CLACTON DOLPHINS

The Dolphin Shows arrived at Clacton Pier on the 1st August 1971, The first dolphin was Maria who came from Malta as the two dolphins Bubble and Squeak were delayed in America. Maria gave five public performances a day each lasting 45 minutes, and entertained and educated crowds
from far & near. When Bubble and Squeak arrived the three of them hit it off straight away, training sessions were performed by Reg and his assistant Paulette, teaching them tricks and keeping them  active inbetween shows, Reg also admitted being educated by them also. 

I have been fortunate enough to speak to Reg about his time with the dolphins, his passion for dolphins is unprecedented & the care of Bubble & Squeak was a precise operation for Reg. The dolphins where a part of Reg's family not just a show, Squeak was a little terror & on training would play up and not do as she was told some of the time, she always wanted to do things her own way trying different ways of doing things, she loved playing football in the pool. In May 1975 Reg Bloom anounced that Squeak was pregnant, this was shortly after she was moved back to the Clacton dolphinarium after the storm that damaged the pool. 

Bubbles died after swallowing a childs toy windmill in August 1978 & Squeak morned the loss of her companion for a while but still carried on entertaining the crowds, it was her strong character & the care of her owners that got her through this sad time.

Squeak moved to a dolphin park in Spain from Clacton and once again was in the care of Reg for many years afterwards. Reg did alot of good work in the conservation of dolphins & whales throughout his life and was well respected in the industry & with the people he entertained.

Squeak passed away in Spain in 2006 at the age of 39, she had 4 babies in her life time, her babies are still alive today. It is a fact that dolphins live a lot longer captive than in the wild, this is due to no threats by fishing nets, pollution or shark attacks. 

CLICK ON IMAGES FOR A CLOSER LOOK

DOLPHINS LEAPING

DOLPHINS LEAPING

This is hard to believe this is Clacton and not abroard somewhere

HAND SHAKE

HAND SHAKE

Reg shaking hands with one of the dolphins

THREE DOLPHINS

THREE DOLPHINS

Dolly, Bubble & Squeak all dancing together

TWO DOLPHINS

TWO DOLPHINS

Dolly, Bubble & Squeak

MARIA THE DOLPHIN

MARIA THE DOLPHIN

Paulette with Maria the Dolphin

PAULETTE & MARIA

PAULETTE & MARIA

Paulette with Maria the dolphin 1971

MARIA THE DOLPHIN

MARIA THE DOLPHIN

Maria jumping over Paulette during a show

BAR JUMPING

BAR JUMPING

All three dolphins showing perfect timing and ariel skills

SINGING DOLPHINS

SINGING DOLPHINS

Bubble and Squeak singing to Reg and Margaret Bloom (1978)

HIGH JUMP

HIGH JUMP

Bubble & Squeak high flying!

DOLPHIN ACROBATICS

DOLPHIN ACROBATICS

Somersault

OUT THE WATER

OUT THE WATER

Dolphins out of the water & Reg displaying how beautiful these creatures really are.

POOLSIDE

POOLSIDE

The crowd get to interact with the three dolphins at poolside

MEDICAL CHECK

MEDICAL CHECK

Raymond Brewster the Pharmacist from Kingswood Chemists in Clacton giving the dolphins some treatment, apparently their ailments are similar to humans so the medicine did the trick!

DOLPHIN RINGS

DOLPHIN RINGS

How many rings can Reg fit on a bottlenose?

REG TRAINING

REG TRAINING

Reg Bloom and the leaping dolphin

HOOP JUMP

HOOP JUMP

Reg working Bubble & Squeak (December 1973)

DOLPHIN LEAP

DOLPHIN LEAP

The crowd pleaser

UMBRELLA

UMBRELLA

A dolphin balancing an umbrella, one of many tricks

BUBBLE & SQUEAK

BUBBLE & SQUEAK

Bubble and Squeak (1978)

THREE DOLPHINS

THREE DOLPHINS

Bubble, Squeak & Maria with trainer Paulette

FOOTBALL FUN

FOOTBALL FUN

A dolphin show with Bubble & Squeak playing football with two young lads.

ROD HULL & EMU

ROD HULL & EMU

Rod Hull & Emu having a play fight with one of the dolphins (1972)

STARS & DOLPHINS

STARS & DOLPHINS

Arthur Askey, Dickie Henderson & The Pamela Devis Dancers with Bubble & Squeak (1976)

BOY IN THE POOL

BOY IN THE POOL

A young lad being pulled by two dolphins with the other one swimming close by

CLACTON DOLPHIN VIDEOS

Rare footage of a live show with the two Clacton dolphins on the Pier

A very rare piece of footage of the dolphins & trainer Reg Bloom

By 1986, only five dolphinariums had managed to survive in the UK. Those establishments were Brighton Aquarium and Dolphinarium, Flamingo Land in North Yorkshire, Knowsley Safari Park on Merseyside near Liverpool, Morcambe Marineland in Lancashire, Whipsnade Park, and Windsor Safari Park Ltd. The last captive dolphins in the UK went in 1993

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