asked regularly.
Can I Go On Rides When I Am Pregnant
It depends on the ride. Some of the more sedate rides shouldn’t be any more problematic than a trip on a train or bus. We wouldn’t however recommend going on something that turns you upside down or inside out. In short, you need to use that rarest of skills, common sense.
Are Funfair Rides Safe
Well, it depends who you listen to. There was a guy on the go in the 90’s who had set his own safety organisation up. He used to have plenty to say about unsafe fairgrounds. Funnily enough, he never mentioned them, until he formed his safety group and demanded that the funfair industry pay him for inspections. When they refused he went on a campaign against the industry. Demanding amongst other things daily safety inspections by the operators of the rides, and annual inspections by engineers. Weird thing at the time was that we were already doing that.
The Health & Safety inspectorate have long been in charge of overseeing safety at the funfair. Their opinion, is that you are more likely to die from a shark attack, or being struck by lightening, than killed on a funfair ride. In fact they estimate the chance of it happening as 1 in something like 83 million.
How Much Are Funfair Rides
That depends whether you mean to ride on them or to buy one.
Nowadays a typical ride costs between £1 and £2 a ride. Some of the larger fairs or festivals tend to be more expensive. There are also a handful of rides that are fairly unique and as a result tend to command a higher price for a ride.
Danters Air, One Of Only A Handful Of This Type Of Ride
If you mean how much to buy a ride. Then it depends on what you want to buy. A second hand Miami type ride can be picked up for probably £50K. Something like a giant wheel can be upto the £5 million mark. Roller Coasters as much as some small nations annual GDP.
What Is The Most Popular Funfair Ride
Dodgems, the dodgems and definitely the dodgems. By a huge margin all of our records show that dodgems are the most requested ride. This is true for events such as weddings, as well as corporate events, festivals and parties.
Second are the tamer thrill rides such as Twist and Miami, but they are definitely playing second fiddle.
Carousels occasionally put in an honourable mention, but it tends to be mainly at weddings, where they make a great photo opportunity.
Continental Dodgem Track For Hire
Can I Go On A Fairground Ride If I Am Disabled
There is no real reason you can’t. The problem tends to be access.Legislation was brought in requiring business’s to take reasonable steps to alter their premises to enable disabled access. Unfortunately there aren’t any reasonable steps to alter a funfair ride for this. Any major alterations of this type would require a complete set of engineering drawings and stress calculations drawing up, then a design review by qualified engineers to ensure the alterations are safe. In some cases this could cost more than the ride is actually valued at.
This doesn’t mean you can’t ride them though. Any professional operator will be happy to provide assistance in getting the less abled onto their ride.
How Old Do Kids Have To Be To Go On The Rides
Well, that depends on the ride. For the really little ones, talking toddlers here, you are best sticking to something like the teacupsor toytown, the parents can usually ride with the kids so they are kept safe.
When you start getting on to the bigger stuff, they tend to have a height board. Usually your kids will need to be the minimum height to ride. Please, please, please respect this. The amount of arguments we have ended up in over the years, because someone wants their under height kid to be allowed a ride, is ridiculous. Look, we want your money. If we are stopping your kid riding, it isn’t to be a killjoy. It is to ensure they aren’t hurt and our insurance costs don’t go up. Your claim that you will take responsibility if they are killed, doesn’t actually offer us much protection in a court of law.
Teacups Ride Hire
Stick to funfair rides like this, if you have little kids. Oh, and accompany them. I well remember one mother trying to jam her 6 month old baby in such a position that it didn’t flop forward and fall off. If the kid isn’t old enough to hold itself up, it isn’t old enough to ride alone.
Can I Join The Fairground If I Buy A Ride
Theoretically you can. Most large funfairs are run by members of the Showmen’s Guild Of Great Britain. To attend them you have to be a member of the organisation. At one time, unless you were either born to existing members, or married one, you weren’t allowed to join. This closed shop was stopped by legislation meaning it is open to anyone to join. If you are interested in becoming a member you can find details here.
However the reality is, that at most events the same families have owned the rights to the individual ride plots for generations. To buy one you need to be in a position to know they are for sale. As quite often this is discussed at social events, ie. down the pub. Unless you are part of the crowd you tend not to be involved. Some newer events the plots are advertised, but again, the operators in charge tend to stick with established family names they are familiar with. So before ponying up a large cash advance to join the Guild, I would think carefully. You are likely to have more success on a roulette wheel, or the local horse races than operating your on funfair rides.
Showmen’s Guild Logo
Are Bumper Cars Different To Dodgems
Nope, they are exactly the same ride. In the North East they tend to be called bumper cars, the rest of the UK prefer dodgems. The actual historic name is dodgems, as in you dodge the other cars.
That lot up in the North East tend to be a hardy lot, so smashing into each other is probably more fun.
If you have any other questions about funfair rides, feel free to add them in the comments and we will try and answer them.
Many of the rides still travelling on funfairs have been around for decades, in some cases over 100 years. Others are relatively new designs, but have still achieved iconic status. One such ride is the carousel, the first of the rides we are going to take an in depth look at.
Early History
Much of Europe and the Middle East have a long history of jousting. Knights would gallop in circles whilst tossing balls to each other, a demonstration of their skill and horsemanship. The actual word carousel takes its origins from the Italian Carosella meaning little battle, which was an exercise used by Arabian and Turkish horsemen to prepare for actual battle. essentially a training mechanism to prepare and strengthen the riders sword play.
Eventually as medieval jousting gave way to the cavelry era, this was replaced with demonstrations and spectacles that had the rides spearing suspended rings.
Eventually even the commoners began to play the game, and rudimentary carousels began to be set up at fairgrounds across Europe. An early make believe carousel with wooden horses was set up in Paris, at the Place Du Carousel for children.
Jousting Ring Game
The Modern Carousel
The forerunner to the modern carousel, was what in the UK is termed a dobbie set. Much like a carousel, but with one important feature lacking. The horses didn’t have an up and down motion. They were either suspended on poles, or fastened to the platform, and though they would rotate in the same manner, they lacked the galloping. They also tended to be much smaller that the rides we are used.
Dobbie Ride
Then Came Steam
The first of the two breakthroughs that led to the ride we all know and love today came around 1861. Invented by a gentleman called Thomas Bradshaw, who built a ride that was powered by a steam engine. This allowed a much bigger structure, with crucially more riders. One newspaper of the time remarking that it moved with such impetuosity that the wonder was the riders not being shot off like cannonballs.
Carousel Steam Engine
Then Came Frederick Savage
The final piece of the puzzle came from an English engineer. Frederick Savage was a builder of agricultural machinery. Who, for reasons unknown decided to branch out into the design and production of funfair rides.
By the 70’s (the 1870’s that is), he was exporting funfair attractions all over the world. He experimented with various designs, and at one point came up with the ‘Sea-On-Land’ a nautical themed attraction, that used an offset crank system to pitch and roll the boats on the roundabout.
When he took this new idea and married it to a steam powered carousel to give the horses the motion they lacked, he created what he called the platform gallopers. Steam powered organs were often installed into the centre of the ride to give it the classic carousel design, that isn’t that much changed today.
Sea On Land
Our American Cousins
Across the pond, it was immigrants that developed the Carousel. Including Charles W.F. Dare from England and Gustav Dentzel of Germany. A number of differnent manufacturers appeared, all with differing styles, Looff had reaslitcally painted saddles, whilst the Coney Island style had elaborate jeweled saddles from the likes of Dentzel, Herschell’s and Spillman’s often having no saddles at all. Their machines tended to be large and elaborate, highly decorated affairs.
One curiosity is the direction of travel. In the U.K., a carousel, in common with most rotating rides moves in a clock wise motion. Whereas in the States and Europe it goes the opposite way.
Coney Island Carousel HorseWhite Victorian Carousel HorseVictorian Carousel Hire
Another of our profiles of amusement manufacturers. This one is actually UK based, and both manufactures and refurbishes a range of adult rides. In terms of sales and range of products it is more restricted than many of the big Italian and Dutch marquees. It is however highly regarded within the industry, especially the home market.
The company takes its name from the founder, Perrin William Stevens, who during the 1970’s built and sold rides around Europe, and even as far as the States.
Nowadays they have factories in both England and Poland, and as well as building new rides, they also refurbish older rides and equipment. Their specialities are Twists, Dodgems, Extremes and the Frogs.
PWS Sizzler Twist
One of its mainstays is the sizzler twist. This is much the same ride as the Eli Bridge ‘Scrambler’, but the PWS version is a more hi tech take on its American cousin. It is also designed to fold up onto its transport trailer, so is bigger, and more highly decorated than the Eli version.
twist sizzler
The Extreme
Another of the rides PWS are known for. The Extreme is an update on an older ride called the orbiter. The seats were changed to a version where the riders legs dangled, giving a more thrilling feel to the motion.
Extreme Ride PWS
Super Trooper
Another revamp of an existing ride. Paratrooper type rides have been around since the 1960’s. Originally they were built at a fixed angle. This meant the ride had to be rotated one car at a time to load and unload the passengers. Then the lifting paratrooper made an appearance. As the ride ended it was hydraulically lowered to the ground allowing all of the cars to load at the same time.
The Super Trooper took this in a new direction. The ride started on the floor to be loaded, then once active would rise into the air, it could then operate both horizontally, and tilt to give the classic paratrooper motion.
super trooper
Refurb
PWS also have a steady business refurbishing and updating many of the older rides still in operation. A revamp can give a ride a new lease of life. Keeping it competitive with the newer thrill rides permeating the fairgrounds of today, whilst keeping the cost affordable.
Over the years there has been some way out and wacky rides designed for the funfair industry. Some have worked and became classics. Others were either too unreliable, vomit inducing or just downright dangerous. The flying cars could be argued to be dangerous as it did in fact kill someone. However the someone failed to fasten their safety belt so its an arguable case.
Loop De Loop Ride
The ride was something quirky. The drum rotated and the cars were fixed to the track, similar to a roller coaster. The cars had a brake pedal which clamped the car to the track causing it to climb the drum. Once it had climbed you released the brake to allow it to fall back down and up the other side. Eventually you built enough momentum up to go 360 around the full drum.
The Ride In Action
Unfortunately someone failed to fasten their seatbelt and was killed in the fall which resulted in the ride being removed. Modern technology would probably solve that problem now with interlocked safety bars and the like.
There was records of a second, double drum flying cars ride being built for Conklin’s Carnivals, but scant records exist of that model or any other rides.
The ride was built by a German manufacturer, but despite the wonders of the world wide web, we have been unable to find out which particular one.
Next up in our ongoing series of amusement ride manufacturer profiles, is the long established American company of Eli Bridge.
The founder W.E. Sullivan visited the original Ferris Wheel at the Columbian Exposition in 1893. He (like George Washington Gale Ferris) owned a bridge building company. After his ride he became fascinated by the ride and decided to build one of his own. In collaboration with the machinist James H Clements they began construction of their own wheel.
This debuted in Jacksonville’s Central Park and was called the Big Eli Wheel. The ride was a success and Sullivan set up a company to manufacture his wheels.
Their first wheels were powered by 6h.p. huber steam engines and came in two sizes, 45ft portable models and 50ft park based designs. There was also a 55ft ‘Aristocrat’ model.
Early Ferris Wheel
The company was originally located in Roodhouse, Illinois, next to a railway track, allowing for easy distribution around the country. In 1919 a new purpose built building was erected in Jacksonville, also next to the railroad. The company has been there ever since. It’s 76,000 sq ft facility contains a room tall enough to erect a big wheel in.
Rim Drive Wheel
Modern Eli Bridge Wheels
The company still produces wheels to this day. A modern Eli Bridge, is, truth told, little changed from the earlier models. Sure, there is no doubt the construction will use moderner materials and methods. But the look and feel of the ride definitely contains the same DNA. That isn’t meant as a criticism. The fact is the early formula worked well, and still works well, so why change it?
One major change is the drive system. For generations, the wheel used a wire rope, that passed through a pulley which was rotated by an electric motor. The system worked fine, and still does as hundreds of wheels around the world continue its use. It did however have a couple of disadvantages. The rope gradually stretched, and as it did the drive began to slip. Murphy’s law would dictate this happened just as you got busy. The other failure was when the rope snapped. A sensible operator would keep a spare, and could change it relatively quickly, but it is still inconvenient and would lose you revenue.
Ferris Wheel Wire Drive
Rim Drive
To counter the wire rope issues, the company has now switched to rim drive systems. This works by attaching a flat rim to one side of the ride. An electrically driven wheel would contact the rim and as it rotated, would rotate the ride. No slipping or snapping and a much more precise regulation of the speed available from a modern inverter driven control system.
Rim Drive
Scrambler A New Chapter
1955 brought a new chapter for the company, with the launch of its Scrambler ride, the first non wheel addition to its portfolio. Known over here as a ‘Twist’ the ride took the American amusement industry by storm, and is still prevalent at funfairs around the world today, albeit in many versions from many different manufacturers.
Eli Bridge Twist
Other Products
They also sell a couple of children’s rides, including the quirky Spider Mania, to which I can’t really find a comparable ride in the UK.
Spider Mania
A line of fire pits for camping expeditions and Boy Scout troops round off the companies product list.
. One quirky fact is that the word Bridge was deliberately left in the company name, so that they could still build bridges, their original business model. Though records indicate that since they started selling wheels, they have only actually built one bridge.
The world renowned graffiti artist, Banks’y happens to be a favourite of my daughters. To be honest I quite like his style too. A few years back when she was studying art at school, she made Banksy her special project, so one day we jumped in the car and drove to Bristol to visit his artworks in the flesh so to speak.
When he announced the Dismaland project, a theme park not suitable for kids as he put it, at an old Lido in Weston Super Mere. We were lucky enough to secure tickets for us and a couple of Emmerson’s friends.
My wife hates using our car due to the size and fuel consumption, but none of the vans would fit 5 people, so I got to enjoy a blast all the way down the country in my Mas. During the periods the wife fell asleep I got to enjoy the 400+ horses under the bonnet without screams of “Look at the fuel consumption” lol.
When we got to the park, the queue was enormous. It was then that I realised a possible problem. I had actually bought the tickets on ebay, not through a regular channel as they were next to impossible to obtain. Basically the ticket was a sheet of A4 paper with a barcode. Anyone could have put them together, or the same ticket could have been sold multiple times.
Crap, but I did have a cunning plan, I sent the kids in first to see what happened. In the event they walked straight in so we were ok.
A Park With A Difference
Now the park itself was different, very different, but something we all enjoyed. However I have to say it brought a worrying trend home. The whole idea was that the park was meant to be a dismal, unfriendly place, with surly staff that couldn’t be bothered with the customers. A spoof on a traditional fairground.
Thing I realised was, the customer service part was pretty much what you see on some fairgrounds today. Young kids in the stalls playing on their phones who viewed you as a nuisance if you wanted to play. Operators in the rides looking bored and disinterested. At one point the wife and I were stood debating whether we should go into a particular structure. When the girl on the outside shouted at us “In or out, in or out, don’t stand there blocking the ride, make your mind up!”
I burst out laughing, because a very good friend of mine has exactly the same customer facing skills. I have seen her shout very similar commands when some poor unfortunate is stood at the ride entrance making their mind up.
One of the many twisted rides
I was impressed by the thought that had gone into the attractions. To be sure they were taking traditional funfair attractions and twisting them into some steam punk, distressed interpretation of what they would have been. But in some cases hitting the nail right on the head.
It’s Impossible To Win!
Topple The Anvil With A Rubber Ball
Take topple the anvil for instance. I should imagine its physically impossible to knock an anvil off the shelf with a rubber ball. But then, there are games I have seen on fairgrounds that are equally impossible. The traditional coconut shie was renowned for having ‘duds’, that is some of the coconuts you were trying to knock off were actually metal replicas. Nothing short of an Exocet missile would move them.
Not strictly true on a real fairgound but not far from the truth on some games.
One of my favourite shows was death riding the dodgem car. Played to trance music it was one of the earlier attractions we encountered and was just plain funny.
Death Dodgems
There was plenty of Banksy’s political commentary, such as the coin operated remote control boats. Which happened to be boats filled with refugees. Or the exhibition of various weapons used by governments to oppress the people.
Remote Controlled Refugee Boats
There were also some weird commentary on consumerism and minority representation such as the gifts below sold in the shop.
Battlefield Casualty Action Man
But The Food Was Good
Lol, even the catering didn’t escape his vitriol.
Lol, I can vouch ours contain pork
Although some people slated the park, I think it is because they just didn’t get the sarcasm mixed with social commentary undercurrent that it was put together with. We had a great time.
With funfairs being a travelling industry, it’s fairly obvious that rides and such like cannot be connected to a fixed electricity supply. The answer is portable generators.
In the very early days, these tended to be steam powered. The traction engines used to transport the rides could have the drive belts disconnected and switched to dynamo’s to provide the 110v direct current supply used at the time.
As things progressed, and diesel powered lorries took over from the steam engines. A similar system was put into place. The drive shaft from the gearbox to the driving axle on the vehicle could be disconnected. A pulley was then attached to the output of the gearbox and drive belts used to drive a dynamo. With progress, the power source slowly began to gravitate towards 240v alternating current, same as powers a house.
I am 50, and can just barely remember helping my dad ‘drop the shaft’. Basically this was disconnecting the propshaft, dropping it to the ground and connecting the drive belts, a ritual at every fairground.
The ultimate evolution was the switch to dedicated generators. A totally separate engine and alternator or dynamo, or sometimes both piggy backed. These tended to have a more regulated speed control designed to keep the engine running at optimum speed for power generation.
Typical Modern Generator Set
Gardner Engines
A British manufactured engine rapidly became a firm favourite to build power generators. Built by a Manchester based firm called L.Gardner & Sons.
Originally a sewing machine maker, they moved into gas engines around 1895, then into the new fangled diesel engines in 1903. Their initial engines tended to be for marine use. In 1929 they fitted an engine into a Lancia bus. This was such a success that they ended up introducing a new range titled LW, geared towards on road use.
4LW Engine
Gradually they grew to provide power for many of the existing lorry manufacturers throughout the UK, and also licensed the design to Dutch manufacturer Kremhout, Belgian makers FN and Miesse and French manufacturers Bernard and Latil . A larger range was introduced to power diesel locomotives, and things were good for the company as they became the world’s leading exporter of diesel engines.
A number of things were noticeable about their designs. Their thermal efficiency (how much energy was converted to actual power output as opposed to heat) was a shade over 40%. To put this into perspective, state of the art computer controlled engines in the 2010’s managed to hit 43%, a mere 3% improvement over a design 80 years old, and currently around 50% is as good as it gets.
Legendary Reliability
The other stunning achievement was the unparalleled reliability. A huge number of Gardner’s are still in use around the globe. From powering junks in Hong Kong harbour, to fishing boats in the 3rd world, to lorries in Africa. The marquee became a byword for long lasting trouble free use. In part the formula of a large engine working lightly meant the components were all relatively unstressed whether it was being used for a power generator, a locomotive or road going power..
The crankshaft also benefited from not only being secured vertically, as was normal, but also being horizontally braced. This gave the bottom end of the engine tremendous strength, and warranty claims for failure in this area were virtually unheard of.
A Gardner Engined Locomotive
Fall Of A Legend
Sadly, like many industries in the UK, Gardner’s were doomed to a decline and eventual demise. During the 70’s other manufacturers gradually increased the power output of their offerings. Gardner, controlled by Hugh Gardner stubbornly refused to follow. Whilst virtually every other manufacturer was adding turbochargers to provide more oomph, Hugh insisted on keeping his engines naturally aspirated. As gross weights steadily increased, more power was needed, and Gardner just couldn’t keep up.
When they eventually developed a turbocharged range it was too little too late. Cummins Engines of America were selling a 10 litre engine outputting 325 horse power. Gardners closest option was the massive 15.6 litre LYT that managed 350 HP, but had the inherent drawbacks of an engine of that size being heavier and thirstier on fuel, the opposite of Gardner’s traditional strengths..
The Last Of The Gardners, The Mighty 6LYT
Adding to the typical stunningly poor decision making of British upper management, the offer to take over Rolls Royce engine division to broaden their portfolio was turned down. Additionally they reached a point where there was a 2 year waiting list for engines to be supplied for new lorries. Perhaps an agreement with another manufacturer to licence build them could have alleviated this. Whatever the main cause, eventually they just lost too much sales volume and with the advent of Euro 1 emissions regulations they were closed down.
Unlike many former industries where the the British used to lead and then become basically extinct in that industry. Power generators are still being built by Perkins Engines.
Midget Submarines
One novel use of the Gardner engine, was the smaller 4LK model. Fitted into the Royal Navy’s X-class midget submarines. These were used to cripple the German battleship Tirpitz.
X-25 One Of The Midget Submarines
Some of the main Power Generator Manufacturers are;
One thing that the funfair industry is very poor at, is PR. Possibly because we tend to keep outsiders at arms length, many people have very little idea of how the industry works. Often we are regarded as gypsies (we are not, they are a totally separate ethnic/cultural group), there is this idea that funfairs just roll up willy nilly and set up on a piece of land they have no right to. That rides are thrown together by semi literate knuckle grabbing high school drop outs who have no idea what they are doing. So in an effort to spread a little fact, to counter some of the common fiction, we are going to answer some common funfair questions. If you have any others add them in the comment section and we will answer them for you.
1.2 Risks to the public at fairs and amusement parks have proved to be quite small, on average, despite common perceptions to the contrary. For example, the risk of death from a typical session is estimated, on a pessimistic basis, at 1 in 83 million, which is: a) about one twelfth that from a typical walk to get to the site;
Lets compare that 1 in 83 million figure.
Your risks of dying from the following pursuits;
Car Accident – 1 in 200
Train Crash – 1 in 65,000
Shark Attack – 1 in 3.7 million
Plane Crash – 1 in 7.6 million
Struck by Lightning – 1 in 14 million
So does this mean that the experience is totally risk free. Sadly not. Modern rides are high speed complex pieces of machinery subject to immense stress and high G forces. Modern computerised design and testing systems mean that much of the dangers have been designed out. However over time, metal corrodes and weakens, systems can fail. So how is this counteracted.
ADIPS
The ADIPS scheme requires a comprehensive safety test every year for each piece of equipment. This covers electrical and mechanical safety, as well as non destructive testing such as x-rays or dye penetration to check for cracks and metal fatigue. Rides are also required to have a daily check scheme in place which is recorded every day.
The weakest link, as always, are humans. Checks rely on the operator carrying them out and taking action on faults that are found. Most rides are operated by the families that own them, so the incentive to carry these out correctly is not only possible large fines and/or jail, but also the massive loss of income if they are closed down.
The Human Factor
The one factor we don’t have control over, are the actions of our customers, more humans. In my 50 years on the funfair I have only ever been at a fair once where someone was sadly killed. What happened was that a young man climbed over a 6ft high safety rail to go and push his friends on a ride called the swinging gyms. Basically a box containing 4 of his friends, you rock the box back and forth to gradually gain height and go over the top.
He ran to give them a push, tripped and landed on the bottom of the ride, as the box came down it crushed him. Totally tragic, and totally avoidable by the poor victim. But it is hard to see what more the operator could have been expected to do.
Swinging Gym funfair ride
Similarly we regularly have arguments on rides with minimum height limits. Parents want their offspring to go on the ride but they are not tall enough. Enraged they demand that they are allowed on because the parent knows best and evidently wants to willingly put their little darlings at risk!
2 Do They Carry Insurance?
Yes, two types. The first covers the actual equipment for damage or loss from theft/fire/accident. A typical modern ride easily costs in the mid six figure bracket. A few examples are in the millions bracket, so it isn’t feasible to chance losing investments on this level.
The other is public liability insurance, covering the riders and members of public. Most rides have two policies, the first carries £1 million cover. We than pay into a trade organisation fund which adds an additional £10 million to this.
Most local authorities require a minimum of £5 million, so our industry is well in excess of what is required.
Insurance Policy
3 Do Fairgrounds Just Set Up Anywhere?
Another really popular misconception. We have set up in high streets in the past, only to have a local resident actually call the council to ‘make them aware’ that the high street is ‘under occupation’ by the fair folk.
At the minute (2021) things are still a little strange what with Covid and all. Normally, on January 1st, we could usually list the dates and locations of all our events for that year. Indeed some like Nottingham Goose Fair, have been operating for hundreds of years.
Look, a large funfair is a major logistical exercise. To move dozens of ultra large vehicles around the country to set up an event easily costs tens of thousands of pounds. Realistically, is anyone going to throw that kind of money about in the hope that when they set up the council and police will allow them to stay. An expensive mistake if they don’t.
Additionally the event needs to be advertised, additional logistics like filling generator fuel tanks, or providing a suitable locations for the living quarters all need to be arranged.
Take a look at the picture below, there is no way something like that can just be randomly thrown together, that is planned months in advance.
Newcastle Hoppings Funfair
4 Why Are Fairground Workers Covered In Tattoos And Have No Teeth?
Lol, I just love some of the funfair questions we are subject to. The funfair community is an incredibly close knit one. Most of us either know each other, or at the very least are only a couple of steps away from knowing each other.
I know of only one ‘funfair operator’ who has tattoos. A really nice lad, he wasn’t actually brought up on the fairground but married into it. That’s it. Tattoos just aren’t considered a socially acceptable thing within the industry.
‘Ah’, I hear you cry, Mark off the waltzers who I was snogging has them. Well, yep, Mark probably does. Thing is, Mark is a local lad that has been employed casually to help out at your local fair. Next week he will go back to being unemployed Mark.
We don’t have a particular problem with the practise, it’s just not one we engage with as a rule.
A noted exception has to be mentioned though, a few generations ago, when times were particularly hard, one lady struggling to feed her kids, actually had her entire body, sans her neck face and hands, tattooed. She went on to appear as the main exhibit in her own sideshow.
Artoria Gibbons
The pain must have been incredible, they were a hardy breed back then.
Regarding the teeth thing, we actually do visit dentists, and I can’t honestly say that funfair dentition is any different to non funfair dentition.
5 Do You Have Things Like Running Water And Electricity?
Out of the many funfair questions we get asked, these ones really do bug us. No we eat cold food, don’t wash and go to bed when it gets dark. Or at least some seem to believe so. Pictured below is the interior of a modern caravan. Fully furnished and connected to electricity, gas and running water. Oh, and flushing toilets, probably the same make as in your house.
Gas, it probably slightly different as we tend to use bottled gas or LPG, rather than a fixed connection, which tends to be difficult with all the moving about and such.
Storage space tends to be built into sofa’s and various nooks and crannys as well as the cupboards and wardrobes. The end result is quite often more room and storage available than a typical modern house. Most caravan’s have entire sections that slide out to make the actual home much bigger than it is when being transported by road.
I remember a few years back in Holland, actually seeing a double deck caravan, IE it had a top floor, though that doesn’t seemed to have made it to these shores yet.
Caravan Interior
If there are any others you know of leave a comment and we will add to the answers.
The equality for women movement has existed for a long time in this country. Logically there isn’t a viable argument to be made for not treating them as equal. OK, there are some niche items, usually involving brute strength where an average man is stronger than an average woman, but I can’t really think of much else.
On the fairground however, things are very different. Women have pretty much been the equal of their men folk, well, forever. Heck, who am I kidding, most of the time they are leading from the front. It’s one of the few industries where the business is usually a genuinely equal partnership between the sexes.
Global Pandemic
As you will see, his was illustrated perfectly when the Covid-19 crisis struck.
Funfairs, like much of the entertainment industry was closed down, and received little in the way of government support.
A few showmen managed to provide some local funfairs, but in many cases, even though the government gave the go ahead for this, the local authorities refused to play ball and promptly closed them down.
True to form, the showmen (and women ) immediately pivoted into a myriad of other lines of work. From delivering parcels to baking cakes to making garden furniture, they needed to feed their families and so just got stuck in.
Showmen’s Guild
Our trade organisation the ‘Guild’ as it is popularly known, has come in for a lot of flak during this time. It is commonly felt that they have neither done enough, nor been seen to be doing enough.
For the former, it’s a debatable point. I am sure that plenty has been going on behind the scenes. However they haven’t done a very good job of communicating this to the members.
When it comes to pushing our case to the wider world, it has to be said that our industry hasn’t been particularly visible either in the traditional media, or just as importantly, on social media.
Step Forward The Ladies
In an attempt to remedy this, a group of ladies from within the industry have decided to step up and take the matter into their own hands. Forming a campaign group known as “Future 4 Fairgrounds”, they have began a PR campaign to try and focus a spotlight upon the plight of our industry.
Future 4 Fairgrounds
They have made excellent use of social media, which, in this day and age is just as important as the traditional media outlets. From regular Facebook posts, to some professionally produced videos on Youtube, there has been a marked increase in our industries online presence.
Coupled with this have been regular appearances of the F4F banners, at various events around the country. Many street fairs have been cancelled due to the crises. At a few, a token children’s rides have attended to maintain the link to the fairs charter. Quite often the ride has proudly sported a banner publicising our plight to the public.
A range of car stickers were also produced and have turned up in some surprising places.
Facebook
Their campaign has been a brilliant addition to publicising our industries plight. The Facebook page at Future4Fairgrounds is fast becoming a valuable resource. Showing just what is happening around the country regarding the funfair industry. The ladies appear to be building some valuable links with M.P.’s and other influential organisations.
Like many traditional industries, ours is going to look very different coming out of the crisis. It’s arguable how much longer we can deal with being totally closed without any help. A lot of showmen may well never get started back up.
Initiatives like the F4F group are going to be more important than ever as we enter the second year of Covid. So good luck ladies, and keep flying high.
