Intro
So, Ilkeston is an interesting one. One that seems to creep around much faster than other fairs, probably due to being at the back end of a very busy October. This year saw some welcome changes and as always, it was great to return to this fair.
Review
Ilkeston has always been a little gem of a fair, sprawling the streets of Ilkeston every October, for god knows how many years. Presenting some of the biggest attractions straight after Nottingham Goose Fair. As aforementioned, there were some pretty drastic changes, due to clashes in dates of other fairs, and some rides being exported, and so on.
However, the firm favorites returned such as Harris' immaculate Supreme Waltzer, Dodgems, and Miami, not forgetting Charles Harris' classic 80s PWS Twist, sporting a relatively new, but amazing-sounding Bell Audio sound system, a small company that seems to be finding a niche within the fairground industry.
As for changes, we didn't see a Mondial Top Scan this year, which is the first time in a while, as Top Buzz 1 originally attended, followed by James Mellors' Space Roller, Crows Top Buzz 2, and lastly Stanley Reeves' Xtreme Top Scan, which got sold to Belgium at the end of last year, this gap was filled by High Roller, a unique variant of the iconic Super Bowl ride, we have got used to at fairs. There was also no Tip-Top this year or Extreme, as usual tenants for these machines (Michael McKean and Albert Holland) were open at Worksop during Ilkeston this year, these positions were filled by Warwicks 'The Storm' and Joel Bunns Tagada, both of which battling it out and putting on a fantastic show, I really do hope these two machines return as they seemed to be pulling the crowds consistently all night! Bunn's wasn't the only Tagada there, there were in fact 3 in total with William Roberts and Jenkins' both also presenting their Tagadas, at various other locations around the town.
The overall atmosphere was electric, as is usually the case at tight, busy street fairs, and even though its a fair I seem to almost forget about, it always impresses me and I will always make the visit over to soak up the music, lights and smells that seem to draw us back to fairs over and over again.
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