Jamie Clubb - author of "The Legend of Salt and Sauce"

Better late than never!

2012-03-07T03:58:00.002-08:00

A year or so back I was made aware that journalist Sylvia Kent was writing a piece on Joan Rosaire. Joan is an extraordinary circus horse trainer from an amazing circus family. The Rosaires, and in particular Joan's Uncle Ivor, were a key part of my book "The Legend of Salt and Sauce". Their own story of hardship and success in the circus world enchanted such contemporary writers as Ruth Manning-Saunders and Rupert Croft Cooke.

I don't know how seeing the actual online article has slipped me by, but by chance I stumbled across it today. Sylvia has several very entertaining and informative pieces on the Rosaires that I would highly recommend you read.

The Famous Rosaires
Billericay Welcomes Circus Rosaire (article featuring "The Legend of Salt and Sauce")

Jamie Clubb's other blogs: www.beelzebubsbroker.blogspot.com www.clubbchimera.com

World Circus Culture

2012-02-14T02:29:00.002-08:00

circus (Photo credit: fsse8info)

World Circus Culture, a feature documentary film, needs help finishing!

See how you can be a part of the film and watch videos at http://www.indiegogo.com/World-Circus-Culture-Documentary

After filming all over Europe, the US, Canada, and Peru, editing has begun on the film. Director / Producer Angela Snow, and Emmy Award winner editor, Emma Morris, are putting 200 hours of circus footage together to reveal the behind the scenes life, history, and culture of circus on an international scale as never seen before.

World Circus Culture, follows five circus acts from different countries as they rehearse and compete at the 2010 International Circus Festival of Monte Carlo. The five acts that are followed closely in the film are Cirque du Soleil Russian Bar Act, the Duss Family Sea Lions, Rob Torres the Clown, Troupe Yakubov the Strap Act, and Martin Lacey, Jr. the Lion Act. A video of Martin Lacey Jr. and his lions in Stuttgart has been watch over 12,000 times and can be seen here - http://youtu.be/GW9Oa15_NC8

The final interviews conducted for the film were with Kenneth Feld, the owner of Ringling Bros., Paul Binder, the founder of the Big Apple Circus, and the owner of a tiny circus in the middle of the jungle of Peru. Each had an interested perspective on circus. Paul Binder spoke about its evolution how circus used to be about competing with film and TV, but now it’s more a competition with computers. Even in the tiny town in Peru, circus people are the same, as the 3rd generation owner of the circus explained that circus “runs in my veins”. With the rehearsals for Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey’s next seasons “Dragons” show in the background, Kenneth talked of the business of circus and the “international city” that a traveling circus really is.

In this day and age, filmmaking is a very social and collaborative effort and filmmaker, Angela Snow, is testing these new methods with an online fundraiser to raise $12,000 in 30 days.

Visit the link for more information and watch a 3min preview trailer of the film

http://www.indiegogo.com/World-Circus-Culture-Documentary

Jamie Clubb's other blogs: www.beelzebubsbroker.blogspot.com www.clubbchimera.com

The Final Destination of Boney, Molly and Waddy

2012-01-26T03:37:00.000-08:00

The above archive photographs were sourced via Wade Burk's "Circus No Spin Zone" blog. My gratitude to Wade for finding them. They illustrate the final destination of George Lockhart Jnr's original trio of elephants, Boney, Molly and Waddy - or at least it shows Molly and Waddy. This is the accompanying text to the pictures:

"Kiddies' Elephants on their way to their new home in Franklin Park Zoo. Molly, Waddy, and Tony perform for the Red Cross and children on Boston Common. 1914" and "Kiddies' elephants on their way to their new home in Franklin Park zoo. Bought by the children for $6,000. 1914".

I am not sure who Tony was. My father thinks that it might be Boney (pronounced Bonny) who you can just about make out in the background. Boney was considered to be an undersized elephant and this has been attributed to the lack of nutritional information George Lockhart had when he and his wife raised her. However, it is also suggested that this probably has more to do with her subspecies.

Boney, who did the majority of the work, was bought first by George and was his first trained elephant. Molly and Waddy were bought together and, according to George's son, were inseparable. They performed at music halls in the UK as well as in front of Queen Victoria and the future Edward VII (who famously stopped his royal procession to enable George's elephants to cross). They also toured Europe and Russia, performing in front of the Tzar. We have archive material on their highly successful tour of New York in 1895 as well as anecdotes supplied by George Lockhart Jnr of some near miss accidents. These three elephants made George Lockhart and his charges the toast of Victorian society on an international scale and George Lockhart Jnr, who went on to become "The Doyen of Ringmasters", dined off the many exciting and amusing anecdotes the trio provided.

The elephants were sold in 1901 to circus proprietor William Orford. These pictures depict their sale to Franklin Park Zoo, USA, in 1914. For the full story of these elephants and the career of their first elephant trainer, George Lockhart Snr, please read my book "The Legend of Salt and Sauce".

Jamie Clubb's other blogs: www.beelzebubsbroker.blogspot.com www.clubbchimera.com

The Mysterious David Taylor (aka Tayleur)

2012-01-19T04:50:00.000-08:00

David Taylor, who occasionally went under the title David Tayleur, has recently come to my attention. Although he didn't play a direct role in the lives of the elephants Salt and Sauce he does appear in my book "The Legend of Salt and Sauce". Taylor arrives on the scene in 1920, two years prior to John "Broncho Bill" Swallow's acquisition of Salt and Sauce. He was already in partnership with Sir Garrard Tyrwhitt-Drake. They had run a small circus in 1919. They then partnered John Swallow in an ill-fated much larger enterprise called "Ringland's Great Circus and Menagerie". The title was obviously capitalizing on the American Ringling Brother's Circus (which became the "Ringling Brother's, Barnum and Bailey Circus") and should not be confused with "Long" Tom Fossett's "Ringland's Circus" of the 1950s (which would also show Salt and Sauce). When the large show failed, Tyrwhitt-Drake pulled out of the partnership. John Swallow continued with his own circus under the old Broncho Bill moniker. Taylor stayed with John Swallow in the same capacity he had been before, as the circus manager. I have recently been contacted by Roy Kneath, who is a descendent of Taylor's, and is trying to get verification on the photographs displayed here. If anyone can say whether or not these images are of David Taylor please let us know.

Jamie Clubb's other blogs: www.beelzebubsbroker.blogspot.com www.clubbchimera.com

Lockhart and the Performing Animals Act 1925

2011-12-22T09:49:00.000-08:00

Image via Wikipedia

I was recently shown a link to an interesting academic paper about racism and animal abuse in an historic context. The paper, "Racial Prejudice and the Performing AnimalsControversy in Early Twentieth-Century Britain" by David A. H. Wilson of the University of Cumbria, makes an interesting argument for the way racist ideas were common among both critics and defenders of animal trainers. Amid the all-too-familiar arguments on both sides we note that there are also the usual racist arguments heard today. Fear of losing work to immigrants is just below the surface of certain protestations. This, however, is combined with the bigotry common at the time. For example, species of animals are compared to different races of people and being post-World War I Germaphobia is a hot tactic. Interestingly animal rightists, who these days tend to cite the odd notion of speciesism as an extension of racism, also make a distinction between foreign trainers, who they consider to be cruel, from British trainers.

Due to public pressure in the 1920s a animal welfare bill was brought in relation to performing animals. This resulted in the creation of the Performing Animal Act 1925. To this day, anyone who wishes to perform professionally with an animal in the UK in front of a live audience has to be in possession of a licence. In my book "The Legend of Salt and Sauce" I briefly mentioned the act as it occurred during the time-line of the lives of the two circus elephants, Salt and Sauce. What I didn't realize at the time was how many characters in my story were featured in the consultation prior to the act.

First up, George Lockhart Jnr, who is referred to as an elephant trainer. We have no evidence for this claim. He grew up around his father's first trio of elephants and later helped a little over the brief period that his father owned his second period. He was also present when his father was killed by either Salt or Sauce in 1904:

George Lockhart, elephant trainer and equestrian director of the Tower
Circus, Blackpool, said to the Select Committee: “It seems to me that the
very fact that the great majority of the convictions [for cruelty to performing
animals] are against foreigners must of itself be some sort of defence of the
English trainer”

I find it interesting that many British circus directors, performers and animal trainers used the racist or xenophobic tactic to shift the blame. Since Victorian times, traditional circus has been inherently non-prejudicial. It has been remarked how travelling circuses were probably one of the first institutions to actively employ ex-slaves after the Abolition Act. Circus also has a history of finding often good paying work for people who would otherwise be considered disabled or slighted for their deformities. Furthermore, women worked in the same jobs as men and even headed family shows as the director long before they were granted equal voting rights in Britain. Nevertheless, circus people do not completely exist in a bubble and it is not surprising that they were also influenced by the rest of society and saw advantage in a scapegoat.

Here's Lockhart again, discussing the policy to boycott or ban foreign animal acts:

George Lockhart thought that only since the war had very few trained animals
come from abroad, and that any resumption would depend on VAF policy.
There was no restriction before the war because “we lived together in amity,”
and he admitted that the profession had not barred German-trained animals
on grounds of suspected cruelty (1435-1440).

If you have read my book, you will notice that as great a showman as George Lockhart Jnr was, he wasn't adverse to making up stories. I have said that this a by-product of his larger-than-life image. However, this statement adds a whole new dimension to his yarning:

George Lockhart said that the best animal trainers came from Germany, and they were the
best because they probably used methods that would give British trainers a
very bad name indeed. He admitted he had never seen them at work, but they
had trained horses to perform in ways not attempted or achieved by English
trainers, so cruelty was suspected

Lockhart's second group of elephants came from the famous animal trainer and keeper, Carl Hagenbeck and it is highly likely, that a Hagenbeck trainer part trained them before they arrived in the UK. George Lockhart Jnr always maintained that the elephants were wild, but photographic evidence and the time-line seems to contradict this assertion. Sir Garrard Tyrwhitt-Drake is also quoted. Twrwhitt-Drake appears early on in my book with the ill-fated first Ringlands Circus he ran with John Swallow and David Tayleur in 1920. Twrwhitt-Drake went on to create Maidstone Zoo and also mentions Salt and Sauce in an elephant book he wrote. Here is the passage on him:

As to the question of the close confi nement of wild animals, the witness Garrard Tyrwhitt-Drake, owner of Garrard’s Circus and secretary of Ringlands Zoo Company, later wrote:

"Take the case of a primitive native. I venture to think that if he was off ered freedom
with its attendant hunt for food and family worries against confi nement in an enclosure
with warm sleeping quarters, one or two wives and plenty of good food and
drink, and no worries, he would choose comparative confi nement rather than freedom"

Interestingly Hagenbeck, the original owners of the elephants, Salt and Sauce, is the exception given for German trainers. Of course, his zoo and circus business encompassed many other foreign trainers, so it somewhat contradicts the point being made by those opposing and defending the animal training business.

I recommend the article for anyone interested in the history of British animal training and the society that surrounds it.

Jamie Clubb's other blogs: www.beelzebubsbroker.blogspot.com www.clubbchimera.com

Damoo Dhotre's 109th Birthday

2011-08-31T02:50:00.000-07:00

Readers of this blog might be aware that my father is currently researching a book on Alfred Court, his trainers and his animals. Here and there we have made contacts with the many people that are part of this legacy. As with "The Legend of Salt and Sauce" the experience is most rewarding when we put the pieces together and discover how much a cultural impact the story we are investigating had on people. Damoo Dhotre was an Alfred Court animal presenter that has been mentioned on this blog before. In India his position as an historical and cultural icon is on the ascent and there have been several celebrations done in his name. Today I am delighted to report that a descendent of his, Anand Dhotre, is holding a celebration of the great trainer's 109th birthday with the launch of new website.

Anand told us - "In present condition of Indian Circus Industry, due to ban on animal performances, we can not expect that any brave artist will rise up like Damoo Dhotre.

Really, Damoo Dhotre was the only Indian who put India's name on world map by showing fearlessness and great determination.

Let's salute this noble son of India today and every day and hope Golden Days will be back to Indian Circus again."

Circus Industry in India Blog (Damoo Dhotre page)

Birthday Celebration on Buckles Blog

Damoo Dhotre.Com

Jamie Clubb's other blogs: www.beelzebubsbroker.blogspot.com www.clubbchimera.com

The Pride of Larry Lamb

2011-08-26T02:57:00.000-07:00

Image via WikipediaIt's not even a year on from the Welsh TV show, "Coming Home" revealing the wild animal training ancestry of actor Michael Sheen and the nationwide equivalent, "Who Do You Think You Are?" has established another celebrity circus connection. Larry Lamb, who used to play "Eastenders" soap opera villain "evil" Archie Mitchell and as Mick Shipman in the hit comedy series "Gavin and Stacey", told The Mirror and Daily Mail newspapers that he didn't know much about his heritage due to his mother being adopted. Press reports of the show reveal that Lamb's great-great uncle was Thomas Day known as "Martini Bartlett the Lion King". What they don't expand - and hopefully the show will - is that Day was married to Pauline "Kit" Chipperfield. Chipperfield, a relation of mine on my maternal side, and therefore part of another circus family famed for wild animal training and presenting. Day was also the brother of James "Wild Beast" Day of the once famous Day's Menagerie.

Lamb's reaction was very similar to Michael Sheen's when he discovered the truth about his cultural heritage. He told "The Mirror", a paper that is usually found criticizing traditional circuses and especially wild animal training, the following:

“To be related to these people, the same clan – wow. My mum always nursed this dream that she would meet her mum again so when this programme was offered I thought this would be a good thing for her. It was all surprises. The whole female side and the male side were a complete surprise.

"I had always figured I was a kind of a Johnny-come-lately who had tumbled into the entertainment business by accident, when in fact I was probably at least part-way genetically programmed to be in it.
“This travelling instinct is in the family and the showman element is the answer to a lot of questions. I love it. It’s wonderful.”

The truth is that plenty of actors of the past had deep roots in the world of circus and variety, but such as is the nature over-taking showbusiness trends (and not mention a bit of British cultural snobbery that often marginalizes traditional circus) that this all-too-often becomes forgotten. The "Time Shift" TV shows "When the Circus Comes to Town" and "All the Fun at the Fair" have recently done a small amount to address this balance, reminding older generations and educating new ones just how much circuses and fairs used to mean to the population of the UK.

The circus world are no doubt shaking their heads at the irony of The Mirror and The Daily Mail being the two tabloids who have chosen to take up this story and both of them showcasing it in a positive light. Both papers, along with The Independent that wrote positively about the two "Time Shift" shows, have waged a history of aggressive and poorly researched campaigns targeting animal training in circuses.

However, it is little surprise to those who support circus culture that the creative team behind the programme would find the story so appealing. According to press reports show producer Tom McDonald, "singled out Larry's episode as the one of which he is most proud":

“It could stand as a documentary in its own right. It is just a downright wonderful story. I don’t think you can watch it without being moved.”

Link to Prime Unreality TV's report.
Link to The Mirror's report
Link to The Daily Mail's
Link to The Independent's report on "When the Circus Comes to Town".

Jamie Clubb's other blogs: www.beelzebubsbroker.blogspot.com www.clubbchimera.com

Tom Norman on the BBC

2011-08-04T05:05:00.000-07:00

Image via WikipediaTom Norman was a pioneer of the fairground industry in Victorian Britain. He was famed for his presentation of the freak-show. Norman was known for the way he would blend the accepted "science" of the era with outright fantasy to provide a back-story for the various "freaks" that were exhibited on his fairs.

The most famous of Norman's employees was Joseph Merrick "The Elephant Man". Contrary to popular belief, largely put across in David Lynch's* fictionalized account of Merrick's life, there is scant evidence that disabled people were especially abused or used like slaves. Often the opportunity to earn by exploiting one's condition - and Merrick was on 50/50 box office split with Norman - was a better alternative to begging, hawking goods or a life in the workhouse. Details of this and the bad representation that sideshows, circuses and their closely related forms of entertainment endure to this day were presented in my article "Circus and Other 'Low' Arts: A Defence"

I am delighted to say that the BBC have recently aired an episode of "Time Shifts" that focuses on the history of the British fair. This includes a rational and historically accurate account of Tom Norman and the Victorian freak-show. This helps put the whole concept of something that the middle classes found abhorrent and we, without any sense of irony, often deride as being an outdated form of amusement enjoyed by people of a bygone era.**

Click here for a link to the BBC iPlayer showing of the programme.

Of course, my main interest in Tom Norman comes from his tenuous connection to two real elephants, Salt and Sauce, the subject of my 2008 book "The Legend of Salt and Sauce: Britain's Most Famous Elephants". We have a source that claims Norman employed these two amazing pachyderms during the 1920s.

*Lynch is not known for his grasp on reality. Rightfully hailed as a talented and original film-maker, if verging on the very pretentious at times, Lynch was one of the supporters of the appalling conspiracy theory internet documentary "Loose Change". It would appear that as profound and sophisticated as Lynch is often considered, he is just as easy to be persuaded by populist sensationalism as the next person.

**I say ironic (again see my article), as we live in an age of "Big Brother", "Jackass", "Britain's Got Talent" and "Body Shock". How are these programmes not "exploitative" in the same sense as a Victorian freak-show was?

Jamie Clubb's other blogs: www.beelzebubsbroker.blogspot.com www.clubbchimera.com

Circus elephants lend a helping trunk in Missouri

2011-06-02T05:29:00.000-07:00

Cover via Amazon“Hike! Urgh! Hike! Urgh!” My toddler daughter is addicted to Dumbo and the words of that song, along with most of the others, now regularly haunt my waking thoughts. Romanticists would say “It’s in her blood”. True, her grandfather, great grandfather, great uncle and cousins have all been circus elephant trainers at some time and she has a potential unbroken performing lineage on my mother’s side that stretches back 300 years. However, the more sceptical would say that other influences around her might have something more to do with it. Anyway, for those of you who know the film might recall that the song I was referring to is the “Song of the Roustabouts”. Roustabout isn’t a term I have ever heard used in UK circus culture, but it refers to what we would call “tent-men”. As the name implies, these are the men who put up the Big Top along with the rest of the show. In “Dumbo” the fantastical scene that accompanies this song sees the tent-men being assisted not by the show’s fellow human performers, but by the circus elephants.

This isn’t as incredible as it sounds. In fact, around the time “Dumbo” was being made it was very common for circus elephants to aid with putting the Big Top up and it was part of the spectacle of the upcoming show for those who watched. Asian elephants, of course, have been caught and domesticated in their own countries for centuries. Indian elephants, which were among the most common species of elephant in circuses from the 19^th century up until the 1970s, have over millennia of history as domesticated animals that probably began in the Indus Valley civilization [i]. A circus operates best an all cooperating community with many a circus boss being proud of the fact that his family work as hard – if not harder – than the rest of the show. This was always the boast of my grandfather anyway. With the need to be resourceful and swift it made perfect sense to employ the ultimate beast of burden, the elephant, to lend a helping trunk when it came to lifting and pulling heaving objects and structures. This also applied to emergency situations, which leads me to a recent news item and the main inspiration to write this ramble.

A tornado struck Joplin, Missouri, in the last week of May 2011, leaving a reported 139 people dead and devastated city. President Barrack Obama has pledged that the city will be rebuilt, but in the meantime a lot of work needed to be done in order to clear debris. It just happened that Piccadilly Circus was scheduled to show the week after the tornado and found their area occupied by a makeshift hospital. According to a report published in The Telegraph newspaper an unnamed circus employee said "We thought it'seither take the day off or give a hand to the people who really need it." So, they lent the support of their elephants to help pull cars out of the way and clear the debris. The whole incident reminds me of a different age when circus automatically assimilated itself into any community it visited.

Circus brought spectacle, entertainment and unusual animals to the common man. It may have been patronized by royalty, and still is in certain countries, but its main strength came from the fact that by its travelling nature it brought excitement to those who could not afford to travel to the big cities or faraway countries. I have read countless numbers of articles describing the way a visiting circus made friends with the communities they visited and for the short period they showed, were accepted as being temporary locals.

When I wrote my book “The Legend of Salt and Sauce” I was interested to uncover a story about the book’s lead protagonists’ – two Indian elephants – involvement in the war effort. I wrote a post on it here.

So, it was no real surprise to me to hear about a visiting circus getting immediately stuck in and aiding the location where they visited in a time of need. However, what was a pleasant surprise was to read about it in a British newspaper.

[i] The cartoon anthropomorphized elephants in “Dumbo” are all depicted as Asiatic, which is what makes the film’s hero’s giant ears that much more unusual.

Jamie Clubb's other blogs: www.beelzebubsbroker.blogspot.com www.clubbchimera.com

Water for Elephants - An Impression by Jim Stockley

2011-04-21T04:44:00.000-07:00

Image by LiuTao via Flick
It's been three years since "The Legend of Salt Sauce" was published. Since then I have noticed circus elephants appear in the media on a few occasions. This year sees the release of the movie "Water for Elephants", a Hollywood adaptation of Sarah Gruen's circus novel of the same name. I haven't seen the film yet, but my cousin, a wild animal trainer in South Africa, got to see the film before its release in the US and UK. Here is his "impression" of the film. I think it provides a rather unique insight given that his respective backgrounds include a background in traditional circus (both Jim and my family were working on circuses during the Prohibition era the film is set) and a strong working knowledge in the film industry.

The film opened last night in South Africa and we went to see it. Its a very difficult film to review, I was watching it first as a circus person, second as a film animal supplier and only thirdly as a regular film goer. I have no idea what our local public will make of it, have to wait and see what the professional reviews say.

The parts they got right were great, the parts that were wrong were laughable. It isn't really a 'circus film' ...... it's a love triangle set against a 1930s Prohibition era circus background. As a film goer I thought all three lead actors were good but didn't feel that the love triangle worked ...... I didn't feel drawn to the characters but I may have still been watching for all the other circus stuff I also thought the story thread about Auguste killing off the tentmen by throwing them off the train was poorly explained and a lot of the train scenes were dark and poorly lit.

Witherspoon does very well with the elephant, Gary Johnson's prep time with her was well spent.

The colour, texture and feel of build up of the circus, the canvas tent being pulled over grass on an early sunny morning, the horse drawn wagons and the first show are great. On the big screen it is beautifully filmed and worth the price of admission for that alone. The state of the cookhouse tent top looked like something familiar ...... those of you that were tenting in the 60s and 70s will know what I mean!

I got dirty looks from the people in our row when I laughed (out loud) at the big elephant beating scene! The hero elephant Rosie (bloody good job by Gary Johnson and Tai) is standing in a railroad car, Auguste (the circus owning psycho) enters with a big bullhook, door of rail carriage is closed to keep other circus workers/public/lead characters out. Doors open to reveal elephant laid flat out on her side, unconscious? with blood streaming from her wounds ! Jakob the Vet gets her a bucket of whisky which fixes her problems and she makes the night show without a limp or a mark on her ;-) Hollywood, huh?

SPOILER ............
The end scene where all the animals are turned loose is a bit of a mess. Jet Shaw had Brian McMillan's giraffe 'Stanley' on set and he is duplicated in CGI so many times, you would swear that the show had a whole herd of giraffes. Rosie the elephant has already been established as a docile, calm, well-trained performer yet, in amongst all the chaos, she is standing rock-still in the middle of the ring, chained to a stake (this is vital to the plot, that she is chained to a stake, as she has to pull out the stake to kill 'Auguste')

ON A POSITIVE NOTE ...........
Aside from the evil Auguste character, everyone employed by the circus is good with the animals and no big moral point is made out of the use/keeping of animals as they used to in the 1930s. That's how it was and they are the backdrop. The closing minutes of the film are devoted to Rosie Elephants further career with Ringlings (provoked 'Oooh's and Aaaahs' from the audience ;-) ............. and her subsequent happy retirement, along with the show's horses. If anyone tries to use the film as an anti-circus poster then I think our counter is that most of us are like Jakob the Vet ............. not Auguste the Psycho Circus Owner (don't answer that).

I came away with mixed emotions but wait with interest to see what all of you think of it ......... and how it fares with the general public in the UK & USA.

Jamie Clubb's other blogs: www.beelzebubsbroker.blogspot.com www.clubbchimera.com

Coming Home

2010-11-24T04:42:00.000-08:00

Image via WikipediaJust a reminder to everyone that my father, Jim Clubb, will be interviewed on Michael Sheen's programme "Coming Home" tonight, 24 November 2010. This show is much like "Who do you think you are?" with Sheen tracing his roots back to a wild animal presenter/trainer. It is of particular interest to this blog not just because it involves my father, who was the main researcher for my book "The Legend of Salt and Sauce", but because it involves circus history.

Before this blog starts looking like Michael Sheen's fan site, this is the link for programme details. It can be viewed on BBC Wales channel, BBC iPlayer and through Sky.

Jamie Clubb's other blogs: www.beelzebubsbroker.blogspot.com www.clubbchimera.com

Jim Clubb with Michael Sheen on Wed 24th Nov

2010-11-18T09:44:00.000-08:00

Image via WikipediaRecently on here I was happy to announce that my father, the wild animal trainer and circus/zoo historian, Jim Clubb, would be featured on a TV show with the critically acclaimed actor, Michael Sheen. Despite having a very respectuable career in front of live audiences for serveral years my father's main area in entertainment is usually behind the scenes, training wild animals for the media industry. He did some stuntwork a few years back, doubling for David Jason in "A Touch of Frost", episode "Endangered Species", but that job is often given to his senior trainers.
However, he is often asked to appear as an on camera consultant. These jobs very rarey happen - "Action! Animals" a documentary on Mum and Dad's business with his old friend, John Cleese, and "Kings and Beasts" documentary on the Tower Meneagerie were the most recent exceptions that come to mind and they were filmed almost a decade ago. The programme Dad was consulted on involving Michael Sheen was for BBC Wales. Please see the original post on this for more details on the show's content. Our client has given us a name for the show, but today I was informed "..the Michael Sheen programme will be aired next Wednesday at 7.30 on BBC 1 Wales".

If you can't get BBC1 Wales on Sky, then you can watch it on the BBC iPlayer."

Dad's stunt role:

He also doubled in the tiger for an actor in the tiger attack sequence in this satirical comedy from the 1980s:

Jamie Clubb's other blogs: www.beelzebubsbroker.blogspot.com www.clubbchimera.com

The Circus "NO SPIN ZONE": Sam Lockhart

2010-10-27T09:34:00.000-07:00

The Circus "NO SPIN ZONE": Sam Lockhart

Don't forget to check out Jamie Clubb's main blog www.jamieclubb.blogspot.com

Salt and Sauce helping the war effort

2010-10-09T03:52:00.000-07:00

I am very grateful to George Pinder Snr, whose family feature quite heavily in the early part of my book "The Legend of Salt and Sauce", for posting up this archive piece from a Wolverhampton newspaper on his Facebook profile. George told me "my grandmas sister aunt nellie, lived in wolverhampton, and sent her this cutting, i came across it today sorting out some old stuff, its from the 1940s ww2". I don't have the full details yet, but it reveals new information to me about the two famous elephants, Salt and Sauce's activities during the 1940s. Prior to this I understood that the elephants, who were still owned by John "Broncho Bill" Swallow, were touring during the war years (1939-1945) with Paulo's Circus and engaged at various theatrical venues during the Christmas seasons. We did have an unsubstantiated report that they had helped clear a site for the war effort. However, this article shows the two elephants leading a plough for Kingswood Bank farm during the 1940s as a matter of "national importance" for farmer, Robert Wilkes. It was more than likely a type of publicity stunt, which John Swallow - a consumate promoter - would have dreamt up.

Jamie Clubb's other blogs: www.beelzebubsbroker.blogspot.com www.clubbchimera.com

Passport to yesterday? The Trefoil Guild and exploring the "other country"

2010-09-30T05:02:00.000-07:00

With “The Legend of Salt and Sauce” now reaching its second edition’s second anniversary, it has been a little while now since I have attended any signings. Therefore my father and I were delighted to visit the Trefoil Guild to give a one hour talk and PowerPoint presentation on our book. When we launched the first edition of the book it was in front of the Circus Friends Association. When we launched the second edition it was in front of the Wolverhampton Historical Society. Both institutions obviously had a strong interest in the subject. On other occasions we have done signings for zoo enthusiasts and historians who were either interested in the general subject of performing animals in music halls, zoos and circuses or in how the legend of these two elephants impacted on their locality. However, from time to time we get requests from societies – like the Ladies Probus Club – who booked us on the basis of the unusual quality of our subject. The Trefoil Club was this sort of booking.
It is always interesting to not only help bring people’s memories alive again – some of our audience members were into their 80s – but also to listen to their accounts of the times I only know through researching documents, books, photographs and newspaper articles. The era Salt and Sauce lived in was one that dramatically changed around the time their demise thus helping to condemn these once exceptionally well-known elephants to the “forgotten history” archives. Although none of those who attended our talk remembered these elephants - despite one contemporary author quoted in my book calling them the most famous elephants of their time - they did have very fond memories of my family’s elephants. One lady even had several photographs she had published taken in the early ‘60s of my family’s elephants being walked from the now non-existent Chipping Norton station. Despite being interested and buying plenty of copies of our book, much of the discussion and questions centred on my father’s involvement with my grandparents’ large number of elephants.

I often find it hard not having sympathy for the cliché that history provides “windows into the past”. Much of the time I found researching Salt and Sauce really fired my imagination and excited a sort of faux nostalgia I think most historians are infected by. As Heather Vallance often tells me, history is another country. If I may be so bold, I can appreciate what she means. Looking through the primary source evidence of show posters, programmes, reviews and other paraphernalia conjured up images of another reality my generation and subsequent generations cannot relate to. I am talking about huge productions that dwarf West End London and Broadway shows in cast numbers alone. I have read about five ring circuses packing out the old Wembley stadium and gigantic royal command performances occurring on a regular basis. You have only to trawl through the Pathe news archives to see how much my culture was so much a part of my country’s fabric. Royal command performances were common and the celebrities of the day – some of which are celebrities of today – were happy to be pictured with the various animal trainers and artists of the big top.
My mother often mourned the time television caught my interest as a child. It was a strong opposition that was probably passed down from her father who saw its negative impact on live entertainment in the 1960s. His circus, Chipperfield’s, which he ran with his brothers and sisters, had peaked in the 1950s as a gigantic touring spectacle and cemented its title as a household name in Britain. However, by the ‘60s the proverbial writing was on the wall and the move to South Africa for three years, which also helped result in the formation of the Natal Lion Park in Pietermaritzburg, was in result to the threat presented by television. Paul Gallico’s 1960s novel, “Love, Let Me Not Hunger” refers to the Chipperfield decision when the book’s fictional circus director makes a similar choice based on the number of aerials he now sees populating the cities, towns and villages across the country. Of course, both Chipperfield’s and Smart’s circuses would enter into a short yet very memorable marriage with television through their Christmas shows, but that was more of a postscript to the golden age of circus story than anything else.
Jamie Clubb's other blogs: www.beelzebubsbroker.blogspot.com www.clubbchimera.com

Michael Sheen: descendent of a wild animal trainer

2010-07-08T08:50:00.000-07:00

Image via Wikipedia

I very rarely write anything publically about my parents' business. They work in the media all the time, so it would something of an overwhelming task to report on their activities and I know it would swamp more already very tight schedule and keep me away from writing about my main areas of interest. To put it simply, my heritage and the other work I do on a day-to-day basis are sources of proud inspiration, but not the main source of my writing material.

However, I am delighted to announce that my father has agreed to be an expert on a television programme on Michael Sheen's lion training great-grandmother (details to be confirmed) on Bostock and Wombwelle's Menagerie.
Sheen, a brilliant theatre actor who steadily rose to fame in TV and a surprising number of feature films, is now best known for his serious performances as ex-British Prime Minister Tony Blair in "The Deal", "The Queen" and "The Special Relationship", Brian Clough in "The Damned United", and - my personal favourite - as David Frost in "Frost/Nixon" (both on stage and film).

My father, a professional wild animal trainer for 40 years, is a dedicated circus, zoo and menagerie historian. Bostock and Wombwelle - a travelling menagerie/circus business that ran for well over a century, beginning in 1805 - is a pet subject of his and he was featured as an expert commentator on them when the documentary "Kings and Beasts" was partly filmed at the private zoo he owns with my mother. This particular documentary was all about the Tower Menagerie, but touched upon Bostock and Wombwelle's Menagerie and as well a being a regular consultant Dad's main work was training and supplying the wild animals (lions mainly) used when the filmmakers reconstructed part of the Tower of London Menagerie at his zoo.

I am particularly excited about this project, which is being filmed at our friend Martin Burton's circus, Zippo's, as it unites several areas of interest for me - film, general history and circus history.

Recommended viewing:

Recommended reading:

Alyce Faye Cleese interviewed my father for her book on developing better relationships with mothers:

The book my father researched with me:

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Norman Barrett receives his MBE

2010-06-10T08:05:00.000-07:00

Following on from my post regarding Norman Barrett place on the New Year's Honours List. Yesterday Norman received his MBE at Buckingham Palace.
Here are some reports on the momentous day for circus culture:

http://pictures.metro.co.uk/London/220252/Royal-Investiture-At-Buckingham-Palace

http://www.itv.com/granada/circus-ringmaster-honour21975/

http://www.life.com/image/101919624

Norman's autobiography:

Fighting the Historical Airbrush: This Time it's Personal!

2010-06-03T14:20:00.000-07:00

One thing I got very used to during my research for my first book was the unreliability of witness testimony in the circus world. Much of what had been told and published was purposefully designed to enhance the career of the narrator. After all, that is the nature of showbusiness. It is not always excusable, but at least understandable. My job was to present as honest a picture as I could by using my lived knowledge of being a part of an old circus family and my evolving skills as an historical investigator. However, as I began to delve deeper into the old reports, show programmes and reports from independent eyewitnesses I began to uncover a reality that has gradually been erased from my country’s consciousness. Forgotten histories, in general, are an interest of mine, but as time goes on I have become more shocked than ever at how much my culture has been purposefully airbrushed out. There are many examples, much of which I put down to the UK’s collective cultural flaw of snobbery, are discussed in my book. However, recently the whole issue has come closer to home than I find comfortable.

Jimmy Chipperfield was my great uncle, famous in his time, and today a hugely underrated pioneer. He split from Chipperfield’s Circus when the business was at its peak, eventually moving into the business that would make him a millionaire: safari parks. He proposed and initiated the first safari park outside of Africa in 1966 in a partnership with Lord Bath at Longleat. After that he went on to found safari parks in Woburn and developed Knowsley, Plymouth and Southampton zoos. Tribute and acknowledgement for the pioneeringwork of my uncle was paid several times throughout his lifetime, including a episode of “This is Your Life”. His story is recorded in his autobiography “My Wild Life”, as well as several other books written about the Chipperfield family, Lord Bath's own obituary and countless articles. The most recent of these articles was published on 15 May in the Guardian newspaper. Read it here. I note that "The Independent" newspaper's online obituary neglects to mention Jimmy Chipperfield, but Major Geoffrey Gibbon, another co-founder in the safari park business has this information intact in his obituary in The Telegraph.

However, you won’t find any of this information in the Wikipedia entry for Longleat. I included it when they had a history section, but it has since been taken out, substituted forthe briefest of introductions that doesn’t make any reference to Jimmy Chipperfield whatsoever. Few people in the safari park world will acknowledge the tremendous input of my uncle today. A gleaming exception was Bob Lawrence who mentions him on the dustcover his autobiography. It says a lot for this man’s integrity whose park, West Midlands Safari Park, wasn’t started by my uncle, but he still felt it was correct to acknowledge his innovation with Longleat. Luckily zoo historians are often as meticulous and dedicated to honestly reporting events as their mainstream counterparts. Here is a linked quote from The Good Zoo Guide's section on Longleat:

"...the man behind ‘The Lions’ was not Lord Bath himself, but an inveterate animal trainer, circus owner, and showman, Jimmy Chipperfield. It was Chipperfield who had noticed how cars in African game-parks would always congregate around the lions, and he felt convinced that with secure fencing, the same thing could happen in the English countryside. It was some time before he found a man with the land, and the enterprise to put the ideas into action, but not surprisingly, what was true for Kenya became equally true for Wiltshire, and today the visitors still flock to see the lions - perhaps not in the colossal numbers they did in the early years, but still numbering over half a million people every year."

The airbrushing out and abuse of history annoys me on most occasions. It warps people’s perceptions of how things happened and how the society we live in developed. As those who have had to deal with religious extremism in the classroom or through politics will no doubt testify, it fuels unreal ideas about the world we live in, inhibits the development of knowledge and can be very harmful as a result. Circus people endure a tremendous amount of persecution based on the fact that they are a very small and abstract society in the minds of most. Today the country that spawned it, Britain, has barely a handful of traditional circuses currently touring. Whether or not you agree with them is not my concern. There are plenty of things in our past we might not agree with, but accept that it existed and happened, and often somehow influenced our society today. To erase the history of the circus people is a perversion of truth.

Published primary sources for further reading:

Even the book on "Dublin Zoo" makes reference to Jimmy Chipperfield's involvement with the creation of Longleat Safari Park

Circus travelling connections: a ramble

2010-05-04T09:07:00.000-07:00

Image via Wikipedia

Throughout my childhood, teenage years and even during my early adulthood my hackles would rise if someone mistook my circus roots for being that of a gypsy. More playground fights would stem from someone referring to me under the title of any member of the nomadic races known in popular culture. It was a prejudice on my behalf that I freely admit to. Circus people are rarely 100 per cent nomadic. They are about as much a traveller as any artist who tours. They are on the road for as long as a season lasts, often from about March to October, and then they live at their winter-quarters, where many, particularly the circus directors, have their own houses. During the Christmas season, December to January, circuses have traditionally played in theatres. This is not an exact distinction from other travellers, as many travellers have lived for generations in their own permanent caravan sites, but it gives you a fair idea for how things have been for the most part of two centuries.

I write this as this year I have come across a few instances, where I have had to concede, quite happily, deeper connections between my people and the Romany gypsies as well as a full acknowledgement of how closely tied the show (fairground) or carnival people are to the culture of the circus. In

Britain

I was always led to believe that we were distinctly different from any other travelling culture. Circus people always aspired to high positions in business and during the golden age of circus did pretty well. My grandfather was a big believer in Rudyard Kipling’s model for male perfection that one should be able to “walk with kings and never lose the common touch”, and this is echoed in a documentary on our family conducted in the 1970s. He explained how wealthy European circus directors would have their sons drive tractors rather than flashy sports cars. His own son went to Wellington and his nephew went Marlborough secondary school, but they would return for their holidays in order to knock stakes into the grounds to put tents up and work as hard as any hired labourer. That was the circus way – what I guess some might call “renaissance” thinking.

As time went on I realized that we certainly shared some common ancestry with the fair people or showmen (what Americans call “carnie” or carnival folk). In fact, during my grandfather’s generation circus and fair were one and the same. My grandfather’s first cousin was a showman and passed the tradition onto his children. In Britain today “The World’s Fair” weekly newspaper continues its tradition of presenting a circus section in an otherwise showman dominated publication. A good deal of historical research for the circus is done through back issues of this very long running newspaper. However, apart from my relatives I do not recall ever having much contact with people from the fairground community. Then today my father received an email regarding an American article designed to set out the differences between circus people and carnie folk. It is interesting to note that the article’s author attributes the first carnival to Frank Bostock, a person he doesn’t mention came from a travelling menagerie family. Travelling menageries, like music hall also share circus ancestry. Many circuses had travelling menageries. Bostock, of course, was part of that most famous of British travelling menageries “Bostock and Wombwelle’s Menagerie”. My father is an avid historical fan of this particular institution and was even interviewed as an expert witness on them for the BBC.

As for the gypsies, there is not much connecting them with circus people in the UK. However, there is some. In Europe there are Romany connections with French, Spanish and Italian circus families - the Bougliones being a prime example. A week ago by chance I got talked to an old Romany woman. I recognized her background immediately, but she clearly mistook me for a “flatty” and she was surprised when I used the term, having not been around her own culture for a long time. When she realized my own background we discussed the similarities and differences in our slang. Circus slang is a virtual language, as are other types of traveller slang, and is used as a type of code. It interested me that circus shared several different words with the Romanies, but others were totally different. The lady pointed out that certain words like “mozzie”, meaning a girl, came from showman’s slang. Prior to this meeting I was always intrigued by the Polari used by the camp homosexual actor characters Julian and Sandy in the Kenneth Horne’s famous comedy radio show “Round the Horne”. They used many phrases that I recognized, but were being used within the context of the gay and theatrical subculture. At the time, of course, homosexuality was illegal and therefore it was understandable that the community would have a code language. It seemed to have been derived from the theatre, which had more than rubbed shoulders with the variety industry. Variety was just another evolution of music hall, a close relation and sometimes the same thing as circus. Many minorities and even criminals used versions of this language. Circus seems to be an amalgamation of Romany, show, theatre and even cockney slang. I once even heard a rhyming slang phrase used for another slang word – Norman Harper is slang for scarper which is slang for run away. Interestingly I have heard the word “scarper” being used by a circus person to mean steal or take – as in “You just scarpered my drink!”

Polari is a fast evolving language, although its usage is less evident in the British circus culture today as the traditional circus is very much under threat. For me it seems to be a representation of the many links and roots circus shares with so many other cultures.

My inspiration for this ramble, as you can see, came from many sources. However, this was the one that finally encouraged me to put finger to keyboard:

Circus versus carnival

An interesting Wikipedia entry on Polari

Recommended Reading:

Name Your Link

Newly Discovered Salt & Sauce Postcard in Hastings

2010-03-16T10:31:00.000-07:00

Early in March 2010 I was contacted by a postcard collector called Mark Pearce. Mark had come across an historical postcard picturing four young elephants stood with a group of people outside a possible Music Hall venue. According to Mark the street is one in Hastings, East Essex. He reports that the message on the card’s reverse has been partially erased, but “Lockhart’s Elephants” is clearly visible. The stamp was dated 1906, but Mark was aware that didn’t necessarily indicate the year the photograph was taken.

The venue looks like it might have been the Empire of Varieties, built in 1899 by Ernest Runtz. According to “theatre buff” Alan Chudey it became known as the Hastings “Hippodrome” in around 1907. The turn of the century was a very common time for circus and Music Hall buildings to be constructed, and we can see this happening all over the UK. It was later used as a cinema and then gutted in 1978 to be used as an amusement arcade.

Back to the stars of the photo and it certainly looks like Salt and Sauce with their fellow two members of the “Cruet”, Vinegar and Mustard II circ. 1904/05. They had changed ownership from George Lockhart Snr’s widow (Lockhart had been killed by either Salt or Sauce during a stampede at Walthamstow Station on 25 January 1904) to Herbert “Captain Joe” Taylor in 1904. The human protagonists in the photo seem to look virtually identical to those in another picture taken outside the Ipswich Hippodrome with all four members of the Cruet in 1905 with Taylor and featured in my book. 1905 was the year that saw the act reduced to three performing elephants. We do not know the fates of Vinegar, the smallest elephant pictured, or Mustard II. Before the 1900s were complete only Salt and Sauce would remain with Taylor. They stayed with him until 1922 when they were bought by John “Broncho Bill” Swallow.

The Taylor years are recorded in a single chapter in my book titled “Captain Joe Taylor: The Lost Years”. We only have listings from show programmes and the odd set of notes to cover the 1904-1922 period of Salt and Sauce’s lives.

The Lost Lockhart

2010-02-04T14:43:00.000-08:00

Henry James Lockhart (real name Locker) was an elephant trainer/presenter born to Sam and Hannah Lockhart in 1861 in London. Henry, known mainly as Harry, was the youngest of the Lockhart brothers. His elder brothers, George and Sam worked together as bareback horse riders and tumblers in the circus before a riding accident broke George’s hip and severed the brothers’ working relationship. Sam sought his fortune at the tea plantation in Ceylon (now Sri Lanka), but impressed by the locals’ work with elephants decided to embark on a career as an elephant trainer, which brought him back to the world of circus and Music Hall. Having recovered from his injury George followed suite and developed his own elephant act. Both these brothers became very famous in their own time, in Europe, Russia and the USA. A descendent of theirs, James Pinder has argued that jealousy inspired the elder brother, George, to become an elephant trainer and it is implied his desire to match his brother’s celebrity status, which he almost did, drove him to the tragic end that saw him crushed to death by an elephant at Walthamstow goods yard. What is rarely talked about, however, is the life of the last brother who met a tragic and far earlier demise than George.

It seemed that Harry was not destined for the world of circus when he became carpenter. However, the lure must have been too great. Unlike George, he seems to have worked beside his brother Sam with the elephants, probably learning his profession as an apprentice. The sources show that Harry worked mainly outside of the UK, which might indicate why he didn’t make a name for himself in his native country as his two brothers did. Harry worked in the USA for a good part of his career, alongside Sam. They acquired contracts from the famous Ringling Brothers Circus, the same show that would eventually buy Barnum and Bailey Circus, creating “The Greatest Show on Earth”. The brothers created two elephant acts an “a” group and a “b” group. The latter being an act in training. In the USA it appears that it is Harry that acquired the name “Professor Lockhart”, a curious title I have seen crop up here and there without much information. The trouble is that a Professor Lockhart also cropped up during my research into the life of the recently deceased wild animal trainer Fritz Schulz in the 1940s, long after Harry died.

It would appear that Harry became quite proficient in his handling of elephants. He alone is recorded as the elephant trainer on Orrin Brothers’ Circus in the USA. He was working alone again for an unnamed circus in Mexico on his own in 1901 when tragedy struck. He tried to “save” his group of elephants during a storm. I don’t know what the exact circumstances were. Anyway, as a result of this incident he contracted pneumonia and died shortly afterwards. His wife, Esther Emma Whipp and his son Henry Samuel travelled from the UK for the funeral, but apparently were too late for the ceremony, meeting the mourners as they came out of the cemetery. This was despite Harry’s body being kept on ice in time for their arrival by boat.

Henry Samuel was only five years old when his father died, but he recalls a number of incidents around that time. For example, he recalls reading the tickertape report on Senator McKinley’s death and even a previous visit to the USA, where he played football with the three legged boy at the Ringling Brothers’ winter quarters in Baraboo. Henry also had three sisters, Alice, Rita and Ellen and one brother, Robert who immigrated to

Australia

. They leave a very long family line, including Lillian Violet who is responsible for putting together the only Lockhart family tree I have seen. Lillian is also responsible for the majority of information in this article along with the excellent notes provided by Janet Storrie, author of “The Elephants of Royal Leamington Spa”, a children’s book on Sam Lockhart Jnr.

The story of the life of George William Lockhart and the two elephants that killed him is the focus of my book “The Legend of Salt and Sauce”, available on Amazon and from all good book stores.

Captain Fritz Schulz - The last of Alfred Court's Trainers

2010-02-01T05:13:00.001-08:00

The following is a response written by my father to a post on the excellent "Circus NO SPIN Zone" blog by Wade Burk. Fritz Schulz died on 1 February 2010 at 7am in Australia at 99 years of age. He was a celebrated and highly talented trainer who was once employed by the legendary Alfred Court, the man who inspired my father's circus career. The response my father dictated to me was at the request of Wade to give more details on this exceptional trainer's life. Please note it was written for a circus historian and trainer audience. However, it will serve as the basis for the obiturary we will write together for the "King Pole" magazine:

This was very sad news. He was the last of the "Alfred Court Trainers". He joined Court from Circus Sarasani on a recommendation by Max Stolle, where he had been presenting a group of 12 tigers. He took Court's best mixed group over from Louis Kovac (not to be confused with Harry Kovar). It consisted of six male lions, two tigers (one spare tiger), three leopards, three polar bears, two Himalayan black bears and two Great Dane dogs. Occasionally it included a jaguar as well, but this particular animal moved from group to group, so it is hard to keep track of it. It was in the Harry Kovar mixed group when they opened with Ringling Brothers, Barnum and Bailey, as Court took the leopards out of two of the groups to put into his mixed panther act.

By the time Schulz's act reached USA there were only two leopards working, as he lost one, Lisha, in 1939 when working for Circus Scott, Sweden. His booking with Circus Scott was a sudden decision based on an outbreak of Foot and Mouth Disease in Switzerland in 1938 when he was working for Circus Knie. Although the disease didn’t affect his animals it curtailed the tour for Knie. The assistant for the act was Joe Walch who later took over one of the mixed groups. Walch was also billed as Zappell.

The picture showing the sit-up was taken in 1939 in the Ringling Brothers, Barnum and Bailey Circus winter quarters. You can see a Himalayan bear standing up on the far right. This was Violetta. The other Himalayan bear that stood up next to her was killed in a fight upon arrival. The other bear was substituted by an American black bear, as they couldn't find any Himalayans in USA.

Schulz was interned in 1943 along with the other famous German trainer, Erik Hagenbeck at Fort Meat outside Baltimore. Schulz was eventually released in 1945, but never returned to Alfred Court. He went to Australia to take over from May Kovar on her recommendation. She was working a group of male lions and was having problems and wanted out. Harry, her husband, had already died as a result of the Hartford fire.

The captain corresponded with me during the mid '80s when I started making my first big mixed group. He was a great help. He even contemplated coming over, but it never happened. I was planning to visit him this year, which is something I now wish I had done earlier.

Alfred Court had a very high regard for Schulz's work. He was impressed when the act had opened at Blackpool in 1938. He asked Schulz if he could try to train one of the tigers to roll over. By the time he returned it was already doing it in the show! In those days the roll over trick, just with one animal, was quite an achievement.

I intend to write a full obituary for the King Pole magazine in the UK. We will post this up on the blog www.jamieclubb.blogspot.com

Belated Congratulations to Norman Barrett MBE

2010-01-31T05:20:00.000-08:00

Norman Barrett, or Uncle Norman as my generation of circus children know him, made circus history in January 2010. He was awarded the MBE for his “services to entertainment”. Norman will go down in history as the first circus ringmaster to receive this award. Speaking to the World’s Fair newspaper Norman, who was born into the circus, recognized the significance of the award:

“As well as being over the moon personally, I am also delighted for the circus industry, and all my friends and colleagues within it. Awards of this nature are very rarely given to individuals in my profession, especially when compared to other forms of entertainment such as film and theatre. This is a real boost for circus and in my view gives the art form the recognition it truly deserves and, sadly, in modern times so rarely gets”.

These words echo the sentiments expressed in my article, “Circus and Other ‘Low’ Art”. Despite being celebrated by royalty at the annual Monte Carlo Circus Festival, the British circus tradition is often swept under the proverbial carpet for a variety of reasons. Nevertheless, this is a significant moment in modern circus history as audiences start looking more towards live entertainment again and the fascism of political correctness starts to settle down.

Norman Barrett has several connections to my book “The Legend of Salt and Sauce”. He knew the elephant Sauce when she was Cody’s circus and I cite him as a witness source. Furthermore, he is acknowledged as the successor to the famous archetypical ringmaster George Lockhart Jnr, the son of the elephant trainer who was killed by Salt and Sauce, by being Blackpool’s ringmaster and also working at Belle Vue. Both venues had made Lockhart famous and Norman took the mantle on with style, becoming synonymous with the Blackpool Tower Circus.

My parents were among the guests on the celebrity documentary series, “This is Your Life” focusing on Norman Barrett. During the programme Norman was acknowledged for saving the life of one my parents’ trainers at the Blackpool Tower Circus. Louis Pallacio was attacked by a lion during his performance of my father’s lion act in 1986. It was Norman’s experience, pragmatism, quick wits and courage that enabled him to save Louis that day and the Mexican trained acknowledged this on “This is Your Life”. The show, filmed in 1989, was a very emotional experience as the extent of Norman’s influence and his involvement in the world of circus was revealed. Most of the main circus families were in attendance and Cyril Mills, then head of the famous Mills Circus family, was the last guest on the show to pay respect to Norman. Mills were the first family to promote Norman to senior ringmaster.

However, in addition to being a ringmaster Norman is an animal trainer and this was the career he began in. To this day he still presents his famous budgerigar act on Zippo’s Circus along with his ringmastering.

Belated congratulations, Uncle Norman!

George Sanger: Pseudohistorian? Making a Circus of History

2010-01-11T04:44:00.000-08:00

In recent times I have become almost as interested in methods to study history as I have in the actual subjects. This has led me to read Richard J. Evans’ book “In Defence of History”. So far, it is an engrossing read that details the history of history and the various competing methods that have evolved over time. I was particularly fascinated in the many attempts to define history as a science, even a social or “weak” science, which it does not happily fit. Nevertheless, the struggle to keep history as an objective study of the past and to establish “facts” is a valiant one, especially in the face of postmodern ideas that have challenged the validity of history altogether. Anyway, having only got through the first few chapters I was delighted to come across a passage that mentions a member of my historical culture, a circus man, “Lord” George Sanger.

Sanger crops up in my book “The Legend of Salt and Sauce” and a relation of his, George Sanger Coleman, in “The Sanger Story”, gave me an interesting if dramatic description of one the characters I was researching, “Lieutenant” Frank Taylor (Aka Alpine Charlie). “Lord” George and his brother “Lord” John Sanger hobnobbed with royalty and ran a circus in the later 19^th and early 20^th century. George is known for making a presentation to Queen Victoria. A disease similar to the one that almost killed the elephant Salt even bore the Sanger name when it wiped out of their herds. George was murdered in 1911, providing a dramatic ending to a dramatic life.

“In Defence of History” cites Sanger as being a notorious source for another murder, the alleged kicking to death of a gingerbread salesman by a drunken mob in 1850 at the Stalybridge Wakes. His memoirs had been read by historian, George Kitson Clark and referenced in his book on Victorian England. The report was then repeated as an historical “fact”. According to Richard J. Evans no contemporary reports support this story. There are detailed newspaper reports of the fair, which included archery, morris dancing and a description of an ascent in a balloon. In fact, very little drunkeness was reported at all. We cannot just dismiss Sanger's report, but its validity should be held in question. I spoke quite extensively in “The Legend of Salt and Sauce” about the way fanciful tales were woven around various events in circus history. This helped contribute to my fascination in the way fiction becomes “fact” if a certain story is not checked, but repeated without question and then passed on.

2009: A Year in Review

2009-12-31T16:22:00.000-08:00

CCMA – Clubb Chimera Martial Arts

I began a class diary on the first day back in 2009, which I am happy to say I have kept throughout the year without missing a single entry. CCMA is a constantly evolving approach or method – never a system – and it is often difficult for me to explain to interested parties just how much we do or to even convey this in a single workshop. The journal approach has enabled me to do this more effectively, especially now that we also have accompanying footage and more regular photographs. From time to time I have come back to topics that most interest me and have been able to comment on them in a very casual manner rather than the usual essay/article format.

It has been a good year for workshops. I was booked to teach 68 employees of the Law Society’s Forensic Investigation Unit for the Solicitor’s Regulation Authority (SRA) over six two day courses. This began late in 2008 and finished in spring 2009. I have received nothing by positive feedback from SRA and a great letter of recommendation. The whole experience gave me the opportunity to tailor my soft and hard skills approach to self defence to a diverse range of people. It was also a challenge to adapt it to a specific work setting. The first day nearly completely soft skills orientated and the second day included pressure tests and confirmation drills.

I also invited to teach two workshops and had a stall at the Martial Arts Festival (MAF) held by Kwoklyn Wan of Urban Martial Arts. The whole experience was great. I got to teach tasters for both my adult and children’s programmes and my students had the opportunity to teach our approach to other martial artists. Kwoklyn Wan, brother of TV personality and fashion consultant Gok Wan, is a force to be reckoned with. I was very impressed with the combination of professionalism and informality of MAF. I now see it as the blueprint for 2010’s “The Martial Arts Show” to be held at Seni’s old haunt NEC, Birmingham on 22^nd and 23^rd May.

I became one of a select number of instructors (four in total, including the founder) to be chosen to teach Mo Teague’s Hard Target. This is a distilled self defence service that is currently being promoted by RST security, a leading UK security consultancy and training business based in London. So far I have taught at two of the three inaugural courses promoted by RST. This began with a weekend course at Woolwich Army Barracks kindly and professionally organized by their Battery Sergeant Major Dave Aiton. Dave is also the instructor of the army judo club and the founder of Effective Self Protection at the barracks. The next time I taught was at the RST offices in London. By this time Mo Teague had done a brilliantly job at refining this service and I can see we will be bringing some “bleeding edge” self protection in 2010. All courses were pretty much packed and the feedback has been very encouraging.

In addition to the diaries I have written several other articles, including some inspired by my conversations with Mo Teague. Another series, “Martial Arts Scepticism”, can be found in Iain Abernethy’s excellent online PDF magazine, “Jissen!” www.jissenmag.com and also the critical thinking martial arts website “Bad Martial Arts” www.badmartialarts.com

I have got back into doing more in-club workshops to raise the standards. I was impressed how fast the attendees of a recent workshop came on in just one day, reinforcing my belief that this is the way forward. These workshops will be held in Kenilworth roughly once a month and are open to everyone. www.clubbchimera.com

The Legend of Salt and Sauce

The second edition of my first book continues to sell and has received all positive reviews on Amazon.co.uk If any readers would like to publish their reports on Amazon, Dooyoo or any other consumer websites I would be most grateful.

This year I was kindly invited to deliver a talk for the women’s Probus club in Woodstock. Dad and I did our usual two-man act. Me reading excerpts and Dad telling the story through our PowerPoint display. It was very well received as reflected by the sales. I have started taking some local bookings for 2010 and hope to be in contact with more interested groups and clubs.

Jamie Clubb’s Blog

The blog that was originally created to promote the book has taken on a life of its own. Topics have diverged into a “Forgotten Fame” series, covering people and animals that were famous in their own time. Salt and Sauce were, of course, famous in their own lifetime, but subsequently forgotten as eras changed. So far the series has been posted in four instalments covering Salt and Sauce, Sea Biscuit, Ivar “The Match King” Krueger, the Abernathy Brothers and Captain Herbert Clarke. In addition to this and among other articles, I began exploring a new subject with my father: The Bounce. This unique and exciting wild animal act briefly existed for four decades and then disappeared without trace. What particularly intrigued me was that my grandfather and uncle both apparently performed it and my father almost did. There is controversy over what actually constitutes The Bounce and this was explored in several articles posted on the blog and eventually published in the King Pole magazine.

All the above mentioned articles and much more are on www.jamieclubb.blogspot.com

Beelzebub’s Broker

On 24 March 2009 I launched a second blog (third if you count my martial arts one that masquerades as a website). My written work was diverging so much that I felt it was moving matters too far away from the purpose my main blog, originally set up to promote “The Legend of Salt and Sauce”. Beelzebub’s Broker now contains all my miscellaneous, opinionated and sometimes controversial work. Articles have focused on critical thinking and reviews. However, I have begun a series specifically for the blog entitled “The Icon Series”, where I focus on particular figures in history and fiction that have had an impact on my interests.

All the above articles can be found on www.beelzebubsbroker.blogspot.com

Flight of the Black Swan

I am now a member of the Dooyoo reviewing community under the title Black Swan. Dooyoo is a great site where you can write and earn money for any review written over 150 words. You can get your cheques faster by having them rated highly and crowned by other members. It seems to be a pretty good and honest way for aspiring writers to make a few extra quid on the side. All my reviews will generally be about movies and books. I would highly recommend joining the site www.dooyoo.com

Training

2010 definitely needs to be a year where I get in a more structured training routine for myself. My students are just getting too good! However, in addition to training at the world class Gracie Barra Birmingham (Brazilian Jiu Jitsu) for my fourth year under the current best submission grappler (in and out of gi) in the world, Braulio Estima, I have also been able to train at two excellent MMA classes. At last I have made it to Trojan Freefighters in Cheltenham and when possible pop over there for their excellent sessions. On a Saturday before I get stuck into an hour and a half of submission grappling and then an hour an half of traditional Brazilian jiu jitsu, I get in an hour and a half at Chris Rice's excellent new "Sprawl 'n Brawl" clun at the same venue in Birmingham. Unfortunately due to so much going on I have often had to content myself with solo training or roping in anyone I can back at the zoo. Nevertheless, this has made me go back to my roots and develop some great training routines.

Personal

I like to keep the personal stuff as low key as possible, but seeing how massive they have been in 2009 it kind of puts the rest of the round-up in perspective. I started 2009 living in Kenilworth - a once nice little historic Warwickshire suburb with its own castle, now sadly going to the dogs in a big way - and my baby not even three months old. I ended 2009 shaking with excitement that all our house plans have been passed and also shaking with cold as we do our best to manage living in a stationary caravan in one of the coldest parts of the Cotswold countryside! The baby, of course, is now a toddler and up to all sorts, making life even more interesting than before. Meanwhile I have ended up taking on more responsibility with my parents' business supplying trained exotic animals to the film industry. This year we worked on the remake of "Clash of the Titans" (behind the scenes picture above featuring Omar, one of our camels) for several weeks as well as a brilliant live show run at the Old Vic in London with Kevin Spacey in "Inherit the Wind". So for those of you have found it hard to get hold of me, please have some sympathy.