Juggling Festival at Hawth

So on the Friday evening I got back from Canada, I got a phone call fro Ian asking if I wanted a lift to the Hawth the following day. Despite the jet-lag I thanked him and agreed a pickup time.

The following morning (Saturday 15th) I picked out my juggling bag and got picked up. We were very lucky with the weather as it was sunny all weekend, I think I got more tanned during the weekend, than when I was in Montreal (even though it was sunny there too).

Workshops didn't start until 10:30 though the Beard juggling booth was setup but not open. I discovered I'd left my ticket behind (jet-lag) so had to wait for the box office to open at 10:00 so they could provide a replacement (which they did at no charge).

I really wanted to buy at set of juggling knives this year, as they were available for only £10 each, a saving of up to £10, but I didn't have enough cash on me, so I bought a set of Tubular Poi for £8 instead. I actually used the new purchases a lot over the weekend in workshops and in self help groups.

Since I needed to buy some fruit for lunch, for next week, and there weren't any workshops I particularly wanted to join, I decided to walk into Crawley town centre. On the way I discovered a new library building, opened last December. Bought some fruit and went looking for a cash machine, so I could get funds to buy juggling knives only to find that I'd gone over drawn while in Canada and no funds were available. So I'll have to wait until next year to buy some.

Almost all the current members of my juggling evening class were at the Hawth, and a number from previous years also turn up.

After dinner in the Hawth cafe, of a nice chicken with potato wedges, it was time for the Kettle of Fish show in the main theatre. This started with the traditional pre-show balloon blowup. This was made up of long balloons being released like rockets (as they were designed to) and a very long chain of modeling balloons being passed around the audience. (I don't know what the mundanes thought of this!)

The show itself was excellent as always, though having two dance related (Tango and Swing) acrobatic acts was probably not ideal. The show started at 19:00 an with interval ended just before 21:30. I should have written this up last week when it was fresh in my mind, by now can't remember names or specific events!

This was followed by a fire show outside, I did take photos but mostly this just gives circles of light (to be posted?)

Sunday
Ian and Lindsey picked me up later (9:55) and I went to a magic trick workshop, then stayed to chat with the owner of multiple cycles (mini bikes and penny farthing!)

I went on to practice more Poi Tricks before the kids show in the marquee tent. This was followed by a number of games, none of which I joined in but which were fun to watch! We left at 15:45 and I then had to catch up on sleep.

Juggling Festival at Hawth

So on the Friday evening I got back from Canada, I got a phone call from Ian asking if I wanted a lift to the Hawth the following day. Despite the jet-lag I thanked him and agreed a pickup time.

The following morning (Saturday 15th) I picked out my juggling bag and got picked up. We were very lucky with the weather as it was sunny all weekend, I think I got more tanned during the weekend, than when I was in Montreal (even though it was sunny there too).

Workshops didn't start until 10:30 though the Beard juggling booth was setup but not open. I discovered I'd left my ticket behind (jet-lag) so had to wait for the box office to open at 10:00 so they could provide a replacement (which they did at no charge).

I really wanted to buy at set of juggling knives this year, as they were available for only £10 each, a saving of up to £10, but I didn't have enough cash on me, so I bought a set of Tubular Poi for £8 instead. I actually used the new purchases a lot over the weekend in workshops and in self help groups.

Since I needed to buy some fruit for lunch, for next week, and there weren't any workshops I particularly wanted to join, I decided to walk into Crawley town centre. On the way I discovered a new library building, opened last December. Bought some fruit and went looking for a cash machine, so I could get funds to buy juggling knives only to find that I'd gone over drawn while in Canada and no funds were available. So I'll have to wait until next year to buy some.

Almost all the current members of my juggling evening class were at the Hawth, and a number from previous years also turned up.

After dinner in the Hawth cafe, of a nice chicken with potato wedges, it was time for the Kettle of Fish show in the main theatre. This started with the traditional pre-show balloon blowup. This was made up of long balloons being released like rockets (as they were designed to) and a very long chain of modeling balloons being passed around the audience. (I don't know what the mundanes thought of this!)

The show itself was excellent as always, though having two dance related (Tango and Swing) acrobatic acts was probably not ideal. The show started at 19:00 an with interval ended just before 21:30. I should have written this up last week when it was fresh in my mind, by now can't remember names or specific events!

This was followed by a fire show outside, I did take photos but mostly this just gives circles of light (to be posted?)

Sunday
Ian and Lindsey picked me up later (9:55) and I went to a magic trick workshop, then stayed to chat with the owner of multiple cycles (mini bikes and penny farthing!)

I went on to practice more Poi Tricks before the kids show in the marquee tent. This was followed by a number of games, none of which I joined in but which were fun to watch! We left at 15:45 and I then had to catch up on sleep.

Last Week

While I was away D got a lot of repairs done to the house. Most importantly the hot water pipes got replaced, they had been leaking, very slowly for a while, and had corroded. He also repaired the grouting in the bathroom, raised the bath a tad and replace the drain pipe so it emptied properly, replaced the carpet with the tiles remaining from the kitchen and anchored the sink to the wall properly!

He also fitted a new gutter and drainage pipe to the porch, and it now drains into a large water barrel, with an overflow to the drain (which has been excavated from the dirt!)

This last week has been hectic at work as two members of the Ops team are on leave, and one is on maternity leave. I've also returned to encrypting laptops so things are busy.

Double Vision from SRM Publisher arrived the day after I'd put in an order for copy of it and a couple of chap books. I emailed kinzel so hopefully I won't get a duplicate. But if I do I'm sure I can find it a good home, it was a fun read.

The LX/Orbital Souvenir / Program book also arrived this week bringing back memories of Eastercon of this last year and the year before. This is a much better solution to the "cool book" for each member, as it give you what actually happened rather than what was hoped to happen (even though I didn't find any snaps of me anywhere ;-).

This weekend has been very busy. I was up early on Saturday as I had my first chiropractic appointment in a month, not too bad but must practice my ballance more (if I use my new bike enough it should help). Since it was a nice sunny day I walked from Hove to Brighton stopping of at Celly's hairdresser to get my hair cut, for the first time in years. This is because my passport is due for renewal and I want to look my best ;-) I'd checked out the hairdressers as I passed and prices ranged from £13 to £35 for a wet cut, so when I saw the price at Celly's was only £9 with walk-ins only, no appointment allowed, I knew I had to stop. Less than 20 minutes after arrival I'd been washed cut and left!

Got back home to help D clear the main gutter of dirt and moss, using a high power water spray. It was fun but tiring having to aim the water nozzle at the roof and being up a ladder didn't help. Then went into town for my first real shop in four weeks, my trolley was overflowing, when I returned home.

Sunday morning I wasn't up so early (just after 9:00) read for a while, then around noon D and I went back to re-glue the gutter. It's now mostly fixed but may need one more application for a thorough water proofing.

After this I went for my first bike ride, on a real road (ie not the driveway behind the house). It was a bit scary, and I wobbled a bit but it was fun too. But even the short ride to the nearby roundabout was a bit tiring, I'll have to practice regularly.

Today is the 30th anniversary of my first convention (Seacon 79 in Brighton) so I celebrated by going to the local cinema and seeing G-Force. A live action adventure, where the main characters and heroes are guinea pigs! The CG character integrated seamlessly into the real life action such that you forgot they couldn't be real.

When I got home I caught up on four hours of "Legend of the Seeker" fairly generic fantasy, but the scenery is good (not just the location!)

Last Week

While I was away D got a lot of repairs done to the house. Most importantly the hot water pipes got replaced, they had been leaking, very slowly for a while, and had corroded. He also repaired the grouting in the bathroom, raised the bath a tad and replace the drain pipe so it emptied properly, replaced the carpet with the tiles remaining from the kitchen and anchored the sink to the wall properly!

He also fitted a new gutter and drainage pipe to the porch, and it now drains into a large water barrel, with an overflow to the drain (which has been excavated from the dirt!)

This last week has been hectic at work as two members of the Ops team are on leave, and one is on maternity leave. I've also returned to encrypting laptops so things are busy.

Double Vision from SRM Publisher arrived the day after I'd put in an order for copy of it and a couple of chap books. I emailed kinzel so hopefully I won't get a duplicate. But if I do I'm sure I can find it a good home, it was a fun read.

The LX/Orbital Souvenir / Program book also arrived this week bringing back memories of Eastercon of this last year and the year before. This is a much better solution to the "cool book" for each member, as it give you what actually happened rather than what was hoped to happen (even though I didn't find any snaps of me anywhere ;-).

This weekend has been very busy. I was up early on Saturday as I had my first chiropractic appointment in a month, not too bad but must practice my ballance more (if I use my new bike enough it should help). Since it was a nice sunny day I walked from Hove to Brighton stopping of at Celly's hairdresser to get my hair cut, for the first time in years. This is because my passport is due for renewal and I want to look my best ;-) I'd checked out the hairdressers as I passed and prices ranged from £13 to £35 for a wet cut, so when I saw the price at Celly's was only £9 with walk-ins only, no appointment allowed, I knew I had to stop. Less than 20 minutes after arrival I'd been washed cut and left!

Got back home to help D clear the main gutter of dirt and moss, using a high power water spray. It was fun but tiring having to aim the water nozzle at the roof and being up a ladder didn't help. Then went into town for my first real shop in four weeks, my trolley was overflowing, when I returned home.

Sunday morning I wasn't up so early (just after 9:00) read for a while, then around noon D and I went back to re-glue the gutter. It's now mostly fixed but may need one more application for a thorough water proofing.

After this I went for my first bike ride, on a real road (ie not the driveway behind the house). It was a bit scary, and I wobbled a bit but it was fun too. But even the short ride to the nearby roundabout was a bit tiring, I'll have to practice regularly.

Today is the 30th anniversary of my first convention (Seacon 79 in Brighton) so I celebrated by going to the local cinema and seeing G-Force. A live action adventure, where the main characters and heroes are guinea pigs! The CG character integrated seamlessly into the real life action such that you forgot they couldn't be real.

When I got home I caught up on four hours of "Legend of the Seeker" fairly generic fantasy, but the scenery is good (not just the location!)