Saturday 11 December 2010

1633 Winter weather and a fairground

There is only one subject of the day, the continued cold weather and snow storms. That parts of Britain have come to a standstill over the week is not only the subject of news and discussion programmes but the cause for some humour across Europe and in North America. As previously explained because it is twenty years since this level of winter occurred, Local authorities have adopted to the policy of maintaining staff, vehicles and supplies of grit and salt for what has been an average year. Because the snow has fallen at great speed and not always in areas and times predicted and authorities have attempted to conserve and make best use of the their resources some areas have been badly hit and in general the emphasis is upon keeping the main road arteries, the railways and the airports open. This has the consequence that that other roads and pavements are being ignored. Mind you I remember times past when with any snowfall householders would be out clearing the pavements in front of their homes as well as pathways from gate to front door and outside of garages and their vehicles.

When I got up this morning around 8.30 there had been an overnight snowfall, less than an inch, but it had settled and given the freezing temperature which remained - 4 for the greater part of the morning it was like walking on glass when I decided to go out. It was close to 11am before I did so, having first sorted out the curtaining once more and washed up before completed the Blog for yesterday. My reason for the outing, apart from some exercise, was to buy more of cherries for the weekend, after collecting the free Metro newspaper from the bus station.

I wrapped up well with a paid of trousers over track suit bottoms, and a house jacket under the double layered outdoor coat, scarf and fake fur hat. l also took a walking stick with a good rubber end piece to assist with the walking, deciding to take short and slow steps, but even doing this there were beginnings of slips until reaching a roadway where sun and traffic had cleared. This was safer and easier than the pavement. Even in the main shopping street where the surface appeared wet there were very slippy parts where extra care had to be taken. I should have got my walking boots kept at the back of the car.

It was definitely time for a bacon roll and coffee at the Ship and Royal. In contrast to my previous two visits the inn was half full and the single assistant was run off her feet. Two ladies were waiting before me and another two came in and by passed the mini queue to the second counter area so we had to move forward to establish our position. The assistant mentioned that she had only two lots of bacon left. The first two ladies wanted the breakfast and coffee and as they sat at the table adjacent to mine I was able to see that it comprised a tomato and egg, bacon and sausage and hash brown for £3.50. I still think the bacon roll and coffee is the best value at only £1.50 is half the price of a coffee at some motorway service areas. I assumed from what the assistant had said I would miss out would have to settle for a coffee and a muffin for the same price but the assistant she said I could have the last bacon roll and indeed she brought it at the same time as she giving the ladies their coffee their coffee. She then brought my roll, followed by the coffee, and then the cooked breakfasts for the ladies. It was a very welcome treat before the climb back over the slippy surface, although things had improved a little where the sun was having some effect.

Over lunch time after watching the news and Bargain Hunt I watched the double episode of Trial and Retribution. In between the two one hour programmes I made lunch of salmon fish cakes and beans followed by cherries and then for tea had not one but two hot cross buns, unable to resist the offer of two packs of six for 80p close to supermarket the doorway, as I took the escalators and walkthrough to save climbing part of the hill.

Fatal accidents at Fairground rides are rare and there is greater likelihood of a road accident, so that given this fact I found disturbing that an accident which proved to be manslaughter (technically girlslaughter), was the subject of this double parter. In 2006 there were five fatalities and this led to a £100000 study which concluded that public behaviour was the main problem and increasingly some young people were not following the safety rules.

The ingredients of this story, The Ghost Train were familiar with a developer and the owner of the site, wanting to reuse land for housing in a deal worth 4.5 million but where the stumbling block was the fair which had a long standing contract to over Winter as well as a two week money making season. The fair owner was being offered £100000 inconvenience money for a move to a new site which had been found for them so everyone stood to gain, so I was not really clear why there was a problem.

It was also evident that the villain was a new European. No longer is the enemy Russian or Chinese, Irish or Muslim, but a central European, that is those who now run teenage sex slave prostitution and drug rackets in our towns and cities, and worse still successfully compete for our jobs because they work longer and harder. They are new baddies but still third to bankers and paedophiles. I was amused to see that Gordon Brown and the Labour Government have decided to follow the lead of President Obama and call for a curb on the incomes of Bankers who accept public money to prevent bankruptcy. It is about time too that bankers are treated as paedophiles given the quantity of harm they are causing

Fortunately I quickly worked out that the developer and money grabbing site owner were red herrings in this plot which was about feelings of inadequacy, jealousy and family tribalism.

Two silly teenagers are thrilled when two fairground employees take an interest and one dies when she falls from the top of the Ferris wheel after standing up and the safety bar gives way. This is treated as an accident until the clairvoyant wife of the fairground owner calls upon an estranged relative and police detective with the claim that the death was not accidental

I have two levels of knowledge about Romany’s and casual labour young men travel with fairs and circuses. When I worked as an Assistant Director of Social Services with Cheshire County Council 1971-1974 I was asked to represent the department a high powered County Committee of officers to establish the first official site for travellers in the country and we were advised by a representative of the travellers. In those enlightened days before the first Thatcher government Cheshire a High Tory council had the bright idea that if public money was to be used to create a site for travellers it might be a good idea to consult them about what would encourage them to use it. The Romany are a proud people with their own culture and code of honour and are not to be confused with the young men who take casual work at fairs in order to prey on silly young girls. I said I had two levels of knowledge because it was not unknown for girls in care as well as from the wider community who try and escape from their existing lives by running off with someone working at a travelling fair or circus. However for every one that does so I suspect there are a hundred or more who sets out with this intention, but only achieve a quick grope behind a caravan, a sexually transmitted diseases and an unwanted pregnancy.

In the film the organised nephew of fair owner becomes upset when the central European rubs his nose that he is able to take the teenager he fancies along with anything wearing a skirt that takes his fancy. He devises as plan to tamper with the safety mechanism and the climb the frame to rescue the girl and stake his claim over the central European. The central European spots the action and sets of the wheel and sets off himself to rescue the girl, when the other girl incites her friend to stand up, directly leading to the tragedy.

It is not unreasonable for the wife of the fairground owner to believe the death is part of a plot to force them out as this is but one of a series of incidents over the previous days of their visit. However she withdraws her complaint on finding that her nephew was the actual cause of the death when first her husband warns her and then the central European, already offered £10000 to help the developer by persuading the fair owner to leave decides to blackmail the couple for another £5000. The fair owner collapses and dies from a long standing heart complaint and then his widow decides to fake the death as murder and plant the evidence to convict the central European. Being a central European who thinks with his trousers, he must ignore the reality of half a dozen detectives on the case and pursue a course which will lead to his death.

There was plenty of froth to fill the two hours at the end of which I concluded I had wasted the time, but I was not in the mood for project or other work, or for playing games against the computer.

The evening meal was a concoction of chicken soup, dry crackers with pickle spreads and a bread and butter pudding followed by coffee. This comforting eating failed to raise spirits, nor did a light hearted Pie in the Sky and an unmemorable Poirot. My usual placid nature could not cope with this week’s group stage of American idol. About three quarters the hour was used in prefabricated disputes between a handful of wannabes which I ignored turning down the sound, This left less than fifteen minutes to assess the comparative merits of the remaining 100, two thirds of which survive to the last day of the week when they will pruned further to the 36 to be assessed to make the performing finals was an unproductive and dispiriting day
Earlier I listened to some Puccini

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