The Helter Skelter Girl

I found this among the pictures Margot had taken at Hull Fair this year.

The weekend in black and white is here.

Hull Fair Rides Again

Photo by Margot K Juby

It's that time of year again when a car park in west Hull is taken over by the biggest travelling fair in the country. It's the week of Hull Fair again, just as noisy, bright and brash as ever, just as crowded as well. This year more folk than ever have crammed into the place, so many the police had to close the street off at one point last weekend. I don't much like the thing itself but, as Margot reminds me every year when I moan about going, it marks the passing of the seasons, autumn can begin now the Fair is here.

The weekend in black and white is here.

Sugar and spice and all things nice

Hull Fair has two parts; the big expensive rides and smaller stalls where you can shoot yourself a prize or hook-a-duck and so on these are all congregated off Walton Street. On Walton Street itself there is a long line of stalls selling food, burgers, Indian take-aways, fish and chips and so on are all there for the taking but there also lots of sweet stalls selling what is essentially sugar  in various disguises. For some reason Margot took a lot pictures of these so here's her view.

Margot dared me to post this. If you want to create a space around yourself in a crowd just take out a doll and photograph it; folk steer clear for some reason, can't think why.

All the fun of the Fair ...

Early October in this town can mean only one thing: Hull Fair. Yes it's that time of year again when the air is filled with the distant rumble of machinery, extremely loud music and the faint aroma of burnt cow meat and onions wafts across from Walton Street. So here's a small selection of shots from the other night. I seem to have left my colours at home so you'll have to use your imagination...

Hull Fair again

So another year has passed and it's Hull Fair once again and as last year was so exciting we decided to try it again. But as the old Greek says you cannot step into the same river twice it was not so fun filled this second time around. Still we took far too many pictures and stayed a good deal longer than we were intending.

It's happy hour again

You never quite know what you might bump into at Hull Fair. This is guy I believe is called Rabbit De Niro but don't quote me on that.

Margot is responsible for this.

Some of the fun of the Fair

The last time we went to Hull Fair properly, as it were, was so long ago that digital cameras hadn't even been thought of. So, thinking that it might be another thirty years or so before we return, we perhaps overdid it by taking some 700 shots between us some of which turned out OK. We arrived during the 'Happy Hour' meant for families with young children when some of the rides are half price. I have to say that I not a great fan of crowds or loud, no, not loud, louder than loud, noise (couldn't call it music) that you don't so much hear as feel viscerally as it thumps through the thoracic cavity. Nor do flashing lights and those green beams of 'laser' lights have any great appeal. After a while, though, a morbid fascination takes over and we stayed for an hour and half leaving as many more were arriving and the party could really get going. This is the 722nd Hull Fair and it closes tonight at midnight, so get your skates on ...

Margot caught this rather tired looking customer.

Really crowded