Fun at the Fair

Last night, Tooley and I went to the Fair! Hooray! We went with Natalie (from Alabama), Marfo (from Greece), and Michelle (from England). Those girls are so much fun...we love hanging out with them! About an hour before we left for the fair, the electricity in Stratford-upon-Avon went out. Luckily, the fair brought it's own generators in, so it wasn't affected. However, Tooley and I had to eat dinner by candlelight, and listen to our landlord talk about wearing wooden clogs on a fair ride in the 80s. Haha! He's hilarious! It rained off and on last night, but that didn't seem to bother anyone...the fair was still going in full swing! The five of us rode the Waltzer (it goes around in a circle, and each car also spins), the carousel, and my personal favorite, Bounce. The Bounce ride spins you around, and drops your car up and down the whole time...it was SO fun! And it's one of the few rides that won't make you nauseous. Marfo had never ridden a carousel before, so we rode it with her. As soon as the ride started, however, we realized that all of us were riding on wooden horses, except Marfo! She had somehow gotten on a random wooden chicken...why there was a wooden chicken in the midst of carousel horses, I have no idea. So, I switched with her so she could get the full carousel experience. :) After the rides, we loaded up on food! Michelle shared her hot chestnuts with us, which none of the Americans had ever tasted before. They were pretty good! She also let us try some flying saucers, which are popular fair candy in England. They tasted kind of like SweetTarts. We also got some candy floss (known in the U.S. as cotton candy). We passed a food booth called the American Diner, where one would assume they sell American food. Instead, the menu consisted of food like french fries with curry sauce and green peas with mint sauce...I hope they don't think we really eat that stuff in America! Natalie got the fries and curry sauce, but they weren't really that great. I learned that bumper cars are called Dodge'Ems, and that most of the British fair rides are much faster and higher than American rides (which can be good or bad). We had a lot of fun walking around, eating, and riding the rides. :) The fair leaves today, but it's coming back on Saturday...hooray! The fair on Saturday is called the Runaway Mop, and is a smaller version of this week's fair. It's called the Runaway Mop because the men in town used to run off with the fair! At least that's what a lady told Tooley at Woolworth's. :) Tomorrow, my debit card should arrive...yea! I talked to Walt in Scotland, and he is having a LOT of trouble with banks, too. Walt, Tooley, and I have observed that customer service in the UK is not at all what it is in the U.S. You know the saying, "The customer is always right"? Not always the case in the UK! Somehow, the cute British accents make everyone sound more polite than they actually are. :)