Circuswereld Forum

Het bijzonder romantische -zeg maar sprookjesachtige- Engelse Gifford's Circus kwam hier wel eens eerder ter sprake.
Mensen die het zagen waren unaniem enthousiast en wilden het vaker gaan zien.
We zagen ergens de nieuwe poster, ook op hun site https://www.giffordscircus.com/ , maar helaas niet kopieerbaar.
Na wat moeite vonden we hem toch:



Deze is er ook nog, die wordt gebruikt bij het aftellen tot de aanvang van de nieuwe tour:



Dit soort juweeltjes, ook bewegend, vindt u op de site.

Niet zo heel moeilijk met een kunstenares en grafisch ontwerpster in de familie, zult u zeggen.
Dat was in dit geval Nell Gifford, de in december vorig jaar overleden mede-oprichtster en eigenaresse van dit illustere circus.
Zij overleed op 46-jarige leeftijd aan de gevolgen van borstkanker.
Ze was moeder van een tweeling, Cecil en Red, van bijna 10 jaar.


Nell Gifford en haar zoontje Red.

Van haar veelzijdige werk werd kortgeleden in Londen een expositie geopend.
Dat werk is te koop, want de expositie vindt plaats in een veilinghuis.
Ter plaatse kunt u een bod uitbrengen.
Veel werk dat daar niet te zien is blijft echter behouden in de familiekring.

‘Into a Land of Pure Magic’, an Exhibition and Auction of Paintings and Drawings by Nell Gifford opens tomorrow -20. Februari- at 10am.
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Olympia Auctions, 25 Blythe Road, London W14 0PD
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Nearest tubes: Barons Court or West Kensington.
Overland train: Kensington Olympia
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Contact: enquiries@olympiaauctions.com
0207 8065541



Te bezoeken vanaf 20 februari t/m 2 maart.

Nog een paar werken:















Nel Gifford aan het werk:



Ander leuk idee: cadeaubonnen voor het circus!
Kwam ik toch nog niet zo vaak tegen.....
Grafisch ook alweer de moeite waard:

Ben even op bezoek geweest op de site van het veilinghuis.
Dat is ten zeerste de moeite waard, want daar zijn alle werken te vinden en uit te vergroten!
De tijdstippen van de openingsuren staan er vermeld en tevens hoe iedereen een bod kan uitbrengen!
Dat kan uitsluitend via internet. Daarvoor moet je je wel eerst registreren, maar dat lijkt me logisch.
De opbrengst is bovendien deels bestemd voor een goed doel, in dit geval verband houdend met de ziekte waaraan Nell Gifford is overleden.
De tentoonstelling is getiteld 'Into a Land of Pure Magic', toepasselijker voor de circuswereld kan haast niet!









Een paar dagen geleden was er in het veilinghuis een donatieavond voor eerdergenoemd goed doel die 2.300 pond opbracht. Hier een foto met een mooie beschrijving:


Last night was a very special celebration of Nell Gifford’s life with her sister Emma Bridgewater bravely talking about her with sibling love and insight.
Matthew Parris started the evening reading an extract about Slearys Circus from Charles Dickens’ ‘Hard Times’ so evocative of Giffords Circus.
He also asked questions to the audience, a number of whom were family and circus who shared moving memories of Nell.
As Emma said at the end of the In Conversation, Nell would now say ‘please stop talking about me, and have another drink’, which we did, promptly.
- The evening raised funds for @maggiescheltenham - which we are still adding up.



En er kwam meer hoog bezoek:


We are really delighted to have met Flo, one of the stars of the circus, who visited the gallery this morning.
She is a young acrobat and features in a lot of the pictures on horseback.
There is a portrait of her by Nell, titled ‘Flo and Max’ - sitting upright on Max the horse.

De poster, tevens voorpagina van de catalogus:



De hele komende tour in een notendop:


Nice to know that Giffords Circus, the magical village green circus that tours England throughout the summer is now selling tickets for the next summer season.⠀ ⠀
2020 is the 20 year anniversary of Giffords Circus and to celebrate the fairy folk are coming out to play in THE HOOLEY!
Directed by Cal McCrystal with wonderful costumes designed by takis, you can join the dance of Celtic rhythms & drums and "get down with the fairy folk".⠀ ⠀
Want to know where you can see it?⠀ ⠀
9th – 20th April: Fennells Farm, Stroud⠀
23rd April – 4th May: Bowood House & Gardens, Wiltshire⠀
7th – 18th May: Daylesford Organic Farm, Kingham⠀
21st May – 1st June: Sudeley Castle, Winchcombe⠀
4th – 8th June: Blenheim Palace, Oxfordshire⠀
11th – 22nd June: Oxford University Parks, Oxfordshire⠀
25th June – 13th July: Chiswick House & Gardens, London⠀
16th – 20th July: Morden Hall Park, London⠀
23rd July – 3rd August: Stonor Park, Henley on Thames⠀
6th – 17th August: Barrington, Oxfordshire⠀
20th August – 1st September: Minchinhampton Common⠀
4th – 7th September: Marlborough Common⠀
10th – 14th September: Stratton Meadows, Cirencester⠀
17th – 27th September: Fennells Farm, Stroud⠀


Maar het leven gaat door -dat beseffen ze bij dit circus terdege!- en nieuwe grote gebeurtenissen werpen hun schaduw vooruit:


Celebrating the launch of the Giffords Cookbook, with an exclusive dinner banquet and evening of entertainment at Carousel, Marylebone, London.
Celebrating 20 years of the much-loved Giffords Circus and in memory of Nell Gifford.
Giffords Circus Head Chef Ols Halas and Quadrille Publishing are hosting an exclusive dinner banquet and evening of entertainment to celebrate the publication of the Giffords Circus Cookbook on March 12th 2020, 7 for 7.30pm.
The evening at Carousel will include a 5-course banquet cooked by the Giffords Circus chefs - past and present - using dishes from the book.
There will be performances from the Giffords Circus band, and you'll dine with some of your very favourite performers.
Tickets are limited and include a signed copy of the book - two weeks before the publication date.
Tickets available online https://www.everymantheatre.org.uk/show ... ok-launch/ or by calling the box office on 01242 691181
Photograph by the amazing @davidloftus who shot all the photographs for the cookbook.

Toch in de buurt en het leek u wel wat? Nou, vette pech dan, want tot en met de laatste plek totaal uitverkocht!
Wat u mist:

Additional Information
Carousel, 71 Blandford Street, London W1U 8AB
Doors Open @ 7pm
Dinner @ 8pm
Dress Code: Circus Formal




Then we will begin...
Let’s tell you a story of how a little boy from Tetbury had a dream.
He dreamt of becoming a chef and writing his own cookbook.
That little boy is @the_circus_chef who has worked for eight years at Giffords Circus as head chef and shared his dream with Nell Gifford over many late night circus conversations.
Between Ols and Nell they created a recipe book full of delicious food and stories from the circus.
Photographed by @davidloftus during the 2019 tour the book is beautiful and something that Ols is still pinching himself about.
We cannot wait for you to see it and see you recreating our circus recipes at home.
You can preorder the book from @amazon now.
Published by @quadrillebooks


Caught photographing Myrtle and Poppy for the new @officialgiffordscircus Cookbook promo.
The cookbook is written by Nell and @the_circus_chef and out on the 26th March.
I was just capturing some bits and bobs for social media and as I am always behind a camera I am rarely seen but was caught!
Anyway the cookbook is available to preorder from Amazon and all good bookshops and very soon directly from us at the circus too!
I can’t wait to share more about this absolutely wonderful project with you and show you some of the behind the scenes images.

Een gloedvol in memoriam:


We say goodbye to a true shining light.
I felt the need to write something about one of our dear members we have so sadly lost far too soon. ⁣ ⁣
Earlier in the week I went to the funeral of Nell Gifford.
It was held at the majestic and beautiful Gloucester Cathedral.
I really can’t think of a more fitting location to celebrate the life of such a flamboyant and extraordinary person.⁣ ⁣
The number of family (Gifford Circus family too), friends and supporters that were there was a true testament of what a special lady Nell was.⁣ ⁣
The service was, I think, one of the most beautiful things I will ever witness.
The eulogies gave everyone a real picture of who Nell was - they were just so moving, I don’t think there was a dry eye in the cathedral and no one will ever forget the wonderful words that were spoken.⁣ ⁣
I only saw Nell on a few occasions in recent years, but I hung out with both her and her sister Clover a lot when we were a lot younger.
We were hunting and pony mad. I have some wonderful memories of our day’s hunting together when we were unstoppable and fearless. ⁣ ⁣
Monday's stormy weather actually really brought back memories of riding back to their family house near Minety in the pouring rain and dimming light, covered in mud and cold but happy and exhilarated from our day of hedge hopping and fun.⁣ ⁣
There are so many of us who have been lucky enough to attend Nell’s creation, The Gifford Circus.
It has provided so much excitement, delight and magic to children and adults far and wide and we thank Nell for that.⁣ ⁣
I just hope her darling children can one day smile when they remember their mummy who really was a rare treasure - she will be so missed by everyone.⁣
God bless Nell, I‘ve no doubt your circus in the sky will be awesome and something we can all look forward to when our day comes.⁣ ⁣
If you would like to read a wonderful tribute by Helena Bonham-Carter, please click on the link in our bio.

De begrafenis trok heel veel aandacht en maakte veel los.....


Working at Gifford’s Circus while studying Fashion at Uni in 2006 changed my life.
Making pieces of the set and decorating the costumes made me realise that I wanted to work in Theatre & Performance.
Goodbye Nell. I learnt so much from you and I will miss you a lot.


Vivienne Westwood seen at the funeral of Nell Gifford, at Gloucester Cathedral, Gloucestershire, UK.


Goodbye to one of the most inspirational women I had the pleasure to know.


Wild winds and the start of a storm greeted the family and friends of Nell Gifford as they gathered at Gloucester Cathedral to bid a final farewell.
The fact it was “blowing a Hooley” seemed like a sign the circus founder was setting the scene for a funeral like no other the city has ever seen.
Indeed The Hooley is the name of the 2020 Giffords show, announced by Nell just days before her death from cancer, the first show the circus she founded will perform without her.
Our love is with the entire @officialgiffordscircus family today.


A wild day, of sadness yet so much joy, so beautiful & full of love & hope.
The biggest top for the greatest showwoman, taking your final bow, as you should with your beautiful horse by your side.
A land of pure magic. Thank you Nell “Be fierce, be brave, & if you can rave on”...


Farewell beautiful Nell.
A great honour for us to make flowers for @nellscircus_days_ in @gloucestercathedral yesterday.
Nell was the much loved, inspired and deeply missed founder of @officialgiffordscircus she leaves her children Red and Cecil and her circus which will continue being brilliant, for this is her legacy.
Deep love to all her amazing family.


Nell Giffords horse leads her coffin out of the Cathedral at her funeral at Gloucester Cathedral, Gloucestershire, UK.


Incredible - Most stunning moment, at Gloucester cathedral, when a horse Nell has loved and worked with was brought into the cathedral to lead the procession with her coffin out, for her journey onwards.
The horse stood, whinnying at Nells coffin for several moment when the cathedral doors where opened, as a massive storm lashed around the ancient walls.
It was impossible to doubt a spirit world at that moment.


Happy birthday dearest Nell.
Our hearts are still broken but we are keeping busy and planning this years show.
You would love the costumes, set and artwork - the Hooley will be all that you imagined and more.


We would just like to say a huge heartfelt thank you for all your kind thoughts and condolences you have sent us following the loss and funeral of our dearest Nell.
Sometimes finding the right words and pictures here on social media is difficult especially when we are all mourning her loss, but Nell never stopped and wouldn’t expect us to.
Today we had our third production meeting for The Hooley and whilst it still feels strange not to have Nell in the room with us, the same conversations were had, the show and plot was presented by @calmccrystal, the costume ideas and set design by @takis_design the horses were discussed by @elillyrice and the show is slowly taking shape ready for opening on April 9th and already it promises to be a Hooley!


We have been fans of Giffords Circus ever since we happened to stumble across its big top and distinctively liveried wagons in Cirencester several years ago.
It was thus with great sadness that we received news of founder Nell Gifford’s untimely death just before Christmas.
On Monday, the day of her funeral in Gloucester, I booked tickets for the forthcoming show and came across a blog entry on the Giffords website about the 70 works of art chronicling circus life which had Nell created.
Until that point, I didn’t know that Nell was such an accomplished artist, but what surprised me most was reference to her assertion that if she didn’t “create something every day, I feel panicky”.
That comment resonates with my own experience last week when I discovered the emotional benefit of being absorbed in embroidery and is really making me think far more deeply about craft as therapy.
If you are interested in seeing Nell’s work and perhaps owning a piece visit http://www.olympiaauctions.com.

U merkt het, van dit circus zou ik wel dagwerk willen hebben.......
Morgen wellicht nog wat meer van de mooie kunstwerken die geveild gaan worden....

Iemand vroeg me van wat voor ras het circuspaard in de kathedraal is.
Volgens mij is het een Percheron.
Van oorsprong een ras uit de voormalige Franse provincie Perche (als naamgever) nu een deel van Normandië.
Dat gebied was lange tijd onder Engels beheer, waardoor deze sterke koudbloedpaarden ook in dat land terecht kwamen.
Naast de Shires onder meer veelvuldig gebruikt als trekpaarden voor de bierwagens.
Niet alleen in het Verenigd Koninkrijk, ook de Duitse Warsteiner-brouwerij bediende zich van dit ras.
Komen in meer kleuren voor, maar wit of schimmel overheersen.
Een erg vriendelijk en leerzaam ras.

Hier een mooie moeder en haar veulen:



Zoals bij alle schimmels wordt het veulen donker geboren en verliest pas later die kleur.

.

Zoals beloofd nog een paar van die mooie kunstwerken die Nell Gifford maakte.
Mocht u serieus geïnteresseerd zijn in een of meerdere werken let dan wel op de sluitingstijd van de online-veiling: (aanstaande) maandag 2 maart om 12.00 uur - Engelse tijd!

Haar portret:




Cecil and Red


Complicit


After the act


Young unicorn


*niet meer te koop - teruggetrokken*


Backstage conversations


Windsor


The Donnerts horses


Family life


Barrington


Let us go and play


Autumn


Toy truck with numbered playing cubes


Paper horse and wagon

Via de site van het circus zijn overigens nog een paar mooie en leuke dingen te koop:


Productgegevens
925 Sterling Silver charm bracelet and charm, designed and made by Taylor Black Jewellery.
This is our 2018 Giffords Circus Wagon Charm, the start of our exciting new annual release collection.
£ 60,00


Giffords Circus Wagon Key Ring
£ 5,00

En er wordt al weer heel wat afgelachen over dat binnenkort te verschijnen kookboek:

https://www.facebook.com/GiffordsCircus ... 030541611/

Maar het winterwerk gaat intussen ook onverdroten door:

https://www.facebook.com/GiffordsCircus ... 794540335/

We don’t cut corners here at Giffords Cicus - we employ traditional crafts people to hand paint and sign write our circus wagons!
We think investing in and keeping these traditional skills, associated with circus, alive is important and makes Giffords the beautiful circus both in and out of tent.
We are pleased to welcome Amy Goodwin back this week and yes she really does paint that quickly!
She trained with our good friend Joby Carter at Carters Steam Fair and has her own sign writing business which takes her all over the country as well as guest lecturing the next generation of sign writers at colleges and universities!
Long live the artists, crafts people and sign writers we say.

Van de week vond de jaarlijkse pannenkoekenrace plaats:

The annual pancake day races here at Giffords Circus HQ - but who do you think won the race?
The hare, Ols Halas, the lion, Tweedy or the penguin?
https://www.facebook.com/GiffordsCircus ... 792804672/


With three extra weeks and two new circus grounds - where are you planning to see the circus this year?


Gifford's top-kok aan het werk.....