I work for a University, and I first started visiting fairs and parks when I was a tiny child, largely because I hated school and had to be given an incentive to get through the week. Probably my favourite memory as a kid was my first visit to Nottingham Goose Fair in the early 1980s. I loved it so much that I haven't missed a year since.

My favourite rides are undoubtedly the Mondial Inferno and Huss Break Dance, my most beloved coasters are the now-removed Magnum Force at Flamingo Land, and Oscar Bruch's EuroStar. I also have a passion for rides with a sense of history, like the Blackpool woodies and Hex. My favourite park by far is Pleasure Beach Blackpool.

Aside from Coaster Kingdom, I occasionally contribute to various television and comedy websites, most notably offthetelly.co.uk. I spend the rest of my time playing pool, eating toast, and lying down - though not all at once.

Reviews by John Phillips

• 2Xtreme, British Fairs
  
• Big Dipper, Pleasure Beach Blackpool
  
• Bling, Pleasure Beach Blackpool
  
• Booster Bike, Toverland
  
• Bubbleworks, Chessington World of Adventures
  
• Chaos, British Fairs
• Colorado Adventure, Phantasialand
  
• Detonator, Thorpe Park
• El Rio Grande, Walibi World
  
• Equinox, British Fairs
  
• Eurostar, German Fairs
  
• Excalibur, Drayton Manor
  
• Flume Unplugged, The, Alton Towers
• Grand National, Pleasure Beach Blackpool
• Ice Blast, Pleasure Beach Blackpool
  
• Maelstrom, Drayton Manor
  
• Megafobia, Oakwood
  
• Move It, British Fairs
  
• Nemesis Inferno, Thorpe Park
• Revolution, Pleasure Beach Blackpool
• Rita - Queen of Speed, Alton Towers
  
• River Caves, Pleasure Beach Blackpool
  
• Rock 'n' Roller Coaster, Disneyland Paris
  
• Sir Hiram Maxim's Captive Flying Machines, Pleasure Beach Blackpool
  
• Space Invader 2, Pleasure Beach Blackpool
  
• Spinball Whizzer, Alton Towers
  
• Star Flyer, German Fairs
  
• Star World, German Fairs
• Storm Force 10, Drayton Manor
• Top Scans, British Fairs
  
• Tsunami, British Fairs
• Whirlwind, Camelot
• Wild 'n' Wet, German Fairs
  
• Wild Mouse, Pleasure Beach Blackpool
  
• Wildwasser, German Fairs

Articles by John Phillips

• Maxim and his Flying Machines (Part 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5)
• Wheel of fortune
• Making a molehill out of a mountain
• Fair play
• The big 10 - ten years of the Big One
  

Labels: Profile