As I stumble through this life,
help me to create more laughter than tears,
The other week we ran away to the circus, Giffords Circus. After two years of thwarted plans for an evening out with the Coles Books team, we jumped through the window of opportunity and landed in a field in the beautiful countryside by Evenley Wood.
Giffords Circus has been touring the most wonderful experience around these parts for over 20 years. This is a circus as you think you remembered it as a child, full of excitement and wonder, the tent bursting at the seams with fun so warm it feels like you’ve been wrapped up in a blanket of smiles and laughter – this was joy which filled the heart and ached the cheeks. The troupe are an eclectic bunch, and despite such well-drilled routines, with an attention to detail swept-up in excitement, they too were clearly enjoying themselves – Giffords Circus is a masterclass in bringing together a collection of components, cogs and pulleys to make the most fantastical machine of delight – if you get a chance, go and see Giffords, it is the elixir of youth.
The Giffords Circus cookbook was published in 2020, right in the middle of the ‘difficult two years’, and seemed to come and go at a time when it was perhaps most needed. Like the circus itself, it is gorgeous and has been produced with the same passion – we loved it when it first arrived and we’re loving it still – and the food is sensational!
The Clown’s Poem
As I stumble through this life,
help me to create more laughter than tears,
dispense more happiness than gloom,
spread more cheer than despair.
Never let me become so indifferent,
that I will fail to see the wonders in the eyes of a child,
or the twinkle in the eyes of the aged.
Never let me forget that my total effort is to cheer people,
make them happy, and forget momentarily,
all the unpleasantness in their lives.
And in my final moment,
may I hear You whisper:
“When you made My people smile,
you made Me smile.”
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