Aah. Sunday! What to do? Even though we are not working, as in working in a job, Sunday is a day of rest. So - how did we spend this Sunday afternoon? That's right - gathering manure from a camel, a zebra, a llama, an alpaca, a couple of donkeys, Shetland ponies and pygmy goats, which must mean the circus is in town! About three circuses a year come to Chamberet - of varying sizes, with some Big Tops not much bigger than our old purple family tent which nowadays I think does an annual Glastonbury trip.
Last Thursday I was delighted and excited to see a procession of assorted show vehicles with trailers and caravans passing our windows, on its way to the Champ de Foire, next to the Salle de Fêtes (community centre) about 100 metres from our house. As I mentioned in a previous blog, it made me think of the Hoppings on the Town Moor in Newcastle, also 'Something wicked this way comes' a great story by Ray Bradbury. The procession was the Circus Vazatta - in town for two shows on Saturday and Sunday. The Big Top was soon erected, with flags flying and the trailers and vans encircling it like a wagon train crossing the American plains.
We debated what the attractions might be, and whether there actually was a tiger as shown on the poster. We had a late night walk to have a look. There wasn't much to see - the trailers like the usual show caravans with fancy lace curtains and mirrors and fancy ornaments inside, but there was an open-sided trailer with metal bars and lots of straw. No sounds of lions or tigers though. On Saturday morning we noticed various animals grazing on the Champ de Foire. Most French villages have a Champ de Foire - it's where the monthly animal markets were held, until when I'm not sure, and ours is only used now about once a year at the Cherry Festival for a sheep show. There are still the hitching rails and a grassed area with trees. We had a word with an old gadgie who was sitting on the steps of the 'box office' then spotted a notice saying there was free manure for the taking. He said that before they left they had to clear away any animal droppings, bedding hay, etc., so they were more than happy for us to take what we wanted.
So, this afternoon, alongside the alpaca, goat and donkeys who were all still grazing, armed with my dad's garden spade, two small shovels and a rake, we filled two barrowloads of assorted manure. It's been warm today, so that was a good hour's work. The elderly woman who turned out to be the box office assured us that we could expect excellent results for all our fruit and veg, and flowers and trees and shrubs. She told us that the animals feed naturally, so there aren't any nasty chemicals in the manure.
Meanwhile, the circus show was getting underway - we saw the elderly man and a slightly younger man, both in ringmaster-type tail coats which had seen better days, one woman, probably of pensionable age and a young man, also in red tail coats. That appeared to be the circus personnel, plus our friend on the box office. The zebra, the llama and the camel were lined up outside the Big Top, but quite what the performance consisted of I'm not sure. The usual circus music and a commentary lasted for about an hour or so. We reckon there were no more than twenty adults and children in the audience so at 10 euros for adults and 5 for children, they could hardly be covering their costs.
There's plenty of gardening work ahead as none of the veg has been put in yet, but roll up, roll up and roll on an abundance of fruit, veg and flowers. Like flowers, shrubs and veg from cuttings from friends' gardens, they will be a reminder of the showfolk and that we live in a part of France which still has its culture and its rural travelling showcircus tradition.
© Marie Tyler, 2014
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