A SUPERNATURAL ELEMENT

THE CIRCUS, THE LIVERPOOL BLITZ AND A TRAGIC GHOST

This year the circus is celebrating its 250th anniversary, which inspired me to write my latest novel, THE BOY WHO COULD FLY.

The story is written for children (10 years upwards) but is also interesting for adults. It has a supernatural element, bringing together my own 19th century ancestor, 'Una The Human Fly', a circus star tragically killed while performing at the age of 16, and Jamie, a fictional descendant of his. It begins in Britain during WW2 with Jamie losing both parents in the Liverpool blitz and follows his subsequent life, much of it difficult, and his burning desire to learn how to fly on a trapeze.

A mix of story telling, circus lore and historical detail, parts of the book are autobiographical. I was born and brought up in Liverpool, and it's the setting for one of my adult books too (ME, DINGO AND SIBELIUS). From the mid-19th century my family were circus and theatre performers - acrobats, gymnasts, dancers, singers and musicians

THE BOY WHO COULD FLY is my twelfth book, available in both paperback and Kindle from Amazon.

A BOOK FOR THE 250TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE CIRCUS

TWO TRAPEZE ARTISTS, LINKED BY BLOOD, LINKED BY THE CIRCUS, DIVIDED BY HALF A CENTURY

THE BOY WHO COULD FLY

There have been three 'final drafts' but it's finished at last. Now comes the wait while it's edited, proof-read and the cover is completed.
In the meantime, here are the first few paragraphs as a taster:
Just before midnight on the 4th of December 1941 a bomb fell on Number 23 Deremont Street,
It killed Jamie Bird's Mum and Dad instantly and it buried Jamie beneath tons of rubble.
Five minutes earlier when the air raid siren began its warning wail his Mum had rushed to the kitchen to cut sandwiches, fill a flask with hot cocoa and turn off the gas. His Dad had rushed upstairs to collect thick jumpers and scarves to keep them warm in the street shelter.
They had told Jamie to wait inside the family's Morrison shelter in the dining room, which was supposed to be safe. But it didn't feel safe. The thunder of bricks, the screech of metal, the groaning of timbers, the hiss of water escaping from fractured pipes terrified him.
'Mum! Dad!' he cried. Where were they?
He called again and again but brick dust had clogged his throat and he didn't think anyone could hear him.

BRINGING OUR ANCESTORS BACK TO LIFE

Inspired by a battered old case of photos and documents belonging to my grandmother (long dead) I took out a year's subscription to Ancestry.co.uk and discovered more about her amazing family - composers, musicians, artists, singers and dancers, theatre managers, actors and circus trapeze artists.

I had an inkling before I investigated and the search proved so exciting that it kept me obsessed for the full twelve months (and since).

My biggest regret is that I was barely out of my teens when my grandmother died and I was far more focussed on the opposite sex than on mouldy old family history. If only I'd talked to her! She knew these people.

My first sketch

Getting there but still a long way to go!

Her grandfather, my great-great-grandfather Joseph Bryan Geoghegan, who sang, played, managed theatres, wrote pantomimes and composed songs that are still sung and recorded worldwide today.

Her father, Sydney Bird, a burlesque performer and trapeze artist (who performed in the same theatres and at the same time as Liverpool comedian John Bishop's great grandfather).

Her brother, Sydney, trapeze artist and star of the show until he fell to his death at the age of 16, a tragic event that was recorded in newspapers throughout the UK.

Her sister Bessie, music hall and circus singer and dancer, who died of tuberculosis at the age of 21.

And all the others.

I've got a lot of information through Ancestry.co.uk but facts, sepia photos and b.m.d. certificates aren't enough to flesh out these long gone people. That can only come via someone who knew them, who can tell you about their personalities, what they enjoyed or hated, the day to day intimate details that you have to be there to know about, even their colouring, which we can only guess at now from the black and white or sepia photographs of the time.

My grandmother could have told me whether she knew about her grandfather's second secret family (between the legitimate and the secret families, JBG fathered enough children for a couple of football teams - plus referees! A rogue and a villain, but successful with it!)

I could go on about the genes that give us clues as they pass down through the generations to the present time. Facial and other physical features, talents - I have identical eyes to two uncles, a great uncle and my great grandfather. I'm an artist and writer, my two daughters are musicians. But it would be wonderful to know more.

I'm currently working on a large (30" x 30") painting of my great aunt Bessie Bird with her father Sydney Bird and one of his partners, whose name I don't know). I'm using two photographs, Bessie from around 1900, and Sydney from an old daguerrotype which must have been taken sometime in the 1860s. They could never have performed together like this, but I'm employing a bit of artist's licence - and also showing them in full colour. Of course I can only guess at the colour of their costumes, or even Bessie's hair, and it's quite a spooky feeling as I try to bring them back to life in this way.

When I've finished, I plan to run another MEMOIRS WORKSHOP for writers and non-writers - a chance to record their own and their family's lives before it's too late. More news later.