We’ve somehow managed to get
Sunday lunch at my dad’s house moved back to a two o’clock arrival time, which
frees up my morning to do some more publicity admin for the two radio shows of
mine that air on a Sunday. Just a Minute
has been replaced by a show called The Museum of Curiosity,
which is an enjoyable enough show but isn’t as laugh out loud funny as Just a Minute, The Unbelievable Truth,
or I’m Sorry I Haven’t A Clue so it kind of
dampened my Sunday morning. I say morning; it is noon when the comedy shows go
out. The American show has two broadcast times over the weekend, so I tend to
cater it towards the Sunday broadcast, which is one o’clock in the afternoon
over there and six o’clock in the evening over here. It’s pretty cool because
it finishes just as The Sunday Alternative
starts, in fact I used to say on the American show that I am on live straight
after The Sound Of Nottingham UK but I don’t
now simply because Trent Sound have a problem with me mentioning other work I
do, so it would be wrong to mention Trent Sound as they want to be insular and
exist in a Trent Sound bubble. While I’m listening to Radio Four I do all the
advertising for the shows on Twitter and Facebook (remember Facebook? It’s
making an inexplicable comeback) for later, and also check my emails which is
pretty easy on a Sunday because people don’t email at the weekend.
Mandi wasn’t feeling well this
morning, so I went on my own to my dad’s. After lunch we went to Goose Fair for
one last look around. We actually went to have a look at what we thought was
going to be a photography exhibition about the history of Goose Fair, but in
reality was just a handful of photographs and posters on the wall of the café.
There was some interesting stuff there; a photographer I can’t remember the
name of had gained the trust of the travelling fairground community and been
allowed to take pictures of various people in their homes. Their lifestyle has
always fascinated me, there’s something romantic about the nomadic lifestyle of
the travelling fairground that really appeals to me. There seems to be a sense
of community that is seldom seen in ‘real life’; when did you last speak to
your next door neighbour or someone down your street? I would have loved to
have been born into that lifestyle and been passed down the traditional values
that communal life on the road brings with it. The arrival of Goose Fair is
something that makes Nottingham tremble with anticipation in the run up every
year, when the lorries start arriving on the forest and the rides are carefully
assembled and you can walk through on a daily basis to witness the progress of
your annual fair. The fair itself is an exciting event with the sounds and
smells associated with it. We have that pleasure for four and a half days and
then it is all over for another year. How can people not get excited by it?
These people don’t deserve to live in Nottingham, we should be proud of what we
have.
The ‘Goose Fair fund’ jars are re-started for
another year, we have Bonfire Night to look forward to (another excuse to eat
mushy peas and mint sauce) and Christmas is just around the corner. As soon as
the fair closes on Sunday they start work on pulling everything down. There’s
only one more fair to do for the season, before they take up residence in
Nottingham for the winter. I often walk past their site and see fairground
rides wrapped in tarpaulin and a sea of caravans and would love to go in and
ask if I can join them and say goodbye to real life. The reality is that the
dogs would probably chase me out of the camp.
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I’m raising money to make a film about The Sunday Alternative and put on a free screening, please read my latest newsletter.
I’m raising money to make a film about The Sunday Alternative and put on a free screening, please read my latest newsletter.
