The Naming Of Dogs...

I started thinking about this over the past week, since Freddy passed away on 18 October. Why? Well, every time I mentioned him, I was able to give a different name. All variations on a theme, and he responded to them all, bless his cotton socks.

Annie

We need to go back a few years, of course, as the dogs in my grown-up life have all had names which, for want of a better word, evolved over the years. Annie was Ian's absolutely gorgeous blue merle Border Collie. Her name was a suggestion from Ian's mum, Janet. Annie was a nice enough name but Ian decided that it was short for Antonia. Being a blue merle, it was probably inevitable that her surname would be Specklehound. However, I remain unsure where her middle name came from. It wasn't long before she became Antonia Floripedes Specklehound...

Joey - you can see the mischief in his eyes...

When Annie was taken from us, far too early thanks to a rare and virulent form of doggy cancer, Ian vowed: no more doggies for a fair old while, no boy doggies and definitely no puppies. Which is probably why, just four weeks later, Ian headed off to the other side of Wales to pick up - you guessed it - a male Border Collie puppy. The last in the litter, from an advert placed by a sheep farmer, so clearly neither the best of the bunch nor a natural sheepdog. But along came Joey. Or, to give him his full name, Joseph Ffairfach Nathan Jones. A fine name indeed! So how did this one come about? Well, it was the week before Christmas (hence Joseph), the farm was near Ffairfach and the farmer's name was Jones. This didn't take Ian long to come up with (and it was a long drive home, so plenty of time to ponder). I added the Nathan; Bananarama have a lot to answer for ;-)

Freddy Dingo

Joey didn't take kindly to being an only child, so the following spring we headed off to the Border Collie Trust to find him a playmate - or at least something to chew on other than the furniture... Folks - if you are looking for a Collie, this is the place to come! They interview you first about your experience with dogs, your living situation and working pattern - everything that would affect the choice of dog they would introduce you to. As it turned out, the first dog they brought out was Freddy! We saw a couple of others as well, but we ended up going back to their first recommendation. They had asked us to bring Joey along, and we put them together in the play area. They hit it off immediately - and so we welcomed hairy kid #2 into the family! His name was Prince, and it is best to rename a rescue dog in case their original name has negative connotations. Some simple word association and we had his new name: Freddy! Need a clue? Well, we'd watched the Scooby Doo movie not long before...

Freddy's favourite place!

One day, a few weeks later, we were walking the dogs when an Australian guy passed by, saw Freddy and commented "That's a mighty fine dingo you've got there!" - and so plain old Freddy became the rather lovely Freddy Dingo! Dog name evolution kicked in and it transpired that Freddy was, in fact, short for Federico. Not Frederico, which would have been easier to explain, of course, but you'd have to ask Ian why there was no "r" after the "f". He was studying Spanish at the time. And French. And Italian. And Portuguese. Perhaps that had something to do with it? More confusion was to come, and Freddy's full name eventually became Federico Dingo Dingo Dog. He was also known as Mr Dingo, but you had to pronounce it "Meeeeesta Deeeeeeengo" with your best Speedy Gonzales impersonation. And yes - he'd happily come running no matter which name you called him with!

...and what a nap partner Freddy was!

Two dogs became too much for our small terraced house, so we made the switch to rental and moved into a lovely four-bed semi in the middle of nowhere (more or less) with a massive garden. Just as well, really, as hairy kid #3 joined us a couple of years later. 

A last-minute change of plans, a switch to an earlier train home after a conference, and Ian hears the whiny sounds of an unhappy puppy. He goes to investigate under the guise of a trip to the loo. It's a gorgeous Siberian Husky, on his way down to a flat in London with new owners. New owners who have never had a dog before. Ian has a chat and gives them his card in case they have problems.

And then there were three!

Two weeks later; a phone call, a trip to a motorway service station and lo! Hairy kid #3 has arrived, albeit with a cat's food bowl, a bag of adult dog food and a very disgruntled expression on his face. His previous owners had obviously not done even the most basic research into the breed, leaving him alone in their flat all day then wondering why he ripped up all their furniture. Rule one: Huskies are pack animals and should never be left on their own. Cody (his pedigree certificate naming him Prince of Dream was shredded immediately) was now with his fourth owners after just a few months. Unfortunately, we had a holiday in Canada planned. The other two were off into kennels, but we managed to find some friends who could give Cody their undivided attention while we were away.

And so the name evolution process began once more. Cody was fine, of course, but it turns out it was short for Codias or, sometimes, Codiac. His previous name had been Alex, which was relegated to being his middle name, although we changed it to the grander Alexander. And the surname: this was where the holiday in Canada came in handy. We drove past the ice rink of a local hockey team, the Timberwolves. Well! Huskies are genetically close to wolves, sharing more wolf-like traits than other dogs, and Timberwolf would make a fine surname. But it didn't quite sound right. Cody is a saddleback, mainly white, but with a grey patch on his back. Just then, a certain song came on the radio, and so Cody finally became Codias Alexander Timberlake. When we got back, we told him his new name. He didn't seem that bothered, unless use of that name resulted in him getting food.

Sonny in his natural habitat

Times change, and the hairy kids ended up on a livestock farm down in Devon at the Edge of Exmoor. Joey was finally back in his puppyhood environment and actually showed some natural instinct when introduced to the sheep. And, inevitably, along came hairy kid #4. One of the young farm dogs wasn't getting along with his doggy daddy, and so Sonny joined the gang. Now, this was a tricky one, as Sonny was his accepted name. Not to be outdone, Ian interpreted this as "Sunny" and so he became known as Sunshine Superhound! Well, he is rather splendid to watch as he rounds up the sheep.

So there we go! The Ians got rather used to the four-dog situation, and Ian F has always wanted more. Now, with Freddy's sad demise, there is a vacancy - in our hearts as well as in the kitchen at lights-out time. No doubt, once a new hairy kid has been adopted, the whole doggy name evolution process will start once more.

Summer-y

Well! Summer has been and gone without a single blog post, so here's a little review of the highlights (thanks to Chris for the titular pun!)...

After some of the hottest July days on record, it was a relief when the good weather stayed for Hannah and Jamie's wedding. A perfect day all round, and a great example of what can be done when you decide to do things yourselves and apply some lateral thinking to the whole day. After a beautiful Church service, the happy couple were whisked away to the reception in a converted VW camper van, welcomed by the sound of everyone singing "All You Need Is Love" to the delightful tones of David and his Ukulele band. Hay bales covered in colourful blankets abounded on the lawns surrounding the community centre, where we drank Pimms and enjoyed a barbecue, chatting with friends old and new. Dessert was, quite literally, delivered out of the back of a van - an ice cream van serving home-made delights. The traditional layered cake was replaced by layers of cheese wheels and a Commitments-style band had the happy crowd jiving into the night. Lanie gave me a guided tour of the decorated community centre - all home-made decorations, which looked superb.

Let's Twist Again? Soon, perhaps...

Then came the end of the school year. True to form, the blistering sunshine lasted until lunchtime and the well-deserved staff barbecue was a typically British rain-splattered affair. Two days left until the weekend? Time for some annual leave. Back down to Margate for a second visit to the newly-restored Dreamland, and it was looking lovely! The Scenic Railway was testing with a half-finished train; just two makeshift seats on the second carriage so that the on-train brakes could be put through the their paces and the sensor system could be tested. The trains are still being made, apparently. David Littleboy's restoration team have installed their Speedway ride - a true Rock 'n' Roll classic, which was being managed by a highly enthusiastic young team. It was great to see such a vintage ride  being so popular with the youngsters. A newly-restored Grasscutter Twist has now replaced the modern version that was present at the opening; it wasn't running as the safety bar system had to be replaced, but it looks the part...

On the Cliff Lift with Rosie and Pete!

Next stop was Hastings, or rather St Leonards on Sea, for a first visit to see the sis and bro-in-law in their new apartment. Well, I did see it on moving day, but to see it now, after a very determined Rosie sorted out carpets, soft furnishings, a new kitchen and pretty much everything else, was a delight! And that telly! Wow! Oh yes - there's a lovely view of the sea from the living room... We tried out one of the Curry Houses on the Friday night, while the heavens opened outside. Door to door taxi rides, even though it's only a ten minute walk? Well, we'd otherwise have either dissolved in the torrential rain, been zapped by lightning or been blown out to sea by the gusting wind. That's our excuse ;-)

Hastings - really rather lovely!

Saturday morning was the calm after the storm, and clear blue skies encouraged us to wander down into Hastings for breakfast, followed by a truly touristy walk around the old town. Rides on the cliff lifts, with a sneaky latte at the top. A tour of the fishing area and the RNLI lifeboat (and yes! I really did buy Christmas cards from their shop). A look at the miniature railway and small but welcoming funfair, the boating lake with the swan-shaped pedal boats. Finally, fish and chips for lunch, sitting outside (of course). I wish I had had my camera at the ready as we left our table; within seconds, five or six gulls had demolished everything on the table. Scraps of food snatched up in eager beaks, crockery smashed by wildly flapping wings - I'm surprised they waited until we had actually finished...

Prize-winning onions!!

The school holidays no longer mean the best part of six weeks marking books and planning for the
year ahead. Instead, I'm faffing about knee-deep in MySQL and PHP with 28 days of annual leave. Of course, I had to take a couple of days out to pop down to Devon. It's always a treat to see the Ians, the hounds, the cattle and sheep. In that order? Mostly... This visit coincided with the North Devon Show, and we had a great time wandering around and admiring everyone's livestock. This is a true community event - everyone seemed to know everyone else and we were stopping to chat with people every few minutes.

The other key Devon-based event was getting Ian F interested in (take a deep breath now...) Social Media! It was weaning time down on t'farm, and this meant taking the lambs and ewes down from the top fields to the main farm, sending them down the race and through the dreaded whittling gate, then taking the lambs (on their own) back up to their new field. So - I started broadcasting this momentous occasion on Periscope, with which you can broadcast whatever you are doing to the Internet, allowing anyone to watch, enter comments and (if they like what they see) tap their screens to send you a heart (Periscope's version of "Likes"). Before long, people from around the world were watching the sheep: "Hi from New Zealand", "Hello from Texas" - the messages and questions kept popping up on the screen. Sonny always got loads of heart-likes when was made the focus. Then one of my followers from Turkey popped up and said "Hello from Istanbul" - to which Ian F replied "Hello" - but in Turkish (well, he is learning the language at the moment). Then followed a conversation between Ian, in the wilds of North Devon, driving sheep along a narrow country lane, and a guy in Istanbul - in Turkish. I think it must have been the overall surrealist nature of the encounter, but when I got home - lo! - Ian F was on Twitter!

So - who is better-suited to Kinky Boots?

Back home and back to work, with just a few theatre trips to keep me sane! My theatre buddy
Charmain and I managed to get awesome seats for the first preview of Kinky Boots at The Adelphi in London. The show is a musical based on the film based on the true story of a men's shoe factory in Northampton that is saved from closure by a chance encounter between Charlie (the reluctant heir to the factory) and the drag queen Lola, whose heels keep breaking. Charlie realises that he can diversify into making high-heeled boots for men - and so the fun begins! The show exceeded all my expectations and is (Shock! Horror!) my new favourite West End musical (sorry Book of Mormon). The music, by Cyndi Lauper, covers a range of musical styles, with highly hummable tunes and witty lyrics. The choreography by Jerry Mitchell is superb - the Act I finale, with the conveyor belts (I'll say no more) is sheer genius! The show flows so smoothly, and the stage adaptation allows the subtler moments of the film to shine through. Kinky Boots is Killian Donnelly's third headline show - I was lucky to see him as Deco in The Commitments and Huey in Memphis, and he is perfectly suited to the role of Charlie. I don't think I have seen a musical actor with such stage presence before. Matt Henry plays Lola, and he is a revelation - so much sass, and he handles those high heels perfectly. Looking forward to seeing it a few more times ;-)

The other theatre outings were Book of Mormon (well, I did win the Mormon Lottery) and Briefs - the "Boy-lesque" show at London Wonderground. Six very, erm, talented gay guys who performed all sorts of circus/dance/comedy acts, mostly wearing very, very little. Let's just say I'll never look at a yo-yo quite the same way again. And as for the ending of the "Dog Show" act, well - I really hope it was some kind of optical illusion, but I haven't been able to work out how it could be, unfortunately. No spoilers - but it was a brilliant demonstration of how this sextet of performers were able whip up the audience into a frenzy, as that act got a huge round of applause and loads of cheers. It was quite something! I'd highly recommend this show - but don't sit too close to the stage. Oh yes - the raffle prize is well worth winning!

Finally - I did manage to squeeze into one of Jeremy Corbyn's rallys. Does that count as theatre? I get the feeling the coming weeks will be...

Dreamland rises from the ashes - part two

Seeing the new wood going up on the Scenic Railway was such a delight! There were time-lapse videos on the new Dreamland website, pictures from the park and, of course, us enthusiasts were discussing it all on the Save Dreamland Campaign forum. A slight setback in the early stages saw some of the bents being blown over, bents being the vertical support sections that are joined together horizontally to form a rigid structure. Time was made up nice and quickly, however, and the structure of the Scenic was finished well before the park was due to open. The Scenic is now listed as Grade II*, which means it has been moved from Grade II ("special interest warranting every effort to preserve them.") and is now considered by English Heritage to be a "particularly important building of more than special interest." Only 5.5% of listed buildings are Grade II*. The Dreamland Cinema, which is also undergoing restoration, is also listed at Grade II* - so much history in one small site!

On the All The Fun of the Fair forum, we were following the progress of some of the rides undergoing a full restoration by David Littleboy and his team: A set of Gallopers (four-abreast, no less), the Zodiac Jets that were once toured by Carters' Steam Fair, a rather rare double-decker juvenile roundabout, with a circle of rockets on the upper deck and a selection of scooters (of the motorbike variety) to be attached to the lower platform (giving rise to the name "Mods and Rockets") and a lovely Dodgem track. These rides were all delivered in plenty of time and in perfect order - they looked absolutely superb. You can read more about David's restoration projects on his website.

Now a word about campaigners and volunteers. We're an interesting bunch of people - just ask anyone who has to co-ordinate volunteers within an organisation where most people are paid to do their jobs! We don't expect anything special as a result of our efforts, but we do like to be treated fairly and with a modicum of respect. I sure as flip didn't expect what happened when the tickets went on sale: A two-hour priority booking session for Margate residents only, for the limited opening day tickets, with the resulting possibility that I would end up not being able to go to the opening day I had been working towards for a decade. Annoyed? Just a little! Then, it was revealed that the first 50 people to buy their tickets in person would get a special souvenir of the original Scenic Railway wood - being a Friday, that meant people who lived close enough to the park to buy their tickets in person - i.e. not me! The final straw was the Heart 103.1 competition to win the chance to be on the first public ride of the Scenic Railway - every enthusiast's dream. Guess what? Only open to Margate residents. I finally got my opening day admission ticket, but I have to say that this was an absolute snub to the many campaign members who weren't local. As I said, I didn't take part in the campaign for any kind of special treatment, but I certainly didn't expect to be actively discriminated against! Still - at least Dreamland will be open once more...

So the great day dawned! The Thursday had been such a lovely day that I found a place at a nearby hotel and drove down in the evening sunshine. I got to Dreamland shortly after 9.00am and, as I drove into the Dreamland car park, one thought entered my mind: "They are doing this RIGHT!". The sight was truly impressive, and the Scenic Railway was just - perfect! All new wood, left in its natural colour, and with the profile just as I remember it in the old days. The big wheel added the perfect finishing touch to the skyline of the park - even with dear old Arlington House poking up just to the right.

The Waveswinger

Security and press members were out in force - I was simply nodded into the park by the security guards on the entrance under the Scenic Railway turnaround. And the sight was quite something! So many people working flat out to make sure the opening went ahead. The hi-vis vest and hard hat brigade spraying tar and laying gravel, cementing-in fences and filling the tyres around the kiddies pedal-car track with sand; technicians were musing over the half-finished Waveswinger ride (sporting the well-chosen colour scheme used throughout the park); ride and customer attendants were lugging piles of boxes to and fro, dressed in retro chic. And they were (almost) all smiling and joking! The atmosphere was so incredibly positive that I wandered around with a huge smile on my face, wondering whether I should offer to lend an hand!

It was clear that several of the rides weren't going to be open in time, but this was more a problem thanks to "Scrappage-gate", as mentioned in the previous blog. Substitute rides had to be found at relatively short notice, so any issues with these rides would inevitably mean a delay. The trains for the Scenic Railway weren't ready, which was unfortunate, but thanks to the arson attack, the ride could not be regarded as having been in constant use since the park closed, hence new safety aspects had to be incorporated. The trains are coming along nicely and will look just fine when finished - and it is very sensible not to rush such important things!

As far as the workers were concerned, they had
to get the park into a state in which the public could enter and walk around in complete safety, so fencing off the incomplete aspects of the park was the priority this morning - and they were going for it hell-for-leather. I was pleased to bump into David Littleboy - all of the rides he and his team restored were tested and ready to run, including the Four-Abreast Gallopers built by Savages of King's Lynn many years ago. I heard a few tales from the past twenty-four hours, and my admiration for those still hard at work increased a hundredfold!

Even the Hook-a-Duck needed TLC

It was getting close to the 10.00am opening time, so I made a last tour of the site, keeping out of the way of the tipper trucks carrying yet more gravel to finish off the walkways, and watching out for people carting food to the catering units in the rather tasteful Food Court. I had another chat with a chap who had worked at Dreamland for many years. Like me, he was so pleased to see the park finally re-opening. Given the last-minute rush, it almost seemed to be a better idea to delay the opening, but then this is simply weekend number one, and the park was due to be closed from Monday to Friday of the following week - plenty of time to get these problems sorted. Treat this weekend as the preview weekend, I thought - and we all know that previews don't always go as planned.

Back at the entrance, a large, red ribbon was being installed across the entrance under the Scenic Railway turnaround. A raised platform was filled with TV cameras - members of the press had been wandering freely around the site all morning! A small crowd had gathered, but it was clear that a 10.00am opening wasn't going to happen. Out came a delightful group of entertainers! I think the theme was Cockneys on a Day Out as they started a sing-a-long. "Oh! I do like to be beside the seaside" and "My old man!", with some songs that had clearly been written for the occasion! It might have been more convincing if they all knew all the words to "Oh! I do like to be beside the seaside", bless 'em, but they were so enthusiastic you couldn't help but sing along! You could see the tipper trucks racing out of the park behind all the colour and bustle, and just before 11.00am the speeches and ribbon-cutting ceremony began! The crowd behind me had grown quite impressively by this time. And then the magical moment - the public were finally allowed to enter the park that had, ten years before, looked likely to end up under flats for commuters.

All I could think was how perfectly the plans were being realised. There were a fair few rough edges, but looking at the park as a whole, it was abundantly clear exactly how great this park is going to be. The pastel shades used in the designs by Wayne Hemingway are just - perfect. There are so many of those little touches that many people may not even notice, but which make you feel good on a subconscious level. Things like using the same colour wood in the ride walkways and fences as used in the Scenic Railway - it brings a sense of cohesion. Take the Jets and the Scenic side-by-side in the picture on the left - it just works! The Jets may be a travelling ride, designed to be moved from place to place on a weekly basis, but the addition of the wooden platforms and fences turns the ride into a static park model that looks completely at home here in Dreamland. The ride operators and other support staff are wearing T-shirts with classic slogans such as "Scream if you want to go faster" and "Put your hands in the air!", with those familiar pastel shades as drop-shadows. And they were the most enthusiastic and just plain jolly ride operators I have seen. Despite the cloud I arrived under, with the dreadful booking experience, I couldn't stop grinning from ear to ear - the atmosphere was one of pure joy (well, for most of us). There were some rides closed - the Scenic, of course, and, rather disappointingly, the big wheel. But I knew I'd be going back from the moment I entered - and everything will be running then.

Messham's Wall of Death was in attendance, which means that I had seen this version and Ken Fox's within a week of each other. As usual, the show was very loud, fast-paced and utterly thrilling. When you have two bikers riding the wall, overtaking each other and zooming up to within inches of the top, you can't help but be drawn in by the spectacle. And, of course, every performance was packed out and the crowds were generous with their donations to the "insurance fund" at the end. Once of the aims of the park is to bring back the attractions that have featured in Dreamland over the decades, and the Wall of Death was a major feature at the park in the 1960s, when the star of the show was Yvonne Stagg.

The Dodgems, Spinning Wild Mouse, Jumping Pirate Boats, Helter-Skelter, Twister, Gallopers, Jets and (temporary) Waveswinger were running full all day. There were some lovely juvenile rides as well, and the restored pedal cars and push-bikes were hugely popular with the younger visitors. Once the Big Wheel, Caterpillar, Kiddie Coaster, monorail, "proper" Waveswinger and the Scenic Railway are running, this park is truly going to have something for everyone!

The Food Court and bandstand

Another nice touch is the open space! There are plenty of seating areas, sensibly using astroturf underfoot rather than grass that would be subject to wear, tear, too much water and too little water. Giant deckchairs provide great photo opportunities and well as a novel place to relax. There is also a huge emphasis on up-cycling. So much of the old wood removed from the Scenic Railway has been used to build huge wooden signs, stalls and other features. Old arcade machines have been gutted and turned into shelf units. There is even an illuminated sculpture made out of random inert gas tube lights...

And then there is the arcade building! This houses the Roller Disco which has a beautiful wooden floor, a huge mirror ball and a great sound system. The seating is 50's Diner-style, with a Pizzeria and bar, all opening out into the main seating area. The information/ticket stall is here, together with the Dreamland Emporium, where a most impressive range of souvenirs is available for purchase. Pleasingly, there is plenty to buy at the lower end of the price range - and I must say I'm tempted to get a "Scream if you want to go faster" tea towel next time I go! The souvenirs feature that pastel colour scheme, but there is also a range of custom crockery and plate settings, mugs and other household bits and pieces. Good use has been made of the original wood from the Scenic here as well, with a range of upcycled wooden souvenirs for all budgets.

Oh dear - sounds like I'm slipping into fanboy mode. But that's the truth of it - I had such a great time I just can't wait to get back. As I left the park at the end of the afternoon session, a huge queue had already built up for the evening Hullabaloo - featuring Chas & Dave and Marina & the Diamonds, among others. And this is the last thing that made me think that this park is going to do well - events! There is plenty of room left, and once the rides that are still undergoing restoration have been added, there is the Hall by the Sea ballroom waiting to be restored (and The Rolling Stones played there once) and the possibility of a permanent outdoor event arena. As I drove out of the car park, the tracer lights on the Scenic Railway were twinkling away - Dreamland really is going to be a magical place!

Dreamland rises from the ashes

Scenic Railway, Gt Yarmouth

...quite literally!

I've been a roller coaster enthusiast for more years than I care to remember, right from that very first ride on the Scenic Railway at the then Botton Brothers park at Great Yarmouth, when I ended up having four repeat rides as I just didn't want to get off. The second drop, plunging underneath the superstructure, was the biggest drop on the ride and I just couldn't get enough of it!

Since then, I've been on some of the tallest and fastest rides on the planet, but I still love the classic rides that form the rich heritage of the roller coaster. One of which is, of course, the Scenic Railway at Dreamland, Margate. Like the ride at Great Yarmouth, it has flanged wheels on a raised wooden track with a metal running surface on the top; an on-train brake is operated by some lucky so-and-so who gets to sit on the train all day long. No under-track upstop wheels here - any airtime you get is real airtime, although the track was profiled so as not to cause the wheels to rise too far off the running surface. When Dreamland was under the management of the Bembom Brothers, the Scenic

All run down and ready for housing in 2004

Railway held its own against the more modern Schwartzkopf Looping Star. Subsequent owners, however, appeared more keen to let the place run down and build houses; the more popular rides were removed, fires took an arcade building and the Waltzer, ugly steel fencing was erected so close to the Scenic Railway it felt more like a prison camp than an amusement park (although the amount of weed-ridden empty space belied the amusement aspect quite nicely). Then, of course, in went the planning permission to bulldoze the entire site and build houses for the inevitable commuters that the new HS1 high-speed rail link to London would attract.

Except some of us weren't so keen on that idea. The Save Dreamland Campaign was born, and our

The Gala Evening - final rides in 2004

champion, Nick Laister, among others, worked with the powers-that-be to get the Scenic Railway Grade II listed status. It was, after all, the oldest operating roller coaster in the country (built in 1921) and had many features that made it worth preserving. Sadly, the planning permission merely adapted to this scenario and had the Scenic Railway stranded in the middle of a new housing estate. On the final day of operation in 2004, we were there to ride the Scenic one last time (or several last times). The trains were flying around the track, which made the evening even more poignant.

Flying round the track...

Since that final ride, the fate of Dreamland and the Scenic Railway was in the middle of a fair old battle. An arson attack failed to destroy more than a third of the ride, which meant that it retained its Grade II listing. Eventually, a Compulsory Purchase Order was served and the site was saved for use as an amusement park. In the meantime, the Save Dreamland Campaign had developed and the new Dreamland Trust had secured funding from a range of sources to reinvent Dreamland as a Heritage Amusement Park, featuring rides that were introduced in the decades since John Henry Iles took an interest in the park back in 1919. Before then, George Sanger had developed the "Hall by the Sea" and added menagerie buildings along the edge of the park backing onto the railway line - the Dreamland site had been a place of entertainment since 1863. Nick Evans' book "Dreamland Remembered" has as full a history of Dreamland as resources allow - and it has been revised to celebrate the re-opening of the park as "Dreamland Revived" - well worth a look!

The "Big Tidy-Up" Day, 30/11/13

After so much wrangling, the arson attack and the dreadful day when a number of vintage rides that had been donated for use in the park were removed from the site and scrapped (shortly before the CPO went through), Dreamland started rising from ashes. An Open Day was held on Saturday 16 November, 2013. A small area of the park had been opened up, plans for the park were on display, cars from the Whip that had been donated by Blackpool Pleasure Beach were attracting plenty of photograph-takers, models of the rides were there to see, many seeds were planted so that people could grow plants that would then be used in the park - a truly positive atmosphere, and an unexpectedly huge crowd turned up, with queues to get in and see the display. It was estimated that 2,000 people walked around that tiny portion of the Dreamland site that day. A couple of weeks later, I was back with a shovel helping to clear a large portion of the block paving - weeds and moss had taken hold, and after a day of hard work, it was clear of vegetation (just looking a little manky).

The Dreamland Expo - packed out! Opening day 2014

In 2014, the Dreamland arcade was turned into an Expo, with samples of the new designs by Wayne Hemingway (wonderful use of pastel shades), restored sections of the rides that survived Scrappage-gate and even more sections of rides that had been brought into the Dreamland project following that fateful day. A collection of restored vintage pinball machines was providing some active fun for all ages, and a cinema showed old film footage of Dreamland in its heyday. So much excitement was being generated...

...and then the work started on the park itself - The Pleasure Gardens. The Scenic Railway needed all its wood replacing. In order to preserve its Grade II listing, the old wood was replaced section by section, so that the new wood stood in the same structure as the old wood - the "Ship of Thebes/Theseus" paradox. All the operating vintage wooden roller coasters in this country will have had the entire structure replaced over the years - it all just happened a little quicker with the Scenic Railway!

So there we go! Things went quiet on the Save Dreamland Campaign front, as the contractors took over. New wood started appearing on the Scenic Railway not long afterwards, and enthusiastic websites, Twitter feeds and Facebook pages appeared, and we eagerly followed the updates from the building site...

In part 2, I'll take you through my experiences on the Grand Opening Day - 19 June 2015!

The Pull-Down mk III: Skid Bits

I couldn't leave this topic without a quick look at The Skid that was pulled-down to be moved into the corner vacated by the Rodeo Switchback at Dingles. This marvellous machine, built in 1937 by Lakins of Streatham, has seen  number of changes over the years, with new rounding boards, trellis and flights all featuring wonderful artwork by Hall and Fowle. I missed most of the pull-down but there was still the centre of the Skid to be dissembled on the Sunday of Operation Rodeo Switchback weekend. This made for a good comparison with Jimmy's trailer-mounted Skid centre.

The skid centre is shown here with the paybox removed. There are fourteen sections, each with a pair of wheels to support the cog; one vertical wheel that supports the cog from below and one horizontal wheel that runs on the inner surface of the cog. The raised platform section covers the drive mechanism, and the huge, red motor can just be seen to the right, with the top of the pulley wheel that is driven directly by the motor poking up behind the raised platform section. The curved green structure to the left of the raised platform is normally fitted over the top of the pulley so that all moving parts are covered.

From another angle, the control system can be seen. The motor and main pulley wheel are on the right, while the red box with the perspex front is the bit that the ride operator uses to control the ride.

Control system - left; drive mechanism - right

The red handle is attached to the knife - when the handle is pushed inwards, the knife engages with the contacts, the ride is powered up and the motor gets to work. The wheel to the right of the knife is used to adjust the regulator. This is basically a large-scale rheostat with ten settings, each setting delivering more power to the motor. The ride is always started with the regulator set to "one" as the power drawn from the generators by this ride is quite something! Top speed for us is setting five, although if the ride is full, then a bit more power may be needed. The pole in the middle supports the roof structure, of course, but the green panel with the ammeter and various knife switches is just for decoration these days.

Now at this stage of the pull-down, Jimmy's skid has the motor, drive mechanism and control mechanism all arranged so that they stay in place. The sides of the centre platform fold upwards and the framework for the cog's support wheels folds underneath to create a towable trailer. The Skid at Dingles has to be completely taken apart. You can certainly see why Jimmy took the time to trailer-mount his ride - the control box is a heavy piece of kit, and the drive motor and mechanism are immense! Time to get the tractor back...

There are three attachment rings on the motor/mechanism sections of the centre frame, and a purpose-built set of chains to lift the machinery up while keeping it more or less horizontal. In this case, all we had to do was move the structure into the corner where the Skid was due to be rebuilt. That was hard enough - I tried to imagine this as being the last stage of the pull-down at night, in the pouring rain on a grass surface. Good call, Jimmy! The rest of the centre framework was then removed, and all we were left with was the bobbin. This is the centrepiece of the Skid from which the whole ride is built. You'll note the piece of carpet on which the bobbin rests.

All the supports that are in contact with the floor are resting on pieces of carpet in a bid to reduce the noise levels that The Skid generates - especially important seeing as the ride is in an enclosed space. With the ride now operating in the corner of the building instead of the middle, the noise intrusion is now a little less than it was before, but with steel wheels clattering around the steel plates, this is always going to be a noisy blighter of a ride, and we wouldn't have it any other way...

The Pull-Down mk II - true vintage!

Well, after all the excitement of helping with the pull-down of Jimmy's Skid last year - twice, no less - I jumped at the opportunity to help pull down one of the oldest rides still operating in the UK.

The first fairground ride I got to operate - Brett's Ghost Train!

I have the Ians to thank for my first visit to Dingles. Not that they came along too - not their thing - but by their moving down to Devon, I was finally in the same county when I went to visit them! Dingles is the permanent museum for the Fairground Heritage Trust. As a vintage fairground enthusiast, it is the kind of place I could spend many a day. And now, as a volunteer, I do! After a couple of visits, I ended up being shown how to run the Ghost Train, and from there it all snowballed. I'll be Tweeting, Periscoping and Blogging from their forthcoming Wall of Death Weekend (13/14 June 2015), but to keep to the theme, this post is about a major change to the ride line-up!

The Rodeo Switchback

For the first time, Dingles was open in the February half-term. I went down there, of course, to help run the rides. Mostly the Ghost Train and Skid, but with occasional forays onto the Speedway and pretty much all of the juvenile rides. The conversation at the pre-opening coffee break (the day starts much earlier than the museum's actual opening time, with all the rides being thoroughly checked over by the permanent staff) revealed that there was an exciting new addition (top secret, folks!) to replace the Rodeo Switchback, which was due to receive some much-needed TLC. The schedule for the changes was tight, as there were only a few weeks after the half-term holiday before the museum started opening daily for the season. The Skid (in the centre of the main ride building) was to be taken down, as was the Rodeo Switchback. The Skid was then to be re-built in the corner currently occupied by the Switchback, and a new ride - as new as a vintage ride can be, that is - was to take centre-stage. As it turned out, the Switchback would be taken down over a weekend, so I decided to pop down and help out. Well, I was an expert after helping with Jimmy's Skid, after all!

Western movie star Tom Mix appears on two of the cars.

The Rodeo Switchback is a fine example of a Scenic Railway (the travelling fair version, not the early roller coaster) and, possibly dating back to 1880, it is one of the oldest operating rides we have. It's earliest incarnations are something of a mystery, but it is believed to have been built by Savages of King's Lynn, with numerous updates, including new carriages made by the other well-known early amusement ride manufacturers, Orton and Spooner. The full history can be read here - but for now, let's get on with the pull-down!

As I didn't get down to Dingles until the Saturday, I missed out on the first day of the pull-down, so when I entered the main ride building, the rounding boards, fences, shutters (the panels around the bottom of the ride), gratings (the wooden floor panels that you walk on) and all of the cars had been removed. The cars are huge, but the ornate

The gates packed on the truck, with
two tram sections on the floor

sculptures on the front and back of each car can be removed, leaving a relatively rectangular structure that the tractor could lift off the ride. So - job one on the Saturday was to load the trams and the gates onto the truck. The gates are the huge, sturdy wooden frames that support the trams (the track on which the cars roll) and the gratings. An interesting point to note at this stage is that there are three sets of trams, not two. It was soon discovered that rectangular cars with a flanged wheel at each corner are not well-suited to travelling on a circular, undulating track - as soon as a car went over the top of a hill, it would derail. If the two main trams are for the inner and outer wheels on the car, there is a third tram just inside the inner of the two main trams. The front and rear inner wheels could then travel on different trams, and by having different angles of descent, all four wheels could remain in contact with the trams at all times. That, of course, meant there were three sets of heavy, greasy trams to remove instead of two! The gates had to be removed in order of descending height in order to stack neatly on the truck. At least that meant that this particular job got easier as time went on...

The spider was next - and once again, the order in which they were packed on the truck was of utmost importance. One thing you didn't want to do as you were lifting them as high overhead as you could to allow the guy on the truck to grab hold and pull them up was to tilt them to one side. Over the years, a thick layer of dust, paint peelings and other assorted gunk had built up on the upper surface, all ready to cascade down onto your face! Wearing glasses was a positive boon today... With the spider packed away, we finished a good morning's work. Head honcho Roger nipped out and got us all lovely, hot pasties for lunch.

The remaining task was to dismantle the centre of the ride, which does all the hard work of pulling the cars around the track. As the centre rotates, turning the whole of the top canopy, hefty brass poles pull every other car in a manner akin to water skiing. Those brass poles were next. One vertical pole and another to create that essential structural triangle. And oh boy - everything lifted so far paled into insignificance with these poles, plus the joint at the bottom was smothered in axle grease! Heavy and messy - quite a combination. The tilt was next on the list, and involved someone climbing all over the swifts. Trying to fold a huge sheet of heavy-duty canvas which is stretched out over a conical wooden frame is quite a task: Imagine taking a marquee tent down thirty feet in the air. The organ trailer was then rolled out of the way ready for the packing truck to be reversed into position for the removal of the swifts. Our illustrious aerial artiste was needed to unhook the supporting poles from the top of the chimney (it was originally steam-powered, and the chimney doubled up as the central support pole).
The swifts fitted into very snug slots in centre of the ride, just above the cheese wheel. Very snug. A lot of shimmying and shaking was required to get them loose, so that you could pull the end out of the slot and lay the swift down in place on the packing truck. A three-person job and very hard work, so we took it in turns on the top of the packing truck.

So - just the centre truck to sort out. First, the chimney had to be folded down - interesting how the jobs get heavier and heavier as you get closer to the end. A special lever is fitted to the side of the chimney, and chains and a tractor allow the chimney to be carefully lowered onto a special A-frame. It was my job to make sure that the A-frame was lined up with the metal flanges on the chimney. I kept my fingers crossed that the chain wouldn't get detached, as there was several tons of metal on its way down...

One more job to do - get the centre truck off the gantry. There were no hydraulic rams to lift the centre truck into position back in the late 1800s, so the centre truck had to be rolled up onto a wooden framework to get it to the correct height for the rest of the ride to be built around it, the spider being built from the gantry as well.  To ensure the wheeled truck is in the correct position, there are four struts that fit into into slots on the upper surface of the gantry, connecting to the underside of the truck and sharing the load with the wheels. You can see two of them in the picture on the left.

We had to take great care as the Speedway ride was in the line of fire - we just had enough clearance to get the truck off the ramps, so the tractor was called back into action to restrain the truck as we inched it down the ramps. Chocks were placed a few inches in front of the wheels, the truck was rolled down to the chocks, bit by bit until the centre truck was finally on the floor. Final job - pack away the gantry! I have a few video clips that I'll be uploading to YouTube soon - I'll add those to this blog entry once they are online. At the time of writing, there is a special tent in the work yard behind the ride building, where the FHT's experts are carrying out the required restoration work on this incredible ride.

The Pull-Down: an outsider's experience

I've always been a fan of vintage fairs. Well, that's not strictly true: I loved the modern fairs I visited as a child and still do. Like me, they've become vintage over the decades. The classic rides like the Octopus, Speedway, Waltzer and so on are rides of which I'll never tire, but one of my favourites will always be the Skid.

Harry Parrish's Skid at St Ives Michaelmas Fair
many moons ago, when I only took three pictures...

Growing up in St Ives, Cambridgeshire, we had one of the best street fairs going - St Ives Michaelmas Fair. Taking place on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday in October, starting on the nearest Monday to 11th (such was the nature of the Charters under which these fairs were permitted). This always meant that the preceding weekend, from noon on the Saturday onwards, I got to watch everyone hard at work putting these rides together. No hydraulics to unfold floors; no chequerplate to make the job any lighter. The solid wood and steel components were mostly hoicked by hand or unloaded using a jib on the packing truck. The Skid belonged to one Harry Parrish, and was a wonderful sight to behold - classic Fred Fowle artwork, clever lighting and the wonderful air siren that started wailing as the ride reached top speed. It was amusing watching the cars full of "the lads" all standing up and leaning from side-to-side to try and show off their huge swing. You never needed to do that - as long as the brake pedal on your car was working, you could get the car swinging madly with very little effort. I'll be returning to the traditional fairground artwork in a later blog, but it was this ride that first made me interested in the science behind colour perception and relative chromaticity. When the lighting switched from the main yellow/red lamps to the green and blue fluorescent tubes, the cars appeared to change colour too...

These days, the Skid is far too labour-intensive and just plain heavy to tour in competition with the modern rides, but there are a few hardy showmen who keep their rides on the road, usually appearing at vintage steam events. As I first drafted this blog, the Rushden Cavalcade was about to begin for the May Day Bank Holiday weekend, and this prompted me to write about my experience there last year, when I finally got to help pull down a Skid. Probably the best Skid on tour these days, it belongs to Jimmy Bowry whose passion for the ride knows no bounds - the video added here shows Jimmy giving his usual on-ride tutorials to make sure everyone gets a great ride. You might spot me in the video as well... It gives the fastest ride and most vigorous swinging action - you can easily build up enough momentum to bounce off the wire between the fishtrays and lift the wheels off the floor. Strictly an amateur, I am usually in charge of the chain that keeps people off the ride platform when in motion - a simple way to please the health and safety people - and getting the cars loaded. I usually nipped off home mid-afternoon, but this time I stayed until closing and ended up getting roped in with the pull-down.

It was a fairly innocuous start - removing all the filament lamps from the trellis while Ralph (a true restoration hero who started the work on getting Harry Parrish's machine back to it's original glory) was unhooking the cars from the fishtrays. Then off come the two steel ropes that provide the tension that keeps everything in place - and stops the cars from swinging too far!

Trellis sections positioned on the packing truck

Next step - up onto the top of the packing truck as the rounding boards, trellis and then the fibreglass roof panels are taken down - in the correct order, of course! You can't lay all the pieces out on the ground like when you're setting up a tent ("insert locking bracket A..."). This stage involves a good head for heights, as it is all done walking along the rafters, and as more sections get packed away, there is less and less to walk on! The fences, being at ground level, have to be hoicked up onto the upper level of the truck. There is a clever pulley wheel on the lower edge of the upper floor, so once the fence section has been positioned against this wheel, the fence can be pulled up by those on the top of the truck without scraping all the paint off! Doesn't stop them being heavy though...

With the upper level of the packing truck now full, it's time to put the cars onto the lower level. There's a tail-lift to raise the cars from the floor of the ride to the lower level, but it still takes three people to roll the cars onto the lift and into the truck. Next stage is the rafters and the wooden beams between the uprights, before the uprights themselves are removed and packed into the belly boxes either side of the bottom of the truck.

Right - that was the easy part! Now for the fishtrays! These are the not-so-little blighters that connect the cars to the central drive mechanism and house the shock-absorber system. They weigh a blooming ton and have to be removed in the reverse order to which they are put on. There is no power to turn the ride so - you guessed it - we have to push the whole thing round by hand to line up each fishtray with the second truck where, one by one, they are lifted up by crane. By this time, of course, it was raining, making the metal plates very slippery. Shoving several tons of machinery around is hard work at the best of times!

Fishtrays attached to the cog, with slippery sheet metal on
the floor panels. All very heavy!

Next up - and heavier still - the floor. Jimmy spared no expense in his restoration of this ride, and so each floor panel is very solid, very thick wood with a nice, thick metal plate attached to the upper surface. They each need three people to lift them up onto the trolley (think garden centre but much more heavy-duty) and there are forty two of them! Starting at the opposite side of the ride to the truck, for reasons which are, hopefully, quite obvious, they are piled four or five high onto the trolley, then wheeled around to the crane. It's now getting on for 9pm as we start dismantling the spider - the heavy-duty wooden framework that supports the floor panels. These are in turn supported by wooden blocks of various sizes, with thinner and thinner pieces of wood that were inserted to make sure that all those supporting beams were perfectly horizontal. All these wooden beams have to be hoicked up onto the floor plate truck and the blocks have to be stacked in the space between the piles of floor plates.

Just the centre of the ride to go now - but we've saved the heaviest for last - the cog! This is the circular metal behemoth to which the fishtrays are attached. The upper surface has the cog teeth that engage with the drive motor cog, and it rests on solid metal wheels around the outside edge of the raised central platform that supports the paybox and control system. It's dark now, and heading for 11pm as the eight massive sections of the cog are winched up one by one onto the top of the pile of floor panels. The support structure for the cog is then unbolted and folded - Jimmy spent one winter season trailer-mounting the centre of the ride to speed things up a little, so once the paybox is dismantled, there is no more lifting to do - just folding things up and using the hydraulic rams to lift the centre of the ride up to allow the lorry wheels to be fitted ready to take the whole ride away to the next event.

Nothing to it, really!

The Hills Are Alive...

...with the sound of me yelling at the dogs! Here I am, on the Edge of Exmoor, house-sitting for the farmer Ians while they recuperate from a hectic lambing season by walking long distances in the baking heat of Turkey! Yes, I used to share a house with three of the pups, but proper close control of any dog comes with familiarity on a daily basis. Taking over after being an "absent father" for a few months, therefore, can be quite a task. At least the new hound on the block, the wondrous Sonny, is familiar with the territory, being the resident sheep-herding hound...

Sunday morning. The morning after the night before, which featured an abortive attempt to see the rather brilliant Tankus the Henge performing in Barnstaple. Pub gigs are great, and usually end around closing time. This pub, however, had its own "club" attached, and the gig didn't even start until getting on for closing time. No notification anywhere, and the 9:00pm "doors open" time merely meant you were sitting around in their chilly "club room" for another hour and three quarters. When the group Tweeted that they'd be on stage at 10:45pm, I realised that I'd have to miss out this time as the hairy kids were still stuck in the kitchen, bless 'em. Ah! The trials of hound-sitters! Here's one of my favourite Tankus tracks from their first album, "Recurring Dream". There's a new album in the pipeline, I hear! Follow them on Twitter @tankusthehenge if you want to find out more. Go and see them performing live if you can - they are one of the most entertaining bands out there.

Some bird or other. The Ians would know...

Back to Sunday morning. Bright and early, although the sky itself had that misty quality that promises sunshine later on, off we went in the van to the empty fields on the farm. All the lower fields are now set up for growing grass, which will in turn become silage which will feed the sheep and cattle next year. The ewes and their lambs are all up on the higher ground now, which means plenty of romping room for the hounds! The best part is that these fields are sheep and lamb-proof, which means a certain Husky can be allowed to roam off-lead.

Sonny, in a rare moment of calm.

Walking the hounds on the lower fields is a little like an episode of Sesame Street. Across seven, along the top of five, down through eight, round the edge of four. And when you get to thirteen, well! All referring to the field sizes in acres, apparently, but the fields aren't actually those sizes. Hmmmm. As Sonny enters each new field, he joyfully charges around the entire perimeter. I've been led to believe that this is down to his sheepdog instincts, looking for stray lambs, but really I think he's heard of these time trials that humans do on their cycle runs and is aiming for a personal best every morning. Boy can he move! At the other extreme is poor old Fred. He has creaky hip joints and barely gets above a brisk walk. Every time (albeit not very often) he breaks into a trot, I say "take it easy, Fred!", but I don't think he understands English too well...

Joey loves to bark, seemingly to annoy the humans as much as possible. From the instant he leaps out of the van, he's a yappin' and a prancin' with a wicked glint in his eye - cueing the first round of human yells. "Joey! Shut up!" - truly leading by example (not).

"Waiting for Freddy"

Then, Cody gets the whiff of something interesting. Huskies have a one-track mind: Food. This is one reason why it is unwise to have a Husky off the lead in the open countryside. At least in these fields, he (theoretically) can't get out if a rabbit does cross his path. In open countryside, he'd be gone for hours if he saw a deer in the distance. The next bout of yelling that morning was, therefore, at Cody. He tends to take the lead, but when you see him stop dead in his tracks, ears pricked up and nose niffling the air (which is the scientific term), it's time to call him to heel. Cody, of course, will have none of this, and off he charges. The only amusing aspect of this would be watching me charging after him. What's that he's found in the hedge on the other side of the field? Ah yes - a decomposing rabbit corpse. No, Cody. That is NOT your breakfast! "Drop! Leave! Bad dog!" - all of which is pretty futile when there is potential food around. I end up having to pick up the soggy corpse and throw it over the hedge, out of reach, but I know that he'll be niffling around that same spot on the next walk - just in case.

Fred bringing up the rear

The rest of this morning's walk was fairly uneventful - mainly waiting for Fred to catch up, so I took advantage of the pauses to take a few photographs. It really is a lovely place to be spending some time with the hairy kids...