Nottingham's famous spectacle, Goose Fair, starts
tonight and I for one won't be braving the rides, wimp that I am! All
that frantic spinning and whizzing round would have me throwing up me
lunch before I could say Helter Skelter and where's me toffee apple
gone?
Nottingham's very own Goosey!
However I could be tempted to the Forest
recreation ground for some fairground nosh. Bring on the crunchy brandy
snaps, the Grantham gingerbread or a sugary bag of hot sticky
doughnuts, terribly messy but delightfully naughty and moreish. Of course these
days amongst the multi-coloured sticks of candy floss and rock; the
dubiously named Cocks on a Stick and traditional fish and chips and
ubiquitous mushy peas in mint sauce sit a myriad of burger styles,
chips and curry sauces and Chinese noodles. I don't know about you but I can
always manage to slop half the food down my front without even
realising amongst the hustle and bustle of the dark and flashy fairground crowds! And
nobody tells you! Do they? You only find out when you get home and switch on
the kitchen light to reveal a winter coat coated in food stains and stuck on noodle. Suddenly you are your pet dog or cat's best mate. Slurp slurp! Never have you been so popular.
I've usually had a lovely time at fairs like Goose Fair watching the
punters scream their lungs out on the glitzy and tawdry scary rides; I've heard the girls of
all shapes and sizes giggle and shriek; witnessed the blokes showing
off, swigging beer and preening and have secretly laughed as some
bonny lass has tried to negotiate the wet and increasingly muddy
fairground fields in now, not so white, stilettos. The ground behind her looks like a city of earth worms have come up to the surface for a nose around and changed their minds.
So what do you love to eat at the fair? Have you got any sharable fairground stories? Do leave a
comment. I'd love to hear your stories.
A GOOSE FAIR link for anyone planning to visit the fair this year
9 comments:
No chance of me ever going on a fairground ride - I'd be sick. But it's fun wandering around, & we might visit on Sunday (we are busy every other day). Before I came to live in Nottingham, in 1968, the largest fair I'd been to was The Mop Fair, held at Stratford upon Avon, which, when compared to Goose fair was very small in those days. I went to Manning Girls School, which was opposite the Goose Fair site, & we were given the Friday off, as it would have been impossible to concentrate whilst the fair was running. We may have been able to go home early on the opening Thursday too, with strict instructions that we were NOT to attend the fair whilst wearing our school uniform. I swear our headmistress could see through solid objects & way into the distance, so I never disobeyed, sickening Goody Two Shoes that I was. Do you remember the side shows they had, of 'Snake Woman' 'Bearded Lady' & my favourite 'Mousetown', which smelt horrible, but I loved seeing dozens of cute mice running around tiny houses & obstacles. Mushy Peas were a novelty to me,as I'd never seen them before I moved to Nottingham,as were a lot of the food stuffs on sale. I must have led a sheltered life before I moved up here. Goldfish in plastic bags were always popular as side show prizes until regulations put a stop to them, & I always tried to win one or two. Now I'm a lot older, I do find the noise of the fair a bit much, & I'd rather visit in daylight to make sure I don't trip over things. Not that daylight stops that happening, but it reduces the chances a bit. :-)
I don't like the rides either. I might pop down on Friday night for a spot of photography. And about ah our is all i can take with the music blaring out. Take That competing with Lady Gaga only a few feet apart.
Johnny the butcher is apparently selling mushy pea sausages this year, which is certainly an unique combination.
A couple of years ago (the last time I went) there was a churros stand. Utterly amazing, with a pot of chocolate sauce, standing by the gates watching the people go by as I chomped my way through the crispy, delicious deep-fried goodness.
I'm talking about mental goodness, obviously.
We'd walk down when we lived in Mapperley and then had to Park & Ride when we moved to West Bridgford. In the end I was only going for the mushy peas, sometimes having two or even three 'cups'. Actually, just writing this has reawakened my craving!
John: Thanks for your comment. Three or four pots of mushy peas, really? I'd be forever on the loo!
Christopher: Yes Johnny's apprentice Joel has invented a mushy pea and mint sauce tasting sausage. I hope they are proving as popular as the haggis flavoured sausages Haggis McJoel.
When I was at Capital One we had a day trip out to Alton Towers and all I did was watch the bags and take photos!
Karen: You really should write a blog. You are so interesting and a have a great slant on life. Your comments always make me smile.
Matt: Funny you should mention churros. I was just reading about them in the Sainsbury magazine. they sound great dipped in hot chocolate.
Phil - thanks....I have been thinking about doing one for a while, & even have a title, but at the moment I'm so busy doing other stuff I haven't had time to sort it out. I will come to you for tips when I am ready :-)
And now we find we're too busy to go to Goose Fair, which is annoying, as I remember seeing the Churros stand 2 years ago, but being easily distracted I forgot to get some. We have our Grandson for the day tomorrow, & he doesn't like fairs (he is only 5,& doesn't like noisy places much, or rides), we're at the theatre in the evening, & visiting our son on Sunday.
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