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| My fascination with rides!... |
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Some people like cars, others sport... I'm into roller coasters! Not just for the sensations but coasters can be magnificent & impressive structures, sculptures even... great subjects for photography. No-one can deny being impressed at the engineering involved when looking up at a large ride such as the Big One, even if they've no intention of riding! As a toddler, my parents & grandparents would put me on the roundabout at nearby Bury market, I always sat in the purple car! The Bury fairs in March & September were quite large in the late 70's, with loads of rides I was too small to go on, but I loved the music, lights, smells & atmosphere of the fair. On a trip to Blackpool when I was 6 in 1979 I rode the Zipper Dipper, my 1st coaster! I can remember watching the news in 1980 showing a crane lifting the loop of the Corkscrew at Alton Towers into place. Later that year, father took me to ride it, and from then on finding bigger & better rides has been a great hobby to follow over the decades. I've travelled all over the UK, Japan & Australia, Europe & America finding new & unusual rides, not to mention the tallest, fastest & longest ones!. I've collected loads of merchandise, park leaflets, on-ride photos & park memorabilia. I even managed to acquire some cars, boats from rides, & other bits & pieces, my dodgem car however lives in my lounge! - You should see the state of my... |
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My favourite rollercoaster is Space Mountain, Disneyland Paris. The ride is based on the Jules Verne classic novel, De La Terre A La Lune (from the Earth to the moon), where a Columbiad cannon fires riders into space on a high speed journey to the moon! I took the archer from the cannon & had it tattooed. Also pictured is the painting, by friend & artist Jo Brown. |
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The other tattoo I have! - the coat of arms at Alton Towers, (can be spotted on the Hex ride). |
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A pic of my 1st car in front of Alton's Towers, also at Drayton. This is me pictured at the controls of The Antelope roller coaster in 1997, I operated the ride for a living a few years later... |
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Yeah - I was always into rides!! Here's a couple of excerpts from my junior school books... |
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