I'll be your clown...

It’s funny how writing can take you from one extreme to the other. Just last week I was blogging about the historical features that have shaped my hometown, and today I am writing to tell you all about another shape that has been appearing locally in the form of a clown. Yes, you heard correctly, a clown. Over the weekend there was lots of talk of one spotted roaming the streets of Northampton and if I’m honest, I didn’t take much notice of it until Saturday night when a friend of mine filled me in and it seems now we have our own little celebrity causing quite a stir amongst the locals.  

Spotted so far only at night, the clown appears holding either balloons or flowers and there is now a race to see who will be the next to find him. Facebook and Twitter have gone clown crazy and the news has even reached not only other parts of the country, but even the world. I had someone from LA tweeting me about it last night, yes…LA and it’s even reported this evening CNN have interviewed a journalist from our local newspaper, Chronicle and Echo to find out what’s going on.  

I’ll admit it; I did initially think the whole thing was odd. After all, why would a grown man want to wander the streets dressed like this because to me it screams weird and freaky, but on reflection, I can’t help but find the whole thing incredibly amusing! We even have our very own super hero “clown catcher” now also taking to the streets to protect us from him! It’s good to hear he’s out there because knowing a creepy clown is lurking about doesn’t half put people on edge. 

There has been a lot of speculation as to who the clown really is and also whether he is a threat to us but that now appears to be just idle gossip after he braved the backlash and took to Facebook and put those rumours to bed.

“Too much hate not enough love. No, I don't have a knife on me! that’s just stupid rumors spread by stupid people. I'm also 'not' on twitter as it confuses the heck out of me. However, I might go for a jog around that pond in Abington Park later as I’m really unfit... See you around! Beep Beep!

Nice to see he’s reassuring us and also proving that even clowns understand the importance of a healthy lifestyle….a new role model on the horizon perhaps? 

There is as much love as there is hate for him, but whatever your take is on the situation, he has got us all talking. Personally I think it’s great to have a little bit of fun happening in town, just as long as it doesn’t have any negative impact. I will be keeping my eyes out for him and will keep you posted if I hear or see anything else!