Seven years ago, there was a clown shortage in the United States.
I missed it, perhaps because it was reported on the day my husband died, and I was pretty much focused on that.
Of course, a clown shortage wouldn't have bothered me in the least. All the world may theoretically love a clown, but include me out. I find clowns creepy, unfunny, crude, and often cruel. They're depressing. I find their attempts at humor pathetic.
But, unlike many folks, I don't fear clowns. I suppose that I once liked Clarabelle, the clown on Howdy Doody. But mostly I out and out loathe them.
Ditto for the circus. Especially the clown part. (A couple of exceptions to the rule. I used to like the Big Apple Circus and their lead clown, Bello, who was mostly a brilliant high-wire/stunt man kind of performer who just happened to be a clown. And I will confess that I laughed when, a million years ago, while taking our nieces to the circus, a clown came by and dusted my husband's bald head with a feather duster. (The girls - neither of them clown people: it runs in the family - enjoyed that bit, too. As did my husband, mostly because the girls got a kick out of it.)
Anyway, whether or not the U.S. is still experiencing a clown shortage, or whether we've just blessedly learned to live with a dwindling number of clowns, there are shortages elsewhere. And one of those elsewhere places is Ireland.
What's brought it on?
The Irelands - North and the Republic - remain in a state of uncertainty about exactly how Brexit is going to impact them. Northern Ireland is part of the U.K., so no more open borders with E.U. countries. But Northern Ireland is also physically (not to mention in a lot of other ways) part of the island of Ireland. People have gotten used to easily getting back and forth between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland for shopping, entertainment, medical appointments, family visits, and good craic in the pubs. How exactly this is going to work out, whether Ireland becomes, as the song has it, a nation once again OR returns to the rare, not so good ould times of The Troubles in the North - remains up in the air.
Brexit also means that workers from E.U. countries won't have as easy a time getting jobs in the U.K. as they did when it was all one big happy family that the U.K. was part of.
So I'm guessing that, if Northern Ireland can't find clowns, it has something to do with E.U. clowns (along with E.U. waitstaff, carpenters, healthcare workers, et al.) no longer being welcome in the U.K., unless they had already settled there pre-Brexit.
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Then there's the pandemic and the lockdowns and the travel restrictions that are complicating things.
And it's the pandemic that's doing the most havoc-wreaking on the circuses that pitch their tents in Northern Ireland. At least Duffy's Circus, which is running short on clowns, thinks so. When the covid lockdowns began, Duffy's - the preeminent touring circus in Ireland - had to fold their tents and go home.
Brexit, of course, doesn't directly impact Duffy's. Their headquarters is in the Republic, and a lot of their business is in the 26 counties. But a lot of it's in the North, as well, where they tour extensively. And with covid restrictions lifting, Duffy's, after 500 circus-free days, is looking to get back up and running.
For Duffy's, the clown shortage is most surely do to the pandemic. So co-owner David Duffy "is appealing for people from Northern Ireland to become clowns."
The Covid-19 pandemic has caused a shortage of the performers, as many returned to their home countries when the first lockdown came into force in early 2020, according to Mr Duffy.
..."Because all the circuses in Europe and in England have been up and operational for the past six months, that huge pool of EU artists are already back at work and up until last week we haven't been able to even get visas issued for non-EU artists and entertainers," Mr Duffy said.
"That's why we're trying to reach out for any of our folks at home who feel that they can give it a go." (Source: BBC)
I don't know a lot about Northern Ireland. When I think of it, one of the first things that comes to my mind is the rock-ribbed Unionists of the Ian Paisley days, who are decidedly unfunny, especially when they march around Catholic neighborhoods banging their big drums each July when they celebrate "their" win in the Battle of the Boyne.
Another thing I think of is the hard men of the IRA, and their opposite numbers in the Ulster Volunteer Force. No funny business with those (mostly) lads.
Oh, and my grandmother telling me that the Proddies used to throw rocks at her father when he went to market in Newry (Protestant territory not far from his home in County Louth) because he was a Taig (Catholic). Good times!
But the Irish, in general, are known for having a sense of humor. And one of the funniest recent shows on TV, Derry Girls is set in Ireland and is hilarious. (Sister Michael is a comic genius. Highly recommend.)
But sense of humor is one thing. Clowning is another.
And since clowns are unfunny, I really don't see much of a correlation between having a sense of humor and being a clown that goes much beyond the baggy-pants guy wandering around the audience looking for a bald guy whose head they can dust.
Anyway, good luck to Duffy's. I hope he finds what he's looking for. And I sure hope it doesn't look like this:
Sure, compared to the Troubles a clown shortage is no big deal.
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Prior clown-related posts on Pink Slip:
I'd rather stay home forever
Clowning going buggy whip
Creepy clowns: they're back
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