The Peterborough Evening Telegraph
Fair goes ahead with just one ride to honour charter
Event normally has more than 100 attractions
Peterborough Bridge Fair went ahead with just a solitary children’s ride to honour aRoyal Charter
Organisersheldasmallfair on Monday (October 5), consisting of one ride.
The Bridge Fair usually takes place over the first two weeks in October on the Embankment or in the Pleasure Fair Meadows car park.
The fair normally features more than 100 rides and attractions and usually has around 40,000 visitors each year.
This year, however, organisers John Thurston & Sons Funfairs, decided that with
the on-going Covid-19 pandemic the safest course of actionwouldbetocancel thefull event. Possibly - according to organisers - the first time this has happened in 142 years.
The fair is covered by a Royal Charter, granted by the Home Office in 1878, that states afairmustbeheldinthe ‘FlettonTriangle’ eachyearon the first Tuesday in October.
In order to honour the charter and keep the fair’s unbroken history, organisers visited the Embankment on Monday with a small children’s tea cup ride and a high striker prize stall.
John Scarrott, speaking on behalf of John Thurston & Sons Funfairs, said the tokenpresenceensuredthatthe Charter was honoured: “Due to the current situation with covid-19, we have cancelled the Bridge fair for 2020.
“Ourpriorityisforthesafety of our staff and customers and under current government guidelines we couldn’t seeasolutiontoholdtheevent successfully this year.
“We have honoured the charter though, and we look forwardtoreturningtoBridge Fair in 2021.”