And. Because of the nature of the. Good little business going on you'll meet. With the fun. Family. you have. To call the b.b.c. Radio skip. Minutes past. Effort in the studio right now Florence describes being from Kirkby and I should have at Florence high. From the last trip living in Caribbean afterwards Kirkby to use a place of birth place you know no I came to be in 69 I'm like you know I feel so much I've sort of stayed around me not you it's a beautiful town how did you discover Kirkby natural the ward you that I married you know the showman who lived on the palm delicate the Nashville which is quite a famous place the Pando And so I just emigrated to be you married a showman from the fairground Yeah so what was it well he was what we would call a shooter man he operated a shooter. So whatever awful thing was yes that time where you have targets and what not happened sometimes Cork's but yeah right now this was not an unusual world for you though because I think you'd be born into a fairground family and yeah I mean I was born Easter Sunday Melton Mowbray fair Melton Mowbray park Leicestershire. I will probably born in the fairground that I was born in the caravan yeah as the music was all going as my father would say so I got it in my blood. I come from a very stable happy family I'm very very very fortunate and I'm on such a good life my family traveled the traditional seasonal circuit of face. So if somebody said to me Where are you going to be move this day in 2 years' time I would say Stanford Red Lion Square. The it's so well regulated that I know where I'm going to be every week so you're still doing this yes I'm supporting my son at the moment yes. My son's took over right so I just go and support him but this is a life in fact ground family so born into this literally in a caravan in the midst of the fair in Melton Mowbray. I'm sure people have spoken to you about this a lot of times France when one doesn't live and work in a fair going to the fair is the most exciting wonderful thing as a child or teenager did you miss out on or that thing. I'm not really I find is just as exciting to come here today. I found it just as exciting to go into a foam and listen to the farmer explain things. I was fortunate I got good parents and my own one of my own to it was really really open history and she would drag you everywhere and talk to you about also sorts of things so I never felt that I missed out on anything. And that we had our own and we still do have our own social life so that we would go off to people's parties. Birthday parties on Dodge trucks. Cars out the way and tables out and over so that didn't involve the dodgems other for a moment there I thought you were telling me that was Ok I think with that evolved Dodger you could have gone on the dodge and actually the fish suddenly my kind of wedding Well yes yeah Mike you people will be thinking of enough what exactly to where they were during human doctrines try to free people as the night went on but we were gets too stuck at about. And the society the community took but I think people from outside the world affect grounds would say that's probably quite a closed community you're on to sell us like that before I think some industries own if you look at foam as their industry is quite closed on a good fall not a good phone or a farmer that marries another farmer they normally stay within the trade because that's the trade they know that's the trade they can put something into so it's not an unusual thing I think in this day and age where we're all moving around is quite unusual for the settled say the settle community or to have that kind of view. You make an interesting observation that the farmers have a lifestyle which can have very early starts very late starts no regulated hours and I guess that could be the same in the fact around world if you get a lot of rain just as you're setting up or trying to leave aside all yes. It is long hours it's not quite as pecan Arius as a farmer we have quite a strict routine So let's say we're going to go to Eastern fair which we've just come from you're not allowed to go until Monday at 6 o'clock you're giving a number so we'll be number one you go in you put you go on your plot and number 23456 will follow so it's quite regulated like that. Yes we do have bad weather when the rain runs down your arms and under your armpit and your feet away but it doesn't. It's just English weather isn't it it's just that we are you can't. Stop the water you can't stop the right so you just have to work with it . And those days are there when they hook a duck's told us particularly well everybody is it or in a mood for that when it's raining I will find out more about what you actually do days at the fairgrounds of tragedies I just back from the start to get more about life with the fact around family here after this post when I have a song called circles. On the phone the. Song. That was poached my love and the so called Circles Florence Holland talking about life in fact around a family and what do you actually do now show your stock in trade my stock in trade . It is I still sell traditional fairground suites I still sell the nugget is made in Notting Hill I still sell Brandy snaps used to be made at Longleat and I make my own Tuffy apples and if I can get the right pairs I won't do a toughie pair right you did you wear. As well as making candy floss and all the other things that what's your least favorite sweet in terms of the mess and stickiness candyfloss really oh I dislike it if you've got a machine for it got a machine and I work it. But I just dislike it absolutely gets everywhere you go home at the end of the night. Not just your hair and you've got your overalls on it's the wiping down. Your wife been down sugar and you put in the sugar on a cloth that you put in water so you want to turn sugar and it doesn't matter how many times you think you've wiped it down you can put your hand across and you can feel it so it's like wiping down and wiping down my pin down. They would rather pay. But it just comes with the territory doesn't it you'd have to put your head down and just get on with it. Or put the side up saying candy for broken down oh no please don't today no you can't do that. In all professions there is always a job that people dislike. When you were born your dad was working in the fair and I think he had followed his father's For Yes So this is a generational thing what were the things that they did your dad and granddad and of. So sweet is grandad made his own so it's been a sweet making and selling for you for 3 Yeah how come you've got all your teeth Florence because we was made to return now found. We could eat as much as we wanted and after the 1st hour you won't touch it again. Nothing was out of bounds. But you had to eat it all yeah so we gross ways we never I've never really sweet if somebody says what's your favorite it would be cheese. I can go from one end of the counter to another and the can't eat in cheese but sweets don't take my fancy which is good in a way that whatever hitting the profits do you want to be to the product no money fame or important you know you should try your projects now and again which I do do what is the big seller for you that was the one that you really make sure you've got loads of. Traditional. Know get from Nottingham. And then we do all the physios and they really took off all the the fizzy melons and the fizzy bottles and all that kind of stuff not my taste but they're very popular with the younger generation are they the truly physically fit on the Hartford thing you know the chewy Yeah and it seems that blue and you got to be under 50. Right so if you're looking to buy sweets for somebody 15 or under fizzy Chewy type thing seems to be the state of the art the life you lead could have closed you off from the world I get the sense that you are so very open minded worldly wise sort of person flaws How come that's happened. Well I put it down to my mum and dad. My dad couldn't really read properly any wanted to make sure that he's girls could all read so every week we would go to a different school depending where we was if we stayed for a night we would go to that school for a fortnight so we learnt about the outside world it wasn't something that was separate from us. We was always encouraged to our friends from if you want to call it the outside world to settle community in the winter we would go to. School for November tell March we would be encouraged to go to birthday parties and have our own birthday parties so my dad knew the. What would you say the benefit from from knowing the outside world because that's the world we're living in it's not something separate from the fairground So we grew up knowing that that's the world we live in. And. Thinking about the travel that you have to do how far flung with affairs that you would visit back in the day and even these days. We travel a very traditional sees no circuit which we open at a lot of what they call charted phase that was given to well that the town bought the charter from King John. So how circuit isn't very. Very many miles in between each fare but we go a long way so we would go to King's Lynn let's say 60 mile to his beach perhaps 30 miles to Peter. 2021 mile to Stamford So how all our gin is a small Ginny's but at the end of the year you think oh or the middle of the so me you think oh I'm at Newcastle so you've got a lot of their cars but you do in smalls and in small stages and coming back would be very very similar because you have to remember that that when the fence was set up it was horse and Cong. You talking about 900 years ago some of these famous There was no so they're not people that did the fairs all the marquees didn't travel for miles and miles because they couldn't have made it so they're all small leaps for us right because I end up a long way from what you might consider to be home yes and then you just 10 round when you do the same coming back it's not very exciting it's a routine that you have to stick to. What. You say still exciting as it appeals to many of us who've ever not done it have a traveling life or do some always fronts in just a moment about a lifetime with fanfare family or the music. Bryan Ferry let's stick together 27 minutes past. And Florence talking about her life in the fairground Well France Holland and they thing that I wonder about growing up as a youngster and you talk about going to school for a few months of the year was it November to March so you would go to normal school how did the other kids react to you then when you turned up sort of after the term it began and before it finished we was welcome in most schools 1st day was always the same you stood on a chair and you told them all about your life that wasn't different in every school we went to we had a regular school from November till March and then from then we would go to the school wherever the fair was being held I didn't lie and I thought I didn't learn a lot of those schools but what I learnt was social skills how to speak to people how to communicate how to use English so that when you were speaking the person you were speaking to could understand what you wanted. Now when you were working you may well get a bit of cheek to you from the younger generation to ever playing up a bit related project how you deal with that you smile and you say oh that's not very good you know young man no d.m.a. Young lady I'm sure you've got a better word than that word. You know we don't I don't get a lot of trouble we don't get a lot you know and you would also have the chance of going all the rides before anybody else do you do you know by yourself or favorites when it's quiet we did when we was younger. But. After about the 5th time perhaps on the dodgems or the 20th time on the nose arc you tend to think about and off but we did go on the ride and we did run around and play as a normal children do yeah these days the Seems to be sometimes a big new attraction some years you know the bigger the tall of the faster the better you know you're tempted by those no not new technology no new technology Hey grounds always been very good at recognizing when using new technology but no I don't want the bigger rides now Nova in Aspen has just got in touch she says her husband has called Allen his granddad was joke the showman who is also because for years but years just floats now with him yes I do I know the Coupland Yeah yeah. Yeah very much that link through. Never Yeah thank you for the thought vats. With possibly coming in shortly so called Sammy's but an artist what could you do any painting or think I do personally just yes. Can you hang around to make because you are just trying to get to covering world up and running my father though I used to block from my father you don't know what blocking is if you look at a letter on a fairground it's very big very wide My dad would put the letters on. And I would then fill him fill him in I would do the blocking the pencil painting in the b.s. Yeah I would do the blocking. And then my dad would call me with a bit of black and a brush and do the lining and he would line the town and he would do it for the people so I would do all the every work what we call the i.v. Work I would do all the blocking out he would come and put a bit of black lining here in there. The person would call me my dad would get paid and I would put my arm down and my dad said No you're only the apprentice when you can do the black lining you get pale. And I used to do the gold leaf Anan oh so was the scenery I used to do the scenery but I never did the outline of what that was that's what you know that's when you go play like I was Christ. Like you know be impressed. How we would laugh. And if quite a famous pop it was all in foul and you don't you probably don't know all of the files Patton's but they are the ones with all the big scrolls on the face if you look at them the gold the gold gold leaf and flamboyant this and from buoyant now and my dad spent a lot a lot of money getting these plans and he would roll them all up and I said 3 months. Let's get the pattern and list put it on a plastic and then we can roll and keep it no no no I'm doing it the original white and they would come with Pino. So you would do the 1st pin no which would be the main structure and you do your bit of blocking when it's dry you put the pumpkin back home. Put them in the right pin no do the next lot of Pineau look at Bill the color all the build the lines in the patterns up so it's a stencil type of thing Yes Wow Well talk some more about the techniques I think and maybe some stuff that Sam can learn from now I don't know about that Sam I was with his watercolor world hang on to Florence moved from her fairground family on b.b.c. Radio nothing is current to 27 minutes to 3. And updates on the news headlines 35 year old man is being questioned on suspicion of murder after $39.00 people were found dead in a lorry in Essex the leader of not city council has defended loaning a further 9400000 pounds to Robyn Hode energy and a new custody suite for not police costing 17000000 pounds is expected to be given the go ahead to staff to noon the forecast is for the whether to get a more cloudy to go through this afternoon a few showers possible as well 14 Celsius cloudy through this evening and overnight could be that you stay dry but there are some showers along the spells apache running around as well in a low of 8 Celsius tomorrow Thursday or cloudy starts during the morning rain will come in from the west to the east brightening up in the afternoon from the West had a high of 12 Celsius. When the m one is still running instead of free fall within both directions in the a $620.00 pounds on towards the little island. South ban on towards western Boulevard in the I $52.00 is busy northbound Now as you pass the queue and Sea Island a 50 blank left way is queuing in bouncer with the bar deals a roundabout and a new at the a $46.00 approaching the a one and that she is on b.b.c. Radio notting him. So as well as far as getting to meet Sam Sam Edwards an artist from Mansfield to go. Of playback to come your way if you can identify piece of music the name of the band from our clip Seaway g.l.c. . That before you off to this trip the electric light hocus track says. To limb. That was the allegedly I don't hold on tight on b.b.c. Radio not the sounds coming to the studio Sam Edwards is here Hello Sam good to see you hello thanks for having me on and brought some of your work down which you've just been shown to Florence has been telling us about fairground life if you like is water color Yes I do yes very talented captures the energy of some places I think a lot of it's based in the world of football and football grounds to capture that energy you know the paintings country and the water color as well yeah water color in ink mainly what did that come from is a technique that you just always felt. You know it's just my favorite medium to use really draws quickly straight to the point you can get a lot on right and it was skill yes level of the what areas which quarks. Are not are not messing around with oils and stuff so takes too long right because plants will tell you about the painting of fairground attractions and yet what you would do when your dad would get you to do some of the work through studs What was the paint you would use for that was a popular wood or if you want to go on a still or ride it would be just glass if it was to go on cloth because granted used to paint don't laugh then it would be a what you write. And cleaning up after that I mean you talked about cleaning up a candyfloss machine you should see me in a turn of oil paint. Oh you know it's not very messy now you know my dad would never let you waste paint you know how much of a mess do you get into sand when you're not that much for a message not like certain colors quite straightforward it's not so much mess just a. Pot of water and that's me done really well I don't stretch the paper beforehand or try not one you know one of these are in about an hour or so I don't want to tell people it's that quick well to dispense if it goes wrong yeah yeah I know that it's somewhere between $10.10. Yes dedicated work Yeah and of course the prices reflect the yeah definitely put it to Time spent the sales manager there at the time and painters who noticed. So what I fairgrounds now you are not from these parts I can tell you from 100 on from well from South Korea for all for to run well for Jim Yeah I just did all there from 1st in which I think there were a few Yeah but I've not been so many and I see the ghost. Of not been so many hearts which are. Part of your childhood that now it wasn't really all or sad really I think you do you just you know. It is still time no no I'm sure your son well I can tell I was all been so you have been slow yeah yes was something ground similar trouble is with the theme park I think I too. Think there will be a sanitized think about the fanfare always to me had a bit of what I'm watching a bit more of these I meant to says I'm around. You don't get the smell of diesel on toast or whether that's romantic or not. Yeah try to look at stuff or draw. A small idea of dressing you should you know you should do a goose fat I do yeah might have to do that actually yeah you know I think yeah actually oh yeah. Lol And so the range of I'm just showing find something better to feature me Florence and her favorite candy floss machine should do that sit on top of the l.t. Scale you've got a really good view yeah it's not that I do actually Well you know I had somebody in this very studio only a couple weeks ago who took a fantastic photograph of goods fair from atop the helter skelter. I think it was just a way of getting a free health