Circus comes to town

When I took older daughter to school last week the circus was on the move, and we had to sit at a road junction while all the lorries passed.

The first lorry was very large, and marked ‘serpents and reptiles’. The second was slightly smaller and apparently contained monkeys. Next was slightly smaller again, and claimed to contain lions.

This continued until the last but one lorry, smaller again, which was proudly emblazoned with the word ‘elephant’. We were speculating on how they could have squeezed an elephant in such a small space, when the last lorry of all passed, smaller again and this time marked ‘giraffe’. Well unless they had tied a knot in the giraffes neck and then shoved it in head first it was hard to see how this diminutive lorry could possibly have contained a horse, let alone a giraffe.

In previous years, part of the circus ‘coming to town’ publicity involved driving a caged lion to the school gates and announcing the event to the school-children. I understand this behaviour is being discontinued on safety or cruelty grounds, I’m not sure which.

The best thing about the circus coming to town is that they park near the tennis courts and the animals are allowed to wander around. So you play tennis with a couple of llamas peering through the fence, a lion gazing from a cage, and a menagerie of other animals generally distracting you from your game.

The worst thing about the circus coming to town is that apparently they follow few animal welfare rules, but due to the way the ‘animal protection’ legislation works there is little that can be done, because by the time the injunction (or whatever) is ready the circus has left town, and is probably well on its way to Spain.

So might I suggest if you come to France for your holiday this year you skip the circus and play tennis instead – it’s better for you, you still get the possibility of being eaten alive by an escaped tiger, and you don’t put cash in the hands of those responsible for animal cruelty. Thank you.