This is our last post of 2007. Due to the success we have had with our specialised websites we have just added a new one. Side Stall hire is intended to be a concentrated source of information on hiring funfair side stalls, both traditional Victorian style and the modern fairground type.

I have just rolled in from an event at a Liverpool Casino, the second event we have attended there during December. The catering cart we supplied was well received and we are now in talks to supply some of our Victorian games units for upcoming events, and tomorrow (31st December) we are off to a nightclub event in London, another of our many visits to the capital. We have just installed sat navs in all of our vehicles so we should be able to find our way about a lot easier next season.


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We would like to wish everyone we have worked with over the last year a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

One feature of this yuletide seems to be a move away from the traditional paper based cards to Ecards, mainly in the name of the environment. We were going to go down the same route until Arthur, bless his little cotton socks, told me he would like to film his music hall style dance routine and email that out to spread a little Christmas cheer. So just click on the link below and 'Take it away Arthur'





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We have more or less come to the end of the fairground season. Some of our catering units are still attending corporate events but most of the children's attractions are undergoing a welcome rest. We have just begun the first phase of refurbishing a section of our childrens attractions. There are two main thrusts to this work, firstly all of the motors and control systems are being replaced with new state of the art fully automatic controllers. The reasons for this is to improve reliability, although we have never had a breakdown at any of our corporate events, the older rides have begun to need regular remedial work to keep some of the motors running. With the new systems everything will have a standard controller that will be interchangeable so only 1 type of spare parts will be needed. Additionally the systems will self time the ride and control the speed so having to adjust each ride to take into account the number of passengers will become a thing of the past, all the operator will need to do is press the green button to start the ride and everything else will be taken care of.

Secondly we are looking at redecorating some of the childrens rides. Although the paintwork is in excellent condition and probably wont require a repaint for another two or three years, we are looking at giving everything a more traditional feel, doing away with the modern cartoon characters and going back to scrollwork. In the main this is to enable the rides to be used by our Victorian Funfair offshoot, which is probably the fastest growing category of all our hire operations. After the success with the printed front panels for the Victorian side stalls, we are investigating the feasibility of using a similar technique on the rides.

After our successful presentation at the Durham Christmas festival, I was invited to the 5th birthday party of the events management company that organises the festival. It was a good night in the Epernay champagne bar in the walkergate section of Durham city. The company opened a Nebuchadnezzar bottle of champagne which holds some 15 litres of the beverage and took two people to pour it!

I got the chance to do a bit of networking whilst I was there and came away with a couple of possibilities for supplying attractions to events in the North East area.


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Whenever anyone complains about problems we've encountered, I always insist that in our firm we do not have problems, we have challenges to overcome. Up to date we have always managed to find a solution, sometimes by a wing and a prayer, but everything usually turns out ok despite Arthurs repeated cries of "I am sick of challenges!".

It was gratifying therefore a couple of nights ago to find out that the team are eventually absorbing this we can do it attitude. I was at an event in Liverpool, we had kit in operation in Durham, and a team member was providing candy floss and popcorn to a TA event in Rotherham. Part way through the night in Rotherham, the organiser approached our candy floss barrow and explained that the chef hadn't turned up and could they help. The main course was burgers and hot dogs which is a staple fare of most fairground events so they had no problem in stepping into the vacant chefs position. They managed to pretty much get everything under control and the food cooking before the replacement cook turned up to take over.

The Yorkshire events network we are involved with is progressing nicely. We have been invited to form part of the core team, which will give us access to training facilities and a business adviser to assist with pushing the company forwards. I have already attended a couple of networking events and made some valuable contacts, as well as a couple of new friends.

Dodgems For Hire Nationwide From £1500

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Sometimes I think the system is designed to weed the weaker members of society out by grinding them down until they become suicidal. About 6 months ago I applied for a digital tachograph. I sent my existing licence as proof of identity only to have it returned with a note stating that old paper licences are no longer accepted, I have to have a new digital licence instead. So I sent my licence off with my application for a new photo licence, only for the DVLA to lose it. So then I had to apply for a replacement licence, I couldn't send my old licence as ID as it is missing so I sent my passport, unfortunately between me sending the passport and it arriving it expired, so back came the application with a refusal to accept it. So next I tried my birth certificate, when I was born I was registered as Arthur Robert, when I was baptised Jason was added, there is a special box on a birth certificate that can have names added at baptism. Unfortunately I could only find my original certificate with Arthur Robert on, I wrote a letter explaining and told them that they had already seen my passport etc, but the letter came back with another refusal. So I obtained a replacement birth certificate, one with Jason added at the bottom and sent it off.

Guess what, it came back today with a note stating that it does not have Jason on it, it bloody well does! I have returned it yet again with a scanned copy enclosed and a ring around the name, along with an arrow pointing to the ring and 4 inch high letters stating please read here. It it comes back again I think I will buy a black market forged licence its got to be a damn site easier.

On a brighter note the new range of Victorian side stalls are progressing nicely and we already have a number of booking both for this month and spread throughout next year. An image below shows the current state of play on the prototype.