Life

Life’s a circus for Brazil-bound Christopher

Anne Hailes

Anne Hailes

Anne is Northern Ireland's first lady of journalism, having worked in the media since she joined Ulster Television when she was 17. Her columns have been entertaining and informing Irish News readers for 25 years.

Chris McAuley (centre) with Will Chamberlain of Belfast Community Circus School (left) and Gavin O'Connor of the Arts Council NI (right)
Chris McAuley (centre) with Will Chamberlain of Belfast Community Circus School (left) and Gavin O'Connor of the Arts Council NI (right) Chris McAuley (centre) with Will Chamberlain of Belfast Community Circus School (left) and Gavin O'Connor of the Arts Council NI (right)

CAN you believe this is the last day of August?

Children back to school, guaranteed Indian Summer (maybe) and the first Christmas catalogues on the doorstep - bin them if you’re wise, let’s enjoy the autumn before the winter comes.

I parted company with school at 15 and escaped into the big wide world of shorthand and typing and then Ulster Television as a very 'junior' junior and I have learned and worked ever since. A great life as a journalist travelling the world and experiencing life in exotic places and appalling places. And yet reading about young Christopher McAuley makes me wish I’d joined the high octane world of circus.

What an exciting prospect lies ahead for this young man, who decided at the age of eight that he’d be a circus performer and so he joined the Belfast Community Circus School.

At 12 he was part of their outreach programme for children from all backgrounds and at 18 he became not only a performer but also a teacher. He successfully sat his A levels and now - at 23 - he’s off on a three-month intensive course at the National Circus School of Brazil and the Catsapa Arts School in Rio, all thanks to the Mike Moloney Award of £5,000.

“I can't describe how happy I am to receive the award,” he said. “Brazil has such a diverse culture and I’m so excited to learn new teaching techniques for working with underprivileged children. I am very passionate about bringing these back to Belfast.”

I know Mike, who died some time ago, would be so pleased that Chris is using the award in this way.

Mike himself was steeped in circus and brought it to a new level, especially with his teaching of young artists.

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Is It Good Night and Good Bye?

A lot of people are talking about the possibility of UTV being sold off to ITV.

Mixed views - but basically regret - that such a local icon might disappear. I’d be sorry but I wouldn’t be surprised; it’s a long time coming. At one time Ulster Television had a workforce engaged in making programmes, studios humming and film crews out and about the countryside. It was the centre of public life but when creativity gave way to finance something important was lost.

It’s been a slow scaling down for over 20 years, with programmes being bought in from production companies which meant fewer staff, so the heart went out of the ˜business’. Of course, this is the way of modern life and although it’s hard to accept, it’s logical.

I’d miss ads telling me about Brennan’s Bread, second-hand cars, 99p sales, I’d miss UTV Live and I acknowledge the continuity announcers add local flavour; hopefully we’d still have local ads and news and weather and we would still have Coronation Street and the nightly programmes we get now. And we would get used to it. There’s no point in looking back at the wonderful achievements because that’s over; it’s time to move on and sadly that seems to mean the demise of local independent television.

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Learning Through Drama

Entertainment comes in all shapes and sizes, for instance the drama school ˜Bright Young Things’ scholarship programme will offer a one year’s drama course for two lucky young people aged between three and 18 years of age. They’ll be chosen from across Northern Ireland, one to attend classes at BYT Magherafelt and one to BYT Belfast.

It’s supported by actor James Nesbitt, who points out that performance training helps develop social skills, confidence and personality. Theatre also aids the memory, working in a group, taking responsibility, discipline and it’s exciting. Imagine being three years of age and joining the free flow of theatre.

Founder Lisa Duffy says it’s vital that young people are encouraged to enjoy this side of life so lacking in schools these days.

“Through games, improvisation, storytelling, music, movement, team-building activities, performance and more, our courses at BYT ignite curiosity and encourage self-belief in every one of our three to 18-0year-old members,” says Lisa.

Details of how to apply at www.bytdrama.com Applications must be in by midnight on Sunday September 6.

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Miss Anne Martin

There will be sadness amongst many people, not least at Fleming Fulton School in Belfast, when they return to school duties and hear the news that Miss Anne C Martin MBE died at the beginning of the summer.

Miss Martin was principal of Fleming Fulton School from 1957 until 1984 and during those 27 years she and her life long friend vice-principal Susan Harrison fashioned and formed a school that gained worldwide respect.

This special school was designed for children with various disabilities, the majority in the beginning had spina bifida and Miss Martin insisted on a normal curriculum to open doors for her children who one day could move on to university level education. Pupils came, many in wheelchairs, from all over Northern Ireland, to be educated and attend occupational therapy and speech therapy classes, also to have vital physiotherapy each week at the school at Upper Malone.

In the early days one newspaper reported that floors were examined for splinters as some children could only move by crawling, ladders were put against trees for able pupils to climb for the first time and debris was removed from the pond and replaced by goldfish, frogs and little boats to entertain the less mobile children.

I think Miss Martin must have been a child at heart as she seemed to think of everything to stimulate and challenge her charges.

Throughout the years she advanced the name of Fleming Fulton as one of excellence, security and love.