These are my People

The Circus, by Georges Seurat, painted 1891. Original in Musée d'Orsay, Paris. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

 Recently I wrote a rather lengthy comment on a thread I created that linked my article "Circus and Other 'Low' Arts". It was a flippant expression of my positive feelings towards the culture and society where I was raised. It was a type of call-to-arms and is idyllic in its phrasing. Nevertheless, every statement I made is a statement supported by facts and I have provided footnotes to justify them. It does not dismiss the very real problems faced by circuses and I am all too aware of the many problems circus has brought on itself. However, just once in a while I think we should grant ourselves some interval time...

Norman Barrett receives his MBE

Following on from my post regarding Norman Barrett place on the New Year's Honours List. Yesterday Norman received his MBE at Buckingham Palace.

Circus travelling connections: a ramble

Image via Wikipedia

The Bounce: Revisited in The Kingpole

Image via Wikipedia

Recently you may have noticed I have published a series of articles/posts on the Bouncer Wagon or Bouncing Lions act. This exciting act existed for only a brief time in circus history and occurred when the caged arena acts were eclipsing all acts presented in beastwagons. Since my articles on here I approached the Kingpole Circus Friends magazine with the idea of writing a comprehensive article on the subject. It was at this stage that my father brought out an edition of this magazine published in 1976 and written by a famous lion bouncer, Eddie Campbell, entitled "The Bounce". Eddie's piece added more information to the history of this act and I was able to compile a far more detailed work.

The September edition of the Kingpole magazine - the official magazine for the Circus Friends Association - is out shortly.

The Psychology of Conspiracism

Image via Wikipedia

I am delighted at the response I have received and the interest from various different quarters I have prompted with my recent interview/article with Dr. Heather Vallance "Can History be Objective?" http://jamieclubb.blogspot.com/2009/02/can-history-be-objective-conversation.html The discussion has been a fascinatingly varied series of posts from some really interesting people, discounting no one! I would like to take the opportunity to acknowledge those who have contributed both on the thread and outside it via email. Thank you for lending such a wide scope of knowledge and experience. I salute you all!

On the subject of conspiracy theory, which I think is still the strongest and most prolific example of "bad history" in action, I was fascinated by a whole area that dealt with the psychology of what they call "Conspiracism". Wikipedia has a good entry on this subject that I think may intrigue many of my readers:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conspiracy_theories#Psychological_origins