I was playing in our backyard in Vancouver one hot Summer morning, lost in a world of fuchsia blossoms and hummingbirds, when my Mum called out, "Grandma phoned. She's taking you to the PNE". I was too young to know what the Pacific National Exhibition was, but I'll never forget my first time at the fair!
That very morning, as I held Grandma's hand, and strolled through the fairgrounds, I caught my first whiff of the sweet spun sugar of Cotton Candy, a fragrance that will forever be linked with Summer. It was mesmerizing, watching the sugar transform into long strands of spun sugar, and form fluffy pink clouds of Cotton Candy. Grandma must have decided that spending the rest of the day with a sticky, pink tufted child on a sugar high, was not her idea of a good time, because I have no memory of ever tasting Cotton Candy that morning.
I have a vague recollection of going to the circus that day. You'd think that it would have been the highlight of my little girl life. No. The memory I have, is of the real life circus that was going on in the crowded breezeway, outside of the food building. Grandma was a heavy smoker, and took frequent breaks, so I had a lot of time to just people watch.
A small parade of members of a marching band, stumbled into the cool of the building, to rest during their time off, no doubt cursing their heavy uniforms. A man walked right past me, carrying a real live monkey on his back!
Then, I saw them. The image, and magic of the moment has stayed with me for more than fifty years: the poodles. Three poodles actually, all dyed to match the ensembles of three young models, dressed like high fashion flight attendants. The models' pill box hats, tiny jackets, pencil skirts, and pointy-toed high heels were in pink, peacock blue, and turquoise green. So were the dogs. Grandma thought it terrible, but that pink poodle was so pretty...just like Cotton Candy.
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