Salt and Sauce in Strait Bargate, Boston circ. 1950

Recently Ray Dolling, a very helpful circus historian and supporter of my book "The Legend of Salt and Sauce", sent me this photocopy of a picture taken around 1950. It was a photograph owned by a friend of his who is featured in the picture. He is the little boy you can just see looking out of the window with his mouther above Hepworths. It is a classical example of the old circus parades once common in the UK, but banned since the 1970s due to the Dangerous Wild Animal Licence 1976 and Health and Safety legislation. Standing in the foreground is the bounding rope performer and sometime presenter of Salt and Sauce, "Prince" Abdul Karim with one of his sons. I hope to have this son's identity shortly. At the time Karim and the elephants were touring with Ringland's Circus owned by "Long" Tom Fossett and later by his son, Dennis, who also worked Salt and Sauce.

Karim's life was dramatically changed along with the rest of his family when Salt died in Canterbury 1952. Fired from his job on Ringland's Circus Karim settled in Canterbury, where the family retained a local celebrity status for decades.

Actually now that I look at the photo I see I have reversed it! Ah well, according to the general consensus on genertions I just missed "The Net Generation" by one year. That's my excuse and I am sticking to it.