Spring 1959

[fiery_ring]

It's a warm spring evening.

If you follow the lanterns down the path, you'll soon be mingling with the crowd. You may be interested in purchasing a sizzling sausage in a bun for two shillings, or some popcorn for sixpence, or a miniature poster of the Fiery Ring Circus to remind you of what promises to be a spectacular night.

You can hear the music of the organ playing cheerfully in the big top. As you approach the brightly lit tent, a boy of about eight dressed as a clown is selling tickets.

"STEP RIGHT UP, TO SEE THE GREATEST SHOW!

FREDDIE SPARKS THE FIRE-EATER WILL STUN YOU AND SURPRISE,
THE GREAT GONZALO WILL SWALLOW HIS SWORD BEFORE YOUR VERY EYES!
RUFUS DOG OF WONDER WILL PUT ON HIS TRICKS WITH EASE,
MARTINA AND MAURITIO AMAZE ON THE TRAPEZE!
LITTLE MOLLY BROWN PERFORMS HER ACROBATIC FEATS
SO STEP INSIDE, EYES OPEN WIDE, FOR ALL OUR CIRCUS TREATS!

FOUR SHILLINGS FOR ADULTS, HALF A CROWN FOR CHILDREN, UNDER FIVES ARE FREE!"

He rattles the box on a string around his neck, and continues with his sales.

"That'll be eight bob, sir. Yes, the dog is free, miss, so long as he stays out the ring."

Comments

[herr_bookman]

Autor is thoroughly impressed. He's never seen a trapeze act, and each death-defying swing and flip off the hanging bar thrills him. He applauds throughout.

[fiery_ring]

Martina lets go, flies through the air, and is caught by her partner, with a gasp from the audience. On her next swing she showers the audience in confetti.

[herr_bookman]

Autor cheers with the rest of them. He wonders if he should have bought some popcorn or other treats to munch on. But the trapeze artists arrest his attention.

[fiery_ring]

After the trapese artist, comes the sword swallower, and then the fire eater.

Then a little girl of about eleven comes into the ring, and there is an 'aww' from the audience: until she starts her performance, and then they are held spellbound by her acrobatics.

[herr_bookman]

The sword swallower and fire eater make Autor distinctly uncomfortable. Don't they cut or burn themselves? He wants to know. But since they seem okay, he's free to concentrate on the little girl. He's shocked by her movements, as he could never do them himself.

[fiery_ring]

Molly the acrobat takes a bow at the end of her performance.

An older woman takes the stage, with three parrots, and begins to sing. At the end of each couple of lines she pauses, and a parrot fills in the gaps.

[herr_bookman]

Autor laughs, delighted. He claps along with the rest of the audience, cheering on the woman with the parrots. Autor can't wait to see who's next.

[fiery_ring]

At the end of her act, a tiny car drives into the ring, and from it emerges the small clown and his dog. Judging by the roar of delight from the audience, this act has been highly anticipated. The boy parks the car near the edge of the ring.

What follows is a very slapstick display, with the boy bringing out a bucket of water and proceeding to wash the car. The dog climbs inside the car and, so it seems, presses a windscreen wash button, which squirts water out past the clown into the audience.

[herr_bookman]

Ah, this must be Rufus. Autor is glad he heeded the warning of the little clown.

[fiery_ring]

Towards the end of the clown's act, he trips and looks as though he's going to throw the entire bucket over the person sitting nearest - they shriek, but the water has apparently turned to glittery sparkles.

[herr_bookman]

Oh, that's clever. Autor cheers with the rest of the audience, standing up and clapping his hands.

[fiery_ring]

Rufus operates the windscreen wiper, then beeps the horn. The clown solemnly gets into the car and drives it away, waving.

[herr_bookman]

Autor waves along with the rest. He settles in his seat again, and waits for the next act.

[fiery_ring]

Apparently that was the highlight, and the show is over, sorry Autor. But the cast are still milling around if you want to talk to them.

[herr_bookman]

That's okay. He's curious about which person opened the door to Milliways, but he can't ecactly go around asking about a pocket universe. Plus, his English isn't the best, so he'd probably not be well understood. He doesn't even know what year it is here.

He heads out of the stands and tries to find a door back to the bar.

[fiery_ring]

If he retraces his steps, it looks like he may have actually stepped out of the doorway of a caravan.

[herr_bookman]

Interesting. Well, that was a fun evening. He'll have to keep an eye out for whomever sold the ticket to thank him or her.

[OOC: Thanks for the thread!]