Zippos open day

If you've ever wanted to go behind the scenes at the circus, pop along to Zippos on Blackheath Common on Friday April 18. As part of this month's World Circus Day celebrations, the circus will be holding an open day from 11.00 to 12.00 when visitors can meet the animals, performers and staff and find out how a circus works.

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Another way to go behind the scenes of the big top is to buy my book Circus Mania - a backstage journey through the British circus scene from traditional tent shows with tigers and elephants to such freakishly contemporary shows as the Circus of Horrors. Along the way you'll find clowns, trapeze artists, animal trainers and showmen talking about their unique lives, culture, traditions, secrets and superstitions. There's even a full chapter in which Zippos founder Martin Burton tells the story of his circus and the part it played in BBC sitcom Big Top.

Click here to buy Circus Mania from Amazon.

"Circus Mania is a brilliant account of a vanishing art form." - Mail on Sunday.