Friday, February 01, 2008

Hey There, Hoopla

(From "The Circus" - C J Dennis - A Book for Kids)

Hey, there! Hoop-la! the circus is in town!
Have you seen the elephant? Have you seen the clown?
Have you seen the dappled horse gallop round the ring?
Have you seen the acrobats on the dizzy swing?
Have you seen the tumbling men tumble up and down?
Hoop-la! Hoop-la! the circus is in town!


Hey, there! Hoop-la! Here's the circus troupe!
Here's the educated, dog jumping through the hoop.
See the lady Blondin with the parasol and fan,
The lad upon the ladder and the india-rubber man.
See the joyful juggler and the boy who loops the loop.
Hey! Hey! Hey! Hey! Here's the circus troupe!


This was a poem that my daughter's Grade Two class learned to recite very expressively a while ago, and it always brings a smile to my eye.

'Salina has had a very eventful "non-relationship" with the circus.

When her father and I separated, a large circus was in Brisbane and he wanted to take her. For various reasons, I was unwilling to do this unless there was a responsible adult with them. It ended up being a bit of a non-event, I had several months in purgatory with his family for being such a b!tch, he decided to work that day and all in all it was a blessing - as the then 15 month old child had an amazing capacity to create phobias out of anything, and letting a bunch of clowns loose on her would have been agony for Mum (as a Mum who has dealt with fire, dark, birds, loud noises and snake phobias with her, trust me, the clown thing may well have been a straw we didn't need!)

When she was four and we were visiting where we now live, we heard the beat of sledgehammer on iron pegs and got to watch a big top (well, a middle-sized top) get erected across the park from us. Unfortunately, the truck carrying the big top was the only one of the convoy to arrive, and we escaped the circus thrill once more.

Yesterday, my eagle-eyed daughter spotted a truck with an interesting load and "a little pony, Mum, a little pony"! across the park, and we (with Boy-Next-Door) cycled across for a closer look.

Indeed, it seems that the "Eden Bros Good Time Circus" is paying a visit to this neck of the woods, and will be having 3 shows in the next two days.

I had a chat with the ringmaster - John - while the children ran around to pat the goat, the donkey, the horse (failing to heed the "nip" warning - she was demoted below the other two in their affection). He has been touring regional Australia for 25 years now. Most recently, with Equine Influenza as a factor, his run has been the back blocks of Queensland - regions that he obviously loves.

As he looked to be some distance from his 40th birthday, I asked what made him run away to join the circus. "I was a political journalist" he reported. He prefers these clowns.

Grandpa has slipped a little something towards the tickets in my pocket - all 'Salina has to do is be on her best behaviour for a chance to finally see - the circus.



Eden Bros Good Time Circus
7pm Friday February 1
4pm & 7 pm Saturday February 2
Nielsen Park, Bargara

Everyone at Children's Prices ($10)
Front 2 rows $12


Under 3 sit on your knee (or pram or stroller) ABSOLUTELY FREE

5 comments:

Alison said...

Oh kewl! I LOVE the circus. I was actually part of one for a month as a street performer. I got to run around 'entertaining' people before the show. In hindsight, pretending to have my arms dislocated by another clown attempting to fit me in to a contortionists box, probably wasn't the most child appropriate act. In fact, I think I am probably responsible for a couple of clown phobias.
When you're able to appreciate it a circus show can be a fantastic experience. Some of the smaller companies that have smaller audiences put on great shows with loads of audience participation. They're the best, in my opinion.
I hope the timing is right for a fabulous first circus experience. Now all you have to do is remember to "Roll up!" (I admit, I was looking for an opportunity to say that all the way through this response..)
Al

Brissiemum2 said...

Nice! I haven't been to the circus in years but too far away for us!

Julie Pippert said...

What a lovely story. Circuses are supposed to be fun and exciting and enjoyed. Me? I can't hack it. I don't do well with zoos, either. I think it's sensory overload. But at the circus it might also be the clown, and balloons.

Now *I* sound like a circus freak LOL.

Melissa said...

That sounds like it will be a lot of fun. I don't want to take my kids to the big circuses (circi?) that they have here in the states. A smaller one would be oh so much more fun.

Thanks for stopping by. And sorry it's taken so long to get back. Had one of THOSE weeks...

jeanie said...

We went to the circus. All 12 of us in the audience enjoyed greatly - unfortunately it was probably as much work for us as for the performers.

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