One of the best things about writing a blog like this is the folks who every so often get in touch about a post. Just over a year ago I posted up a copy of the Globe of Death postcard below and then about a week back Robin in Sweden got in touch to say that he is the new owner of the Globe.
I'm kind of jealous of Robin as it happens that he is already the proprietor of a Wall of Death (that he actually built himself) and it's long been a fantasy of mine to run and ride a Wall. Check out the
Sixten Jansson's Motorcirkus site.
The story of the Swedish Globe is that it came to the country in the fifties and was used through to sometime in the sixties. The Globe was put in to storage up until the eighties when it was passed on to a guy who owned a company whose logo was a globe. The Globe of Death was then used as a billboard and was a local landmark in the town of Hässleholm. Then, about ten years ago, the company moved a couple of blocks and the Globe ended up sitting in the company's yard gathering weeds. Despite interest over the years the Globe's owners always refused to sell until just now when Robin's persistence paid off and he became the new owner.
The Globe looks to be in a fairly decent state of repair all things considered. Robin is going to do some restoration work on it and hopes to have it in service next season. The Globe is just a great piece of folk history and it's cool to know that it is going to come back to life and still has the power to thrill and excite crowds after all these years. Resurrecting the sidecar act as in the postcard would be genuinely awesome! Good work Robin, ride safe.
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Postcard of the Globe of Death show
visiting England pre-WWII. |
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| The Globe being craned away to its new home with Motorcirkus. |
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This is Robin's self-built wall. The bike fleet includes an Indian
Scout and several Husqvarnas from the forties. |
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| Detail of the Globe's construction. |
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| Another detail of the Globe's construction. |
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The Globe of Death as it was in the
fifties / sixties. |
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| A rider on the Globe in the fifties /sixties. |
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This is the Globe back in the eighties, freshly painted
and about to be put in to service as a billboard. |
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