to think it can't be half bad being in a travelling fair......

[LEMisdisappointed]

We have the travelling fair visiting out town this weekend. I finally relented and took DD (we are broke and these things are a money pit). It was quite surreal really - AMAZING camper-vans, if thats the right word - those superdooper jobbies with the bits that come out of the side for extra rooms when they park up - probably worth more money than my house! What made me smile was the prams - practically every ride or stall holder had a Silver cross coach built pram :) I had one for DD1, just not practical for DD2. Also a real sense of community between the fairground folk - they were friendly, but gaurded to be honest.

Sigh - I know im probably being naive because it must be bloody hard work and i can only imagine what the running costs must be, then prejudice from locals etc etc, but I felt kind of envious, travelling up and down the country, meeting folk - must be nice? Apart from the bloody shite music they have to play which would do my head in of course :)

IABU aren't i, it must be a tough life

[bruffin]

"Education for the kids is sometimes varied - some home ed, which is fine and generally involves a lot of help from all the family, some even educate their kids in one school in the summer (where the family's bricks and mortar home is) and another in the winter (where the family own a fixed, seaside fair). That's less common now mind."

Dcs school work with a lot of the children. They have a special coordinatinor who liaises between the children and the teachers. The children are given laptops and homework is sent online etc

[SleepyCatOnTheMat]

P.S. The fair I worked for was established and had been run by the same family for generations.

[SleepyCatOnTheMat]

I travelled with a fair a bit when I was a teenager. At the time I thought it was glamorous but looking back it was pretty seedy. I was always getting hit on by much older guys, I slept in a filthy shared trailer and I got paid much less than the minimum wage. Memorable times include the owner, who was in his sixties and married, taking me round the back of the waltzers and trying to persuade me to show him my knickers - boak - and another guy pinning me down on the bed in his trailer in an attempt to "seduce" me. On the plus side I got to hang out with my mates in the fresh air and listen to music all day, and go on all the rides for free.

[rambososcar]

As I said, mrscumberbatch, part time Romeos and second rate film stars.

Just don't tell a certain Mr Blardy Luffly none too far from me that I sais so!

[mrscumberbatch]

In my early teens I hooked up with a chap who was in a travelling circus and was more or less living out of tents and articulated lorries. (How romantic )

My mother just about had kittens.

If memory serves, his reading and writing was atrocious but he had an infallible talent at cajoling people into parting with their cash. And looked great in a leotard

There's always exceptions in every industry but would be great to have a more balanced view of what it is all about nowadays.

[salsmum]

My son 'ran away' to join a circus (small concern) and became a very young ringmaster. When I saw the inside of his small and not so glamorous caravan that he was living in I was far from impressed and even less so when he gave me his washing to do for the 2 seasons he travelled with them he loved it though, but it sure wasn't an easy nor romantic way of life.

[PinkyCheesy]

ooh totally agree MrsCumberbatch. A non-judgemental doc would be fab... maybe on BBC3?! My MIL was horrified we had 'that sort' living near us and being friends with our children. I soon put her straight Mind you, she's not keen on eastern Europeans here either, and thinks that 'no British child should have to put up with' a multi-cultural education

[mrscumberbatch]

It's an 'old industry' isn't it? One of these things that is still steeped in the history of yesteryear and hasn't changed all that much in the face of modernity.
It's part of our heritage and should be preserved. If there was more support and understanding from local governments I think that they should be a hub for the whole community to thrive around. Thus more money going to the showmen to improve/upgrade their current businesses.

For instance, the 'Glasgow Fair Weekend' is no longer a 'Fair'. Just a holiday that everyone observes for no given reason. It should be a great, safe, inclusive community event.

It would be really interesting to see a documentary on current showman life. I think it would give people a better frame of reference rather than just lumping everyone in as 'travellers', and maybe define the differences between travellers, showmen and gypsies.

Unfortunately, given the car crash television that was 'Big Fat Gypsy Hoohah', I think it would be very very unlikely.

[sugarandspite]

I lived with a circus for a few years when I was a kid and it was brilliant! Things have changed for most circuses these days but when I was there we would all have lessons in the school bus in the morning - essentially home ed really but run as a group by some of the mums.

Afterwards we would either go and do our jobs / chores or harass the artistes into teaching us tumbling tricks / feeding the lion cubs / takings the elephant out for a graze.

When it was show time, we all had jobs to do - a few kids performed in family acts but mainly we worked in the hotdog van / box office / as ring boys helping with props. After the show there was time for acts like the trapeze to practice so we'd all go and have a play on that. Then very late dinner (10pm ish normally) and bed. Up late in the morning.

I so loved the community, the glamour of everyone in their costumes and having other kids just wish they were us. Pull down was always exciting when we'd pack up late at night - every single person no matter how small had jobs and responsibilities that night - and then we'd drive to a new town and set up the next morning.

It's such a hard life though - and I saw more domestic violence and inappropriate treatment of women than I've ever seen since. It was just an accepted thing that X has a black eye because mr X hit her again. I'm sure there was far far worse than I was aware of too.

[rambososcar]

I thought I might be right, Pinky. I have a house a couple of villages up from you, the one known for it's village greens, thatched cottages and posh gastro pub that I never go into because it's not a "proper" pub!

[PinkyCheesy]

Lol yes Rasmbososcar! Victory for the little people on their orange bikes

SGB I would say just from what I have seen, and from the showmen mums I know, that its a FAR FAR less mysoginistic culture than travellers. The women seem much more in control of their lives and very much speak up for themselves and for their families.

[rambososcar]

(I think she might have given you a roasting, Solid!).

[rambososcar]

Absolutely, mrscumberbatch. I'd have liked to have heard Solid's remarks addressed to the late mum of the family I've particular knowledge of. She helped run both fixed and travelling fairs when her husband was alive and then ran them alone when he passed away. She was still doing that and very much in charge and deferred to, until well into her late 60s, despite that her sons were grown up with rides of their own.

[mrscumberbatch]

Good article on current showman/women in business

[rambososcar]

And domestic service? For many women in the travelling fair community their service is front line! They run the rides and sideshows, working just as the men do. The only difference is in the heavy work - and as better engineering and hydraulics take over there's slightly less of that these days - but that's the same in any industry, the acceptance that, for example, this slim short woman can't heave items around like her over 6 foot, broad shouldered other half can.

[mrscumberbatch]

Heehee rambososcar, I will have a look into Showmen's Guild!
The job was a hard slog at first, it's a bit of a 'man's world' but I'm getting there!

Fairly on topic- I used to collect a lot of old travelling persons/showmen posters and autographs etc so learned a bit about them while I was at it... arguably- historically a lot of the women involved in the shows had a greater level of independence, education and capability of earning a wage than their peers.

(For example, Olive Oatman, Chrissie and Millie McCoy to name but a few)

[rambososcar]

Showmen culture is a heck of a lot less misogynistic than traveller's, Solid.

[SolidGoldBrass]

It's not generally a great life for women. Gypsy and Traveller culture is misogynistic, Showmen culture probably is as well - any 'traditional' lifestyle usually boils down to male superiority and a lot of guff about women being 'honoured' - as long as they stick to domestic service, chastity and obedience.

[rambososcar]

mrscumberbatch, I was nosy and had a look at your profile to see if I might know of your local fair people (I don't btw, I'm going towards the other end of the UK!), then I saw what you do for a living. This is totally off topic but wow, it sounds like a job which is a real joy.

[rambososcar]

The Showmen should be registered with the Showmen's Guild, mrscumberbatch, though some are members of the Association of Independent Showmen.

Pinky -did the traveller campaign you're referring to involve a councillor with a Dutch sounding name by any chance?

[PinkyCheesy]

Rambososcar I think we live rather near to each other I helped with the campaign too. We're all lucky to live in such a fab community (and with such a good local councilor!)

Not all the kids are part-time at school but my son's classmate is, which is how I really heard about that happening, and its great how the school really values every pupil, no matter the background.

[mrscumberbatch]

This is a really interesting thread. Thankyou rambososcar for sharing!

Would be great to know if there's a 'list' of legitimate showmen/travelling fairs in existence.

We've had a few travelling fairs nearby recently and it's really obvious that one of them was very dodgy. One rubbish one tarnishes the reputation of the rest etc.

[rambososcar]

The Showmen are self employed, Natasha, so like anyone else, they take a cut of the profit, if there is any, and reinvest into the business. The guys who work for them at the fair (Gaff lads, casuals or cazzies, depending on who you speak to) are not Showmen but are employees, usually paid an agreed weekly wage. What they earn is dependent on loads of things but I must be honest and say I've never heard of anyone getting rich through working for Showmen as a casual at the fairground! (Then again, I've never heard of anyone getting rich through working for Marks and Sparks or for the owner of a market stall either!).

Pinky, it's interesting that you should say what you have. The Showmen who occupy a fixed caravan site in a village close to my own have the same level of respect and admiration from the settled community there. This is not so with travellers, who used to live on a site opposite the Showmen and who, when they left, caused the villagers to sigh with relief. There was talk of reopening the traveller site - the villagers fought against it and the Showmen immediately made a statement announcing that if the travellers returned they, the Showmen, would leave. They wouldn't feel their possessions were safe and they definitely don't want to be tarred with the "those fairground people are travellers, they're the cause of the rise in crime and dumped rubbish in the village" brush.

Also interesting is that your local Showmen's kids are part timers at your village school. That's becoming increasingly rare - although the Showman I know well enough to be able to share what I have here was educated in town in the summer and at the coast where the family's fixed fair is in the winter, he's 50 so it was more common then. When I asked him if he felt he'd lost out educationally his response was an emphatic no. Where he missed in the schoolroom he more than made up for it in the fairground, learning to count, add up, do accounts, bargain, learn about electronics and engineering as he went along.

[LEMisdisappointed]

Thanks rambososcar, really interesting, thanks for sharing. I can't begin to imagine how much it must cost to run one of those fairs!! Sadly, i don't think they did very well this weekend, the weather was crap, i was chatting to one of the guys and he said it was a poor weekend. Shame really - i think its because they come on a really random weekend, we used to have them on carnival night years ago, that was a brilliant night - now our carnival is a bit of a letdown and no fair!