SecretLeeds - History, culture and architecture in Leeds

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I used to love the one where the ride spun round as the floor dropped away, but you stayed suspended where you were as long as it spun fast enough!

Did anyone ever win on the game where you rolled an heavily weight biased roughly rectangular object with curved sides? If you got it to drop down a hole then you won a prize, but I doubt I ever did! Oh, and that seemingly easy roll a penny and if it landed all in a section you won the money prize in that. Easy looking yes, but almost impossible to actually achieve. Simple fun times. Like the chewing gum machine that gave an extra packet every fourth sale, which you could tell was coming up by a mark on the knob!

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Last time I walked through Cottingleycemetery I noticed the graves of several 'Showmen' in one section.Is it a sort of tradition for fairground/showmen to be buried there ?

Morley Feast Ground - The Dartmouth at the junction of Bruntcliffe Lane, Victoria Road and Brunswick Street hasn't existed for about 20 years - they tried to move the venue to Albert Road,(next to Morley Waste Traders) but no one bothered going. There are feasts held on the land at the top of Thorpe Lane in Tingley, and there was a circus there last week.However, when I was a kid the feast in Morley was not only held on the Dartmouth but on what was called "the Rec" which is on land between South Parade, and Middleton Road - Ackroyd Street Working Mens Club occupies part of the site.

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I remember Shamrock and Columbia (steam yachts - like huge swings) being at Hunslet Feast in 1962 I think. IIRC they were operated by a showman's engine standing in between, whether directly or through a generating set I couldnt' say, it's nearly 50 years ago