As soon as I saw one of the posters for the coming Billy Smart's Circus, I succumbed to a wave of nostalgia.

Remembering those halcyon days when circuses used to come to Worthing Rugby Club in Castle Road.

Chipperfields, Roberts Brothers, Hoffmans and Gerry Cottles all entertained people with breathtaking shows involving lions, bears, tigers, crocodiles, snakes, elephants, horses, clowns and trapeze artists.

I saw my first circus at Castle Road in 1970, aged five, and can still remember the thrill of watching the lions enter the ring.

It is certainly something I would like to take my children to see.

Sadly, my happy reminiscence was brought to a halt when I looked more closely at the poster and saw the words "ENTIRELY HUMAN SHOW".

What have the do-gooders and bunnylovers done to the great British traditional circus?

Destroyed it, pure and simple. They should hang their heads in shame.

For a lot of children, short of going to a zoo - probably the next target for the meddlers - circuses are the only way to see such magnificent animals in the flesh.

Was it really that cruel to make these animals perform? They were all regularly fed, watered and exercised.

Or did the demise of the great British circus have more to do with political correctness?

Anyone wishing to put on such a show nowadays would probably be widely condemned.

But the change again highlights the fact that there are people out there hell-bent on acting as killjoys for the rest of society.

A council committee meeting or Grange Hill comprehensive?

Five Tory councillors staged an almost childlike walkout from a meeting of Worthing Borough Council last week that should have most of the people who voted for them questioning their decision.

It all came about as a matter of procedure. An item had been voted on but Councillor Keith Mercer persisted in commenting on the matter after a vote had been taken.

The cause of the disagreement was the council's policy on parking fines - a topic I will save for another week, if only for the fact that what Coun Mercer was advocating is worth a column of comment of its own.

But, more importantly, what was the point of Mercer sticking his oar in once the vote had been taken?

Apparently, his heckling got to the point where Councillor Sheila Player, who was chairing the meeting, had to tell him to "either shut up or risk being removed".

Very maturely, he chose to walk - and was promptly joined by four of his colleagues, Councillors John Livermore, Reg Green, Paul High and Peter Welch.

Credit must go to the Tory councillors who stayed in the meeting - clearly they remembered that they were elected to serve the interests of their constituents to the best of their abilities and not to behave like teenagers when something happens that's not to their liking.