Flossy the flea that fled the circus

Proving that circus showman have always had an eye for a tall story (for surely the escape of Flossy the 'piebald' flea from Barron's Flea Circus was a purely fabricated publicity stunt) is this 100-year-old poster recently dig from the archives of the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland (Proni).

If you're in Belfast and still scratching your head for a last minute Christmas gift, Proni's director Maggie Smith says copies of the reward poster are proving a big hit with visitors.

And don't forget there's still time to buy the circus lover in your life a copy of Circus Mania - The Ultimate Book For Anyone Who Dreamed of Running Away With the Circus. Click here and those nice people at Amazon will dispatch you a copy a lot quicker than you can find a runaway flea named Flossy.

"A brilliant account of a vanishing art form."
- Mail on Sunday