I woke up a bit too late this morning to do my usual advertising blast for the podcast and had a bit of a struggle to get into gear. The feeling of sluggishness didn't really shake off until we left the house to go to my dad's house. My dad and I had arranged to go and see the progress of Goose Fair afterwards so I knew that the podcast wasn't going to get much attention until the early evening. Part of me worried a bit because Sunday can be a quiet social media day especially at the time when people are in the pub or sleeping off their lunches. My fears were unfounded though as I did the usual tweeting and Facebook-ing while stopping occasionally to hit the refresh button on the counter which gave me a warm feeling every time the numbers went up. As long as I tag the artists in I think I'm okay to be honest because they will (the majority at least) share this among their fans, in the three quarters of an hour I spent on the advertising blitz the podcast had already racked up a few hundred hits which was pleasing.
Goose Fair is almost ready to roll now which is good news considering it opens on Wednesday. The way they work is impressive when you think about it, most of the personnel have spent their entire life working in this environment and probably can't read or write but give them a roller coaster in kit form and they can knock it up blindfolded. A lot of people think (this is a prejudiced idea of the travelling fair) that the rides are unsafe somehow but the reality is that you are safer on a funfair than at a theme park. Goose Fair operates for five days and then gets packed away so there is the opportunity to repair and replace parts and keep things ticking over, a permanent theme park such as Alton Towers is far more dangerous, a statistic that I am only guessing at but nothing tragic has ever happened (in my memory at least) involving Goose Fair rides. In June this year a serious incident at Alton Towers occurred and might be because the rides stand there for years and if a washer wears out nobody will notice whereas every nut and bolt is accounted for by the people putting up and taking down the rides at Goose Fair.
The Sunday Alternative Podcast #57 is available from here.
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September housekeeping
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