Grantham Mid Lent Fair is part of the hectic run of events through March and April, often necessitating a 'night attack' as showmen pull down at the last available moment at Stamford on a Saturday night and make the short trip up the A1 Great North Road to Grantham to be open for the Sunday. The fair is a sprawling street fair, and this selection of images contrasts the 1980s to the year 2009, showing the changing fairground technologies, the shifting physical arrangement of the fair, and the slow change in the buildings and street architecture.
The end of the main street show's Crow's classic Easy Rider in the early 1980s - with their new 'King Frog' ride in 2009. The building on the right hand side has had a colour change.
Albert Evans' long-serving Foden unloads the flash for the Waltzer in 1985. The modern picture is hard to frame with a stall being on the precise spot for the photograph. The monument serves as a reference point.
Theodore Whyatt's superb Swirl in the decade that saw the ride all but disappear from our fairs. Keith James' Hard Rock takes the same spot, the town architecture remains unchanged.
John Bugg's presents an early Super Bob in the 1980s. For 2009 we have Woods' popular Miami occupying a more closed in spot, obscuring the view of the housing.
A classic of and beyond its time - Anthony Shaw's Ark completes build up. James Rogers' Jump and Smile takes the position in 2009.
Reverse view of the green shows Arthur Armstrong squeezing in his Pollard Twist amdist the trees - the ground is now unoccupied.
The Leisure Centre car park was an area for thrill rides and classic rides - showing here Crick's 'Rollerball' Skid, Crow's Tip Top and Farrell's Big Wheel. This ground has been lost in recent years following the purchasing of the site by the Asda supermarket chain.
