Goose Fair

[Oztalgian 3,270]

10 hours ago, benjamin1945 said:

Must have a Gander Lizzie

Clever one Ben........ Goose - Gander

[Annesley Red 80]

Looks like its back for an extended period to make up for the missing years. Anyone had a look. Hoping to take Granddaughter 3 1/2 yrs old down for first time if its worth it these days for kids. A bit excited myself its its still got a bit of tradition as I haven't been for years.

[DAVIDW 1,681]

There's a home movie of the 1959 Goose Fair on the BFI site .

I reckon I would have been there , taken by my mum , for the opening ceremony . At junior school we used to get a day off to go , as far as I remember .

It does bring back memories and the scenes towards the end of the film of the sideshows , with dancing girls and the weird displays like "Kap-Dwa the 12 foot , two-headed Paraguayan Giant" are definitely of their time .

 

https://player.bfi.org.uk/free/film/watch-nottingham-goose-fair-october-1959-1959-online

 

Incidentally someone must have made some money out of Kap-Dwa over the years , the attraction was advertised for sale in the late 1890s and was still going 60 years later .

 

[Beekay 5,134]

@DAVIDW, thanks for that link mate ! It were a fascinating 17min bit of local history, which I enjoyed watching.

[Willow wilson 894]

Re DAVID W video above:-

Would I have been wrong if I thought there would be a group of  girls from a local school, who had been clearly and expressly forbidden visiting the fair in lunchtime, finding their way to the ride shown at 1:18 and having 3 consecutive rides on it simply for the giggling rebellious joy of doing so?

[Jill Sparrow 10,304]

We all did it, WW. It was heaven help you if you were caught and many were. Strangely enough, daring to go on the rides was viewed as less heinous than eating hot dogs, candyfloss or other fair edibles. Eating, outside the dining room, whilst wearing the uniform was a cardinal sin.

[RadFordee 68]

@Jill SparrowDidn't there always used to be a couple of teachers patrolling the fair on the day it opened and probably a few days before? Hoping to catch any girls who were brave enough to risk it!

[katyjay 5,090]

Grantham gingerbread?

[Jill Sparrow 10,304]

@katyjayThat's the one! Couldn't think of the name! 

[Beekay 5,134]

Grantham gingerbread dipped in mushy peas ! Sounds delicious, hey Jill. Accompanied by a toffee apple and cock on a stick.

[Jill Sparrow 10,304]

I don't like ginger, Beekay, but as a child we always had brandy snaps. Could only eat them once they were soft and filled with whipped cream!

 

Mushy peas . Good with fish and chips.

 

Toffee apples? No. Don't want to risk my front teeth. 

 

Glad you invited  Ben along !  

 

 

[Beekay 5,134]

Well done miss !! It's just sunk in.

Nowadays, from my last visit to the forest, the food stalls all seem to be ethnic 'Street foods' with mushy peas taking a back seat role. Now it's Chinese, Tacos, Jamaican, Turkish Kebabs etc, just to name a few. Was watching David's link of 1959, peas = 6d. cock on a stick =6d, 9d & 1/-d.

[Hey Arnold 88]

A few years after we moved away from Nottingham our eldest daughter, who was about 12 at the time, was asked if she wanted to go to Statutes Fair (they pronounce it Statchets) in Burton-upon-Trent, and takes place the week after Goose Fair, by several of her friends at school. They'd said it was really big with loads of rides and stalls, and when she asked if it was like Goose Fair they didn't know what she meant! Anyway on the Saturday, around midday, off she went with her friends really looking forward to it. When she came home that evening we asked her if she'd had a good time and what it was like. Looking quite disgusted she said it was "No, it was rubbish! There were only about three roundabouts and a hot dog stall in the street, nothing like Goose Fair at all .....They don't know what a real fair is!

[LizzieM 9,507]

We had a walk over to the Fair last night to take in the

SIGHTS  (I’m sure folk don’t look in the mirror before they walk out of their door), 

SOUNDS ((loud and not like it was in the 60s)

SMELLS (curry, chips and sugary offerings but I never noticed a mushy pea stall) 

I only saw one ride with the price advertised and that was £4 a go but I’m pretty sure some of the scary rides will be a lot more than that. I would have gone on one of the big wheels but they take such a long time to load so didn’t hang about.   We only spent £3 between us, on a Darts side show, when my husband won a soft toy sausage dog to give to our granddaughter as it’s her favourite breed.  
Glad we went down and it was good to see so many youngsters enjoying themselves.  I have a feeling we’ll be back next weekend with our granddaughter if her Daddy gets back from the Singapore Grand Prix in time to bring her to Nottm. 

 

[VWGolf 21]

My photos (some camera, some iPhone) taken at this year's (2022) Goose Fair

 

 

 

[MargieH 7,599]

Very Good photos/videos but I wish the soundtrack was of songs from the late 50s and the early 60s played very loudly, which is what I remember from Goosefair in my teenage days

[Cliff Ton 10,457]

9 hours ago, VWGolf said:

My photos (some camera, some iPhone) taken at this year's (2022) Goose Fair

 

I like the photos, but I was confused at the very beginning of the video where the caption says 2002 

[Oztalgian 3,270]

13 hours ago, MargieH said:

I wish the soundtrack was of songs from the late 50s and the early 60s played very loudly, which is what I remember from Goosefair in my teenage days

Like these MargieH?

 

[MRS B 511]

Goose Fair is an essential part of Nottingham history. Being that bit younger I can remember the music of the late 60’s early 70’s being played. Even now if the weather is a bit foggy at the beginning of October I always say “it’s a bit Goose Fairish”. We used to get the bus from Slab Square, always a queue. 

[Beekay 5,134]

And I coulda been that 'erbert who collected your bus fare MrsB. X

[MRS B 511]

Ha you could av bin Beekay. I never thought of you as an erbert tho if you were. Just wanted to hop on to the fair. 

[MargieH 7,599]

@Oztalgian  ….. and I also think of Buddy Holly’s ‘Rave on’ and Paul Anka’s ‘Diana’ playing really loudly on the Waltzers competing with the screaming from the girls as they were given extra spins from the lads working on the ride

[Cliff Ton 10,457]

The advertising is starting to appear again for it this year.

 

It officially runs from Friday September 29th until Sunday October 8th. 

 

10 days. They might as well just leave it permanently on The Forest.

 

 

[Brew 5,408]

I can't see it lasting  eight days as a permanent feature, I don't believe there are enough customers to warrant it. The crowds over the last few years have been, or seem to have been, smaller and smaller. That impression may be due to my age of course, I'm of the generation that are prepared to swear jubblies and wagon wheels were a lot bigger back in the day...  

[Jill Sparrow 10,304]

1 hour ago, Cliff Ton said:

10 days. They might as well just leave it permanently on The Forest.

 

Ye gods, I wish it had been like that when I was at the penitentiary across the road. We were the only secondary school in Nottingham who got a holiday when Goose Fair was on because of the noise, supposedly. If it had been a permanent fixture, we'd never have needed to go to school!!!