Peter's Circus My Life

My name is Peter and this is my circus.

My family has been in the circus for generations.

My mum - she's the boss - met my dad

when they worked in my granddad's circus.

I was born there.

When I was little, they left and set up on their own.

It's seven o'clock at night.

We're off to a new place to set up.

We call each place "a new stand".

This year we've been to over 20 places so far.

We just keep travelling.

We've just left from Hull. We're on our way to Scarborough.

It's good because it's a holiday place

so there's a lot of things happening.

I like travelling a lot cos you see different things,

different places, different audience, different people.

When we arrive at the same place they go, "Oh, the circus is back!

"We've missed you!"

We go to Scarborough every year.

But this time I'm setting myself a challenge.

This is my sister Emilia.

My challenge is to get in the ring with her again...

Can't watch my kids because they're too daring for my liking.

They take too many risks.

..in front of hundreds of people.

What he does is amazing.

The trouble is, the last time I performed with my sister,

I had a big scare.

He came up crying his eyes out, "My sister, my sister!"

So you'll find out later if I succeed in the challenge.

Whatever happens, I'm so proud of you, OK?

Each week when we arrive at a new stand, it's late at night.

Whoa!

Every time I get to a new place, it's my responsibility

to set my caravan up and make sure it's all OK.

This is my caravan. I got this for my birthday.

I used to live in my mum's caravan, that was fun as well,

I had my own bedroom in there and stuff, that was all right.

But I prefer it in here now on my own.

Well, this is what I do every time I move on to a different site,

which some people might think is a bit annoying

but I find it all right.

I play PlayStation, I watch TV, eat here...

My favourite bit about this caravan, when we was in Hull,

I got my...the biker... and he helped me put these up,

which are really cool.

My dad spends his night getting everyone into their positions.

OK, OK.

And my sister Emilia helps my mum settle into my parents' home.

Every time we kind of arrive to a new place,

I sort of just come in and help my mum and then go sort mine out,

but putting up pictures is my favourite bit.

My sister always puts that picture up.

It's when I was little and used to be a clown act.

My mum and dad's wagon has whole sections that slide out

so when we're parked it's as big as a normal house.

This is the slide-out, because you can't travel with it out,

so you've got to bring it in to travel and put it back out for space.

The last thing I do after we've arrived

is check on my lizard, Savanna.

It's quite an unusual pet to have

but she's really... she's really nice.

She's fun.

Because we move around a lot she's like my best thing, really,

like one of my best friends.

You want to go back, hey? Come on then.

After the final caravans arrive,

the power goes off and we all go to sleep,

as tomorrow the hard work really begins.

I usually start the day down at my mum and dad's.

My mum cooks a mean breakfast.

What are you playing?

-Motocross.

-What?

Motocross.

I don't really have a bad thought about this place.

Everything is fun.

You still have loads of friends, you still have all your family

and that's most important to me.

So what time is the barbecue tonight?

I don't know, but I'm going to do a bouncy castle now.

-Ohhhh, is it Digi's birthday today?

-Yes.

No way!

Sometimes when I go to visit my friends in their house,

after about three days it just gets really, really boring.

Circus is a really good life.

It's straight to work after breakfast

and the first thing on the list is to put the big tent up.

And everyone helps out.

While some people finish off the tent,

me and my dad have another job to do.

We go to the beach then, yeah?

Our first performance is tomorrow, so we have to get the word out.

ENGINE REVS

-All good?

-Yeah.

The more flyers we can give out, the busier the show will be.

-OK, Scarborough, here we come!

-Yeah!

TRUCK HORN SOUNDS

Roll up, roll up, come along,

and see the very best circus today at four and seven.

Don't delay, book today!

Ticket for the circus?

There you go.

I go out a lot with my dad to learn things.

Ticket for the circus, yeah?

I love it, like... With my boy, it's all day together,

doing what I do and I'm teaching him everything I know and that's it.

Ticket for the circus?

Dad doesn't just teach me about performing, he tells me

about business too, because one day I'll be running things.

OK, we finish here, let's go down there.

Everyone here works as a team.

They all help each other out and try and do it quicker.

Everyone that put it together is in the ring as well.

The Kenyan boys do an act with acrobats.

They do the seats.

Marco Polo over there does the high wire.

Gary over there, he does ringmaster.

Let me hear you!

Rafaella, Jason and Dave do the globe of death.

OK, guys, one, two, hup.

However old we are and whatever act we perform,

we all have to help put the tent up.

Here no-one's, like, higher, lower, they're all at the same level.

Just because someone does an act doesn't mean they're better

or a star or something like that.

It's like a big family. Everyone helps each other.

The tent takes a day to put up with everyone helping.

As soon as people see the big top,

they start coming to buy tickets and that pays all the wages.

-Right, seven o'clock, yes?

-Yes, two adults and a child.

And my nan runs the ticket office.

You can tell by seeing how many cars come in and out.

If you only see one car, you know it's not that good, but when you see

lots coming in and out, you think, "Oh, it's going to be good today."

This is for Sunday.

Throughout the show, we've got about 42 people altogether

and we're all different ages, different groups,

different nationalities.

Yeah, it's just kind of a big family.

Some of us are here all year round - others just come and go.

This is Polito. His dad is Marco Polo the tightrope walker.

Polito helps Marco Polo get his act ready.

I've known Polito since he was about five.

We're really good mates, we play along a lot.

Play with motorbikes, play football.

Ready?

We've got a lot in common

because, you know, we've been brought up in the circus.

I mean, he basically lives with me. That's how much good friends we are.

Polito and his brothers Diego and Enrique

are here for the summer season and they do tumbling in the show.

My dad does the high wire, like tightrope but with a wire.

I think my dad's act is really cool.

He starts off with the normal walking across the wire

and then he builds it up with the music.

And then he's dancing on the chair like this.

Their family moved over from Mexico but the boys aren't sure

if they want to stay in the circus.

My dream thing... Everybody has a dream, you know that, don't you?

And I want to become a footballer.

My dream for the future is being a gymnast and a trampolinist.

-Playing with hoops again?

-Hula-hooping!

The girls behind us...is Rositta and Eva. They come every year.

Well, we come back to the circus a lot because we were born here

and we love it.

The girls now live in a house

but they want to come back to live here again.

It's nice coming back and nice seeing all our friends.

The best thing about coming back to the circus is seeing everyone

that we've known our whole lives

and just being in a place that we can call home.

So they keep practising their hoop act ready for their return.

Tom and his family have recently joined our circus.

His mum works behind the scenes but Tom needs to learn an act.

It might take years of practice

but I'd like to do something with motorbikes.

Well, my dream act is definitely to be a silk artist

but I'd like to start my career with maybe a smaller act,

like a hula hoop act.

My dream act is to start off with floor acts

until I develop the upper body strength, then do a trapeze act.

Yeah, and we're absolutely determined to definitely come back.

Yeah, we're definitely coming back.

Definitely.

On the day the tent goes up, we have a big barbecue.

We're going to have a get-together as always. Bit of a barbecue.

Good food, good company.

You hungry, kids?

Everyone's been working really hard today, like every day,

and today, when we have our barbecue,

they like it cos they don't have to cook!

They just come and eat together, play football, it's fun.

None of us have a set time to go to bed or to get up

so as long as we're ready for when the show starts tomorrow

we can have as much fun as we like.

Let's get on! Get your helmet on!

It's times like these when I love the circus.

What child wouldn't like a life in the circus?

They're only young once, aren't they?

Because it's private land, even though I'm only 14

I can ride my motorbike on-site whenever I want.

But I always make sure that others know how important safety is.

Let's go! Get your helmet on!

Almost as soon as we learn to walk, we start practising our acts.

So we learn to do everything safely.

One, two, three, three...

My sister's been training since she was five. She's now 17.

She's one of the stars of the show.

It's hard work, it's dedication, it's effort,

it's everything, basically.

Kids kind of come up to you

and they're like, "How do you join the circus?"

It's like, "Well, a lot of practice, you know?"

She performs routines on the trapeze and on the ropes.

Trapeze is kind of like traditional circus from years and years ago.

It's mainly sort of upper body strength that you need.

Practice is, like, pull-ups, push-ups and keep practising.

You put the hands here and here...

She's being coached by Zoli.

He learnt his act with the famous Cirque du Soleil.

My sister practises every day, but there's a price to pay.

I've got sort of bruises, cuts, all over the place

that you don't even know where from.

I got bruised there.

With this one, I've being doing the rope for about over a year now

and because it's sort of a hand loop that you're holding,

you're putting all your pressure onto that one hand,

so it's kind of just killed the skin,

which isn't very nice to look at,

but I guess if you love what you do,

you've just got to face the consequences of what it comes with.

If I find any more, I'll let you know!

With hours of practice over,

it's time to impress the Scarborough crowds.

Before a show, I'm with my older brother, Josh.

He's one of the black shirt boys.

They look after the caravans and all the equipment but they also

take tickets and help with the safety during the performance.

Five minutes until show time. You'll hear the whistle in a minute

and then everybody will get ready

to put their costume on and get ready to start our show.

We have two performances a day, six times a week.

But I still feel excited when I hear the ringmaster's voice.

Good evening, ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls...

AUDIENCE CHEER AND APPLAUD

And once we're under way, one of the last to get ready is me.

I'm part of the motorbike stunt team.

In fact, at 14, I'm Europe's youngest stunt rider.

He does mega for his age.

No-one else kind of gets to do as much as he does, performing

for hundreds of people every day.

I could definitely say my boy is talented.

What he does is amazing.

He's so good at what he does. He's very, very good.

I've been riding a motorbike since I was four.

Nearly all my life.

It's what I love to do.

But I know it can be dangerous.

I watch nearly every show and my heart starts pumping,

but once I see him inside and enjoying himself,

I just...relax a little bit but anyway, yes,

it's very...nervous to watch him, yes.

Don't watch my little one. Can't watch him, no.

I used to work with my sister

and I wasn't as good as I was now

and I stopped too low

and it was upsetting that, like, I hit my sister, obviously,

then it just put me off doing it, in case I injured her.

He came crying his eyes out, "My sister, my sister!"

And she was saying, "I'm fine, there's nothing on me,

"you didn't touch me." But of course, when it's your sister

or your brother or whatever, you panic.

And he was absolutely terrified for quite a while after.

He didn't perform for about eight months.

That was the last time I did a routine with my sister,

but now, in just a few days, we'll be performing again.

'Today there's a new arrival at the circus - the monster truck.

'My dad plans to use it in a joint circus and stunt show.'

We have to put the little wheels on it to transport it

because it's too wide on the trailer.

Just on my way to fill the monster truck with petrol.

I don't think kids my age would know how to do things like I do.

I would say I'm different to other kids.

These three buttons here - that starts it.

Then you pull this out if there's ever fire,

and then the fire extinguisher goes all under the engine.

This here is, like, the gear stick.

It's really cool, the way I'm only 14

but I get to have a monster truck,

motorbikes, it's like any man, any boy's dream to have one.

I learn different things from different people.

I learn a lot of stuff from my dad...from my grandad...

-Do you want them hard?

-Yes, about 5p a side.

I learn better things here than in school.

When I learn as much as I can, when I have children,

I'll pass it on to them, they'll pass it on to their children.

'Our performers come from all over the world.

'And from them I've learned to speak three languages.

'Romanian, Portuguese and my dad's language, Bulgarian.'

I learn a lot of languages

because different people, like, different countries...

HE SPEAKS IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE

I ask them how you say this, and they teach me

and I pick that up, then different languages, different people.

ENGINE STARTS

Now it's down to me to see how the truck runs.

'I could stay helping out all day with my friends,

'but I have to catch up with my homework.'

Schoolwork isn't that relevant to circus,

because it's more, like, acts and needing to know how to drive

and needing to know how to put a tent up and school doesn't

really teach you them sort of things for circus life,

so as long as you can read and write

and add up, that's probably the main things.

I do probably, like, twice a week or three times a week.

I really like to try and make it the best I can do.

I may have to do school work, but I'm always learning fun things too.

My dad wants to teach me a new trick for the stunt show.

Me and Peter are going to be doing the motorbike on the wire.

It's basically a motorbike with a sort of trapeze underneath it.

Ten years ago me and Pav used to do this, and Peter will be

looking straight ahead, keeping it in balance, so as long as he keeps

straight up and down, then they should be all right.

We've only got until tomorrow really cos that's when the show's on, so,

we're going to try and get it as best as we can in that little time.

'I'll be doing the routine without a helmet so I can see and talk to

'my sister, and it helps to keep the bike balanced and the stunt safe.'

Use the gears to stop.

I like it when I get something passed on and then I do it.

And I think my dad's happy that I did something that he did before.

One hand up!

'So all I can do is practise until our big day tomorrow.'

Today is going to be a busy day. It's our last day in Scarborough.

We have our stunt show and our final circus performance.

We want it to be a day the crowds won't forget.

Hello, you nervous?

No, it's fun, why are you nervous?

Cos I am, cos you're my baby!

JD is a stunt organiser.

He makes sure we all do things safely.

Do the best you can, put on a good show, I know you're good at it.

Be careful and be safe, OK? Good man.

Welcome to Nitro Stunts!

Whatever happens, I'm so proud of you, OK?

After taking my helmet off, I'm ready for my stunt.

Not nervous at the minute, but as soon as he gets up there

I might be a little bit.

You just think, concentrate, like, know what you're doing,

don't show off and then everything pulls together.

Let's hear it for them!

And my sister needs the MC on board to help with balance.

It's really fun, cos you're high, you can see all the crowds,

you see all the people.

It's fun. And you're on the motorbike, so it's even more fun.

It's all over so quickly,

but I'm proud that I've done a stunt my mum and dad used to do.

Well, that went good!

After the stunt show finishes,

there's not much time before my big challenge.

Our final Scarborough show starts in just 30 minutes.

Good evening, ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls,

and welcome to the all-new Planet Circus!

Let me hear ya!

Watching the circus isn't like watching TV.

This is all live, right in front of your eyes.

Anything could happen, that's why people like it.

My sister completes her spins, even with her bruised wrists,

and then it's my turn to do what I do best -

my world-famous act called the Globe of Death.

I'd say I'm a showman, cos I like doing all my things that I can do.

He just does it like he's been doing it all his life,

and he's only 14!

In one way he's like every other 14-year-old,

but in another way he's got another side to him, which is

motorbikes and stunts and the globe. He's got to be unique.

You just get your motorbike and go flying around. It's really fun.

The noise, the power...

When I'm performing, I love it when people are cheering

and it just makes it more fun.

Loves the crowd, yeah, he gets them going, he's brilliant.

I think he's very, very talented

and it's just really amazing, what he does.

This is the act that I used to do with my sister.

Peter's very naturally talented,

he's definitely got something in him.

He's so good at what he does, he's very, very good.

After so long not riding with my sister, I finally did it.

You're never the best, you're never...

You know, like, you're never the greatest,

cos there's always something or someone

that's better or... So, you're never the best at everything.

After the audience go home, we still have a long night ahead of us.

It's time for the pull-down!

This is when we pack up the tent and move to our next stand.

The circus is all about performing, but it's also about moving on.

Well, that's it, I'm done, finally.

I'm quite happy that we're leaving now.

Well, this is me, travelling and packing up.

We're going to Pontefract next and that's a good place,

so I'm looking forward to getting there tonight.

Tomorrow's going to... we're going to put the tent up,

get all set up again and get ready to do a week in Pontefract.

Circus life is all I know, I don't really know any other sort of life.

It's always moving around and seeing different things,

and different towns and different people.

That's why I love it.

My life's never boring, I'd never change it, not ever.