We were in Varese just north of Milan hard by the Swiss border staying with family.
The weather promised rain. Instead the sky cleared from the east and for a while at least the sun shone. So we took ourselves off to Lake Varese and the Fair.
It is still early in the season but everyone is working hard and the tiredness of a full season selling fun by the Lake has yet to kick in and so the traders seem genuinely pleased to see us.
Fairgrounds I guess are much the same the world over and the magic lies in the flashing lights, the thrill of the rides and that serious chance you might win something on the many stalls.
Of course the odds are stacked against collecting a real prize and rides rarely last long enough.
Added to this if you step behind the flashing lights the tacky broken down real side is all there to see. A mix of old plastic crates, piles of rubbish and discarded fairground ephemera like the once proud Roman soldier with half a sword and ugly rusting rods sticking through the once brightly painted body.
But I think this is to be too hard on our fair. It was less run down than some of the travelling ones at home. The paint on the stalls was new, the chrome shone in the bright April sunlight and there was that variety of rides which gave you a real sense that this had been no wasted journey.
There were the old favourites and a few I hadn’t seen from last year. And as ever it is the simpler ones that proved the most popular. Like the giant transparent plastic balls big enough to take a child which floated on a pool of water. Tina’s niece was there inside the ball in a flash and then a little like the pet mouse in the play ball proceeded to roll around on an aimless path.
There were also the regular standbys like the Go Kart, impossible sickening rides and the old hall of mirrors brought up to date with mechanical walks, jets of hot air and a mini obstacle course. Alongside these were the giant gaudy chrome vans selling everything from pizza to pancakes smothered in Nutella sauce and a whole range of other things to eat including those candied nuts which are everywhere.
Even on this early Easter weekend there were plenty of people around. They were the usual mix of families and teenagers with the odd elderly couple perhaps wistfully gazing on the fun and remembering past visits to the fair when things were different.
Which reminded me of a simpler fairground we came across once in Sardinia.
It consisted of just one carousel ride. You sat on bucket seats and the thing was powered by hand. The only other attraction was one of those hammers which if you hit it hard enough it rang the bell. Nevertheless there was a steady stream of people wanting to have a go on the hammer and to ride the ride.
Now I am not a great fan of the fairground but in there different ways both were fun. Tomorrow we are off to Milan and the following day will be Easter Sunday and the big family meal, but more about that another time.
Pictures; all the fun of the fair, 2012, from from the collection of Andrew Simpson
Added to this if you step behind the flashing lights the tacky broken down real side is all there to see. A mix of old plastic crates, piles of rubbish and discarded fairground ephemera like the once proud Roman soldier with half a sword and ugly rusting rods sticking through the once brightly painted body.
But I think this is to be too hard on our fair. It was less run down than some of the travelling ones at home. The paint on the stalls was new, the chrome shone in the bright April sunlight and there was that variety of rides which gave you a real sense that this had been no wasted journey.
There were the old favourites and a few I hadn’t seen from last year. And as ever it is the simpler ones that proved the most popular. Like the giant transparent plastic balls big enough to take a child which floated on a pool of water. Tina’s niece was there inside the ball in a flash and then a little like the pet mouse in the play ball proceeded to roll around on an aimless path.
There were also the regular standbys like the Go Kart, impossible sickening rides and the old hall of mirrors brought up to date with mechanical walks, jets of hot air and a mini obstacle course. Alongside these were the giant gaudy chrome vans selling everything from pizza to pancakes smothered in Nutella sauce and a whole range of other things to eat including those candied nuts which are everywhere.
Even on this early Easter weekend there were plenty of people around. They were the usual mix of families and teenagers with the odd elderly couple perhaps wistfully gazing on the fun and remembering past visits to the fair when things were different.
Which reminded me of a simpler fairground we came across once in Sardinia.
It consisted of just one carousel ride. You sat on bucket seats and the thing was powered by hand. The only other attraction was one of those hammers which if you hit it hard enough it rang the bell. Nevertheless there was a steady stream of people wanting to have a go on the hammer and to ride the ride.
Now I am not a great fan of the fairground but in there different ways both were fun. Tomorrow we are off to Milan and the following day will be Easter Sunday and the big family meal, but more about that another time.
Pictures; all the fun of the fair, 2012, from from the collection of Andrew Simpson
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