Nottingham Goose Fair 2022

And here we are, against all odds, writing a review of my local large fair, Nottingham Goose Fair, after its 2-year absence, and what a return!

As some of you may know, I got into this world through fairgrounds first and then gained an interest in theme parks shortly after this. This passion for me was born at my local fair, Nottingham Goose Fair, specifically in 2006, when a 12-year-old me was watching Henry James Evans' newly acquired KMG Reflex in absolute awe of its movement and lighting. So with all this being said it's very fair to say Goose Fair has a very special place in my heart.

Let's turn the clock back a couple of years to 2020 with the COVID-19 pandemic at its peak, with the general public bored at home, digging out their Nintendo Wii's to try and hold on to the remainder of our sanity. Every fairground enthusiast under the sun was well aware that the annual Goose Fair would have little to no chance of opening that year, which of course it didn't. However, when 2021 came around we all had extremely high hopes for the return of the fair, due to the much lower infection and spread rates throughout the UK. So with a bad taste left in our mouths after the hole in our Octobers, this year's return was very warmly welcomed.

In previous years, there has always been a rough site map floating around somewhere, showing what rides were going where, however this year that wasn't the case. From what I can gather, a lot of the new rides were very last minute in coming to the fair, this is usually due to Showmen sub-letting a plot that they own, for example, Reeves' Ice Jet Matterhorn is actually on a plot owned by Harris', they will basically rent that position off Harris' and open the ride there. Because of the lack of a site plan, it was a little bit more exciting when I went to watch the rides drive on (or 'pull on' as we call it). With word of Darren Matthews' newly purchased 'Red Devil' Loop Fighter rumored to be attending, along with Reeves' 'Void' Remix II (pictured below), it certainly had most of the communities attention.

Once all the rides had built up, it gave us a clearer picture of the changes that had been made, and albeit rather small changes, it's more than we've seen for a while at Nottingham. New additions to the lineup included Matthews 'Red Devil' Technical Park Loop Fighter, Weighmans 'Infinity' Confolding Group Freak-Out, Birch's Fairtrade Waltzer, Reeves' 'Void' Tivoli Remix II, but also the return of some favorites including Reeves' flawless 'Ice Jet' Bertazzon Matterhorn (pictured below), sporting even more lighting, with an array of white (respectively) moving head lights added around the Polar Bear in the center, which also sprays CO2 out of its mouth, because, why not.

I visited the fair a total of 4 times during the time it was open and it was pretty consistently busy, with the first Saturday being one of the busiest I've ever seen the fair. So I think it's safe to say, the people of Nottingham have dearly missed the fair's absence.

My overall review of Goose Fair however is quite mixed, I know I literally just preached about the changes we've seen this year, however, for me, it just seems like more change could be done to the lineup at the fair. I won't go down the rabbit hole of why more changes are unlikely to happen, but the reasons are fairly valid, whether you agree or disagree with them, and I am with the latter. The way the Showmans Guild and fairs usually work over here means that in basic terms the mentality of it is 'I was here first so it's mine, as previously stated Showmen/Showwomen, will own a plot on a fair, they will have first refusal to take their rides there, and nobody else can really argue with the fact. Because of that, this is why we see little to no changes over the years, only when an owner of a plot buys a new ride. So like I say, the changes are very welcome, and it's a

mall step in the right direction, however, I feel more needs to be done to keep the fair interesting and appealing every year, and my friends who aren't enthusiasts mentioned the fact that its the same as previous years, and to

add to that, they mock the laughable amount of duplicates we see at the fair, with several Miamis, Waltzers, Dodgems and Jump N Smile rides, it just seems a bit much. With all that being said, the atmosphere itself seemed like 'the old days, with crowds mobbing rides that were putting on a show, huge queues for the dozens of food outlets, and the hustle and bustle of fairs that we all know and love.

I'm not trying to fix the entire industry, I don't work within it, I can only comment from my perspective. Nothing I ever write about is ever intended to hate on, tarnish, or be unfair. I can only comment on my experience and my thoughts on the matter, and although I don't have ties or a career in this world, I have spent enough time within it to make an observation that it could be a lot better and has been.

To conclude, there is no denying, I've loved having Goose Fair back, and although I could moan and rant for weeks about the politics behind fairs, I still find myself returning to fairs on a regular basis and leaving with a smile on my face, eager to talk about it, make a video and archive the hundreds of photos I have taken during the event (which can be found on our Facebook page), and I guess that's what it's all about? I've seen friends I don't see until the cold October nights set in, and that's more important than any ride.

Welcome back Goose Fair, it's been a pleasure having you back.