Billy Smart's Circus - Britmovie

samkydd · 11-12-2005, 08:43 AM

One seasonal TV event every year when I was a sprog was Billy Smart's Circus, and for some inexplicable reason we just had to watch it at home as if it was some ritual like The Queen's Speech or a game of Monopoly. I was taken to see it live once with the cubs, and a more depressing afternoon's entertainment I've yet to witness.

I hated seeing the animals banged up through no fault of their own, and performing tricks under duress, and the clowns were really scary, and it must have been a sort of European form of comedy because it wasn't funny, just stupid!

On TV the best bits were the women who used to dress up as ringmasters in black tights like pantomime leads, long legs and fantastic thighs, and also the female trapeze artists who must have invented the G-string!

I'm not sure when it stopped being shown on Christmas TV but it always seemed to be a seasonal fixture when I were a lad!

Nowadays the groan factor can be achieved by watching the many Christmas Specials, but you rarely find anything special about celebs doing charity quizzes and Stars In Their Eyes, and the long drawn out sitcom like OFAH filmed on location and padded out to last two hours!

Come back The Great Escape and the Marx brothers films, all is forgiven!

foha80 · 11-12-2005, 09:25 AM

Quote:

</div><div class='quotemain'>I was taken to see it live once with the cubs, and a more depressing afternoon's entertainment I've yet to witness.
I hated seeing the animals banged up through no fault of their own, and performing tricks under duress, and the clowns were really scary, and it must have been a sort of European form of comedy because it wasn't funny, just stupid![/b]

God I hated going to the circus when I was a kid,the smell was overpowering,everything looked tacky,it was a throwback to medieval times,Good riddance

arty-dave · 11-12-2005, 04:26 PM

Never..been..never..want..to....far..too..much..re spect..for..animals [img]style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/thumbdown.gif[/img]

DB7 · 11-12-2005, 04:52 PM

Used to love the circus and fun fair. Our house backs onto a playing field they used to visit annually (both stopped visiting years ago), so in exchange for letting them use our electric for a caravan we'd be paid and get free access.

Oh those misspent teenage days of sneaking on the waltzers late at night to to retrieve money that had slipped down the back of the seats. [img]style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/innocent.gif[/img]

smudge · 11-12-2005, 09:22 PM

Is it me or do fun fairs look increasingly cheaper and more tawdry as one gets older ?

Ah - for the innocence of youth; pre-Greenpeace Goldfish-in-a-bag, toilet roll gonks with non-fire retardent fur and crumbly, gaudily painted, plaster dogs..... [img]style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/wink.gif[/img]

SMUDGE

[img]style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/devil.gif[/img]

11-12-2005, 08:43 AM	#1
samkydd has no status. Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Stackton Tressle Posts: 2,428 My Mood: Country: iTrader: (0)	One seasonal TV event every year when I was a sprog was Billy Smart's Circus, and for some inexplicable reason we just had to watch it at home as if it was some ritual like The Queen's Speech or a game of Monopoly. I was taken to see it live once with the cubs, and a more depressing afternoon's entertainment I've yet to witness. I hated seeing the animals banged up through no fault of their own, and performing tricks under duress, and the clowns were really scary, and it must have been a sort of European form of comedy because it wasn't funny, just stupid! On TV the best bits were the women who used to dress up as ringmasters in black tights like pantomime leads, long legs and fantastic thighs, and also the female trapeze artists who must have invented the G-string! I'm not sure when it stopped being shown on Christmas TV but it always seemed to be a seasonal fixture when I were a lad! Nowadays the groan factor can be achieved by watching the many Christmas Specials, but you rarely find anything special about celebs doing charity quizzes and Stars In Their Eyes, and the long drawn out sitcom like OFAH filmed on location and padded out to last two hours! Come back The Great Escape and the Marx brothers films, all is forgiven! __________________ "...the chairman of Littlewoods stores made a Keynote speech!"

11-12-2005, 09:22 PM	#5
smudge has no status. Moderator Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: Wolverhampton Posts: 3,280 My Mood: Country: iTrader: (11)	Is it me or do fun fairs look increasingly cheaper and more tawdry as one gets older ? Ah - for the innocence of youth; pre-Greenpeace Goldfish-in-a-bag, toilet roll gonks with non-fire retardent fur and crumbly, gaudily painted, plaster dogs..... [img]style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/wink.gif[/img] SMUDGE [img]style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/devil.gif[/img] __________________ Welcome to my house. Enter freely, and of your own will...

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11-12-2005, 04:26 PM	#3
arty-dave has no status. Senior Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Posts: 577 iTrader: (0)	Never..been..never..want..to....far..too..much..re spect..for..animals [img]style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/thumbdown.gif[/img]

11-12-2005, 04:52 PM	#4
DB7 is scavenging through life's very constant lulls Administrator Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: Shrops Posts: 6,219 My Mood: Country: iTrader: (10)	Used to love the circus and fun fair. Our house backs onto a playing field they used to visit annually (both stopped visiting years ago), so in exchange for letting them use our electric for a caravan we'd be paid and get free access. Oh those misspent teenage days of sneaking on the waltzers late at night to to retrieve money that had slipped down the back of the seats. [img]style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/innocent.gif[/img]