The Cross Bows, The Circus, The Child.

Sunday Jan 26th saw me at the Circus with my friends Ashley and Barbara.

 Well, a bit more than a Circus -  it was

Oh yes, there were the traditional circus acts:  

 a Contortionist  (ouch); 

 Trapeze artists (have you on the edge of your seat); 

 a High Wire walker (complete with back flips on the wire); 

 a  Cross Bow act in which the woman shot an arrow to the man's heart - well a paper heart which he was holding, and the man shot an apple which was perched on the woman's head; 

 a silly duo comedy act in which one of the comics guzzled Dr. Swindoll's Elixir -  cures everything that ails you -  only to find that it was 80% alcohol, which sent him into nonsense drunk man act, complete with exaggerated staggers; pratfalls etc; 

 and a marvelous gravity wheel act, with a young man who also served as a stage hand, as an usher when we arrived, and as an accordion player we liked him a lot because he smiled throughout the show - exhibiting genuine pleasure at our entertainment.

 In short  the show was a re-creation of the small traveling circuses of yesteryear, complete with the charlatan elixir tout.

   We loved it!






If you can open the following links you will get a broader description than mine

 https://charlottecounty.floridaweekly.com/articles/hang-on-to-your-wallets-mr-swindle-is-back-in-town/


https://www.heraldtribune.com/entertainment/20200127/sarasota-variety-show-specializes-in-the-peculiar/


But wait there's more!

The  best part of the show for me was off stage.  

They were sitting directly in front of me, a woman, a man, and their wee lad aged between two and three.

He resolutely refused to sit on mum's  or dad's lap.  They were at the end of the row, and this youngster stood on the lowest riser for all ninety minutes.  If there was on stage dance he danced; he copied the exaggerated gestures of the performers; had he been able he would have been on the high wire and the trapeze.

The imitations of a wee lad were the sincerest form of flattery!  (I was able to tell his Mum about the pleasure he gave me). 















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