None of the fun of the fair: the London showpeople fighting for their homes

Families who have worked on fairgrounds for generations are battling to keep ownership of land earmarked for redevelopment

Lily Rowe still has a photograph of King George VI riding one of her family’s galloping carousels, part of a treasure trove of souvenirs from more than a century of working on fairgrounds in west London, where Lily lives with her husband, David, on a showpeople’s site settled in 1905.

Lily and David still work at funfairs at the ages of 73 and 80, on stalls including classics such as the test of strength and the coconut shy. But they are also fighting alongside 30 other families to keep their permanent homes on the site in Feltham, which has been earmarked for redevelopment by Hounslow council.

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from The Guardian https://ift.tt/2Q8xiMA