The strangest thing about Abingdon Fair is that, even though we live only sixty yards from the fair, we do not hear the pulsating noise from the big rides until we leave the house.
This evening as we left the house, people from South Abingdon were streaming by, up West St Helen Street, towards the fair and the main thoroughfare along High Street and Ock Street.
On the corner of West St Helen Street you can get popcorn, candy floss, and toffee apples from the Fresh Fast Food stall.
As the night drew on there was still lots of youngsters enjoying hook a ducks (which have made a come back this year)
and the many children’s rides and harnessed trampolines.
Further on there are the dodgems, the ideal ride for parents and kids to enjoy together.
About half way along Ock Street you come to Hell’s Gate.
The bigger rides are on the Market Place and from Hell’s Gate to the end of Ock Street. Here the roads are wide enough to allow bigger rides and spectators and the passage of lots of people – all together. But nowhere on the route can take some of the biggest rides that you get at some of the other big fairs.
The weather was good, and there seemed to be lots of people enjoying themselves.
When I was little, we could hear the fair quite distinctly from the non-town end of Faringdon Road, but it was quite inaudible when we moved to Victoria Road (a very handy location for during-the-adverts emergency candy floss requirements!).
When I was little it was tradition we all had new coats for Abingdon fair and our extended family came from a far to meet up and enjoy the event, then there was a boxing booth, freak show, striptease show, ghost train, Mrs Bucklands coconut shye “?” Rifle range, huge helter skelter (aka penny on the mat) hum bugs and toffee apples and even a tunnel of love, gone too is the big wheel, gone too are the Scamel trucks, the AEC’s, Foden, Diamond T, and ERF, now row upon row of ubiquitous Volvo, endless hot dog and burger bars, candy floss and sweets, hog roast and curry sauce, my town centre bus to oxford pick cos up and drops off in Radley rd, the traffic is horrendous too – oh dear I must be getting old !
Cos ?? Sorry
Many people feel the same, has it become too commercial?. Nice too see the local shops selling refreshments . Usually better quality and cheaper than the wagons/stalls. On waltzers, so much smoke/lasers and sub woofers, not time for anything like we enjoyed on the tunnel of Love…
Every time I walk through Fair now, Reminded of the Barron Knights song: Its like a disco-tech here, if they don’t turn the music down, I will be deaf in one ear, I can’t hear!!!. 😉
For me.. the fair was pretty average this year, seemed to be a lot better atmosphere about 7 or 8 years ago. Kids out far later than they should be, and slightly older kids/idiotic adults getting absolutely trashed in the narrows on cheap wine and shooters, and throwing up outside the co-op. Or pulling their undies aside on east St. Helens street (unfortunately I witnessed all of the above). I wouldn’t want to take my kids out to see all that happening.
Indeed crediblelama indeed, I think it high time the stakeholders in this, that’s all 3 councils, the bus companies, the chamber of commerce etc all got around the table and considered whether to call time on this institution? For sure it’s now turning into an excuse ( not there was one needed) to turn this once family event into little more than a drunken club 18 – 30, problem there is TVP has neither the will or resources to police it, so it’s pretty much a free for all,
It’s about time Willie Wilson (the protagonist of the fair) dipped into his multi million pound pocket and provided privet security for the two days ? That might be a starting point from which to evolve and secure the fairs future, as it is it has none !
privet security? – surely those ruffians are not stealing people’s hedges too?