One day in 1979 we visited the Tower Circus and I phoned them up beforehand to ask if I could take photos. "There is no video or flash photography allowed." was the answer. So I pushed my film to 800 ASA and took these.

What I didn't do, was to note down the names of the performers. However thanks to the wonders of Google I can now say with confidence that the lady with the horses was Mary Chippenfield, from the famous circus family. She also presented a mixed cage of lions and tigers and for good measure also presented her elephants.

Judy Allen was the fire eater. I'm not keen on food that hot myself...

The Valla Bertini Troupe did trick cycling and a nifty line in catapulting their ladies from a springboard to the top of a human tower.

Finally, here are the Trio Victoria performing a balancing act on the small platform in the centre of the flooded ring as the finale to the show.

The circus ring has been flooded at the end of every performance ever since the Tower opened. The water is sea water and finale acts have included co-ordinated swimming acts in the water as well as acrobatic acts above the water.

No comments:
Post a Comment
All comments must be passed by moderator before appearing on this post.