Memory Project: Caught in the Act

There were two travelling circuses that visited Gwelo. One was Boswell’s and the other Wilkie’s. It was in the time before TV and apart from the cinema, there was little entertainment to distract the public. Consequently, the circus performances were keenly anticipated and well attended, especially by children.

Tickey and the other clowns played slapstick pranks, there were wonderfully clever dogs that could walk upright on two legs like humans and bark tunefully in a canine choir, and a girl stood on a horse’s back as it cantered around the ring. Elephants were made to kneel, walk backwards and sit on a stool, and a lion tamer controlled his lions by cracking a whip and ending the performance by removing his top hat and sticking his head inside a pair of gaping jaws. Then there were the acrobats on the trapeze high overhead, their most daring stunt being preceded by a long drum roll followed by a triumphant crashing of cymbals and brassy blare from the rest of the circus orchestra. And there were other acts like tight-rope walking, knife throwing, juggling and fire breathing.

On the one occasion I have in mind my mother gave us money for the cheapest entry fee and Alan and I went off on our bicycles to catch the five o’clock show. It was Alan’s idea to sneak in without paying and use the money we had been given to buy popcorn and sweets. He led the way to a point far from the entrance, checked that the coast was clear and wriggled under the heavy canvas wall of the big top. As his feet disappeared, I got down and began to follow. Halfway in I stopped and looked about for him. Overhead was the scaffolding supporting the tiers of seats and there was the noise from the orchestra and the ring master was making an announcement, but there was no sign of my brother. In panic I began to reverse, and as I did so I felt a hand grab my ankle and start pulling. My fright was so great that as I was dragged into the open, I wet myself. The circus hand, a huge black man in an overall, roared with laughter and let me go. I got to my feet and ran in terror and embarrassment to where we had left the bikes in the long grass and never stopped pedalling all the way home.