"The Tunnel of Love" My life on the Traveling Fairgrounds, by rockabilly.

[Rockabilly]

Re: "The Tunnel of Love" My life on the Traveling Fairgrounds, by rockabilly.

I am wondering how you remember it all, I can barely remember what I did yesterday let along twenty five years ago


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I've always been good at remembering dates from the past, especially music dates. I've won hundreds of pop quizzes due to my good memory. Also I've still got a lot of the letters and photos I received from the lasses back then. I often scribbled a date and the Gaff, on the back of the envelopes.

When I comes to remembering dates from the last five years I'm useless.

 

[Master Yates]

Re: "The Tunnel of Love" My life on the Traveling Fairgrounds, by rockabilly.

I am wondering how you remember it all, I can barely remember what I did yesterday let along twenty five years ago


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I’m the same. My story would go something like this:

Chapter 1: playing football at primary school.
Chapter 2: went to uni
Chapter 3: this morning

With plenty of “scene missing” in between


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[virgo]

Re: "The Tunnel of Love" My life on the Traveling Fairgrounds, by rockabilly.

I’m the same. My story would go something like this:

Chapter 1: playing football at primary school.
Chapter 2: went to uni
Chapter 3: this morning

With plenty of “scene missing” in between

I think my life story would be similar. I also sometimes get memories a bit out of chronological order, and two incidents that happened months or sometimes years apart get sort of mixed up into one memory.

 

[Rockabilly]

Re: "The Tunnel of Love" My life on the Traveling Fairgrounds, by rockabilly.

Chapter Thirty Four.. “Ark at this”.

During my days on the Dodgems and my time with Rob, I’d got to know a chap called Richard Millband. Richard was a steam engine man with a passion for the fairgrounds. I’d done a few bits of artwork for Richard in the past. It was late summer in 2006, when Richard and his wife Linda had arranged a visit to my house for a chat. As we were sitting chatting over a cup of tea Richard revealed to me that he’s just purchased a Noah’s Ark ride. A Noah’s Ark was an earlier version of the Speedway, the only difference being, they had animals instead of bikes. Bikes became more popular than the ‘Arks’ from the 1950s onwards. The Ark Richard had purchased had been built at Orton and Spooner’s of Burton on Trent, back in the 1930s.

It was at this moment when Richard and his wife Linda made me a proposition. They asked me if I’d like to paint their ark. They suggested that I came back with them to take a look at the ark and see what I thought. Richard and Linda only lived down the road from me, just outside of Cotgrave.

I took them up on their offer, so off I went to Cotgrave. When I arrived there, there stood the ark fully built up. After a quick look at the ride, Richard took me for a tour around his workshops and sheds. He had a very impressive set up indeed. After my tour of the sheds and steam engines, it was back to their’s for more tea and biscuits. During the tea I gave Richard a price for the artwork on the Ark. We shook hands on the deal, then he took me back to the sheds and workshops. It was at that moment when you could’ve knocked me over with a feather. Richard told me to treat those sheds as my own. “Any work you get, big or small… get it over here and get it done in these sheds. At first I thought there must be a catch. I later found out there was no catch. Richard and Linda were treating me as part of their family.

As time went on, I would do bits of Richard’s ark, as and when things were ready to be painted. Also I would have Showmen bringing in their rides and stalls to be painted by me.

Before the restoration of the Ark and before I could lay a blob of paint on the ride, Richard and Linda had a little get together on the ride with friends and family. I was asked to invite some of my friends over too, in particular ones that knew how to operate and ride an Ark. The first two on my list were Paul Grimshaw and my old pal Crockerpod. Paul was the chap that I’d met for the first time at the Blackpool model show. My only regret was, I’d lost touch with my best pal Teabag. Teabag could ride an Ark as well as the Meteorite. I’d not seen Teabag since 1988. We had pulled two birds and spent two weeks with them in a caravan at Chapel St Leonards, near Skegness. We’d somehow went our separate ways and lost touch. Working on the Gaff was never the same without Teabag.

Richard’s get together was a success. Us old Gaff Lads were teaching Richard’s 13yr old son how to jump the ark and do a few tricks too. Linda had provided us all with some proper fairground food… Hamburgers, Hotdogs and onions. During that day, Richard had become good friends with Paul and Crockerpod. A good time was had all, especially as I’d provided some good old fairground tunes to crank up the atmosphere.

The ark was finally completed in the summer of 2009. It was due to make it’s debut at the 2009 Lincolnshire Steam Rally. Richard had paid me for my work on the ark and transport plus as an extra bonus he generously bought me a new car too. I was gobsmacked. What a lovely gesture. Apart from Paul and Crockerpod, nobody had seen the transformation that had been made on the ark. Two years of hard graft from Richard and his family and a paint job from me were about to be unleashed. Not only had I painted the Ark, I’d done the transport to this ride too. Truck and trailer complete with lettering AND pinups too!

The Ark had been renamed ‘The 20th Century Thriller’. Of course… the idea came from me.

It was now the day the 20th Century Thriller was to make it’s slow journey up to the Lincoln Show Ground. It was a magnificent sight as Richard drove the Ark loads up the A46 from Cotgrave. Myself and Crockerpod were following close behind in the car. For me, it was another one of those ‘hairs on the back of my neck moments’!

When the loads arrived at the Show Ground, we were greeted by a ‘posse of photographers’ mainly from the Vintage and Steam type magazines. Also there were plenty of fairground enthusiasts too, armed with cameras.

As Richard and his crew were building the ark up, I sat with Linda with a cup of tea, full of admiration as the ark was being built up. To be honest, it would be fair to say that Linda and I, fully milked the situation, wallowing in the glory of the fruits of our labour.

When the fair was open, I’d been persuaded to work on the ride. ‘f*** me… I’d had more come backs than Gary Glitter’ I thought to myself. Linda had provided us with some 1950s retro jackets. They weren’t to my taste, we should have worn Leather jackets! Having said that… it was brilliant working on the ark, just like the old days… I only wished that Teabag could have been there too.

That weekend at Lincoln was special for me in many ways. There were seven rides appearing at that event. FIVE… were painted by me. I was a very proud man! Unfortunately, during the time at the Lincoln Rally I was hiding a secret that only a few people knew about and it was going to contribute towards my downfall. This will become more clear in the next chapter.

 

[Rockabilly]

Re: "The Tunnel of Love" My life on the Traveling Fairgrounds, by rockabilly.

I’m the same. My story would go something like this:

Chapter 1: playing football at primary school.
Chapter 2: went to uni
Chapter 3: this morning

With plenty of “scene missing” in between


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[Captain Sinister]

Re: "The Tunnel of Love" My life on the Traveling Fairgrounds, by rockabilly.

Can we have a public health warning, please Rocka?
The nexty bit's going to be sad isn't it?
There you are, riding the crest of the biggest wave like Kelly Slater.
I have a feeling the next chapter is going to be "wipe-out".
I don't like sad...

 

[Rockabilly]

Re: "The Tunnel of Love" My life on the Traveling Fairgrounds, by rockabilly.

Can we have a public health warning, please Rocka?
The nexty bit's going to be sad isn't it?
There you are, riding the crest of the biggest wave like Kelly Slater.
I have a feeling the next chapter is going to be "wipe-out".
I don't like sad...

You'll have to wait and see Cap'n.

 

[Rockabilly]

Re: "The Tunnel of Love" My life on the Traveling Fairgrounds, by rockabilly.

Before.

 

[Rockabilly]

Re: "The Tunnel of Love" My life on the Traveling Fairgrounds, by rockabilly.

After. Me and Crockerpod posing in front of the Thriller at the 'Scarborough Fair Collection' Museum.

 

[Rockabilly]

Re: "The Tunnel of Love" My life on the Traveling Fairgrounds, by rockabilly.

Those horrible jackets!

 

[Rockabilly]

Re: "The Tunnel of Love" My life on the Traveling Fairgrounds, by rockabilly.

The Ark loads getting ready for their Journey to Lincoln.

 

[Erik]

Re: "The Tunnel of Love" My life on the Traveling Fairgrounds, by rockabilly.

After. Me and Crockerpod posing in front of the Thriller at the 'Scarborough Fair Collection' Museum.

The elephant.

Front foot, third toe. You missed a bit of the orange.

 

[Rockabilly]

Re: "The Tunnel of Love" My life on the Traveling Fairgrounds, by rockabilly.

 

[Rockabilly]

Re: "The Tunnel of Love" My life on the Traveling Fairgrounds, by rockabilly.

 

[adam09]

Re: "The Tunnel of Love" My life on the Traveling Fairgrounds, by rockabilly.

You know a picture is from the 2000s if someone's wearing a wallet chain.

 

[ozthecoz]

Re: "The Tunnel of Love" My life on the Traveling Fairgrounds, by rockabilly.

What a cliff hanger to leave the last chapter on.

I'm waiting with bated breath

 

[rockhopper]

Re: "The Tunnel of Love" My life on the Traveling Fairgrounds, by rockabilly.

After. Me and Crockerpod posing in front of the Thriller at the 'Scarborough Fair Collection' Museum.

Wowser, that's some transformation, I can only imagine the incredible amount of work that went into it.
Looks fabulous!

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[Rockabilly]

Re: "The Tunnel of Love" My life on the Traveling Fairgrounds, by rockabilly.

Wowser, that's some transformation, I can only imagine the incredible amount of work that went into it.
Looks fabulous!

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Thank you rockhopper, much appreciated. :cheers:

 

[adam09]

Re: "The Tunnel of Love" My life on the Traveling Fairgrounds, by rockabilly.

What a cliff hanger to leave the last chapter on.

I'm waiting with bated breath

He's got us by the nads, you watch him charge us for the final chapter the carny bastard.

 

[Bryn Gunn]

Re: "The Tunnel of Love" My life on the Traveling Fairgrounds, by rockabilly.

I think I know what’s coming.

 

[Rockabilly]

Re: "The Tunnel of Love" My life on the Traveling Fairgrounds, by rockabilly.

Chapter Thirty Five… “Life Changing Happenings”

During my time painting at Cotgrave, I noticed I was getting more tired as time went on. I brushed it aside thinking I was getting old, or maybe I was working too hard.

Things were going well with me and Julie, It was in October 2007 when I eventually tied the knot. Yes, I got married! It was a very small wedding with only a handful of relatives and close friends in attendance. The night before the wedding myself and Julie had a few drinks with a few friends, there were no stag or hen nights. It was the night before the wedding when I started to feel a bit ill. I couldn’t put my finger on what was wrong, but I felt very tired.

The Wedding event passed without any ****hes, and me and Julie were now husband and wife. The following morning we flew off to Spain for our honeymoon. On our arrival in Spain I’d developed a small cough. I thought maybe I’d picked up a bug from the air conditioning on the plane. All through the holiday, my cough was progressively getting worse. I found a pharmacy and got myself some cough medicine.

After returning home from Spain, my cough and tiredness became worse. I was told by family members to go and see a doctor. “I don’t need to waste the Doctor’s time, it’s only a cough, it’ll be gone in a couple of weeks” I kept saying. During this time I kept plodding along with my work. I kept telling myself I’d feel better soon. At that time I had around 40 Speedway bikes that needed painting. Speedway bikes are very heavy to lift. Moving those bikes around as I painted them nearly killed me. I was glad to see the back of them.

It was now Boxing Day 2007, I’d taken myself into a Walk in Centre in Nottingham. I was feeling very poorly and my cough was getting worse. They took one look at me and made an emergency appointment at the City Hospital for the very next morning. At the hospital I was given various blood tests and a chest scan too. They then sent me home and told me I’d get my results in a couple of weeks. I spent the rest of the Christmas holidays in bed.

It was 7am on the morning of New Years day 2008 when I received a phone call. Prior to this, we’d been receiving tele sales calls making a nuisance of themselves. The phone rang at 7am, I answered the phone and this is how the conversation went “No I don’t want any double glazing or car insurance, it’s New Years f***ing day and I don’t feel well so why don’t you f*** off and leave me in peace!” That told them! As I walked away the phone rang once again. I answered it for a second time ready to give them more abuse. I decided to let them have their say before I gave them both f***ing barrels. “Mr Bignall, my name is Dr Ali, from the Hematology ward at the City Hospital” said the voice. “Did you just ring me a few seconds ago?” I asked feeling very embarrassed. “Yes said the voice”. I said my apologies and listened to what he had to say.

After my phone conversation, I got myself dressed and got a taxi to the hospital. On my arrival I was put into a small room. There I was greeted by a lady consultant called Dr Byrne. She asked me to sit down. This was the moment I was to be told I had Chronic Myloid Leukaemia. During the first few months of 2008 I was in and out of hospital and on chemotherapy along with several bone marrow ops. The good news was… I was still allowed to drink a beer or two.

Apart from my family only Richard and Linda knew I’d got this illness. After a lot of treatment I was feeling better. Unfortunately I would never be back to my old self.

Throughout 2008 and 2009 I was plodding along still painting. I was still able to paint, but I was taking on less work. Don’t get me wrong, although I was ill, I still wanted to carry on. There was no way was I gonna let this illness beat me.

It was in 2009 when my father passed away. He died of skin cancer. Just like me, my dad had ended up with his ‘Dream Job’. From being a young man my dad was football mad. He played for several Sunday teams over the years, but his dream was to be a football coach. My dad ended up coaching and scouting for Nottingham Forest FC. Before then, he’d worked along side football manager Neil Warnock at Burton Albion, Scarborough and Notts County too. My dad eventually ended up working at the NFFC academy. I was proud of my dad. Just for the record, two of my father’s discoveries were footballers Paul Williams and Ruffus Brevit. There were a few at Forest too. I remember my dad trying to sign Nigel Clough for Burton Albion before his dad Brian had signed him for Forest. My dad had become good friends with Brian and Nigel Clough over the years. When Nigel became manager at Derby County, my dad said to him “Why would want to manage that rammel?”

It hit me hard when my dad died, harder than I’d realised at the time. He had taken me to so many Forest games between 1969 and 1982. My only regret was, I was too busy with my own life to fully appreciate that my dad was living his dream too. Speaking as a Forest fan myself, I wish I’d taken more of an interest in his time with Nottingham Forest.

RIP Brian Bignall, I do hope you and Mr Clough are behaving yourselves up there.

 

[Erik]

Re: "The Tunnel of Love" My life on the Traveling Fairgrounds, by rockabilly.

No flippant comments this time Rockabilly.

You're a top man.

 

[Redemption]

Re: "The Tunnel of Love" My life on the Traveling Fairgrounds, by rockabilly.

RIP Rockabilly.

Too soon?

 

[Viktor]

Re: "The Tunnel of Love" My life on the Traveling Fairgrounds, by rockabilly.

It's crazy isn't it, New Year's Day 2008 didn't we have a home game against Huddersfield? I lived really close to City hospital at the time. Crazy.

RIP Mr Bignall

 

[adam09]

Re: "The Tunnel of Love" My life on the Traveling Fairgrounds, by rockabilly.

Rembrandt 1606-2008