Saturday is always the family day at Goose Fair and so today Mandi and I met up with my dad and my nana to have a wander around and have mushy peas (still enjoying our VIP discount) and hot dogs. We have specific places to buy food from and as luck would have it our chosen hot dog stand is right near the (the) mushy pea stall. Mandi doesn't like mushy peas as she isn't from Nottingham but still comes along. 

I am full of cold at the moment but it wasn't going to stop me, I'm not one of your man-flu types who stops everything to be poorly. Painkillers are there for a reason and that is to numb yourself to whatever pain you are in and get on with your life, it's never done me any harm - apart from the time Mandi insisted I go to the walk in centre because I thought I was having a stroke. Funny story.

The morning started for me with taking Jack for a walk and then recording this week's podcast, and by the time we were ready to leave the house I was eager to get to the fair like all good Nottingham folk. I was careful though when it came to my sampling of the delights of fairground food, because I didn't want to be too heavy for the hanging on a bar challenge (top picture). It seemed pretty easy in passing, simply hang from the bar for two minutes and win £20. I didn't just go charging in full of fuck thinking I would be able to do it, I studied the situation first and watched a few people trying it first. The muscle men were at a disadvantage because although strong they are also heavy so the strain of holding all of your body weight isn't such a problem for the smaller people; a slender woman or a child had the biggest chance and although I am neither one of these things I felt that I could give it a go. There had to be a catch of course and wondered if the bar was wet or slimy, or if an electric shock was administered but there was apparently no trickery. One of the biggest problems appeared to be the pressure of having a crowd of people watching you so I decided I would either look away or close my eyes. What I did discover though was that the bar moved. Had it been solid I would have lasted longer but it rotated which made it difficult to keep your grip and I didn't win the twenty pounds, I would have only spent it on mushy peas.

The Sunday Alternative Podcast #57 is available from here

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October Housekeeping

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