All The Fun OF The Fair

I popped down to the Forest Recreation Ground to see the Goose Fair; or Goosey, as the locals call it.

This year marks the 719th, so I went to see if there was anything different from last year.  Everything seemed to be almost identical to last years, except for a new ride called 'Air'.

Although it might be a new ride to Goose Fair, but it's not a new ride to Nottingham, as it made an appearance last Christmas in the Old Marker Square, where it was called 'North Pole'.

You're basically sent up to the top of the tower, whizzed round a bit and lowered again. Not a thing that I'd like to do. In fact, I don't like fairground rides at all, except to take photos of them.

For some reason nearly all the "test your skills" stalls had Minions for prizes. Whether it was hooking a duck; in the shooting gallery or knocking things over, the little yellow people were being given away to the successful contestants.

He's Making A Monkey Out Of Me

Another shot from the Goose Fair which finished on Sunday for another year. It's hard to believe, but the fair has been going almost every year for over 700 years. Always during the first week of October. This year is the 718th.

The first fair began in somewhere around 1284, and was ostensibly a market for selling geese. hence it's name. Later it included cheese and other things. The idea of a fair didn't begin until Victorian times where it stood in the Old Market Square. It was moved to it's present location of the Forest recreation ground during the 1920s.

Locals always look forward to 'gooseh', although I don't really share in the excitement. Far too noisy for my liking. This guy carrying this giant chimp doesn't look too happy either.

Fairground Attraction

As I explained last night, I primarily went to Goose Fair to seek out some interesting people to photograph, but didn't really find any.  I did however come across this rather attractive young lady.

It looks like she has just won a cuddly duck.  There were lots of cuddly toys on offer for testing one's skills. Hoop-la, shooting, lucky cards etc. I wonder how she won hers?

She was right to wear a scarf, as it was quite cold last night. Still it is the time of year now for cold nights. It's raining while I am writing this. I quite enjoy listening to the sound of the raindrops falling on the windows. Just glad not to be out in it though.

Special Constable

Although Stewart gave us the theme a couple of weeks ago, as he was off on yet another holiday, I still pondered over how to interpret the word. Early ideas included a couple of dice, showing the two sixes, or two boxes of eggs. But dismissed them as amateurish. So I was on the lookout for something more unusual.

Then inspiration hit me last Friday when I went into a local cafe to buy a cake, as it was the McMillan Tea Party day, to raise funds for their nursing service. After buying my rocky road, I turned and saw this giant clock on the wall. It hit me. Not literally of course, but the twelve hours on the dial did. Perfect.

Do have a look at how the others have viewed the theme, and enjoy this little musical interlude.

Gail received a call this afternoon from a photography friend of ours saying that he was off to Goose Fair tonight, and wondered if we fancy tagging along.  Of course, any chance of taking some photos is a good idea to me.

So we met up him and spent a couple of hours walking around and looking for something to shoot. He agreed with me that it was a bit uninspiring. There's only so many flashing lights and loud music one can take. Gail seemed to be having more fun, taking some shots on her Olympus, and using the special art filters

I was on the lookout for interesting looking people, but didn't really find any until we came across this policeman with an obvious sense of humour. Not sure if bunny ears are standard issue these days amongst our boys in blue, but he did look amusing. Gail said hello and asked if she could take his picture. He was happy to pose for her, and I took one or two as well. He asked if could get a copy. Of course we said yes and I gave him my business card. So hopefully he'll have a look at this blog and recommend it to his friends and colleagues.

The Big Wheel

Back to work yesterday after our trip to Dubai, and I was keen to see if anything had changed in the city centre. Imagine my surprise when I came across this fairground ride being constructed in the Old Market Square. A long time ago, the annual Goose Fair used to be staged in the square before it was moved, but I don't think they had any rides as tall as this one.