Well, there I am -- yes, Showbiz David when he dug suits and ties, at Chipperfields Circus, near Glasgow, in the 1960s. The picture widens next week.
I could not resist posting this, roused by Douglas McPherson's sobering account, in his book Circus Mania, of the rapidly shrinking Brit "circus" scene. This picture, to those savvy enough to guess the context, reveals a whole chunk of my early life. A life long gone by. But that life took me to Scotland, where I also took in Roberts Bros., and -- my favorite show of the three -- the one at Kelvin Hall in Glasgow at Christmas time.
So circus fanish of me -- posing as if I owned the show. I, too, was young once.
Inside the tent, during set up. Perhaps somebody across the Big Pond will recognized this man.
A land of graceful beauty. A land that fog makes love to.
12.2.2002
4 comments:
from Jim Stockley: Thanks for the picture of you on the Mack truck. My father was transport manager, my mother one of the Directors. Do you have any more pictures from this era of Chipperfields to post? ;-) Great stuff, many thanks
Nice to hear from you, Jim.
Okay, I will see what else I have. Mostly black and whites ... Maybe I'll line up a parade of grainy fascinations.
Thanks for your high marks!
from Jim Stockley: Many thanks for the Chipperfield picture at the masthead. This lovely German-made (Stromeyer) canvas tent, shown in your picture in Scotland in 1963, is the same one taken to South Africa the following year and blown down in Cape Town in December 1964 just a few days after Chipperfield's first shows here.
Your pictures are of high quality and would be of great interest to the many enthusiasts that still follow the history of the show.
By the time the show returned to the UK in 1967 it was already in decline, it never regained the size and excellence it achieved at its pinnacle in 1953 - 1956 era. Again, many thanks for posting. Jim
Can anyone help me find information on trapeze act performing in Kelvin Hall Circus 1960-61. I am desperately trying to find this out for a friend who is ill
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