At the Fair

I popped out to take some pictures of St Giles' Fair this evening. The St Giles' fair is held every year for 3 days starting on the first Sunday after St Giles Day (1st September) and has been going since the 1780's - getting bigger and more rowdy each time. I must admit I'm not too keen on fair, mostly because it's right next to where I work and my office, being on the ground floor, always ends up smelling of hot dogs and fried onions before Tuesday. And of course there is the repetitive squeals and disco fairground grooves drifting in. . .but hey I'm a fan of tradition and it's a real Oxford institution.

The fair was set up on the first day I started my job five years ago (happy anniversay to me!). Then they had a big wheel which was great! It went high above the spires and college rooftops of Oxford and you could see into all the hidden courtyards and secret gardens that the university keeps all wrapped up away from non-scholars eyes. There hasn't been a big wheel since then, which is a shame. All the rides seem pretty fast and topsy-turvey now which I just don't have the stomach for. But that is forgetting the "Galloping Horses" carasol which is really beautiful. At the start of the fair it receives a time-honored blessing from the local priest!

Any ways, I took lots of pictures that I've put in my Oxford Portfolio on Flickr. They aren't as good as I was hoping to get, it was just too crowded, but there are some nice colours and moving slow shutter speed attempts in there.