Fun fairs bring amusement parks to you

A funfair or simply fair (e.g., "county fair", "state fair") is a small to medium sized traveling show primarily composed of stalls and other amusements. In the UK and much of Europe, individual rides and stalls are run by different, independent showmen who all converge for the duration of the fair, then often go their separate ways to set up at fairs in other towns. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fun_fairs]. These fairs can be seen across the country in varying sizes and with many different rides and stalls. They are often self-contained and sell food, drinks and confectionery so you can enjoy the rides without having to leave the fair grounds. 

                                                      There was a fun fair in my local park recently and I took a stroll over to see what they had to offer and the pictures below are what I saw there...

   

I love fun fairs! They are brilliant and the rides are far less elaborate (not to mention dangerous) than traditional Theme Parks like Thorpe Park or Alton Towers. The best thing about fun fairs is that they move around the country and therefore you will find one in a part near you at least a couple of times a year, a great afternoon out with the children or for a couple seeking some fun in the sun or for a group of friends wanting to hang out... just about anyone can find something to do and enjoy at a fun fair. 

Windsor Castle and its surroundings Part 2of 2

Windsor (pronounced /ˈwɪnzɚ/) is a suburban town in the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead in Berkshire, England. It is best known as the site of Windsor Castle. It is immediately south of the River Thames, which forms its boundary with Eaton. Windsor and the surrounding areas contain some of the most expensive and desirable housing in the UK. The village of Old Windsor, just over two miles to the south, predates what is now called Windsor by around 300 years; in the past Windsor was formally referred to as New Windsor to distinguish the two at that time. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windsor,_Berkshire]. 

Windsor & Eton Riverside station is a station in Windsor in Berkshire, England. The station, close to the River Thames and Windsor Castle, is agrade II listed building. The station building was designed by William Tite as a royal station with a stone- faced frontage with a mullioned and transomed main window, gables and a multi-arch entrance. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windsor_%26_Eton_Riverside_railway_station] Across the street form the riverside is a local pub, and other features including sculptures with water features, greenery and further along, the Windsor Castle itself.

There is plenty t see and do in Windsor from visiting its famous castle to walking by the riverside enjoying the view, seeing the swans and other bird life resident on and by the Thames there, going on a boat trip or indeed hiring a boat and going out on the water at your leisure, go for walks in the extensive parks, enjoy some local sport or simply relax and take in some live music and good food. 

The River Thames at Windsor

The Windsor and Eton bridge

Pre 1870’s there was a toll system in operation on the Windsor – Eton Bridge which also admitted vehicles to cross. In the 1870s a Mr Joseph Taylor of Eton campaigned for the scrapping of the tolls on crossing the bridge and after a long but ultimately successful struggle the bridge tolls were scrapped in 1897. Over the next century cracks in the cast iron due to weight of traffic became a major issue and in April 1970 the Windsor - Eton Bridge was closed to road vehicles. Thirty years later even the weight of pedestrians was becoming a concern and restorations were planned for with completion in time for the Queen's Jubilee celebrations. Work went ahead and Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth the Second re-opened the Windsor - Eton Bridge at midday on June 3rd 2002. On the south bank of the bridge (the Windsor side) you will find Sir Christopher Wren's house, now a hotel and restaurant, and on the northern side of the bridge, Monty's restaurant and the village of Eton, with its world famous college. [http://www.windsor-berkshire.co.uk/eton_bridge.php].

On the River

Swan Lake at Windsor on the Thames

The Royal Windsor Wheel

The Royal Windsor Wheel is a non-permanent transportable Ferris wheel installation at Alexandra Gardens, Windsor, Berkshire, England. The current wheel has 40 enclosed and  air-conditioned gondolas, including a VIP gondola.The Royal Windsor Wheel first operated in 2006. In 2009 it operated from April to October and carried over 200,000 passengers. For 2010 it will open daily from 10am to 10pm, from 1st May until 30th August. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windsor_Eye]. Tickets can be acquired from: http://www.pwrevents.com/rww2010/index.aspx].

Windsor Castle and its surroundings Part 1of 2

  

The Castle

One of the true pleasures of living in England for me (as a foreigner) is experiencing the richness of English heritage, history and culture.there is so much to see across the country and indeed in its neighboring, Wales, Scotland and Ireland. Being a lover of architecture (the older the better) one of the things that I am naturally drawn to and that the British excel in is their state homes, manor houses and castles. One such landmark caught my attention when I visited the town named after it... Windsor Castle. Windsor Castle is an impressive and indeed grand building, beautifully sculpted and presented as a strong fortress that is impregnable. 

Windsor Castle History

Windsor Castle, in Windsor in the English county of Berkshire, is the largest inhabited castle in the world.The original construction, a motte and bailey (an artificial hill with with a fenced area at the top), was built for William the Conqueror around the year 1080. The castle's floor area is approximately 484,000square feet (44,965 square metres. Originally part of a ring of defenses around London, Windsor Castle gradually became a popular Royal residence because of the good hunting in the nearby forest. The Round Tower, along with the original outer wall, was erected for King Henry II.  Further improvements and enlargements took place over the centuries until the magnificent castle we see today finally emerged in 1830. A favourite of Queen Victoria, the castle survived for most of the last century with few changes. [http://royalwindsor.org.uk/Windsor_Castle_history.htm].

20 November 1992 was a black day for Windsor Castle. A fire, started it is thought by a workman's spotlight, caught hold in the Private Chapel. Quickly spreading above the wooden ceiling panelling, the fire raged out of control for hours and gutted many rooms. The smoke and flames were visible for miles around. Flames could be seen shooting out from the roof of one of the towers, almost making it look like a huge firework. Windsor castle is now fully reopened to the visitor after the painstaking restoration at a cost of almost £40 million. The damaged rooms were restored to their original state. The gutted areas were rebuilt to new designs in keeping with the old [http://royalwindsor.org.uk/Windsor_Castle_history.htm].

Together with Buckingham Palace in London and Holyrood Palace in Edinburgh, it is one of the principal official residences of the British monarch. Queen Elizabeth II spends many weekends of the year at the castle, using it for both state and private entertaining. Her other two residences, Sandringham House and Balmoral Castle, are the Royal Family's private homes. Most of the Kings and Queens of England, later Kings and Queens of the United Kingdom, have had a direct influence on the construction and evolution of the castle, which has been their garrison fortress, home, official palace, and sometimes their prison. Chronologically the history of the castle can be traced through the reigns of the monarchs who have occupied it. When the country has been at peace, the castle has been expanded by the additions of large and grand apartments; when the country has been at war, the castle has been more heavily fortified. This pattern has continued to the present day. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windsor_Castle].

The castle is very impressive and the town that surrounds it is very charming, full of lovely things to see and do set against the backdrop of the River Thames, a place well worth visiting for the English and foreigners alike. 

Homeless Briton.

When we hear words like, ‘homelessness’, ‘social needs’, ‘poverty’ we immediately think of Africa, (which effectively represents the ‘bottom billion’ 3^rd world countries in the minds of the majority of western civilization) [see http://mvsim.wikispaces.com/Extreme+Poverty?f=print]. However this state of being is not exclusively ‘African’ and can be witnessed in first world countries as we will see with the following example of what occurs in the United Kingdom. Poverty in and of itself is not as relevant in the UK environment as it would be in a third world setting. The reason for this is because the United Kingdom has a benefits system that effectively tops up the income of those who are on low incomes and provides an income for those who do not have regular employment. In a nation that has a robust system of public services that are provided free to those who are otherwise unable to provide for themselves; there are still 60 000 people who are were deemed homeless in England alone by the end of 2009.  

Homelessness is said to be the condition and social category of people without a regular house or dwelling because they cannot afford or are otherwise unable to maintain regular, safe, and adequate housing, or lack, "fixed, regular, and adequate housing. [http://portal.hud.gov/portal/page/portal/HUD/topics/homelessness/definition]. Homelessness is a state of social need which is closely linked to poverty. Whilst there is a lot of differing opinion in relation to the definition of poverty, it could be defined as; the state of being poor; lack of the means of providing material needs or comforts; deficiency in amount; scantiness. [http://www.answers.com/topic/poverty].

A homeless caucasian man who lives under the M4 motorway fly over in London, England. His poster read "A vile and brutal country England", which I failed to fully capture because he caught sight of me and began to chase me away into oncoming traffic! But I did escape unscathed.

In London alone, there are a large number of homeless people who live in bed & breakfasts (cheap guest houses) and hostels. In that group is thought that overall, 1 in 10 women, 1 in 6 under age 25 and 1 in 14 over age 60. It is also thought that relation breakdown amounts to 39%; heavy drinking amounts to 21%; losing a job amounts to 18% and having no money amounts to 13% of those who are homeless. [http://www.kalimata.co.uk/true-facts.php]. These statistics are fairly concerning especially in relation to the age group of people under 25 as there are many vulnerable young people represented here that have resorted to living rough or in shelters, often due to a breakdown in the family unit, addiction to drugs or other similar social issues. 

Newly recognised homeless households in England alone reached 60,000 in 2009 (excluding the intentionally homeless). Furthermore, there is an important distinction between those with, and those without children in relation to homelessness because many of the latter do not qualify for assistance with government provided (‘council housing’) accommodation (i.e. they are considered 'not to be in priority need'). In Scotland, the total number of households newly recognised as homeless rose substantially rose from 33,000 in 2000/01 to 43,000 in 2003/04.  It is interesting to note that the increase broadly coincided with the introduction of the 2001 Housing (Scotland) Act and the 2003 Homelessness etc. (Scotland) Act, which collectively created a framework which is much more generous towards homeless people without dependent children than before, showing that there is a certain element of choice and calculation when it comes to homelessness in the west. [http://www.poverty.org.uk/s81/index.shtml]. In Wales 8,000 households (excluding the intentionally homeless) were officially recognised as newly homeless by their local authorities in 2007.  [http://www.poverty.org.uk/i81/index.shtml]. In proportion to the almost 60 million population of the country, these figure can be viewed as a small minority. Although most prevalent in London and the West Midlands, homelessness is to be found throughout the country. In proportion to the almost 60 million population of the country, this figure can be viewed as a small minority [http://www.poverty.org.uk/81/index.shtml].

By far the biggest reason for becoming homeless is loss of accommodation provided by relatives or friends (two-fifths of those deemed 'in priority need'), with a further fifth being due to relationship breakdown. This is a clear issue considering that nearly half of marriages are now ending in divorce, relationship breakdown (particularly where one spouse is the bread winner) can result in serious financial difficulty leading to the repossession of property and eviction. The family unit, a devalued institution is ironically central to the development of this disturbing social need that should not be existent in a western country with a robust social policy and provision for those most economically disadvantaged. 

Another key point to note is how the immigration issue is contributing to the homelessness statistics. For example, a quarter of those accepted as homeless and in priority need by English local authorities are from ethnic minorities.  This means that ethnic minority households are, overall, around three times as likely to become homeless as the majority white population. This poses a double social need, initially in the case of the homelessness situation and then in the use of public funds to support a group of people that are likely to have a high percentage of foreign nationals (however this point is beyond the scope of this paper). [http://www.poverty.org.uk/81/index.shtml].

I had the opportunity to interview one such homeless immigrant called Peter who is from Trinidad. I met him on the streets of Reading in the United Kingdom in the summer of 2009. What first caught my attention about Peter was his brilliant white beard in contrast to his dark and worn face. His clothes looked old, a bottle in one hand and a cigarette in the other. Peter seemed cheerful as he walked along the street humming away. I stopped him and asked him if I could take his picture, a little risky admittedly as he could have been drunk or high on drugs. Fortunately Peter was sober enough to hold a conversation and he agreed. As I took his photograph I asked him questions about how he came to be in Reading. He told of how he had come over in the late 50s as part of a drive by the UK government to fill jobs that had shortages including bus and train drivers. He had settled, married and had children however his marriage broke down and he was estranged from his children. The result of this collapse of his family unit drove Peter to increase his alcohol intake and propelled his drug use. It also resulted in Peter becoming homeless and sleeping rough on park benches and in doorways or in a shelter. He talked of how he wanted to return to his beautiful homeland but with no family there or money for relocation the life he now lives seemed his only option. 

My encounters with these two men gave an insight to the reality behind the statistics sighted in the article on homelessness in the UK. Those most at risk being foreigners who came to this country looking for a better life and found that the grass is not always greener on the other side of the fence.