Nottingham Goose Fair

[Anonymous]

Does anyone else think the goose fair in notts is slowly losing its sparkle? why is it that all we seem to get is repeat after repeat of the same rides (give or take a few newcomers) how many of the same ride do you need at 1 fair?? years ago goose fair had almost every type of ride and attraction attending,boxing booth, side shows ,skid,caterpillar ride,satelite,flying coaster,meteorite,paratrooper, moonrockets,-the list goes on......why oh why do the organisers keep bringing duplicates of the same thing? and why dont they do what they used to do and mix the old with the new? [-X

[Nick]

I think they suffered this year vecause of the weather. The fair this year was so much better than last years in terms of ride line up.

And old rides...showmen just don't want top bring them to fairs like this because they won't make money. Going back 5 years at my local fair, a Meteorite was probably riding full every time, this year, I never saw more then 5 people riding it. Newer rides bring bigger thrills, and will bring more money

[Anonymous]

I think the biggest thing to put people off going to the goose fair along with the poor ride line up and soaring prices is all the trouble with gangs and the shooting of the teenager a few years ago!, ive been going for over 30 years and every year since that happened the fair has never been the same!, the crowd volume and atmosphere have lone gone! the best thing they could do with the goose fair is to move it to the riverside near trent bridge and have the fair along the trent and all the way down to the huge field at the top end! this may give it a new lease of life! (and i disagree that older rides cant hold their own ive seen rides at street fairs all over the country and if they are "run" properly and kept in good condition they can certainly still pull a good crowd!

[Nick]

Nottingham already have a fair at the Riverside.

And in terms of line up, there one reallyonly 1 or 2 of the best adult rides missing from this year

[Anonymous]

Right..

First off the "shooting" was 5 miles away the fair, and the only reason the fair got pulled into it was because the people who got shot went to the fair that evening.. Would it have been the fault of the local barber or the supermarket if they had been there before hand? No..

The pricing is competitive, if you consider most rides charging £2 - £3.00 in comparison to what it actually costs to operate such rides its very little. The ground rents/insurance/diesel/transportation costs/purchase of ride/wages/living expenses and profit all need to be taken into consideration. OK Bomber Mark 2 was charging £5 but lets not forget it only holds 16 people and the ride was bought down from Scotland.

Older rides fused with new rides dont work, the only example of this is the Great Dorset Steam Fair, reason being as there is 2 crowds of people there, the thrill seakers and the steam/old tyme enthusiasts.

Duplications I do somewhat agree with, for example there isnt really a need for 2 Giant wheels to be on the same site, whereas this year there seemed very little duplications and if there was they seemed spaced out.

The general public require faster, flasher and louder rides these days, long gone have the need for a skid/paratrooper/cakewalk etc.

As for new rides, this year new rides (and this list is only exhaustive to NEW large thrill rides)

Chaos Afterburner
Bomber Mark 2
Eclipse
Spiderman
"Hard Rock" Orbiter
Over The Top
Sea Storm
Superspin

[Craig]

An interesting point which Mark and I were yapping on about was that if you include inflation, then many of the older rides have actually gone down in price from what they were in the late 80's/early 90's. For example a 40p ride back in the 80's would be £1 now but you'll find many are selling at 50p.

Modern rides are more expensive to buy themselves so prices are going to be higher. But, when cost factors such as diesel (which was only around 70p per litre 8 years ago) and the sheer amount of transport needed for the larger "headline" rides the costs soon start to eat into profit. The likes of the Hoppings on the Town Moor have also demanded large deposits be paid, and the ground be left as clear as possible due to the weather being pretty damn nasty in past years, so you've got large cleanup costs associated with that. Along with that you've got the larger numbers of staff needed to run and build up and takedown the rides.

I'm not denying there's no profit to be made at fairs, but it's more likely to come from smaller fairs rather than the likes of Nottingham and Hull.

[Anonymous]

[-X I was at the fair the night that shooting happened and saw the huge gangs going round the fair (They were so big the police didn't have a chance of controlling them)-They were pushing people over, swearing ,spitting at people and i think i can safely say most decent people there that night would have been scared s******s!!. I was with my brother his girlfriend and other mates and we all decided to leave because it was purely a dangerous situation!,-That was the first time in over 25years that myself or my family had seen anything like it- Not a good promotional thing as far as the fair was concerned was it?, As for mixing the old rides with the new -were you there back in 1986 when jimmy manning made a sensational re-appearance with his 35year old caterpillar ride? did you see the crowds of people scrambleing to get on it?,Also chadwicks rock n roll looper in 1992 was a sensation-many people had never seen these rides before and they were and still are cutting edge rides. The boxing booth was always packed out and as for saying the skids days are long gone [-X -have you ever been on one?? way better than the waltzers and much faster!!-these rides are classic and a classic never dies ,like fashions flared trousers and platform shoes went out of style for years and now the shops are full of them! not everyone needs a "freak out, booster or a frisbee to get a thrill!nuff said!

[Anonymous]

[quote=""mathmos""]Not a good promotional thing as far as the fair was concerned was it?[/quote]

Yes but it has nothing to do with the fair still does it?

[quote=""mathmos""]As for mixing the old rides with the new -were you there back in 1986 when jimmy manning made a sensational re-appearance with his 35year old caterpillar ride?[/quote]

I wasnt there in 1986 no, but I was vistiting fairs then, this is 2008 not 1986 the teenagers of today are not intersted in old rides (not saying that I am not interested, as I am equally due to my interest and age)

[quote=""mathmos""]as for saying the skids days are long gone -have you ever been on one??[/quote]

Yes thanks, Tony Fields and Cookes Skid many a time, and I do agree they are better than waltzers..

[Spike]

[quote=""mathmos""] Does anyone else think the goose fair in notts is slowly losing its sparkle? [/quote]

Good *ruffles feathers*

[Anonymous]

My point is that if people see that kind of crowd at the fair they are bound to get a sense of unease! And in a way it does have an effect! -Im not on the defensive i have always adored the goose fair i would just love it to get back to its roots and come back better than ever! After all it once was regarded as the biggest and best fair in the country, But hull certainly has the edge nowadays,-and they tend to have a much better mix of old and new! Also some of the bigger street fairs tend to because they have hardly any duplicate rides, Its not 1986 granted but the point is in there still that if you can re-introduce a tried and tested favorite with bang up to date paintwork and lighting/sound -it goes down a storm! fashions come and go we know that but you cant beat classics!

---- Post Info Added ----

And its "crookes skid" not cookes

[Anonymous]

Its russell cook actually. .

[Anonymous]

My apologies wrong one ...but 2crookes did own a skid ride a few years back if you look it up!

[beskins123]

anybody no of any new attractions at goose fair this yr which on on from 30th sept-3rd oct, will we expect to see top buzz and 2xtreme, also m&ds rides. along with mellors rapids

[Anonymous]

Rapids I am not sure about, as they are currently on loan. There was also talk of them being sold off also.

M&D could bring the Topbuzz if the rumours are true about them buying it, otherwise Alex could bring Topbuzz2 and it would be on Crows position where the Over The Top was last year.

2extreme could attend, but would be on a floating position as I dont believe Murphys have a plot there.

[beskins123]

why isnt ott coming back this yr will m&ds bomber and spiderman be there

---- Post Info Added ----

what rides do u think will be on space roller, big bens plots and rapids if they dont attend

[NF2]

As Mellors aren't touring anymore, its totally unknown who the plots are being sold to, but from looking where Mellors rides were at Newcastle last year, which is a similar size to Goose, I can say they have been replaced by the following:

Space Roller - Mark Manders "Millennium (dangly leg) Enterprise.
Big Ben - Joey Silcock's Speed Flip
Rapids - Abie Danters "Jungle River" log Flume

Obviously things will change as rides come back, as its 4 months away til Goose fair, aswell as Hull having an impact somewhat. I expect OTT will more than likely be there, there's nothing to say it won't, besides the fact its spent quite a bit of the season at South Shields Ocean Beach, however it has come out a feew times already, currently being around ten miles from South Shields at the Hoppings.

Its all just luck really what turns up, but I would expect to see Top Buzz 2, and possibly Top Buzz 1 if it emerges who owns it now, also Taylors Star Flyer is becoming a staple of the larger fairs. Just wait and See, hell, we'll even have Sedgewick's KMG Inversion by then

[beskins123]

[quote=""Adzy""]The World Carnival's over now, all the rides were sold off. Speculations show that TB1, Drop Zone, a Super Star, Jump & Smile and another Miami were coming back to UK ground, with Top Buzz already back, residing in a yard in Wales, the other rides are nowhere to be seen. There are rumours Shaw Wallis was bring back "Mega Drop" for Newcastle, but this has been resolved as it was due where Joey Silcock has his Speed Flip right now (on the plot where Big Ben stood).

Billy Stevens owned the World Carnival, and all the rides were sold, as pointed out above. We should, hopefully, expect Drop Zone and the other rides due here this year, with the arrival of Rock Rage (expected July) and Crow's Inversion due in January.
billy stevens owns top buzz 1.[/quote]

[AdamJ]

Beskins123, I don't wanna' burst your bubble babe, but seriously:

[url=http://forum.towerstimes.co.uk/viewtopi ... 92#p463892" target="_blank]viewtopic.php?p=463892#p463892[/url]


Credit please darlin'



'quite camper' Adzy!

[Anonymous]

Hi, Anyone know if the Messham Wall of Death is going to be back this year?

Thanks

[Anonymous]

I would probably say yes. - Nice to see the Wall Of Death back on the traveling circuit.