Riid and Green Are
DECEMBER 2o, 19;;
XMAS CRKOSES-‘WORDI ouzzu:
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D to ll ‘I z _ . . i 7 ’ ‘B y‘ 0'0 0 2i ll. 5 I4 I6 a 1 1
l0
30
Across.
1. Matter which is as topical as it is sessonable (l. 5. 9). 7. Natal is a mixture (8).
3, A diminutive substitute for a Christmas dinner (ti). i1. Descriptive of the fuei-gatherer in carol (d).
13. Seaaonabic fish (5).
13. The flyer comes hack with a taste (4).
16. Number of 12 required to perform (4).
17, General condition after Christmas dinner i7i
19. Such were the wise men (7).
'21. An engaging fruit (4).
31;. He collects the residue (4).
134. They act as guides for Santa (5).
25. King Henry before Henry l maybe (4).
2,8. What must be upset to earn a reward? (6).
29. Sack the team? (8).
30, Popular contents for 4's except to the grown-ups (5. B).
Down. ‘s’. Ho must do a roaring trade on Christmas Eve (6). 3, In short a legal betting machine (4). 4. It helps the dinner to go off well (7). i5. It can ba an Unpleasant blow when friends turn up (4)- 8. Popular shows for kiddies about this season (8). 7. The original scene of this celebration (1, d, 4). ~ 9. Probably one of 6 (6. 5)- ~ 10. It stopped over 7 down (4). t 14. The type of hat found in 4 <5). 15. Out of place in this season o! goodwill (5% 18. A Cockney lack (8). 20. He was the first in ths carol (4). g1, one penny and in I go to the pantoi (T). 22. Another form of 15 (6). 26. Maybe one of those Jack got at market (4). 27. This comes from the start of 29 (4).
(Solution on page 1)
.g»-..
vival of the
2 Christmas Colors
Iliiliiilllll
Their custom antedates the Christ- Komun Saturnalia ian era and apparently is a sur- when inhabitants of Rome orna- mented their temples and dwellings
CHRISTMASTIDE
Crowds hustling iosectfthat rise in tiers from the ringside to a line high among the shadows: gaily uni formed bandsmen filling the air with stirring music while into the ring steps a keen, alert man clad in a red jacket and riding breaches and handling a long whip-such ll the familiar first glimpse of tho circus. one of the most popular Chrlstmastide institutions for a century.
It was Philip Asilcy, a brilliant horseman. who, with his wife, a trick rider, first organized open six shows in the fields around London nearly 150 years ago, and so start~ ed the circus on its non-stop run. They were mostly horse riding ex hibitions, but later Astley added acrobatic turns to his shows. These became so popular that in time this circus pioneer was able to build his own open air theatre near Westminster.
Years later tiic Astley show was taken over by that other STEM ¢\l‘~ cus master, "Lord" George Saucer. who so developed this new foim of entertainment that he was soon pro moting mammoth shows both in this country and on the Continent.
1n those days. of course, the clr cus took place in a huge maiquee known ss “The Big Top". and the illumination came from great. 811t- tei-ing naptha lamps. All the circus folk lived in caravans and many are the romantic stories that. could be told of the life these adventurous performers led, as they moved from town to town.
From March to October the cir- cuses travelled about the country. covering as much as 3,000 miles during a single season. It was a very common sight in those days to see s long train of caravans and wagons, some of them drawn by performing elephants, moving slow ly along the laafy country lanes on their way to their next “stand?
‘xiii
Performers Erect Own "House"
Arriving st their destination, the caravans would park in a field, and then the real work would start. For hours all the members of the party~performers as well as the stalk-would work continuously to erect the Big Top and equip it with rows of seats in readiness for the opening of the first performance. This heavy task often had to be completed in the space of a few hours. Always it was ready in time, for circus folk were never frighten ed of hard work.
(By Bolilllld Clark)
THE -GUARDIAF- . ‘i’00%09{>00i0} 94
IS CIRCUS TIME g
ll the world, for the big showman are always on the look out for new and sensational turns. Ono's first im- pression of a visit behind the scenes o! a big circus is or the var- iety of languages that are being spoken. No matter whence thsy come. however, and what isnsuaie they speak, the circus performers work together in a happy, family spirit, What is more, the circus ll the same all over the world~—at least. the actual ring is the same. f0)’ whether the ring is erected in a Big Top or in a mighty hall. in this country or overseas, it always meas- ures 13 metres across. There is a very good reason for this uniformity. The performers who have been trained in a ring can always give their show without the slightest alteration. lf it were not so, accidents might quite [eas- ily occur. This particularly applies to the animals. Those (vonderful. sleek horses which seem able to do eycry thing but talk. would be thrown into confusion if they were asked to perform in a ring of a size dif ferent from that in which they had been trained. Many of the worlds greatest cir- cus performers were born with the smell of sawdust in their nostrils and were reared in the atmosphere of the circus ring. 1n most in- stances, the modern stars are the son's and daughters of the favour- ites of old. The circus artists begins training as a child and learns the hard way. Stardom does not come easily. There was one famous tight-wire walker and Juggler who practised for two hours a day for eight years before he was allowed to agpear in public!
Nerves of Stool Needed.
Those daring acrobat: of the sir who cause the audience to gasp with terror ss they swing from bar to bar, often hanging by their teeth high up in the beams oi’ spotlights, must practice and prac tise and go on practising, even after they have achieved fame. They need nerves of steel, too; but. what is more important, they musl have the utmost confidence n one another, for often the life of one performer depends entirely upon the faultless skill and perfect tini ing of his partner. It is because of this confidence in one another and the painstaking
She uss of green at Christmas time is understandable when it is recalled that the idea of decking churches, houses, shops, etc., cen-
with green boughs.
ncrvc. Decorations
Red, which isregarded as the most cheerful of all colors, is said to react most quickly on the optic available at thr- winter solstice include holly,
shows usually are those
There are still travelling citcuses in Britain, but nowadays the finest specially staged as Christmas attractions the great centres of population. Circus folk are most interesting
in
years of practice away from the eyes of the public, that so few sc- cidents occur in the circus ring. The story is told of a daring wire-walking team of three men and a girl ivho owe their lives to the quick action of one of their
hrs around the use of evergreen. the berries of which are red. people. They come from all over membem Tu complete the“ : breathless performance, two of the a
1‘? fellows rode the twin wires on ' _ cycles, with the third man stand J ing astride their shoulders, whilc I?‘ the girl climbed up on top cf hei i’,
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yqaqpnotn ANY ARTICLE _., Poi: CHRISTMAS svs
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A DEPOSIT WILL
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OCCASIONAL CHAIRS
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\
DELIVERY
FINE DISPLAY of
FLOOR LAMPS and
TABLE LAMPS
B2 liEliT jT.
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iiacriiiiiiiiii: BROS. ruiiiiiruni:
m 2m ~
(OPPOSITE DFBY)
‘IXXL
three companions and stood there. arms outflung. while the cycles And there was no net them!
beneath
In a terrified voice she whispered
was going to fall- In,s flash he took s firm grip on her ankles so
her steady sbovs him until they reached the tiny platform hlgn above the upturned faces of the great crowd. looking deathly white in the glare of tho powerful arcs.
Why llsls Death?
Quickly the girl was lifted down from the shoulders of the man who had supported her-and she had fainted! l-lad she fallen during that daring crossing of the high wires, her companions would have been dashed from their precarious perch and there is no knowing what their fate would have been. It transpired that the girl was suffering from a serious illness. and she had known it before she climb- ed sloft for that breath-taking per- formance, but she had refused to give in and disappoint the audi- ence. The motto o! the circus per farmer has slwsysibsen “the show must [0 on."
There have bee instances of animal trainers being badly maul- ed by their charges. only to icluse treatment until their daring turn has bssn successfully completed. Now why, you may ask, does s rnsn chose to risk his limbs twice a dsy riding the high wire upside down on a bicycle, as happened in last year's Christmas circus? Or by diving from high up in the rool into a tank of blazing oil? Or b; tumbling and rolling all over the ring dressed as a fantastic clown. and doing the most amazing feats? I wondered this myself until i had the privilege of meeting some cir- cus folk. and speaking to them o: their lives.
1 lcft them full of admiration for their allegiance to the circus. for it is only the lure of the circus. th; delighted laughter of the children, and their earnest desire to live up to the crest reputation set b; their predecessors of the-sawdust ring that causes them to live ms life they do. and to accept its hazards.
-_.__._._._._...
Christmas Facts
—___.
Christmas Day is the anniversary of the Birth 0! Christ. and has been celebrated as s Christian fes- tival for several centuries. The Chrlstmastids lasts from the 25th of December to the 6th of Janu sry, the twelfth day after Christie Nativity.
The origin of the Christmas tree is obscure; the thought of Christ ss the Light of the World and the Tree of Life may have given rise to the light-bearing tree, or the popular old belief that every Christ mas Eve tress blossomed and bore fruit. may have been the founda- tion of the custom.
ISLAND INDUSTRIES
Sponges and sisal are the chief sources of revenue in the Bahama
Islands.
were ridden right across the arena.
One evening the girl grew dizzy. to the man beneath her that she %
she stood on his shoulders and held ,
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