HENRY FOWLER, assistant general secretary of the General Federation of Trade Unions (GFTU), reports on Day 2 from the GFTU’s residential Summer School at the Workers’ Retreat, Quorn Grange Hotel
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On the edge of extinction?
PETER FROST is planning a seasonal outing. Let’s hope he doesn’t make a clown of himself
TIMES GONE BY: (left) The Hippodrome designed by architect Ralph Scott Cockrill is designated as a building of ‘outstanding importance;’ (below) elephants with clowns practice ahead of the opening of Gerry Cottle’s Christmas Circus at Wembley Conference
Centre, London, December 1989
Assistant general secretary of the General Federation of Trade Unions HENRY FOWLER reports on day 1 from the GFTU’s residential Summer School at Quorn Grange Hotel
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Many of these weekly ramblings focus on something in grave danger of extinction. It might be a bird, or a tiny insect or a huge and dangerous big cat but today I’m looking at the threat of extinction to something rather different. Today I’m looking at the traditional circus.
I’ve always been in two minds about circuses. As a small child in north-west London huge touring circuses like Billy Smart’s or Chipperfield’s would set up their huge colourful marquees on Wormwood Scrubs – in the shadows of the famous prison – and off would go the family Frost to see the clowns, the tightrope walkers, trapeze artists and the horses, elephants, lions and tigers.
At Christmas those same big circuses would set up in huge indoor arenas like Olympia, Earls Court, Alexandra Palace. And I’m sure other cities and towns all enjoyed their own local touring shows.
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