19th December 2007
By Orinoco
No one was particularly interested in doing any juggling last night. So naturally Bob & I had 2 very successful runs of 543212345 count, Dave & I had instant success with passing 8 clubs (including one run that was only curtailed by a club snapping in half mid throw) & there were numerous marathon handstands (some in terms of time, others in terms of distance). There is a time for thinking & a time for doing, TWJC on a Tuesday night is no time for thinking. Much chocolate was consumed, Chocolate Brownies & Dr Bob's lovely truffles mostly. There were times when I was feeling a little sick while I was upside down.
There was far more enthusiasm for the pub afterwards. I'm sure Charlie 2 will provide links to photos shortly.
12th December 2007
By Orinoco
It was good to be back after a 2 week haitus, but frightening to see the negative effects even that short break has on my powers. Bob & I struggled with passing 543212345 count although we finally managed a decent round after I managed to convince my self that 2 is not followed by 2. Laurence has an enormous collection of various bouncing balls. Helen was brave enough to do handstands in a skirt. There was some powerizer usage akin to a new born foal learning to walk. No spectacular falls though which was disappointing. Interestingly the owner of said powerizers isn't noticeably bouncier on them than off them.
Next week is the club's last meeting of the year. I shall be baking chocolate brownies. There will be a TWJC Christmas meal, but you will all have to guess when & where it will be.
4th December 2007
By Laurence
Kevin has a job on the weekend juggling a tennis racket, a tennis ball and a bottle of Robinson's squash drink for an event at the NEC in Birmingham. Predictably there was a lot of Bounciness. Charlie brought his Powerizers. Helen can Powerize with some confidence, Karina and Phoebe tried them as well. Someone suggested trying front flips on to the safety mat. My style was a sort of diving-forward-roll-head-butt, other people were a bit more successful. I really want to try more of that kind of stuff. At the end of the evening Rob showed he has some skill at bounce juggling by doing a solid 2 bounce, 3 ball in one hand juggle (off wall then floor) and a very solid 4 ball shower in the same style.
20th November 2007
By Orinoco
Bob was particularly pleased everytime we got past the first cycle in a handfeast, we had a pretty good session with 7 & 8 as well. Phoebe was very pleased with herself for learning to do the Cat's Cradle with a diabolo so I taught Phoebe some unwrap & recapture moves which she picked up pretty quickly. The club's collective ability to hold a handstand has really improved lately. Bob especially is managing to cover quite a distance using his shuffle backwards technique. Mr K has reached a whole new level of consistancy in his starts by always trailing one leg behind the other on the launch. I think I do this as well but not to the same extent. I guess it gives you a second chance to correct your balance on th eway up. I had a couple of goes at a one arm balance which doesn't seem to be completely impossible. I managed to successfully transfer all my weight onto one hand & lift the other of the ground. My shoulder quickly started hurting & I lost balance, but not immediately! I'm counting that as a success.
Hmm, what was everyone else doing this week? I don't actually know.
13th November 2007 - LIAR LIAR PANTS ON FIRE
By MrK
Jon can't do something.
That is all.
13th November 2007
By Orinoco
I returned to TWJC after a mammoth 1 week absence to find that Kevin has pimped (pinked?) his unicycle with a new saddle & seat post. Gaëtan told me he was working on (6x,4) variations with 4 balls, sorry Gaëtan but I've run it through my calculator several times & 6+4=10 & 10/2=5. Karina & Charlie 2 can't keep their hands off each other. Who could've predicted that!? Dave K & I had a rare takeout session outside of a Crawley convention & came up with a new trick where the thief throws a triple, performs a late takeout before catching the club again all with the same hand. We should be able to at least get it down to doubles & both sides continuously would be nice too. It turns out that I am now able to hold a handstand while Helen spanks me. The latest in thing at TWJC is Double Dutch, Frag & Nicky seem to be particularly talented in the double rope department. I was never much of a skipper as a kid but after seeing a team from the US perform on TV a while ago I have been wanting to try it ever since. It turns out that it is surprisingly simple. I was able to get in & out quite easily, stay in the middle on either leg & turn round at will without much bother at all. I don't know what all the fuss is about really.
6th November 2007
By Laurence
Unfortunately this week there was no Cake or Chocolate fingers. In the future this will be seen as what caused the clubs ultimate downfall. Lack of cake and biscuity snacks*#.
Frag and Charlie 2 seemed to be quite good at Skipping Rope. If there was an actual skipping rope we could probably end up with some damn good skipping. Especially if someone can keep up with the kind of challenges Frag sets. Also I checked Right Price in T'Wells and yes they do have some quite good cheap skipping ropes. Unfortunately for those other than Topper they are also pink.
There was some devilstick trickery which is clearly violating some law of physics. Vertical balance 180 flip... or something. Anyway I don't know who it was who was but they did 4 or so times during the evening. Kevin also succeded at the trick, I'm sure he would have complained if I hadn't mentioned.
*It's possible, I guess.
#Yes, I was bored when I wrote this. It was supposed to be funny.
30th October 2007
By Laurence
(I guess this is more my diary entry than the clubs. But others can add what I've missed.)
Juggling Club 30th October 2007
No one seems to keep a spare SD card on them. How bizarre? Jon can't balance a Cadburys chocolate finger on his chin. Dave L brought a carrot cake that he couldn't eat due to it containing cream. Not a lick of juggling so far...
I think there was some though. I must be doing something right though as Bob said he hates me for being able to juggle a 5 ball cascade*. I don't think that the 5 ball cascade is all that interesting, but there are so many interesting tricks that require it. The sentiment prompted me to quiz a few people on whether they thought the 4 club shower was impossible. I suspect that a 4 club shower is significantly easier than balancing a chocolate finger on the chin. I promise to do a 4 club shower by next week#.
*I think I carelessly blurted out "It's not that difficult".
#Yes you've guessed that right I did mean 4 club biscuits.
23rd October 2007
By Orinoco
Well, Charlie 2 broke Frag's vigor board. I did enough 3 club 3 up pirouettes in a row to actually make me dizzy. Bob spent much of the evening filming things on his mobile while riding a snake board - me juggling 5 clubs while he did a few laps & a snakeboard's eye view of a trip round the hall which definitely requires a soundtrack. Bob preferred the the F1 grand prix music, I think the theme from Street Hawk would be more appropriate. Simon sat in a chair for much of the evening. Kevin was very pleased with his success at various balancing tricks where he was balancing, throwing & catching a devilstick on the very tip of a handstick.
Karina brought in a flyer for Acrobats & Angels which is a circus cabaret show featuring Steve Rawlings (woo!), Richard Durnford (of the superb Bongo Bolero) doing his Chinese Pole act which was absolutely sensational when I saw it at the NoFit State SciCircus at the Lakes convention in 2002 plus many others. It may be possible to be really civilised & book a table if anyone else is interested.
16th October 2007
By MrK
Eggs!
9th October 2007
By Orinoco
Frag, Nicky & myself did a rather wobbly 3 person high stacked table thing. Charlie 2 was popping wheelies on the vigor board. The lads from were all practising diabolo whip catches. Dave K suggested holding a buttock up to my chin to see if I like buttocks. Laurence was happily doing all sorts of trickery on top of the walking globe. Kevin's 'indulgent living' was bulging out around his elbow support. Devilstickery abound last night & the lunastixists were taking over, I'm still not sure whether I like them or not. They have a very pleasing weight but they are very slow, which makes some tricks easier but it just doesn't feel right. Helen fought the wall & the wall won.
25th September 2007
By Orinoco
Marcus & family all seem to be learning 2 diabolos, probably inspired by Charlie 3. I finally got a chance to have a go on Frag's vigor board, Charlie 1 & Karina particularly enjoyed watching me struggle at first & commented that it was the first time they have ever seen me flailing around & screaming like a girl. I was expecting it to be just like a snake board but I now think it has more in commmon with a rola bola. Charlie 2 filmed my entire learning process which ended with me circling round the various people & props scattered round the hall in an almost but not entirely uncontrolled manner. So there you go: the basics of vigor boarding can be picked up in approximately 5 minutes & 22 seconds. Frag tried launching himself into a handstand on the tightrope with no regard for the safety of himself or his spotters. Dave encouraged Phoebe to have a go at the same stunt to make a film title come true which plunged the rest of us into deep confusion. Charlie 1 baked an impressive array of cup cakes in comemoration of TWJC's 15th birthday. The cakes were all lovingly hand decorated with various TWJC activities. They were so beautiful that most of us were too scared to eat them, of course I was first in but then it did have my name on it. Dave K picked up the acrobalance one which depicted Dave & Helen doing a flag, He munched on Helen before swallowing himself whole (see how easy it is Karina).
18th September 2007
By Karina
The question on everyone’s lips is, what the hell will Cat and Frag get up to next?
There was a very, um...interesting walking globe and trampoline combination last night!
Cat managed to stack it in spectacular style. The globe shot out from under him (while he was jumping on it, on the trampoline) and rolled across the room. He landed in a seat-drop on the trampoline with no broken bones! How many lives do you have left Cat?
I spent most of the evening still trying to perfect (3 ball) under-every, with Charlie who was trying to puzzle out Mill's Mess (sp). She also has a great new toy that Jon will love...Flag Poi (ha ha)
There was also a lot of handstands going on last night and a bit of acrobatics but I will let others more involved than I tell you about that.
Anyone care to add anything?
11th September 2007
By Orinoco
I seem to be getting much better at 7 balls which is starnge for something I so very rarely practise, I did spend probably the first hour of the evening on it though & my arms were really tired for the rest of the evening. Alas I have become a boring numbers juggler. Bob, Gaëtan, John & I interchanged the various positions of our looking the wrong way feed (feeder does PPPP, feedees do PPSS/SSPP). Gaëtan took the stance of John Wayne & his quick draw passes got wilder & faster as the pattern went on. Dave & Helen were doing very well going from a candlestick, to a chair to a flag & exiting with a backwards walkover with a little help from their spotter for the last bit. Dave & I tried passing 9 clubs for a while, we then tried squeeze catching passes, one of us would hold out a hand as a target then the other would throw 2 vertical flats, one from each hand. It is infuriatingly difficult, I started off saying that it was impossible but it didn't take long before we seemed to regularly managing to catch one club while the other brushed passed the finger tips. Charlie 2 kept cuddling up to Karina up the pub, I think she has an admirer. I can make all the suggestions I like about Cat because he doesn't have internet access.
Bowling: Friday 28th September.
Nicky & I are on holiday all next week so someone else will have to post the next club night. I will be expecting comedy gold on this blog when I return.
Effortless
By Orinoco
Look who's the new Bryl Cream Boy!
Sam performed at our festival back in 2002 & was just as smooth & laid back.
4th September 2007
By Orinoco
It was a wonderfully packed hall last night, most of the regulars turned up, Robbie from Hastings brought a friend along & we had 2 new lads from Heathfield. Charlie 3 was practising a 3 diabolo rocket start & trying to do 2 a diabolo vertax move. He still has a whole host of technical questions but alas they are all about tricks that are far beyond my technical capabilities. Bob & I had some nice runs of 7 club 3 count & didn't do too badly with 8 either. Helen was wandering round snoozing on various people's shoulders after a hard day at work. Various people crashed snake/vigor boards into the tight rope. Simon managed to steal 5 clubs from me, I have yet to be successful. Frag had a spectacular fall off of the walking globe. All those crash mats were a wise investment. Nicky & I are feeling much more confident with our acro now, pity I wore myself out with 5 clubs before hand. I still had the strength to crush Helen's wrist though, she jumped up & down on my knee caps in retaliation.
28th August 2007
By Orinoco
Simon & I had another bash at 5 club stealing this time using my PX3s rather than his rattly Beard clubs. Simon claimed that the handles were too thin but I think he's making excuses, after all who can't do 5 club steals? We had 2 newbies this week, Chris who wanted to learn how to link poi moves together. Those that know me wll will know that I am not the person to ask for this. Still I was completely bemused at how someone could learn so many different poi moves & NOT be able to link them together. Her friend also came along with his Lunastix which I have never seen before. As devilsticks go they have a very pleasing weight & are exceptionally grippy but are a little too short for my liking. I'd forgotten how much fun devilsticking is. I introduced Nicky to pass pass self, Nicky reciprocated by introducing me to a whole new world of wild passes. Frag joined in with the acro, he was initially hesitant about attempting a handstand, it seems a lot of people have an aversion to being upside down, but he eventually took the plunge. He also seemed to enjoy gyrating on top of me, although no one was really sure what he was trying to achieve. I was completely incapacitated by laughter.
21st August 2007
By Orinoco
Frag commented that he had never been so popular as he walked in with his new vigor board. A vigor board is a new type of skateboard that is often described as a 2 wheeled snakeboard. The deck is split into 2 sections between your feet that tilt independantly. Underneath each section is a wheel that can rotate like that on the bottom of a shopping trolley. It can be ridden on flat ground in a similar way to a snakeboard but it is designed for down hill runs (see this video). Simon jumped on & was gliding around quite happily on his first go, Beth spent her first few attempts grabbing people for support as she lost balance but got into the swing eventually. It won't be long now until we get proper Hover Boards. Nicky learnt to kick up a hula hoop without smacking into the ground like Charlie 1. I got overexcited & tried to show off my hula hoop, club balanced on chin plus 2 balls in one hand combination trick that I managed to run on Monday night but I couldn't reproduce my success so I just ended up looking rather stupid. Us TWJC oldboys welcomed back Marcus who used to be a regular a couple of years ago, he had his 2 remarkably larger than I remembered kids with him as well. Simon & I had a go at some 5 club stealing & got agonisingly close several times. I really need to do more 5 club practise. Nicky & I had our usual acro session including our cleanest flag ever. Dave & Helen didn't do any acro this week, instead they just spent their time touching each other up.
14th August 2007
By Orinoco
Gaëtan introduced me to a new 5 club passing pattern which was basically pass pass zip pass zip, where the pair of passes are tramlines & the single pass is a cross, one juggler starts with the pair of straights the other starts with the cross. As with all the best patterns the low number of props is irrelevant, it is a real mind bender. I've spent about half an hour trying to come up with a causal diagram for it but everything I draw either has an impossible knot of problems all ending up in the same place or a complete break in the diagram between groups of problems. Danny, Catherine, Jenny & Charlie also dropped in as part of their annual return to the South & we were also joined by Rob from Hastings in a rare journey North. Hot on the heels of the takeout workshop at Crawley we started working on a few new steals. Firstly Bob & I stood side by side juggling in time while Dave performed 2 very early takeouts, 1 from each outside hand then put them back in 1 to each inside hand thus swapping the 2 clubs between the monkeys. I think a pair of very earlies on monkey 1, then a pair across both, then another pair on monkey 2 would look very nice. Then we arranged 2 chairs facing each other, I juggled on one, Bob stood on the other while Dave was stuck on the floor in the middle. The idea was for Dave to do very earlies on the bottom while Bob performed late takeouts over the top. In practise we just bounced clubs off of Dave's head. Our last flourish of creativity saw me juggling, Dave walks towards me performing a very early takeout which gives him just enough time/space to walk through my pattern, he then holds the club out behind his back for me to snatch & carry on juggling around him while looking over his shoulder. We probably won't practise any of this again until next year's show & tell session. Karina brought along her spangly new camera & spent some time trying to work out all the zoom, aperture & flash controls then Charlie 2 got hold of it & I don't think she's seen it since.
7th August 2007
By Orinoco
Charlie 2 asked me how to do a 3 ball start, I should have just told him to find that tutorial, after all that page won't get carried away & launch into a long winded & thoroughly unhelpful 3 ball improv session. When I stopped I was quite surprised to see that he'd filmed some of it which hopefully might make it onto the web sometime. Young Charlie 3 also asked for help with his 3 ball back crosses. I like the fact that Charlie 3 is so young & has only been juggling a short while so he has no preconceived ideas or bad habits to unlearn because I gave him some advice in the form of a couple of sentences & he had it spot on immediately. Beth & Simon started playing with takeouts & passing on snakeboards then Charlie 2 & I joined in & played with fly by take outs (snake outs?) where the objective was to perform a takeout by whizzing by at high speed on a snake board. Much club-head interfacing ensued. Helen apparently has a Catchphrase addiction. The TWJC acro team added a new 4 person set piece to their repertoire which sees Dave & I forcing each other in sumo stance, Nicky & Helen face each other standing on a knee from each of their bases then we all hold hands & lean back. Then the girls dismount & Dave & I walk around like John Wayne. The Office was closed for refurbishment so we all ended up in Spoons (including the Office's barman), where us old hands descended into the usual purile conversation while the youth movement of Beth, Simon, Laurence & Charlie spent the evening discussing the similarities between & etymology of Chinese & Japanese writing. Something's not right there. At least I know what etymology means.
Not long to go now until much fun will be had at the Crawley Circus Festival!
Crawley Festival Show Lineup Update
By Orinoco
Only 31 days to the Crawley Festival! Show line up so far:
Gandinis - Noice!
Ockham's Razor - an aerial troupe who seem to have received a lot of good reviews, named after Occam's Razor, not sure if this gives any clues about their act
Acrojou - German wheel double act
So & So Theatre - Acrobalance
Update:
More acts announced:
Evgeny and Sophie on doubles trapeze.
Sarah Bizcup and Adrian Pole - up and coming young jugglers and BYJOTY contestants.
Nathaniel Rankin - a recent graduate of Circomedia with his ring juggling number.
High Execution with their sports acro number.
Looks like a lot of Acro this year.
31st July 2007
By Orinoco
The hall was a bit sparse compared with last week, but at least I managed to get a lot more juggling done. I'm mostly playing with various 4 club tricks at the moment 534,5551,633, flats, scissors & shoulder throws etc. which I think are coming along nicely. We were joined by Alastair from Leeds who seemed pretty impressed with our hall & showed Bob, John & Simon an interesting 2 count feeding pattern where everyone feeds the 2 people standing opposite them & themselves. Laurence was busy breaking his wrists playing with 3 club wrist traps. John tried spinning a ball on his finger as slowly as possible. Dave had trouble with a 3 count feed because he was too busy looking at the girls. Charlie 2 got some amusing footage of our acro exploits which were relatively injury free this week although Helen thumping Dave's shoulders with her legs couldn't have been completely pain free & Bob's graceful handstand exits can't be good for his feet.
24th July 2007
By Orinoco
We were so packed last night it was difficult to move, we haven't had so many people in the hall since the Tunbridge Wells Juggling Festival in 2002. Our numbers were partly swollen by a group of newbies from Caterham. Kevin from the group (Kevin 2) was particularly enthusiastic, Gaëtan started him off with Mills Mess & I showed him lots of club flourishes & twirls. Dr Hartley had his little brother in tow who wanted to learn how to hold a handstand. Bob also joined in the handstand fun but tucked his shirt in & pulled his shorts up to his nipples to do so. Charlie 3 wanted me to show him some more vertax tricks, sadly though I'm not that good! Charlie 2 started learning 5 ball splits. Beth was happily hovering her uni with both feet on the same crank while leaning against the saddle, but less happy as Kevin threatened to reveal the ending to Harry Potter.
Dave K left me instructions to drop Helen on her head while he was on holiday, which I managed to do quite spectacularly as I dropped her head on my head. Phil & I tried unsuccessfully to get up like Jet Li. We really need to get him in to do a workshop. Phil was also quite surprised to be IDed at the pub, admittedly he does look quite young for someone who has gone through medical school. Laurence brought in a selection of fiendish linking ring style puzzles which we all spent ages busily working on at the pub & getting quite frustrated.
17th July 2007
By Orinoco
There was no Helen or Dave K this week, nor were there any insinuations. I turned up as Kevin was strapping himself into a pair of inline skates & had the pleasure of watching him glide round the hall with the finesse of a housebrick & collapsing in a heap at the end of the hall. Charlie 2 on the other hand (TWJC's Christopher Dean) was happily rolling around on 2 wheels, 1 on the right heel & 1 on the left toe. Simon (TWJC's Jane Torville) was also zipping around switching between backwards & forwards skating & jumping around as well. I didn't have a go as I still haven't recovered from the extendalead incident I suffered when I tried to learn several years ago. Instead I broke out the cigar boxes & confirmed that I still can't do a 3 up pirouette, & now my hair has got so long that it whips me in the face as I turn which I think is a disadvantage. Charlie 2 managed a takeout on his first attempt. I can however juggle 5 clubs & hold a handstand for a very long time. I also I did lots of passing with Nicky who has improved greatly but has sadly lost the tendency to look like Zig while doing so.
10th July 2007
By Orinoco
It was a very club orientated evening last night, Laurence is coming along very well with 4, Kevin has decided to take on the challenge of 5, Dave L & Simon were happily passing 8 at the end of the hall although with considerably less noise & fanfare than is usual when Mr K & I do it. Bob had his first real bash at back to back passing including the obligatory clash of heads.
Going against the consensus though Gaëtan is either doing some extremely high period siteswaps with 4 balls or stringing lots of different siteswaps together pretty smoothly. There was a lot of snakeboard chasing going on & Charlie 2 still hasn't untangled his trousers from his unicycle. The TWJC gymnastics team managed their first 4 person construct which was pretty cool & hopefully the photo will be appearing online soon.
CharlieCharlieCharlieCharlieCharlieCharlieCharlieCharlieCharlieCharlie
3rd July 2007
By Orinoco
Not sure where all the kids came from but we had hundreds of them running around. Nicky & I did a bit of running around too but with 3 clubs which has suddenly got pretty smooth. Tasj was appealing for sympathy from everyone available over how much packing she has left to do before disappearing to Holland, but after helping 2 people move house in as many days her plight had little effect on me. Charlie 3 popped in with even more vertax diabolo tricks & a very nice genocide exit from around the leg. Charlie 2, Nicky & Helen took turns with Bob's whip. Helen caught herself round the leg leaving a lovely red mark & learnt why we don't let the kids play with whips. Instead Kev sticks them on his shoulders & rides round the hall on his unicycle. In a break from our usual build up with 6 & 7 club patterns Dave & I went straight into 8 & had probably our longest, smoothest & most relaxed run ever on the first try. It was so relaxed that I had to ask if we were doing 7, but a clean finish & a count up proved otherwise. Feeling invincible we went on to try 9 for the first time in ages which although largely unsuccessful was pretty productive. I'm still not sure which is easiest, doubles or triples. It was nice to have my flyer back for some acro after a 2 week break. Dave broke Helen during one balance who put on a magnificent brave face.
Tonight was the first night since the smoking ban came in to effect & The Office was wonderfully smoke free but did highlight other smells which the smoke was obviously masking.
26th June 2007
By Orinoco
Dave K & I spent some time practising our back to back passing where I was mostly used as a scratching post. We also did quite a bit of ultimates which we don't seem to practise that much. Switching back & forth between synch & asynch is very satisfying. Our successes with Dave throwing pairs of tomahawks at me in a synch pattern was astounding. Although my favourite moment was when I threw a bounce pass which was then kicked back perfectly to hand. You won't be seeing that again anytime soon. Phil & I introduced Helen to the 4 count running feed which worked quite well although Helen had something against Phil's green Albatros clubs. Simon, John & I spent some time squatting in a circle comparing Albert techniques. Inspired by the news of Indianna Jones 4 Bob has finally got his bullwhip fixed which was especially loud inside the hall, maybe someone will break it again soon... I had a little accident at the Office & spilt a pint of Kronenbourg over Kevin's head. Sorry Kev!
Charlie(2)'s TWJC Photos
By Orinoco
Dave has managed to get at Charlie(2)'s TWJC Photos
19th June 2007
By Orinoco
I'm glad I wasn't the only one to get caught in the rain, Gaëtan, Dave K & Helen also entered the hall with a similar level of moistness. Kevin & Beth had already watched & enjoyed the Nottingham BJC DVD which many of us received in the post yesterday & from all accounts most of us who attended made it on film at some point. We were joined this week by a new lad, Charlie 3, who was invited by Kevin after he spotted him at a gig for the Sea Scouts (I wonder if any other juggling clubs go out to requisition new talent?). He's been juggling 3 months & has already mastered an impressive array of single diabolo tricks & is not far off performing vertax genocides. Simon & I showed him lots of 1 & 2 diabolo stuff which should hopefully keep him busy for a while. Charlie also said he'd like to learn cigar boxes as well, so someone will need to remind me to bring my set along because I'll only forget. Charlie 2 has taken an interest in siteswap & for his first siteswap experience he has decided to learn 801, which is hardly the easiest place to start. I was without my flyer this week so I made do with spotting for Dave & Helen who for some reason were really throwing themselves into balances (or not as the case may be), Helen was very lucky to be caught on Dave's feet during one particular attempt. We also did quite a bit of handstanding, well most of us did handstands Charlie 2 mastered falling in a heap on the mats. After that Dave & I held little hopes for passing 8 clubs with tired arms but we managed surprisingly long if not clean runs.
Bad news this week, the cost to hire the hall will be going up again shortly which is a shame because we have been losing money on the current price. We are looking into alternative venues & we have received a form to apply for core funding from the council to help us pay the council. Nope, I don't understand it either.
12th June 2007
By Orinoco
Simon started the evening off by describing a 3 ball pattern that he thought of last week, Gaëtan & I eventually deciphered his description into 801 with rolling in 8s. After 15 minutes or so all 3 of us were able to run it pretty well. During this session I was unable to recognise 180 as one hundred & eighty, which is further evidence of the negative affect of juggling on my psyche. I don't see numbers anymore, I see throws. Bob & I wandered out into the market square for a bit of a pass. Or at least it used to be the market square, at some point it seems to have turned into a car park. Strange how people with a gym membership can't be bothered to walk 200 yards from the actual car park. Nicky & I tried a new balance where I laid on my back & Nicky stood on my hands with a bit of support from Dave & Helen. It started off well, with both my arms bent I was really comfortable, then Nicky raised one leg & I extended & locked the arm that was underneath it, then I extended my other arm & it all got a bit scary. I think it should be pretty easy, we just need to build our confidence first. The most notable event of the evening was the barman in The Office knocking the last orders gong off of its perch. No one could hear anything for about 5 minutes.
This week's further reading:
Famous Belgians according to Wikipedia
Famous Belgians according to FamousBelgians.net (?!)
Both lists include Hercule Poirot.
There will be a test next week.
5th June 2007
By Orinoco
Helen returned from Greece & was a bit brown. Charlie 2 has just started to learn how to ride a unicycle & was managing to cover 2 or 3 metres, which is as far as the wheel will turn with his trousers caught in the spokes. Dave K. took 5 balls out of his kit bag & held them for a bit which is slightly better than his average 5 ball session ever since I've known him. Gaëtan returned from a long absence due to work & a holiday to his homeland. Simon was turning pirouettes out of a 4 club double single pattern. Nicky, Helen, Dave & I had our usual acro session which was a bit more sweaty & slippery than usual thanks to the heat. Our spottery is top notch though! The chair is easy, the flag, candlestick & the rolly up into a reverse candlestick are all coming along, but our bodged pseudo hand to hand balance still needs a lot of work. Up the pub afterwards Charlie 2 gave us his secret to a good photo & that's not letting the subject know that the are the subject (at least until it is too late), his approach now means that there are photos of me NOT smiling like a lunatic in existence.
29th May 2007
By Orinoco
So how does this go again? Ah yes, post the same old rubbish each week...
We were a bit thin on the ground this week, Nicky had been struck down by the book hex, Helen was still on holiday in Greece (probably shivering), we think Dave L is still up a tree in Bedgebury, Tim hasn't been seen for several months. Other people were missing too but they are not important enough to mention. It has long been noted that when newbies first start at the club they tend to stick to the sides before gradually exploring the wilds in the centre of the hall as they gain in confidence week by week. One such newbie had his mum in tow & I think she spent most of the night pinned against the wall by her son's club juggling. I showed him how to do doubles & a few other tricks to help him keep her penned in. I think Charlie 1 is starting to get more than a little frustrated with trying to get her hula hoop up past her boobs. Charlie 2 showed Bob how to correctly fall flat on your back when using inline skates. I managed a massively long handstand but the only bit of it anyone saw was me running around celebrating.
This week's final thought:
The Cat Empire rock!