Tower Circus, Blackpool

The Tower Circus in Blackpool has long been a popular spot. They run through the summer until early November and usually have a Christmas pantomime as well. The star of the show is Mooky the Clown, son of Mooky the Clown, who is also son of another Mooky the Clown. At least, that's what our hotel manager told us. He was a pretty funny clown and even has his own wikipedia article, so he's achieved some level of fame (and it says his circus heritage goes back seven generations on his father's side and nine on his mother's, so the hotel guy wasn't kidding).

When we first arrived, we had to wait in a Disneyesque line. It went from room to room in the tower. We finally made it to the performance room which was set as a conventional one-ring circus. The seating was general admission but we were early enough that we found good seats.

Some of the lesser performers were selling souvenirs

An announcement came on saying that face painting was available for any children interested. L was excited so I took her down to the ring to get dolled up. She was pretty happy with what she got.

L the clown

L's new nose made it back to the hotel, but eventually it succumbed to curious prying and was split in half. So it didn't make it out of Blackpool in one piece. Her fascination had abated by then, so no tears were shed. But back to the circus!

It wasn't long before the circus started. The variety of acts was quite nice, including acrobatics, juggling, trapeze, comedy routines, audience participation, etc. Some routines were more impressive than others. The two best were the woman with one, then two, then multiple hula hoops, and the Mississippi Gamblers who did these amazing jumps using a long wooden plank. The only bad act was the sharp-shooter because it was too obviously fake and went on for a while.

The show was a good two hours including an intermission, during which the kids wandered around checking out the venue.

Intermission was also time for more photos!

Mommy and J on their way back from exploring

Some of Mooky's best jokes:

• "His dad was a G.I. and his mom was R.A.F., so he's a giraffe."
•  One routine had the ringmaster's "wife" come out sleepwalking and she would take an item off Mooky (like his wallet and his clothes). Each time, the ringmaster would tell Mooky, "Don't wake her up, it could be fatal. I'll return it in the morning just like new." After Mooky had been stripped down to his comical underwear, the sleepwalking wife came one last time, took Mooky's arm, and led him off. Mooky told the ringmaster, "Don't wake her up, it could be fatal. I'll return her to you in the morning just like new."

We had a great time at the circus and the experience has given us confidence that J and L could make it through a theatre performance. We're going to a Christmas pantomime this year, which will show up in the blog sooner or later, I'm sure.