All The Fun Of The Fair (2/2) By Nick Quantrill Photographs by Darren Rogers

(1/2), (2/2).

'Where are you living?' the old man asked. 'I'm in a caravan at the back. I'm sharing with a couple of lads who have just started on the dodgems.' 'Any good?' 'It's cold and dirty. Apart from that, it's fine.' 'It's the lifestyle, son. Part of living on the road. One day you're here, the next you're out somewhere nice and warm in Europe.' The old man laughed and shrugged his shoulders.

'There has to be some drawbacks, doesn't there? You can't have everything. And that includes running water.'

The two men kept walking, turning back to the outskirts of the fair. The noise level receded behind them. 'Have you met Ronnie yet?' the old man asked. Jimmy shook his head. 'No.' The old man pointed at the stall. 'Kick the football through one of the holes and you win a shirt. Not a bad prize, I reckon. I don't know how Ronnie makes a living, giving away prizes like that.'

Jimmy watched a group of teenagers try their luck. They all missed. 'The ball's flat, right?' he said.

The old man smiled. 'I couldn't possibly comment.' Jimmy laughed. 'Do you ever get homesick, though?' 'I've been on the road so long, truth is, I don't even know where home is anymore.' 'You must have a home.' 'This is my real home. Look at it. The colours on the night sky, the sound of kids enjoying themselves, the older people like me reminiscing. This is what it's about.' 'And the smell of fast food, the mess it leaves behind and the hordes of drunken teenagers?' 'Yeah, well, you can't have everything, can you? All the fun of the fair, I suppose.' 'I suppose it might grow on me.'

They walked on. The old man pointed to the Ghost Train. 'This where you work?' 'That's the one.' 'You didn't say it was Mike's Ghost Train.' Jimmy shrugged. 'I didn't realise you knew him.' 'I know everyone. Me and Mike go way back. We've always looked out for each other.' 'Right.' 'It's what you have to do here. You keep your mates close and you look out for each other.' 'I hear you' said Jimmy. 'Are you back on shift, soon?' 'Any minute now.' 'See those teenagers at the back of the queue?'

Jimmy followed the old man's finger. 'I see them.' 'They're the ones who jumped me. I told you I'd recognise them.'

Jimmy followed the old man around the back of the Ghost Train. 'Give me your outfit, son.' 'My outfit?' 'Your skeleton suit.' Jimmy stepped into the back of the ride, found the outfit and handed it over. The old man climbed into it, pulling the zip right to the top, obscuring his face. 'You're going to scare them?' said Jimmy. 'Better than that' said the old man. He took out a pair of knuckle dusters out of his pocket. 'All the fun of the fair, son.'

Nick Quantrill's debut novel, 'Broken Dreams', will be published by Caffeine Nights, late 2009. www.hullcrimefiction.co.uk Copyright © Nick Quantrill 2009

thisisUll.com Featured Writer Nick Quantrill
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