A few weeks ago, I spent a couple of hours of the evening at the Michaelmas Fair in Abingdon. The fair is a tradition that dates back many centuries and its annual occurrence on the Monday and Tuesday before the 11th October is written into local law. It began after the Black Death in 1348 as a way for local people to hire labour. A second smaller fair takes place a week later. That is known as The Runaway Fair as it was an opportunity for hired workers to leave their unpleasant masters and find new work.
Of course, nobody wanders the streets looking for work these days, so the fairs are what we now know as funfairs - rides, games, refreshments and money-eating opportunities galore. The Michaelmas Fair sometimes lays claim to being Britain’s longest and narrowest funfair, but this is simply because it is placed on the main street that runs up to the market square - in effect the town centre is closed to traffic for two days.
It’s not to everybody’s taste, but I’ve always loved a funfair. That heady mix of bright colourful lights, loud music, gaudy design and machines that throw you about in all directions has always fascinated me (although my penchant for actually riding the machines is not what it used to be; rollercoasters - yes, spin and spew - no). So I was pleased to be able to walk along the fair with a friend (whose front door opens right on to it), and take a few photos along the way.
I’m still learning how to get the best out of my mirrorless camera, but I knew that in order to really depict the movement of the rides, I needed to leave the shutter open just a little longer than usual. Of course, you really need a tripod to get the best out of this technique, but I wasn’t going to plonk one of those in amongst the crowds, so had to make do with my unsteady hands. Even so, I was quite pleased with some of the results.
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