Mechanical Memories Magazine

The moment we stepped into Funland via the front entrance, she would yell out at the
top of her voice "Hoot". She must have had a fixed radar on that entrance. We
eventually got the better of her by simply entering Funland via the back entrance and
making sure we went nowhere near those side stalls.
There was a cafe at the back end of Funland, which was very popular with the
stall holders. They would make their way there during the day for cups of tea or
coffee, or maybe even something to eat. One day I was in the arcade by myself and
old Gypsy Lee passed me. She gave me such a stare that made me feel so scared, and
at the time I felt sure that she had put a curse on me. After that incident, if I noticed
her heading in my direction, I would take a sharp detour to make certain I avoided her.
The best time was when Funland got really busy and the stalls had plenty of punters;
the staff seemed to rapidly lose interest in us both then.
We seemed to be avoiding attendants or members of staff a lot of the time in all
the amusement arcades. The only time I ever felt safe from these people was when my
mother was with me. All these same faces still saw me and not one of them dared say
a word. How frustrating that must have been for them - I remember looking at them
and thinking I had put one over on them. Luckily for me, mother did manage to go
round the arcades with me whenever possible.
I must mention one of the stall holders in Funland, whose name was Ethel. I think
she was Gypsy Lee's sister, and she was okay. She had the Laughing Clowns stall,
where you fed five balls into a moving clown' s mouth, and the scores from all five
balls were added up and certain scores won a prize. The prizes were nothing to shout
about and it didn ' t interest me, but Ethel was a nice lady and she never threw me out.
She was still there in the late 1970s and I got talking to her one day. It just
happened to be Derby day and she was telling me she had backed the winner. She then
said she always picked the winner. Being a betting man myself at the time, I was
amazed as Derby winners are not easy to predict. A week later I found out from a third
party that Ethel used to bet lOp on every horse in the Derby, every year! So of course
she would always pick the winner. Ethel is no longer with us, but I shall always
remember her as the stall holder in Funland who was OK.
These were really great days and I do miss them so much. There will be more of my
1960s arcade memories next month.
Robert Rowland
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