| A TWICE WEEKLY SERIAL OF BIG TOP FOLK BY
SIMON PARKE |
|
EPISODE 31
GOOD CHEER
Sometimes when the end comes, it comes quickly, and it certainly does in the field of fire. This is partly due to Teresa breaking the cordon of fear, leaving the cowered crowd, and striding forward; and partly due to Julie's unhappiness with flame, causing her to wrench free from her tethering, sending Danny flying with a crunching thud. As Samantha's camera clicks, Ronan is kneeling beside his brother; Teresa is untying Jess, and Julie is picking up Daisy with her delighted trunk.
"They were Thomas Cranmer's words," says Jess, "I remember now."
"Who the hell was he?"
"A bishop from way back."
"But, I mean – who quotes a bishop from way back when tied to a trough and about to be – well, who knows?"
"Mad, isn't it? We learned that quote in history once; but I've not thought about it since. Must have been the fire."
"Why the fire?"
"Thomas Cranmer spoke the words to his friend Ridley when they were about to be burned at the stake."
"Roasted?"
"Precisely. 'Be of good cheer!' he said. Suddenly it all came back to me. And I didn't think I was listening at the time! Strange what you remember!"
They are all gathered in the Big Top, enjoying sweet coffee and a selection of doughnuts and Danish pastries, fetched by Samantha from the excellent bakery in Nettleby. Not everyone can make the family gathering. The Fiery Fernandos were asked to leave, and are clearing out their trailer, watched over by Ted. There is a fear that without supervision they might clear out everyone else's trailer as well. And even within the Big Top, not everyone can manage the family bonhomie. Burt is sitting in the back row; a rather solitary figure.
"You can come and join us," says Teresa, but Burt shakes his head, too full of self-pity. "They brought in an audience; you were right about that at least."
And then to a great fanfare, Daisy walks in with a cake; and Georgio, never one to miss a calorie, is swooping down from the trapeze, stopped only by the safety net.
"It's my birthday!" says Daisy. "A day which started off as the worst, but ended as the best! And Burt – I need you in my birthday circle!"
Slowly, he steps forward. Ahh! The melting of self-pity; the eighth great wonder of the world...
More clowning around |
