In the 1970s, going to the circus was a huge deal. Duffy’s circus came to town maybe once a year, but that didn’t mean we got to go every time. There were five of us in the family and unless we had our own money – forget it!
So, the few times I did get to the circus I really enjoyed it. My favourite was always the acrobats, which was – if I remember correctly – a couple of girls, maybe a guy too, on a swing and a rope, and performing all sorts of gymnastics on the floor. Sure, I thought it was amazing.
I did like the clowns. Some kids cried at them and I could never understand why. They made me laugh, even at a very young age.
Back then they had an elephant or two, a pony, a couple of monkeys, and always a little dog. There may have been other animals; I don’t remember. They stopped using animals in their show in 2018. I’m glad about that!
Ah…the old black bicycle. The one in this photo is hanging on the ceiling of our local pub. An Sean Sibin in Ballina.
Hanging From the Ceiling in An Sean Sibin Pub
I remember my uncle having a bicycle exactly like this one; all through the 70’s. He would have cycled for miles on it. It didn’t have gears, so when he came to a steep hill, he had to hop off and walk up it. It had big springs under the saddle and a big round headlamp positioned at the centre of the handlebars. I’m pretty sure he had a bell on it too.
The black bicycle in Lucy’s drawing belongs to Flossie Lynch, the main character in my novel.
It doesn’t always take a photo to remind me of the past. Certain images pop into my head at the slightest prompt. I’m sure everyone is the same.
I remember a lot of shoes I had. As clear as if I wore them yesterday.
The oldest shoe memory I have is of my little white leather T-bar shoes. And the whitener my mam used to put on them. I would have been just a toddler, but I remember them so well. They’ve never gone out of fashion. It’s not that long ago since I bought a pair for Little Miss Ten, and recently I saw a little girl wearing a pink pair. So cute!
Toddler T-bar Shoes by Lucy McBreen
My first communion shoes were also T-bar; black patent. That was in 1974. I wasn’t too happy with them because all the other girls wore white shoes.
The day my mam bought me my first pair of clunky clogs was the same day I got my first gypsy skirt. My clogs were brown and my skirt was red with flowers dotted all over it. Well, I thought I was the bees knees clunking around in my lovely new clogs. Definitely my favourite shoe memory!
I desperately wanted a pair of Scholls after that but Mam said I’d likely break my neck in them, so I gave up asking.
In the early 80’s I had a pair of moccasins. They were light brown. I don’t remember loving them…I only had them because they were in fashion.
Then I wore loafers. They were square and heavy; like what the boys wore. They weren’t noisy enough for the extrovert 14-year-old me, because I had metals tips/taps fitted to the soles of them. My parents had no problem with this because the tips saved the soles. Less frequent trips to the cobbler.
As I got older I got more daring. Stilettos! I had red ones, blue ones, white ones, black ones, pink ones. I even remember dying white shoes because I couldn’t always afford a new pair.
My favourite shoes from the 90’s are my red platforms. I bought them to wear to my friend Roisin’s wedding. Not with the black tights I have to add. I took this photo recently when I came across the shoes during a clear out!
What your favourite shoe memory? Let me know in the comments. Thank you for reading and for following our #100DaysOfOldDays.
Gloria McBreen 