The Fire-fighters Association of Grimsby holds an annual fair for
children and their families -- an opportunity to highlight their
services, to educate children on why their local firemen are good guys
and can be trusted when called upon in an emergency, to broaden
relationships with the community, and lastly, to act as a fund raiser
for the association (10 tokens for a fiver - 5 pounds). I came upon an announcement for this event –
where else?! but at my trusty local library. Sounded like the very
sort of thing I like to frequent!
Sandra started me off in the right direction, and said by the time I
got too far I’d no doubt run into oodles of people taking a similar
path. She wasn’t kidding! All I had to do was follow the bountiful
flow of small children and baby carriages all the way to the fire
station, and eventually to the rear yard of the facility where the
faire was being held.
[As a side note, I bumped into that adorable, friendly
strawberry-haired young woman, Lindsay, whom I had first met so fortuitously
that day at McDonalds when I was first trying to figure how to access their Wifi,
and it ended up needing a cell phone to send a code via text to get started.
She and her sweet boy had just met up with her mother – Alex was carrying a
bouquet of flowers for grandma. I said, Let me guess! You’re on your way to the
fireman’s fare, right?! And, of course, they were, just like everybody else
journeying along in the companionship of children that sunny morning. She told
her mom how we had gotten to know one another, and I remarked how everything
was going great with that, and that I found myself there practically every day.
She said, Brill! First time I’d ever heard that wonder urban slang. Love it!]
There were hundreds of people -- children and their parents and
grandparents. All the usual sweet and patient parents, and then
there’re always those frustrated and bad tempered parents, just
waiting for the opportunity to be intolerant and grouchy. Events like
this just seem to bring out the best, and the worse, in people. Well,
we’ve all been there, done that, in our day . . .
The format of the fair included fire-fighter demonstrations, several
local and national health service displays, and a plethora of game
booths to the delight of the children. One of the favorites, and with
definitely the longest line, was the fireman dunking booth. You’ve
seen those at school carnivals, etc. Very fun, with the anticipation
that your polished throw – or your lucky accident, as it were – would
be THE ONE that resulted in the poor, precariously perched volunteer
careening head over heels. The anticipation was intense. You
remember?!
The thing about this particular dunking booth was that it was pretty
much rigged, and EVERY kid who gave up his token, after 3 tries –
whether he hit hard and true enough or not – would send another,
already wet, fireman plunging into the tank. The kids didn’t seem to
notice or care – though it kind of took away the challenge for me –
that as soon as they threw their last wimpy throw, down Mr. Fireman
would go. Splash! The way it was set up, the little guys couldn’t
really even see through the netting to the action or the attending
fireman in attendance pushing the lever. Nor did they seem to care.
Oh, well. I seemed to be the ONLY one at the fair who gave it a
second thought. I imagine those very young parents had seen it done
exactly the same way themselves when they were trying to dunk the
fireman back in their day. Worth noting is that I spend a ridiculous
amount of time, fighting my way through the octopus of on-looker arms
and legs, angling my camera just right, with the goal of catching the
falling hero, half way back, with his feet up in the air. And I could
NEVER do it. Never -- not even in 29 tries! (No kidding!) Was I
determined, or what? Guess I won’t be moving up to action photography
any time soon! Man, talk about being frustrated and grouchy!!
Photos_
1- Mums, dahds, and grandparents at the fair -- and, oh, yes, kids, too!
2- Photo shoot
3- The best of all the rest
