Ringling museums

Yesterday  we drove up to Sarasota to visit the Ringling estate.  We were in the city some years back and couldn't think why we hadn't gone then.  Wikiepedia provided the answew: the complex was rundown and falling apart by the mid 90's so we would not have been able to.

The estate was left to the people of Florida in 1936 by John Ringling, head of the circus family.  He was, by then, almost bankrupt - not surprising when you visit the place- and left no money for upkeep.  In the end a combination of public and private money has not only saved the buildings but also enlarged and modernised them.

We're not overly interested in circuses but the 2 museums are fascinating.  We especially liked the vast model made of the Ringling circus in its heyday when 1400 people were employed in a self-sufficient canvas city which moved on EVERY day and travelled by train.  The big top had 3 rings and 4 stages and seats for 1500.

As we were walking round we could hear an elderly lady, just behind us, with a group of relatives.  It transpired that she had been a trapeze artist in the same circus and was pregnant with her daughter, also there, when she fell 40 ft, just breaking her ankle.