Fairground Attractions

Public Forum
Post Reply
Funderstruck
Member
Posts: 181
Joined: Fri Feb 22, 2008 7:42 pm
Location: Brisbane

Fairground Attractions

Post by Funderstruck »

A new TV series aired on Channel 5 in the UK this week following the families of the UK's travelling showmen. I watched it online last night and loved it. Gives the public a bit of an idea what life is really like as a showman.

FAMILIES BEHIND ALL THE FUN OF THE FAIR

There can scarcely be a person in the country who has not felt a thrill on entering a fairground: the lights, the music, the rides, the food and above all the characters make this a truly absorbing area – and who hasn’t at one time in their life fantasised about running off to join the show?

Now a new Channel 5 series shines a spotlight on what really goes on behind the scenes.

The first episode features the Carters, who run a restored Victorian steam fair; the Danters, who own Treasure Island funfair in Worcestershire and the Couplands, who run Mitcham fair in south London and whose family have been in the business for more than 200 years (indeed a family forebear was killed by a lion).

All of them portray the sheer backbreaking slog involved in running a fair – but also the romance of it. “We are all fascinated by something that magically appears and disappears,” says Chris Shaw, executive producer of the series.
The first episode features the Carters, who run a restored Victorian steam fair

“There are the bright lights but also an element of danger and naughtiness. It’s exciting but risky as well.”

The Carter family are relative newcomers to the world of fairgrounds: while it is not uncommon for families to have been in the business for, quite literally, centuries, they have only been involved in fairs for 30 years.

Established by the late John Carter when he decided to buy a galloper (carousel to you and I), the business is presided over by his widow Anna, now in her early 60s, aided by her sons Joby and Seth, daughter Rosie and “surrogate son” John Todd, who joined the fair when he was 15 and is still there today.

Anna, incidentally, now has a new partner: the legendary circus impresario Gerry Cottle. It is a meeting of fairground royalty between the two clans.

Joby Carter, at 36 the younger of the two sons working at the fair, recalls life growing up in perhaps the perfect children’s playground.

“What kid wouldn’t want to grow up surrounded by that?” he asks.

His parents, initially show promoters who had a total of seven children, bought their first roundabout in 1975. Dilapidated, it had to be totally restored.

More rides followed as the fair began to grow, starting with the Chair-o-Plane and then the Steam Yachts.

By this time the family were living in showman’s wagons and touring the country, as they still do today. “I was two when we first took to the road,” says Joby.

The lifestyle suits him: his home on the road is now a 1955 Hurst of Retford showman’s living wagon complete with bedroom, living room with coal burning stove, shower, washing machine, cooker and sink.

But the days are long, the work can be backbreaking – Joby also teaches sign writing – and total commitment is required. “It’s not a job, it’s a lifestyle,” says Joby.

“I don’t have a salary as such, just enough to buy food and clothes. But what is money? You can’t take it with you.”

Even so he is ensuring that his five-year-old son John, named after Joby’s father, is having a slightly more conventional upbringing.

Joby split from John’s mother a while ago and the little boy lives with her, ensuring he gets proper schooling, seeing his father every Wednesday and every other weekend. How does he feel about having his dad’s funfair as a personal fiefdom? “He loves it but he’s becoming quite blasé,” Joby says.

When not touring as they do for 35 weeks of the year, the family are based in Maidenhead. Seth, 40, is married with four children; John Todd has also married and settled down. They employ about 15 people on a regular basis, taking on casuals as and when it’s called for.

But the entire family is acutely aware of the fact that fairground people can have a ropey reputation and insist that their employees treat visitors to the fairground with great politeness, telling off workers who are seen publicly using their mobile phones.

Indeed Joby is seen advising some young lads to leave their mobiles behind when going on the rides: they ignore this advice and inevitably the phones get lost.

But this can cause real problems.

Once when Carters Steam Fair was travelling to one particular location a fake letter was circulated to the host community purporting to be from the fair workers. It told the village to lock up its daughters and threatened to tip unspeakables into the pond.

The Carters reacted calmly sending out a real letter explaining their conduct would be exemplary. They went on to have one of the busiest weekends they have ever had. In general the Carters discourage their staff from partying after hours and hanging their washing out in public – host communities have to be treated with respect.

They get some pretty famous visitors too, not least Prince Harry, who appears driving dodgems when the fair turns up at Womad festival in Wiltshire after one member of staff, who hadn’t recognised him, confiscated his can of beer.

But ordering royalty around is just one of a number of problems faced by fair people because of the harshness of the lifestyle: “People must be dedicated and have a passion for it,” Henry Danter of Treasure Island funfair declares.

His is a typical business in that it’s being handed down from parent to child: his 15-year-old son Harry started by making candy floss and is now in charge of some of the rides.

His 20-year-old daughter Kimberley meanwhile started by selling ice cream and now runs the family’s funfair and campsite.

Sometimes eventualities crop up that cannot be planned for.

The Couplands ran into terrible problems this summer when the London riots spread dangerously close to their fairground leading the police to advise them to delay the opening.

This was easier said than done: the Couplands have a charter to run the fair, which specifies that it must open on the same day every year.

To delay risked losing the charter. In the end a compromise was reached when children were allowed on to the grounds on the official opening day of the fair.

But no one involved could imagine a different life. “I like the excitement,”

says Joby. “It’s like a giant model railway that you get to take down and then build up again every day. Then again it doesn’t seem so romantic when I’m knee deep in mud.”

Perhaps not. But you can tell he wouldn’t have it any other way.

At the opening of the programme mention is made of “the ancient role of the showman, who appears as if by magic”. But what happens “behind the bright lights and candyfloss”?

A great deal of very hard work with little security is the answer, but with it happy customers who in many cases will revisit the fair year after year.

“It’s so different from normal life,” says Joby, “and something most people see only once a year. It’s such an important part of this country’s life.”

Bron: http://www.express.co.uk/features/view/ ... f-the-fair
Post Reply