We pulled out in March 1981, first stop was Yeovil on the car park for 2 weeks. Topsham Brian moved camp from Ernie De-Veys dodgems and joined Kuzz, JR and myself on the waltzer. We were in effect a dream team, we worked well together and the ride seemed to get built up and pulled down very quickly. Topsham Brian took over the role of driving the waltzer lorry this season, whilst cowboy drove the ark lorry and Colin the Scammel showtrac. I took over the role of driving the Noddy with Colins caravan in tow. Driving on was great and plus you got drive on money to supplement your wages. The first drive from Yeovil to Exeter was a testing time for all new drivers. I struggled with the “Noddy” it had a mind of its own and would wonder across the road so you constantly had to turn the wheel left to right to keep it straight. My first experience of doubling the clutch usually ended in a lot of gear box grating. The side door also had a tendancy to fly open luckly it was on the passenger side. I made it to Exeter and found Brian had the waltzer lorry hard up against the advertising hoarding so some gentle manouvering was required. Simon De-Veys recently purchased paratrooper from the Codona family made its debut at Exeter whilst Rowland De-Vey’s recently aquired Trabant had opened at Yeovil for the first time.

From Exeter we moved on down to Goodrington for the Easter Fair, this entailed taking the lorries over Telegraph Hill, which we avoided by going up Haldon Hill and crossing over at the top back down on to the Torbay Road. There is a steep decline on that road as it decends onto the Torquay road where you cross the 2 northbound lanes and through the central reservation area and across the 2 south boud lanes. As you can imagine there was a certain amount of judgement required to get the lorryes and trailers across the northbound caraigeway in the face of very fast cars and get enough of the lorrie onto the southbound caraigway so that the trailer was not left stradelling the northbound caraigeway. The waltzer lorry and centre truck carried out this feat a little too quickly that year. It decended the decline and didn’t stop and went staright across the northbound carageway with Kuzz running behind applying the truck brake.

The leisure centre was not as large as it is these days and it was good to be on hard standing. Being relaivly young at the time Kuzz, Brian and JR saw to it that I was introduced to drinking lager. The bigest problem at Goodrington was that there was no decent place to eat. We were spoiled at Yeovil and Exeter. Easter that year was memorable for the fact that we pulled down with snow on the ground. It was bitterly cold and George De-Vey bought out a bottle of Whisky to warm the cockles.

It was back to home ground with a visit to Exmouth for 2 weeks. This was the first season that I travelled down into Cornwall with a stop at Okehampton for a week on route. Okehampton is another town that has a long steep hill down into it. Brian and the waltzer lorry got to the bottom but were glad that there was no queue at the bottom of the hill as a crunch would have been unavoidable. Pulling down at Okehampton was done in torrential rain. The winch became “live” and so therefore all the girders and truck gave you a jolt. Trying to turn the set off on the set truck proved difficult that was live as well. From Okehampton there was a long drive to the famous ground at Redruth which until recently was owned by the firm. I can remember on the long straight roads coming off Bodmin moor seeing showload after showload in the distance. It seemed like a masive convoy and as we neared Redruth every layby was filled with the tenants loads. It was not the wettest year at Redruth but was pretty bad. everything had to be winched in and out. The Truro fair was delayed due to the conditions so we waited at Redruth for the week and then went straight to Penzance Corpus Christi fair. The waltzer did not open at Penzance and so it was all on to the ark for the week. It was a pretty miserable site and there was plenty of rain as well. This fair sees the combination of A&R and Whiteleggs fair. There used to be 4 dodgem tracks here. Leaving Cornwall entailed a long drive back up to Devon normally to Exmouth. The drive took most of the day back then.

After Exmouth we spent a few weeks at Exeter. Then it was off to Honiton and this year saw us on a new ground which was right in the town almost just behind the Volunteer inn. The Honiton fair always seemed busy back then with us riding until after the pubs had closed. The biggest problem with this ground was getting out as it meant going up a fairly steep long grassed incline. Once again winching was employed with several chains added to the end. From here we travelled to Taunton where for the first time they were not able to use Vivary Park. We opened on a new ground almost at the other end of town. The waltzer crew woke Monday morning at about 9:00 went for breakfast and started building up at 10:00.

The ark was well ahead of us, but come the afternoon we tried out with them still putting steps on. That’s the way it was that season the four of us were self sufficient to the end. It was very busy there at this new ground and we discovered the “Rose Inn” across the road. . We stayed for the customary 2 weeks. On the middle Sunday we always used to paint the Gratings and platforms ready for the Regattas.

The regattas passed without much incidence I seem to remember. I think it was this year at Babbacome we had no electric to put the platforms on so we continued and put the strips and roof on with no platforms below and put them on later when the plant truck arrived. The talking point of the regattas was Simon De-Vey’s paratrooper. It rode full all the time bareley stopping to load passengers at Torquay and at the height it would only go up half way then straight down again. That year the ticket on the waltzer went to 50p each, it was crazy.

Newton Abbott fair was interesting as David Rowland now had control of Bibsy Whitelegs dodgems. We arrived to find their Dodgems built on the ark ground. So Colin De-Vey manoeuvred his vehicles to effectively block the fair so nothing could get in and no one else could be built up. It was settled on the Tuesday and we built up on the wrong ground.

As usual Barnstable and Bridgewater followed Newton Abbot, the waltzer was taken back to Cullumpton during this period.

I did not stay in the yard of the winter of 1981/1982 and went home to Exmouth instead.