Welcome to the final post in this blog. Over the last 2 years 2 things have happened, we have moved away from being a funfair suplier, to supplying a much broader range of corporate entertainment solutions, so much so that funfairs now make up about 15% of what we do. Also because of the workload we have it is difficult to continue to upload new blog content using our existing desktop based blogging software, an old system called Tangelo that ceased development a number of years back.

What we have done is launched a brand new blog using the Word Press system that will allow more regular updates using laptops, tablets, even mobile phones, so hopefully the blog will be revitalised with regular posts. The new blog is still in its early days, but will eventually reflect the new services we offer over and above funfair attractions.

It can be found at www.funfairgames.net/weblog2

A few of the final posts from this blog have been copied across to give it some starting content, and this blog will be left in place to allow the archive material to be viewed.

London Black Cab Photo Booth Hire

Finally now that things have calmed down after a hectic June and July we have time to write in our blog again.

August is off to a good start, we have a 17 day job in London at Team USA house providing candy floss, popcorn, ice cream and coke float carts for Americans Visiting the Olympics, so far Mohammed Ali and the first lady amongst others have visited the venue.

Our taxi booth has picked up numerous bookings, so much so that we are looking at adding to the fleet.






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We have just commissioned the first of our new photo booths. This has a number of improvements to the older units we have, they break down into smaller lighter sections, hopefully doing away with those odd occasions when we had to manhandle booths up fire escapes etc. The units are fitted as standard with external 15inch displays, allowing adverts, video clips, messages etc to be displayed, perfect for corporate events, and lastly they are fitted with uprated control systems meaning that they can be operated with higher resolution cameras, but still print quicker than the older systems.

Hire A London Taxi Photo Booth

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With our range of photo booths and photo services going so well, we have just launched our latest project, converting an ex London Black Cab into a fully functioning photo booth. This is fitted with the same Canon DSLR camera system as our regular photo booths, along with a professional Dye Sublimation print system and Asus touch screen control panel. Professional lighting from Bowens or Elinchrom will be fitted to complete the set up.

Hire A Taxi Photo Booth

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We provided photography services to the Kids 2 Kids Purple ball last Saturday. The event was enjoyable if a little chilly (we were stationed near the door to the marquee and the temperature had just plummeted). We took the opportunity to try out a new touch screen and multiple printer setup which worked flawlessly so that is something we will be expanding upon.

Part of the entertainment was Edna's Hat, the group formed by members of the cast of Emmerdale. In this instance we had the characters of Carl and Jenny, Paddy unfortunately was otherwise engaged. I wasn't expecting a lot from them but they ended up surprising me and put on a really good act. The actor who plays Eric Pollard was also there and he appeared to be a really good sport, taking the time to have his picture taken with numerous guests, running the charity auction and generally being pleasant company. Talking to one of the organisers he explained that Eric (Or Chris Chittell) to give him his proper name undertakes a lot of charity work, so it is nice to hear good things of a celebrity for a change.

Paparazzi Photography Services

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Watching some of the spoof comedy's on TV I used to think that the scriptwriters must have had excellent imaginations. But as I have got older I begin to realise that many of the situations are based on real people, and that no matter how hard you try to make something idiot proof, there will always be a better class of idiot that finds you.

Now, on our Candy Floss Crazy website there is a contact page, this can be viewed here . On the page in larger letters than anywhere else on the page it states PLEASE NOTE THAT WE DO NOT HIRE OUT CATERING VANS FOR OTHER PEOPLE TO USE!

Now I wrote it in English, I am pretty sure it was uploaded to our server in English, and I am absolutely certain that when you access the page it is still printed in English, so is there any rational explanation why we receive on average 5-6 enquiries a week from people wanting a quote on hiring catering units for their own use? THe all time best one was the following conversation I received last summer;

Caller "Erm, Hello, I know that you do not hire out catering vans for other people to use, but could you give me a price please to hire out a catering van for us to use?"
Me "Sprechen Sie Deutsch?"
Caller "Excuse me"
Me "Parlez Vous Francais?"
Caller "I dont understand"
Me "Kun je spreken Nederlands"
Caller "Excuse me why are you speaking all these foreign languages to me"
Me "Because you seem to be struggling with English, so I am trying to discover what your native tongue is"
Caller "Well I DO speak English"
Me "Oh right, well the phrase WE DO NOT HIRE OUT CATERING VANS FOR OTHER PEOPLE TO USE, means exactly what it says"

Photo Crazy, the specialist photography arm of JARM Amusements is pleased to announce that it will be supporting the Kids 2 Kids Charity by providing free photographic and Paparazzi services at their prestigious launch event, the Purple Ball.

More details of the charity can be found at kids2kids

We will be setting up a studio and print station to print and sell images on the evening, we will also be providing walkabout paparazzi photographers to help catch the informal going ons throughout the evening.



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Candy Floss Crazy Is Now A Registered Trademark

Due to some potential licensing opportunities, we have now registered Candy Floss Crazy and its variations as trademarks with the relevant offices. This will not only protect our brand, but also allows it to be licensed for use by other operaators, more news on this soon.

I am currently performing jury service at my local Crown Court. Its the first time I have been involved in any way in court and I have to say its a colossal waste of time and resources. THe first day we sat there from 9 in the morning until 2 in the afternoon. Then we were sworn in on a case of assault. After spending 2 hours listening to evidence it was adjourned for the day. Upon taking our seats the next morning, the judge apologised, but informed us that the defence council had put forward a motion to have the trial dismissed due to lack of direct evidence. The judge agreed with this, made me the foreman of the jury and ordered me to acquit the defendant. Now, both prosecuting and defending councils had copies of the witness statements, could this motion to dismiss not have been put forward at the start of the trial and saved everyone half a day?

We were then sent home and told to ring an anserphone for our start time on the third day, upon doing this we were informed that we werent needed on the third day and to ring after 4pm to find out if we needed to come in on the fourth day, mesmerising stuff, just like being on Law and Order, and for anyone who doesn't know me that was sarcasm!



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Some government think tank has just announced the results of an in depth investigation they have carried out, seems they have concluded that when people come into this country from abroad, some of them end up taking jobs away from British citizens. Now the truly frightening thing about this, is that it has taken an investigation to determine this. What stunning conclusions will they come up with next week, perhaps they will uncover the news that when it rains, people get wet, or perhaps if you fall from a great height it is possible that the sudden deceleration at the bottom of the fall can cause injury. Its little wonder that the country is short of money if the government are actually paying for these services.





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Over the festive period we acquired an Ipad 2. Now I played with it briefly and found it to be like all the other Apple products I have ever used, impressive as hell for 15 minutes until you realise its all smoke and mirrors.

I wanted to transfer some images from a laptop to the Ipad so I plugger the latter into the former. Every other piece of electronic equipment on the planet with an inbuilt memory allows you to plug them into a Windows laptop and then cut and paste from one to the other, not Apple products, seems I have to download and install Apple bloody Itunes just to copy a single image from said laptop to the Ipad.

It got me pondering, I wonder what a car designed and manufactured by Apple would be like. Undoubtedly it would look like an Aston Martin only much, much sexier. It would have a build quality second to none, and the design would be a mix of cutting edge and class. It wouldn't have a boot (or trunk as our American cousins say), because if it did then people might put something non approved by Apple in it, and the bonnet (hood) would be securely fastened down to prevent you from tinkering with anything under it.

The filler cap for the fuel would be a strange shape that wouldn't allow you to use standard fuel pumps at standard filling stations, you would of course need to visit an Apple approved garage to have an Apple approved attendant fill your Apple car with special Apple approved fuel. The electrical system would be 17 and a half volts because Apple wouldn't want to use 12 or 24 volts, they were designed by some non Apple person, although battery failure wouldn't be a problem, it would be non replacable, and you would have to return the car to an Apple approved service centre where it would be replaced (you would also need to give them a credit card covering the £150,000 cost of a new Apple car in case the failure was your fault). The light bulbs would need to be purchased from an Apple approved source and any non approved light bulbs would refuse to work and the car console display would inform you that they were not authorised to be used.

Moving to the interior, it would be acres of classy wood, leather and aluminium. Driving would be simple, as you would have 2 gears, forward and reverse (anything more would be considered too complex for users), and speed would be limited to what Apple feel is appropriate for you. The radio would be something truly beautiful. Stylish, modern, state of the art, permanently tuned to Radio Apple. A cassette deck or cd player wouldn't be allowed in case you felt the urge to play music not downloaded via Itunes.

The pedals would take a little getting used to as the standard layout of left to right, clutch, brake, throttle isn't an original Apple design and would need to be altered to reflect the Apple design ethos. You would have to be careful when steering it, holding the wheel a certain way (the so called grip of death) would result in the wheels losing contact with the road, but Apple would fix this by giving you a free pair of gloves that stopped this happening.

You would never worry about being lost as the car would report your every move to Apple so someone would always know where you were and where you had been.

Selling it would be a mess on though as the new owner would need to have the ignition system reactivated by Apple, its current activation would only be valid with the original owner.

All in all I can't wait.

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As 2011 draws to a close, thankfully our hectic work load eases off. The income is nice but keeping up an average of 3 events a day takes a toll. Tomorrow were off up to Edinburgh to operate one of our giant snow globes on Princess Street for a few days. Arthur's Crew has been in charge of it since November but we are giving them a short break. The fabled Edinburgh Hogmanay party begins tomorrow so its something we are all looking forward too.

On a business front we have a number of new websites being prepared for launch, in the main they are not promoting anything new, its more of an additional marketing drive for existing products. Looking at the jobs we already have booked for 2012, our photography services are once again making a surprise showing with quite a few paparazzi and photo booth jobs already in place, necessitating at least one additional photo booth being built.

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On a recent job at John Lewis store in Newcastle Upon Tyne, (a paparazzi job following lookalike David and Victoria Beckhams around the store) I dropped my daughter off at my parents in Middlesbrough, then proceeded up the A19 to Testo's roundabout, turned left there and took the road past Howarth Metro into Newcastle. Anyway, a couple of mile before I reached the Metro terminal, I passed a number of people running up the road, a couple on each side of the dual carriageway, I did wonder if it was some sort of road race or something, and thought it was a pretty dangerous if it was. Everything became clear however about half a mile further on, a horse was galloping full tilt the wrong way up the Eastbound carriageway! I didn't fancy the handlers chances of catching it, they were a good half mile behind and it was going like the clappers.



December is shaping to be a heck of a month, as we have just picked up 2 block bookings from shopping centres, one in London with Chestnuts and Hot Pimms, the other in the Midlands with chestnuts, mulled wine and mince pies. Added to a number of bookings for Tesco stores, again with chestnuts, mulled wine and minced pies and they add up to over 2 dozen bookings from those 3 clients alone.

We have just resprayed our stock of hot roast chestnut carts, we now have 5 gas powered carts and 3 electric powered allowing us to cover most eventualities, although one of our Scottish based clients that usually hires 2 carts for a couple of weeks has told us they would like 4 this year so we may need to construct another couple to meet the demand.

At least 1 additional photo booth is on the cards as we have a number of dates for next summer when there are multiple booths booked out on the same day. Also we have just put together a long range wi-fi based touch screen system allowing us to shoot images which are automatically transferred back to the system and can be printed out with a single touch of the screen.

VOSA pulled our new Citroen Dispatch in at a Glasgow check point on Saturday, but a quick check round and look at the diesel being used saw us on our way, one of the benefits of buying new is I don't expect to have major faults during the 3 years we will be keeping the van. The other older Dispatch is a 57 plate 2008 model, that is now slated to be replaced sometime next year and with the sterling service we have had I think it will be another Citroen.

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We have added a number of other fun services to our photography portfolio, these are listed below;

Photo Sketch
Our software is used to convert the captured images into pencil sketches.






Photo Morph
The images are altered using morphing software to give an exaggerated caricature style look.






Digital Makeover
Using the latest in Anthropics software this one takes an image and quickly turns it into an airbrushed photo worthy of a magazine cover. Some of the options are a little much and include facial sculpting, but if you stick to the lower settings it gives fantastic results.



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We supplied a couple of games units to the print works in Manchester for a Holloween event. 4000 drunken students dressed as vampires, monsters etc meant I was expecting a hectic night, but as it turned out it was quite enjoyable.




On the home front, I've just had a letter pop through the postbox informing me that I have been selected for Jury service at Doncaster Crown Court, upto 2 weeks in the middle of December, usually our busiest month, so that is just bleeding fantastic, hopefully my application for a deferral will be granted.

Last weekend we nipped up to Glasgow for an event in the Polo Lounge, a new venue for us and a bit unusual, the decor was like a scene from a Sherlock Holmes film. On the way up there we came across the usual collection of messages displayed on the motorway matrix signs, "Don't Drive Tired", "Don't Use Your Phone," etc. The last one however was a new one on me, "Drive Efficiently". ????What the hell does that mean, it conjures up images of a dystopian future society, with a black clad Judge Dredd type figure, pulling you over and sentencing you to a prison term for not driving efficiently, knowing the British government, it will be a precursor to on the spot fines for non efficient driving of a motor vehicle.

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Paparazzi Instants

Out of the many additional services and games we have launched this year, the photography part of the company is probably the fastest growing, with us picking up regular work from a number of sources. The paparazzi service has been the favourite so far, our photographers dress as archetypal press photographers from days of yesteryear (long macs and trilby hats), utilising Canon DSLR cameras they take unlimited snaps of the guests at an event, these are then uploaded to our secure server and the guests can download them free of charge.

We have taken this a step further with our new Paparazzi Instants service, our intrepid 'Paps' can now come with compact hip mounted dye sub printers, powered by battery they can dispense professional laboratory quality prints in our 60 seconds, this means the guests can now take a print home with them. Once the pre paid package of prints has been exhausted, the paps continue snapping as normal with all of their images uploaded to our server after the event.

Paparazzi Remotes

A second variation on this is our remote service designed for exhibitions and sales events, instead of hip mounted printers, our intrepid paps have wifi enabled cameras, these transmit to a base station which then prepares the print, adds branding or effects such as a corporate logo, then prints it out automatically, this allows guests or visitors to collect their own print offering you the opportunity to inform them of the services your company can offer.

This can be extended by adding 42inch plasma screen stations which also capture the images as they are taken and adds them to an ongoing slide show, imagine having a number of these placed around an exhibition displaying a range of images taken, all with your corporate logo emblazoned across the print, whilst at the same time our paparazzi photographers are handing cards out to the guests inviting them to collect a free print from your stand!



Further details are available at Paparazzi Instants For Hire




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We have a regular band of operators that provide additional attractions at many of our events. Fred is one such operator, with us using his helter skelter or flying chairs on various occasions. He was attending a couple of events for us last weekend, and as far as I know everything went ok. Tuesday however I happened across Fred at a funeral.

"I had a bit of trouble at Saturday's event," was his opening gambit, know I hadn't heard of any trouble from the client so I was a little puzzled and inquired as to the nature of said trouble, "No, it wasn't at the event, it was on the way home."

The tale Fred related to me was as follows;

On the way home, in his van, he hit an unfortunate pheasant as it was crossing the road, the impact sent said pheasant hurtling across the road and into the front rider of a pair of cyclists knocking him and his bike sideways and down a forty foot embankment. Fred stopped, as did an elderly couple in a vintage car to offer assistance to the cyclist. Upon climbing down they found him a bit battered and bruised and his bike pretty mangled, so they helped him back up to the road.

Upon reaching said road, the cyclist spotted the offending pheasant (pretty much de feathered and looking like a turkey ready for the oven) and proceeded to boot it in anger. Unfortunately said pheasant flew back across the road, whereupon an unfortunate motorist took evasive action, managing to swerve into the elderly couples car promptly writing it off and severely damaging his new pick up into the bargain.

Upon exiting the pick up, the motorist demanded to know who launched the pheasant at him, whereupon Fred, seeing the size of the guy promptly grassed the cyclist up, only to see the driver proceed to beat the unfortunate cyclist some more, before throwing his bike up a tree!

There is probably a moral somewhere in this story, but for the life of me I can't think what, perhaps when I stop laughing it might come to me.

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We Now Offer Giant Snow Globe Photography

A stunning concept that we have just added to our portfolio of photography services is our range of Giant Snow Globes. These are giant inflatable domes that are like a supersized version of the little snowglobes that you used to pick up in tourist shops, you know the kind, you shake them up and the glitter inside gives the effect of a snowstorm.

Anyway ours are bigger, much much bigger, upto 21ft in diameter in fact. This not only alows four or five adults to enter, but also lets us add props to the interior such as a Decorated Christmas tree, or an inflatable snowman.

It is envisaged that the globes should be a good line over Christmas, we can supply them to our corporate clients, and take photographes of the guests inside, these can then be uploaded in the usual way to our secure server for free downloading, or we can set up a complete print solution allowing images to be purchased and printed immediately.




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Whilst using our accounts system recently to prepare our quarterly VAT returns, I hit a snag, the system suddenly asked me for a password, which as I had not set it up to use a password left me stumped, I couldn't give it a password I didn't have. After a couple of hours of no progress I finally resorted to ringing technical support. Like many technical support centres I was greeted by someone who's first language was not English. After another hour of trying to solve the problem with no success, they finally told me that a password reset tool could be downloaded from the company website and used to reset the software, wtf, through clenched teeth I asked why we had spent the last hour going round in circles when all I had to do was download this tool. After being given the web address I was confronted with a screen requesting I type in all of the details I used when registering the software, I duly complied only to be told that it didn't match what was on their system and I couldn't have the tool.

After another hour trying every email address and password I have ever used I rang technical support again, after trying they informed me that the software apparently wasn't registered and I would have to talk to the registration department which they could not transfer me to and I would have to ring back. After ringing back I had to repeat the process with the registration lady not being able to find me on the system either. Eventually she decided to register my software for me, after giving her all of the details, including the licence code she typed then in, only to inform me that my software had been registered in January! Dear Lord, please give me strength.

Cue another call to the technical support people, who tried for another hour to set the system up to allow me to download the reset tool, still with no success, eventually admitting defeat I was asked to email my accounts file in and they would reset it for me, "How long would this take", I asked only to be told 5 working days, "No, sorry I am not managing without an accounts system for 5 days."

Eventually I hit upon the idea of having customer support read all of my details to me phonetically ie Juliette for the letter J, alpha for the letter A and so on. At last, a revelation, turns out that not only had they managed to spell my name wrong, but also every item of my address and my postcode, once this was sorted I downloaded the tool and now have working accounts again.

The moral of the story is never again will I purchase anything that has a foreign based customer support centre, unless that foreign centre is based in an English speaking country, and if that is not politically correct, then, in the words of Rhett Butler, "Quite frankly my dear I don't give a damn".




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New Games For Hire From Jason AR Moody Amusements

Over the summer we have added a number of new games to our portfolio, many of these are designed to move away from the purely funfair type attractions and broaden our appeal.

Gold Cup Racing Game For Hire

Gold cup is a variation on the Kentucky Derby style Game, only instead of having to roll a ball into holes to move your horse you sit astride a hobby horse and simulate a galloping motion, once we have chance to shoot a video clip I'll post it here as it is hilarious to watch.

Wii Games Consoles For Hire

The Nintendo Wii probably needs no description, it has been a gaming hit since its launch. we offer it with a quad charging system, plasma screen display or projection screen for larger format gaming and an operator to help run the games. With the wide variation of titles available for the console there is sure to be something suitable for any type of event.

Inflatable Horse Racing

Another game that really needs a video posting, upto 4 riders sit astride the inflatable horses and proceed to race around an inflatable race course, complete with jumps for added mayham.

Giant Operation Game For Hire

Based on the old classic but supersized! You have 60 seconds and 3 lives to remove as many body parts from the patient as you can, a beating heart timer and buzzer add to the fun.

Giant Buzzer

Another long time favourite, move the loop along the wire without touching it to win. This has been around for a long time, but we have taken it to a new dimension at nearly 8 feet long. It can be used with a hand wand, or for team games we have a special hat mounted loop, turning a person into the wand and needing team members with strong arms to move it along the course.

Office Christmas Party Hire

We have just put together a number of special Christmas packages for smaller offices, these are designed to allow a short break to be held in your office, perhaps as a thank you to your staff. Details are available at Office Christmas Party our new mini site.


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