Circus Friends Association gather at The Philip Astley Centre
What a great day yesterday was at the Philip Astley Centre in Newcastle-under-Lyme.
A full house as members of the Circus Friends Association travelled from all around the country to hold their AGM here, also to see the relocation and unveiling of the original ‘lost’ 1951 wooden Astley plaque which marked the location of Astley’s original Amphitheatre.
The unveiling was followed by illustrated talks about Philip Astley, the Van Buren family lifetime of raising awareness in Philip Astley and the Astley family legacy, the 1982 and 1992 Celebrations and most recent 2009 push to celebrate the 250th anniversary of circus; which lead to the monuments, landmarks, events and more.
Following was the showing of rare vintage circus footage including 1934 Bertram Mills Circus Olympia – (where and when the CFA was started).
Local sourced oatcakes, sandwiches, cake and ice cream kept everyone going ready to visit Gandey’s Circus at Trentham Gardens.
Thank you all for visiting, glad many of you had chance to look around the town, some staying over, and we look forward to welcoming you all back.
Pictured: Circus Friends Association President Mark Twitchett unveiling the 1951 Philip Astley plaque with Philip Astley Projects Director Andrew Van Buren.
More photos to follow. Circus Friends Association #raisingfootfall #PhilipAstley #philipastleyprojectscic #philipastleycentre #circusfriendsassociation #cfa #circus #CircusHistory #culture #heritage #philipastleyplaque #astleyamphitheatre #astleyscircus #andrewvanburen #newcastleunderlyme #raisingfootfall #PhilipAstley #philipastleyprojectscic #philipastleycentre #circusfriendsassociation #cfa #circus #CircusHistory #culture #heritage #philipastleyplaque #astleyamphitheatre #astleyscircus #andrewvanburen #newcastleunderlyme
