Buckles Blog

Sunday, December 03, 2006

Having just completed a Fact Finding Tour of Canada, where His Honor Mr. Lee was hosted at African Lion Safari by Charlie Gray, he returned with these pictures.
The morning begins with the elephants being led in orderly fashion from their indoor quarters to their exercise area. You will notice the babies tagging along with their mothers.

Gibsonton Mayor Tours Canada #2

Gibsonton Mayor Tours Canada #3

Gibsonton Mayor Tours Canada #4

Gibsonton Mayor Tours Canada #5

Gibsonton Mayor Tours Canada #6

Mr. Gray concluded by showing off the Park's performing area and pointed out that Canadians enjoy eight months of good sking and four months of bad sking.
This was included in His Honor's report to the Gibsonton City Council.

Saturday, December 02, 2006

Big Apple competition ?

BIG APPLE BID FOR A CIRCUS CATCH

By BILL SANDERSON - NEW YORK POST

December 2, 2006 -- The acrobats of Cirque du Soleil are jumping at the chance to set up a permanent show on the Hudson River.

The Montreal-based circus - best known for its astonishing Las Vegas spectacles - is interested in opening a theater at Pier 40, at the western end of Houston Street in Hudson River Park, a Cirque spokeswoman said yesterday.

Cirque du Soleil's letter of interest is part of a proposal by Related Companies for the redevelopment of Pier 40, said Renee-Claude Menard, Cirque's director of public relations.

"If Related does get the bid, we would be interested in pursuing it," Menard said.

But she said actually opening a show is probably "close to two years down the road," and the exact scope of Cirque's plans remain uncertain.

Related did not return calls for comment, and a spokesman for the Hudson River Trust declined to disclose details about any of the four proposals submitted for Pier 40's redevelopment. The Trust is to pick a proposal by February.

Some neighborhood groups worry that the pier's development will hurt access to its heavily-used, 3.5-acre athletic field in the courtyard of the giant building that rings the pier.

Cirque du Soleil last month announced plans for a family-oriented show specially designed for the Theater at Madison Square Garden that begins in November 2007 and will run for 10 weeks every winter for four years.

Cirque now runs five resident shows at Las Vegas casinos and one at Walt Disney World in Florida. It also has six shows touring the United States, Canada, Mexico and Europe.

Barrett's Canadian Circus #1 (From Sue Lenz)

In the 1920's in England, George Barrett (Norman's father) ran a Circus and called it Barrett's Canadian Circus

Barrett's Canadian Circus #2

The Circus was all horse-drawn with about twenty wagons and about one hundred horses from the draught horses to tiny ponies.
At that time my Grandfather, John Yelding and six of his sons and one daughter were with the show.
George was very fond of Freddy (my Dad) as both shared ehthusiasm for horses. (Long before Norman & I were born)

Both Freddy and George are on the far left in the picture above.

Barrett's Canadian Circus #3

Barrett's Canadian Circus #4

Barrett's Canadian Circus #5

George Barrett Closed the Circus in 1931.

He started the Circus again in 1948 and in 1952 my father Freddy and my mother Olga were back with Barrett's Circus.
That is when I met my first husband to be, Norman for the first time. Later that year George sold the show once more.

Norman Barrett 1960

A few years later when Norman & I were married in 1959 both our fathers were delighted, sadly both our fathers passed away the following year. At least they didn't know that we would divorce.

I have also enclosed a photo taken in 1960 of Norman presenting the "Big & Little" act at the Hippodrome Circus. Gt. Yarmouth. (Note the cocomat).

Friday, December 01, 2006

Charlie Rex

This is for "Anonymous" who found it hard to picture Charlie Rex on a single trap. A split-second after this photo was snapped, Charlie's chair slipped and fell to the ground below and the intrepid young aerialist swung by his heels over the heads of the crowd to thunderous applause. Charley was a very nice guy to work around and he could do anything that needed doing on a circus. Ole Whitey