Changing direction …

I first heard Nell Gifford on BBC Radio 4.

One of those moments where you stop half-listening and pay attention. She spoke about the circus not as spectacle, but as something human — grounded, creative, and real.

Not long after, Giffords Circus became part of our family routine. Each year brought a new theme, and with it that familiar sense of anticipation as it rolled back into town. It became one of those quiet markers in the calendar.

What’s easy to forget is just how unlikely it all was. Nell didn’t come from a traditional circus background — she’d been a writer and editor before deciding, somewhat improbably, to create a touring circus of her own. The sort of idea that sounds romantic at the start and quickly becomes something else entirely once reality sets in.

But she saw it through.

When I later met her, and photographed her, what stood out was the consistency. No gap between the person and the work. Just clarity, and a determination to keep it going.

That’s what stays with me.

There’s something in that which resonates more now than it might have done at the time. Changing direction — stepping away from one established path into something more uncertain — is easy to talk about, harder to do, and harder still to sustain.

Nell built something from an idea and kept it true to itself over time. That example, quietly, matters.

Very sad she’s no longer here. Grateful to have met her, and to have captured this moment.