Every so often, The Blowpipes are asked to play for a circus, and we were happy to oblige when Le Cirque de Solihull needed some extra music. However, we learned on arrival that this was for a guest appearance in their show by the notorious tea-spoon molester, Mr. U. Guller.
Our version of "Colonel Bogey" was note-perfect, and yet Guller started to gripe about the music. We followed up with "It Ain't Necessarily So" and "Land Of Make Believe", but he still wasn't happy.
When Mr. Harborne began singing "It's Only A Paper Spoon", Guller lost his temper and threatened to bend the hallowed slides of The Blowpipes' trombones. We had to explain to him how easy it would be to bend an iron tent-peg over his head, before he would carry on with his little turn.
One of the clowns offered him a red nose to cheer him up, but he only sniffed haughtily. Finally, the audience got restless, and the poor conjuror had to be chased out of the ring by a huge gorilla on a tricycle.
© Paul Taylor 2001