I should know better

I went to see Spirit of the Horse last night, in a tent painted with stars at the far end of the local park - alas I went to the wrong end and had to walk 3 miles through the woods beside the loch before I came to it. Very mediaeval, the big pavilion peeking out of the trees.

The show itself is qute OTT - Riverdance meets Trigger in Middle Earth, with a mix of dressage, voltege and Cossak trick riding, lots of dancing and even a Clever Hans act, this last something I haven`t seen since chldhood . I`m not too keen on circus, but anyone who doesn`t delight in watching beautiful horses has something missing in their soul.

I saw quite a few circuses in my young days, when the show coming to town was a big event and people didn`t have the reservations they have now about performing animals. I loved the animals, but came away with an abiding fear of clowns - I quite understand why they feature so much in horror films.

My father loved the circus, and he loved westerns. And once when I was over in Newark, his brother told me that this stemmed from a great event in his childhood - the day he shook hands with Buffalo Bill.

Well........I was sceptical. So I did a little homework. And sure enough, in 1904 Buffalo Bill`s Wild West played all over Scotland, including Paisley. My father was just six years old. And after the show he went to see the horse lines - just as I did yesterday - and got to shake hands with the great man himself.

It paints a picture - the old man, in decline, going on with the show because it was all he had by that time and the little boy with stars in his eyes, inspired by this view of a world that was already passing so quickly, falling back into legend even as the two of them stood there.

And when I look back - spanning the centuries like that - it`s a good feeling.