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CIRCUS MINIMUS
“I like revisiting, at certain times, spots where I was once happy; I like to shape the present in the image of the irretrievable past.” ― Fyodor Dostoyevsky, The show is over, the troupers are all the backyard, the house is dark, except where a spotlight comes through the marquee and a glow through the canvas of the big top from the still jumpin’ midway and side shows outside. The trespasser,…
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Look, I just really love tightrope walkers.
Piece ✪ 9
Philippe Petit walking on a wire between the Twin Towers, 1974.
Funambulism
Funambulism [fyoo-NAM-byə-lizm]Part of speech: nounOrigin: English, 19th century1. The art of walking on a tightrope or a slack-rope.Examples of funambulism in a sentence“While at school in Paris, my nephew got involved in funambulism and joined a circus.”“Slack lines have proved funambulism is a fun and engaging physical exercise.”
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The little things that Ian taught him
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When he wasn’t saving the world, Alex Rider was an extremely normal fifteen year old. He went to school, hung out with his friends, did his homework. He’d go for a run or to the martial arts studio or to the gym if he wanted some exercise outside of the house.
One of his favourite ways to relax after school and after doing some of his homework was to watch quizzes on tv, particularly The Chase. There was something mundanely thrilling about going up Britain’s best quizzers, and it was particularly great if he knew an answer that they didn’t!
His uncle had given him a lot of very random knowledge and that sometimes gave him an advantage that any other fifteen year old would not have. Jack would often come into the living room to find him sat on the sofa, shouting out the answers to questions and she would shake her head in disbelief at some of the things he knew.
One day, he was watching and had been doing quite well; getting six or seven in each of the cashbuilder rounds, and easily getting the answers to the multiple choice questions at the table, sailing through to the final chase round.
“What activity would a ‘funambulist’ do at the circus?”
He laughed as he thought back to his and Ian’s visit to a circus in Vienna when Alex was only eight.
‘It’s Latin, Alex. Funis means rope. And ambulare is to walk. Funambulism is the art of tightrope walking.’
“Tightrope walking,” he said before Brad read out the answers.
“How on earth do you know that?” Jack asked incredulously.
“Ian,” was all he said in reply.
“I should have guessed!” Jack laughed.
“Laugh all you like but that little tidbit saved my life once!”
She smiled as she left the room to start preparing dinner and Alex contentedly turned back to the telly to see what the next question would be...
An old fashioned tightrope walker
