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The Circus Friends Association Time Warp. A wee bit dated according to this advertisement.
The Circus Friends Association have been active since 1934 as a supportive group for circus. One would suspect that they would do their absolute best with their activities. We are sure that they do but!
What is wrong with the above front cover issue? As we see The University of Sheffield has the top billing. This is so because the association have placed all memorabilia under the shown title ‘Fairground’. Circus is not a fairground that implies coconut shy’s and penny arcades. Joint assumptions may have had meaning 100 years ago but have no meaning now. Note that fairs take precedence on this poster. We say a credible following of dedicated fans would be proud to keep circus memorabilia under their wing and seperate. The words Circus Performers is now well out of date if it ever was in date. A performer can mean any activity on a stage – acting – the word ‘performer’ has taken on unsavoury meanings (unfortunate). No one in circus uses the word certainly not the theatre. The correct word should be ‘Artiste’ or Artistes’ it means a definite dedicated trained activity that is most personal (actors speak lines written by someone else – a circus artiste is totally individual). It should be noted that the fans never place a name to a photo or an act within a circus as if they must avoid it at all cost (if only they would tell us why! The panel is open). Hardly promotional? The C.F.A is most active promoting itself! One will notice that they claim 250 years of Archive although only active since 1934. One might ask; who has allowed the association to manage 250 years of archive? Most questionable must be ‘Ordinary People! Great circus artistes must be anything but ordinary people, but this is the image put out by the C.F.A. One thinks they actually enjoy being negative! Great circus art is extra ordinary surely as vast crowds appreciate, as seen within the pages of this website proudly placed. As we make clear on another page free speech is hard to place, the two show business journals are censored and expensive, the C.F.A. is most biased and censoring even secretive (one must be a member to find out what they are saying about anybody!).
To be liked and respected the association should market this issue journal to the general public and donate all incomes over expenses to a circus artistes charity. This website is free for all comments and views, it is public, we invite the C.F.A. leadership (we can not name them!) or any free thinking member to respond to the panel below.