magic!
inspired me were Raymond White and Maggie Guy, who were brilliant English teachers, and Peter Agnew, who gave me a love of history that I have to this day.” When Jamie first began at Sibford his single aim was to keep his head low for five years so that he could get out as quickly as possible. “I didn’t really want to be at school at all,” he says. “I was the only kid at Sibford who lived in a caravan rather than a house and all I wanted to do was get back to the circus every day.” Jamie’s place at Sibford was
courtesy of his Grandfather who had plans for him to join the family business.
“Grandfather was a self-made millionaire having established a sand and gravel company in Dartford, Kent,” says Jamie “He was hoping that my Dad would take over the reins in due course but instead Dad ran away to join the circus, which is where he met my Mum.
“Grandfather disinherited Dad as far as the company was concerned but paid for me to get a decent education in the hope that I would eventually take over the business. “I didn’t do well in my GCSEs and that summer Grandad sat me down and asked me what I wanted to be and I said, ‘a knife thrower!’ It was then that he realised I was never going to join the sand and gravel business. Instead he told me not to waste my time anymore and paid for me to stay another two years at Sibford. “Sixth Form was fantastic. The
pressure was off me and I really enjoyed it. I loved English, History and Business Studies … and got my A Levels … although later, with help from Mr White, I re-sat my English to improve my grade.”
Jamie never got to do the knife act. After leaving school he spent four years teaching kick boxing and then set up an Extreme Wrestling business where he got to perform Gothic martial arts as part of an act called ‘Dead Souls’. “There were no knives involved in the act,” says Jamie “But it did feature swords, spears, barbed wire, dancing and gigantic Burmese pythons! “Ironically the act was inspired
by my performance as Puck in Sibford’s production of “A Right Midsummer’s Dream Up’ where my character was described as ‘a kung with a bit of foo and puck thrown in’.” Today Jamie splits his time
between Amazing Animals and his self-protection and mixed martial arts business, Clubb Chimera. His love of History and English has led to him writing a number of books including ‘The Legend of Salt and Source: The Amazing Story of Britain's Most Famous Elephants’ and ‘Mordred’s Victory and Other Martial Mutterings’. His latest book ‘When Parents Aren’t Around’, which looks at children’s self-protection, is due out soon.
Jamie is pictured with his Dad Jim The Sibford Rocket / 5
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