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 Don't
worry in case you are beginning to wonder? Not all the photo's
in the exhibition are of Loughborough fair. I might ask at
this point that if you do happen to see yourselves or a
relative then I hope that you don't mind me using the image in
my work? Please think of it as a trip down memory lane for all
of us Loughcastrians. This shot was taken during my lunchbreak
in 1984.
My favourite ride as a youngster would have to be the Rockets
outside Woolworths. Just pull down on the lever and up and
down you went, unless you got a dodgy one and you remained
grounded for the duration!
There is one ride that I have only ever been on once in my
life and once was enough! It is the Waltzers. I must have been
about fourteen at the time that I asked a girl who lived
across the road and so grew up with if she would like to go on
with me. I had a paper round, I was rolling in it! Everything
was going so well but one of the lads running the ride
wouldn't stop spinning our carriage. My friend wasn't too
impressed as I was sick all over her nice winter coat. She was
covered in regurgitated hot dog, tomato sauce with onions!
By this time she must have had a complex because when we were
both aged about four years old? For some reason one Sunday
afternoon a few of us were playing sweeping the street with
our mam's yard brushes (don't ask!) I remember swinging my
brush up and round and around my head until unfortunately I
beamed the same poor girl! There I left her spreadeagled over
our nice clean pavement as I ran off home scared of the
repercussions from her dad! Coward that I was. She needed
stitches but eventually made a full recovery. Diane! I love
you really.
Does anyone remember the bloke who walked around the fair with a pair of
monkeys? He'd plonk them on your shoulder and try to take your
picture but if you said no, sod off! He'd remove them in a
flash and quickly move on to some other unsuspecting punter.
Anyway two years after the Waltzers incident I took my then
new girlfriend around the fair. I decided to play it cool and
steered well clear of any rides that spin and the hotdog
stall! So anyway being romantic we had our picture taken
together by the monkey man. I would like to finish the story
off by saying that we eventually settled down, got married and
had two beautiful children. But sadly what I didn't know at
the time was that the bloke with the monkeys had got them
cheap in a pub because they'd been stolen from some research
laboratory down south. My poor unfortunate girlfriend
contracted the fatal Green monkey virus and met a tragic death
for one so young.
So now I don't go on any of the rides anymore but walk around the fair
with my camera. Well actually because I now live in Australia
it's too far to go just for a few nights. Not only that my Dad
tells me that it's over ten pounds a ride! Ten pounds! I don't
want to buy it! |
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