In The Winter Time

During the winter months circus acts would frequently appear in the theatres and once when I was present a lion was led onto the stage on a lead and he ate a joint of meat off a scantily dressed girl’s chest who was lying on the front of the stage.  On another occasion, a tight wire was stretched from the stage to the lighting box and a trapeze artiste performed over the audience.  A well documented event was when an elephant refused to walk on stage until the stage had been reinforced.  Seals and performing dogs were a regular occurrence.

During one of these variety shows a clown appeared named Al Farrer, he liked the town so much that he stayed and became manager of the recently built Danilo Cinema, where, for many years, he became the very well known immaculately turned out figure in a dress suit awaiting patrons in the entrance to the cinema and stayed almost until the building was converted into a three screen venue many years later.

Many years ago, long before the scourge of politically correctness entered our society, Midget Town, came to the Palace.  I recall my late father recounting a tiny lady announcing to the audience that she had willed herself to the stage and invited any man to come up on stage and she offered £5, a large sum in those days, to any man who could lift her from the floor, none could

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