#penny falls

[travelling-my-little-pony]

Seawinkle is looking at an arcade penny falls machine that needs a software upload.

On Teignmouth Pier, in Devon, England.

[travelling-my-little-pony]

Wisteria says Teignmouth Pier is a LOT more fun than Las Vegas.

(I think it is too!)

In Devon, England.

[realrusswrites]

The Penny Finally Drops

The enforcing of the reduction of stakes that can be placed on Fixed Odds Betting Terminals from £100 to just £2, reminded me of my own childhood gambling addiction and the financial problems it caused my dad. Admittedly, my “addiction” was seasonal and only manifested itself during our annual week’s summer holiday to rubbish British seaside resorts but it was very real. It would start by trying to walk past an amusement arcade with it’s jaunty, enticing repetitive accordion tunes. In reality, a nightmarish audio assault on the ears of any parent but strangely attractive to kids with no musical taste, who haven’t discovered The Smiths. Having cajoled my weary parents into the arcade, I, like many children, became mesmerised by the game imaginatively entitled “Penny Falls” because it probably wouldn’t have been so popular if it had been called by its more apt, proper name: “Waste 3 quid on a 10p plastic keyring!” I’d dutifully go to the change machine and, armed with 2% of my dad’s holiday budget, squeal in ridiculous delight as a tonne of pennies tumbled into a small margarine tub. Dad comforted himself by knowing that he couldn’t now legally hand over that amount of loose change to buy a pint, so he may as well spend it on the upkeep of a keyring dispensing machine. It needed upkeeping because it would regularly get a hard-earned keyring caught on the side of its machinery, resulting in a cashier being sought to resolve the problem. They had two important duties to perform. Firstly, to open up the glass roof and always give the keyring to the upset child. Secondly, to push all other keyrings six inches back to audibly frustrate everyone around them. My addiction is, thankfully, over but I find it bizarre that parents will trust small children to carry to school a 100 ridiculously expensive keyrings but wouldn’t trust them to carry around an actual front door key - in case anyone finds it and comes in and steals their keyring collection.

[kimberleyannefreeman]

I spent over £5, and just over an hour playing the penny waterfalls at Brighton Pier last night... but I won ALL OF THE PRIZES.

[thebuttermouse]

The Two Penny Man

Funding Superhero groups is hard. You need regular income, and it is not something the government likes to get involved with. But to take on private sponsorship means logos, public endorsements, and even restrictions on your activity.

This is why you need people like the The Two Penny Man. He is one of you. He is no less of a superhero than any of you. He will help you with all of your debts, and it will not cost you a penny.

The Two Penny Man adjusted his tie. Not silk, but a decent one all the same. He knew the importance of keeping up appearances. He flexed his hands, and drew the two pence piece from his the lapel pocket of his crisp black suit. He only needed the one.

The warm glow of the Penny Falls illuminated the bronze treasure inside. An eternal rendition of Jean Michel Jarre tune hummed along with the movement of a thousand two penny pieces, jostling for position in a constant pattern.

And crucially, it was a pattern. Complicated certainly, but in the end containing all the logic and solvability of a maths equation. You just need the right set of powers.

The Two Penny Man waited with the coin clutched between two fingers until the perfect moment, then with the deftest of touches dropped it into the middle coin slot of three. Down it went, hitting nubs of plastic en route, each one designed to build tension through the illusion of random chance. But there is no chance with The Two Penny Man. The coin hit its brothers in the exact right spot. With a clatter two coins landed in the dispenser at the bottom of the machine.

The Two Penny Man smiled. It was going to be another good day.

He left two hours later with a bulging, jangling carrier bag, past the security guard desperate to charge him, for a crime, knowing none had been committed.

How the banks hate The Two Penny Man. Every day he arrives with another sack of coins to be counted and converted, and inserted into offshore bank accounts across the world.

The Two Penny Man is finished for today. Tonights he rests in a cheap seaside hotel, pleased with his work. He will be off tomorrow to another pier of the East Coast of England. By Christmas he will be winning in arcades in South Wales. How many two pennies do you need to fund a superhero group? The answer is thousands. Ten of thousands.

How does he travel the country so regularly? What method can you use to go long distances on a budget?

Penny Farthing of course.