six months [after moving to paris] while most of the younger members of the family were still struggling with french, it was young jimmy who acted as their interpreter. obviously he was quite at home in paris and like any other boy he was fascinated by the cirque d'été, the summer circus, which used to be pitched halfway down the champs elysees, a stone's throw from his home on the avenue montaigne. it was here that he developed a love for horses which was to remain with him for the rest of his life. he got on well with the circus people, who let him ride the horses at rehearsals. the acrobats and trapeze artists, too, were his friends and he learned many of their tricks. at 18 he could do a double somersault between two trapezes – quite a feat.