To ask you about fairs

[BrightonCalling]

Yesterday night I went to the fair which was in town, and as every time I go to the fair, there was something about it that really touches me.

It makes me feel sad and happy and nostalgic all at once, and theres also something a little unsettling about it.

Basically theres a feeling I get at fairs at night that I dont feel anytime else.

Is it just me? What is it?

My dad used to take me to the fair from when I was really young and I used to get SO excited.
I feel exactly the same as you when I visit fairs now (47)

I have done the same with my dd (who is now 7) Last week I took her and she said "oh I can smell it already" (fried onions and doughnuts)

Something about the sights, sounds and smells invokes those childhood feelings which are very powerful.

You should read The Night Circus OP, sounds like you'd love it!

P.S I also love cities at night-that comes from childhood too.

(not being left to roam btw- meeting my dad at various city airports with my mum as he worked abroad)

I think it’s the impermanent nature - that they can appear and be so present with the lights and sounds and smells, and the next day just have disappeared. It’s like if you aren’t careful you could be packed up with the rides and carried away.

I hate them. Nothing nostalgic about the money grabbing people who run the travelling fairs that spring up near here every now & then.
Not to mention the dubious H&S.
No thanks.

I used to love the fair when i was younger, now I enjoy watching my GD's excitement.

There are so many Horror Films/scenes, set in Fairgrounds, that I start to expect a killer clown to come leaping out and drag me under the Waltzers, as soon as it starts to go dark.

TSSDNCOP
That sounds very romantic and magical and a little bit scary. You have summed up the mood perfectly!

InspMorse instantly brings me back to reality! Brilliant!

Yes, i see what you mean op but these days, with multiple kids, I avoid them like the plague as all I can think about is how much money we burn through at them! £2/2.50 a ride, you don't get much for your money.

I took my nephew to a fair, a couple of months ago, the candy floss, the onions,and the doughnuts, brought back happy memories. My nephew was really excited, and I tried to see it through his eyes, but now all I see are perv's, bag snatchers, and the rides looked as though they were made from what was left of Noah's Ark... Sigh......The innocence of youth.

@TSSDNCOP
Exactly, its dream like, and maybe on a subconscious level it mirrors life itself - so colourful and busy and then one day just gone.
@Nightfall1
Thats exactly it.
@MyOtherUsernameisaPun
Adding to my amazon list! If anyone else gas book recommendations please share!

We get the fair here twice a year

My children love it and I love seeing them happy but I hate how much it costs. It was £2 per child on most rides, going up to £3.50 for some of the adult rides that dd wanted to go on.

I took £57 and it went in 2 hours. Dh took an extra £30 and then went just as quick.

It would be cheaper to go to a theme park for the day..

I remember going to one on a bit of waste ground when I was about 13.

Oh the romance, when the dark haired boy who worked the dodgems hung on the back of my car and flirted!

I know what you mean OP. And this book was enjoyable and quite interesting about the people who run funfairs. I am now dying to see the inside of one of their caravans!

www.amazon.co.uk/Stealing-Show-Christina-Jones/dp/1783757795/ref=sr_1_20?s=books&keywords=christina+jones&tag=mumsnetforum-21&ie=UTF8&qid=1525779891&sr=1-20

@Blit
God thats the other thing, I'm in my 30s but i loved seeing all the teenagers last night, the budding romances, the sense of excitement in the air 😁 It took me back.

Yes that "frisson" when the fairground lads used to hang on your dodgem or spin you loads on the Waltzer. (speaking of teenage years at the fair now) not when I was a very young child!!

Even as a teenager though- I guess within today's societal norms it seems out of place and inappropriate but then so was me having a crush on Midge Ure!

I was never allowed to go to the fair as a child, my parents worried about the safety of them

My first experience was at uni, at night time, with my best friend who I had a massive crush on. At about the same time as the tv show Sugar Rush which is set in Brighton and the girl fantasies about going on rides with her best friend who she has a massive crush on. The combination of the actual experience and the fictional experience makes it a brilliant memory