Carnival

There is a park right opposite our house, where, generally, nothing much happens. Elderly couples take the air, and a Japanese man in a tracksuit does funny exercises against a bench.

Once a year, the park keeper opens the big iron gates to their widest span and the convoy rolls in. Children watch excitedly from upstairs windows as odd-shaped trailers magically unfold into fairground rides, trinket stalls, and a full sized ghost train.

Once erected, the fair stands silent for two days …