EDINBURGH: Finni has been pilgrimaging to Edinburgh in search of the roots of the Childrens Circus he himself initiated some 8 years ago back home in Norway.
MEDIEVAL CITY: Edinburgh is a city crammed with old castles, churches and grand monuments. A real tourist trap! But there were entirely other reasons for Finni to leave our ship and go big city travelling.
A LITTLE ORANGE BOOK: This tiny book is to blame for Finnis starting his Childrens Circus, and caused him to leave the ship and undertake a pilgrimage to the fair city of Edinburgh.
Before Circus Utrost saw its beginning, I purchased a book called "Circus in a Suitcase" written by an amazing personality by the name of Reg Bolton. The book starts with the tale of how the first Scottish Childrens Circus in Pilton, on the outskirts of Edinburgh, came to life. The tale was almost identical to the experiences I had had in my work. The book also described the road further, and became the guiding vehicle for our Childrens Circus, guiding us through the first challenging months. Without its guidance, there may not have been a Childrens Circus at all in our island of Rost.
Pilton is a small suburb to Edinburgh and isn`t exactly situated on the sunny side. The book presented Pilton in the 1970s as an area of brick houses, shattered windows, abandoned playing grounds and parking lots with broken glass and the odd car wreck strewn in the streets. But some well kept kitchen gardens could also be spotted, and later a Childrens Circus. The Pilton I encountered was about the same Pilton that Reg had described some 35 years ago, but with less rubbish, no car wrecks and unfortunately no Childrens Circus.
In my search for information on the Childrens Circus in Pilton, I learned that Reg Bolton, the creator of the circus, had moved down under and continued with Childrens Circuses there. Thats lovely, was my first reaction, then I can meet him there. It is right on our path ahead. Then, three paragraphs down the page I read that Reg passed away a couple of years ago.
Following some corresponce via the internet I got in touch with Pete Simpson, a man that had actually worked with Reg back in the 1970s, and known him ever since. Pete now lives in Edinburgh and runs a restaurant in a small river boat called the Zazou. Neither I nor Pete are very talkative persons. Few words were exchanged, but still, large amounts of information. Also, Pete is going to assist me in my prolonged search for the roots of my own small Childrens Circus. Already, I have several circus stories boiling about in my head, so you will have to bear with me. After all, I am into circus with my heart and soul.
PILTON: Pilton is akin to what one might call the ghetto of Edinburgh, and not exactly the centre of the world. Finn Olav is most likely the first tourist in recorded history ever to go to Edinburgh simply to experience this place, a place unknown even to people living in Edinburgh.
PETE SIMPSON: Pete on the mooring outside the riverboat Zazou were he runs his little restaurant. A Finni as good as any, only 20 years older and more bearded.
