By Laurence
Quite Quiet, Christmas Crowd Cheekily Chomps. Eager Early Entrants Eat Energetically. Crafty Chris' Circus Cycling Success, Crowd Cheers. Charlie's Uni's Made From Fridges.
Oblate Elastic Echo Ends Evening, Bubble Bursts as Chaos Chronologically Concentrates Clear-Up
Post-Pub Pilgrims Prudently Progress as Icy Inclines Possibly Perturb.
By Orinoco
Congratulations to Simon for winning the 2009 TWJC Three Club Gladiators Championship. Here we have an action shot of Simon's massively over the top victory celebration:
Sadly though defeat was too much for some people to take:
By Orinoco
Louisa (not Laura) supplied us with a load of lovely mince pies which disappeared very quickly being the gluttons that we are. There was a lot of mucking about with Bradley's air cannon which was almost but not completely ineffectual at disrupting people's juggling patterns. The final night of the 2009 TWJC Gladiators Leaderboard saw some of the hardest fought battles to date. Shame I couldn't catch anything thrown higher than 10 foot up in the air, & I suffered the shame of being taken out by Kevin with my pet hate tactic of being reversed into. Still lots of points to stick into my abacus ready for Saturday. It was back to the foreign dog & office duck for drinks where there was much bizarre talk about competitive shaving.
By Jo
An excellent night was had by all of those who braved the mean streets of drizzly Tunbridge wells. 'John the other' put in an appearance to the delight of all. Despite sporadic episodes of juggling, the members put in some good work on the, 'lounging on chairs at the side of the room' trick. Young Simon's skills in this field are really improving. It was a predominantly male turnout tonight which increased the level of casual violence but decreased the number of things falling on the floor. A testosterone packed session of Gladiators resulted in somebody hitting someone with a club which resulted in someone losing some blood. Something to do with passing something. Beth was slightly late for juggling but nevertheless put in a concerted effort to perfect her 'drink booze, forget about her train and then wander off in the opposite direction to home' trick. Team pub was stationed at the POW this evening as the office is being converted into something with chairs. Jon looked a little off colour tonight, I think it was a touch of the old mentalitis.
By Orinoco
Cat has had his hair cut. Lots of us took the mickey out of Paul's less than elegant walking while juggling. There was a lot of coding talk as Cat is learning VB, Laurence is playing around with javascript & Chris is experimenting with PHP. Jo walked in early, berated us for not juggling enough then went to the pub. It was another good round of gladiators with another pretty even spread of points for the top three & Cat picked up two points in one game. Two more TWJC's left in the season & it looks like going right to the wire.
By Orinoco
Kev decided to grace us with his presence this evening which was nice. Dave L threw lots of tomahawks at me & reminded me how to do a Why Not. Lawrence demonstrated proficiency at passing ultimates too. Most of the youngsters wore themselves out practising their gladiatorial technique earlier on in the evening so when it came to the official games they were too tired to mount an effective defense. This allowed me to close the gap that little bit further. 3 more sessions to go...
By Orinoco
Firstly: Get well soon Kev!
We were a bit thin on the ground this evening, still plenty of space to get some practice in which was nice. My shoulder throws are still giving me gip. Nicky used the snakeboard to stretch & wiggle away the aches & pains accumulated during the Brighton 10k she completed on Sunday (woo!) while lots of other people whizzed round on wheeled things too. The gladiators session saw a wider than normal distribution of points, partly due to Paul & Beth's line dancing antics, but also due to lots of displays of high skill. The frequency of wild & hopeful swipes are definitely decreasing, while well timed & aimed strikes are on the up.
Incidently, there are only 3 more TWJC's until the close of the season... hmm, I think I need to make a quick adjustment to the leaderboard software...
By Laurence
Gladiators:
Simon naturally won a lot (8). Jon scored two ed; five or so gleefully celebrated victories (+2 points). A very surprised Kev won once.
ed; Dave L scored 11 (9 + 2) points... Which meant he was the highest scorer of the week. A lot of bouts this week.
My recollection:
I started off well, I think being hyper really seems to intimidate. I took out Jon in my most successful match with an effective kick. Which seemed to be intimidating as well, in that I missed his clubs and got him unexpectedly in the stomach. However a round or two later an aggressive collision with DaveL's club and my face nearly landed me a black eye. I didn't really regain my "whirling dervish" mentalness after that. I left to do some more juggling tricks & was berated for my un-gladiatorial exit from the game. I've got some more energy where that came from so watch out next week.
ed; Meh. Anyway I won 1 point for winning and won -1 point for a kick to Jon's stomach.
Maybe I should take up kickboxing.
By Orinoco
I was happily practising lots of 3 club solo stuff at one end of the hall while the other end was taken over by the Tunbridge Wells Gladiator Club. Cat & Simon were practising one on one combat techniques, Dave L joined in & managed to pick up a very impressive bruise on his arm for his troubles. The official gladiator session (which saw some very enthusiastic drumming) saw Simon pick up another 6 points increasing his lead to an impressive 8 points over nearest rival Dave L. It is becoming increasingly apparent that the best tactic for gladiators is to run around as fast as you can. If I slip any further behind I might have to change the scoring rules.
By Cat Charlie
The evening started off quietly, Kevin, Karina and Me arrived just after 7, and a large scaffolding was in the far corner which looked like it would be good for upside down juggling (but we were told that if we touched it we would be out...)
after a while a lone wanderer appeared, John shearing, who hasn't been to the TWJC for many weeks if not months, and soon after Simon arrived, still trying 3 diablos... Hes almost there.
Jon, Nikki, Paul, Mr.K, Dave leech, Beth, Chris and a small child who's name i don't know (but that's nothing new) were soon making the numbers much higher than last weeks terrible show of people.
Dave L's spinney gun from Japan made another appearance.
Jo turned up unfeasnably unfeasibly *Spelling please Jon* early, and stole all the females (and Mr.K) off to the pub, although shortly after they all disappeared we started playing Gladiators.
Simon and Dave L scoring 6 or more points apiece. Jon, while taking out quite a lot of people failed to score as many points as Simon and Dave L, I scored a bonus point and the aforementioned small kid won a round by standing still.....
All in all quite a good night considering the not so fantastic numbers and jo's people stealing.
Oh and in the pub Dave L volunteered to organise the Christmas meal, and it took less than a minute, although the place still has to be booked, but it looks like the meal might be before January...
By Orinoco
We were a bit thin on the ground this evening. Some people must have overdone it on Saturday night. Nicky & I worked on a variation of the runaround where the thief just walks straight through the pattern, stealing & returning 2 of the 3 clubs on the way. After a bit of work we managed to get it to a pretty presentable level.
We had a enjoyable session of gladiators, Cat continued with the same kamikaze spirit as last week, newbie Chris seems to have grasped the concept of the double & swipe maneouvre but is struggling with recovering his own pattern afterwards. Kevin was struggling with a bad back (but not up to ambulance level, thank you Karina) so started off attacking us with clubs, then switched to sitting on a chair at the sidelines & firing Dave L's spinning projectile gun at us. The current top 3 players on the Leaderboard all suffered embarassing failures & ran the risk of penalty points. Hunting season is on next week as both Simon & I now share the lead.
By Orinoco
It was nice to return to TWJC after a short break, Dave K was particularly impressed with my gleaming white tan. Beth continued her research into perpetual motion by gliding round the hall a lot. Karina & Chris are both working on 5 balls & were probably disappointed by the response to their requests for helpful pointers which were inevitably, "practise lots". Dave L wiped the floor with the field during gladiators but Cat also earned some bonus points for some extraordinarily violent play. He also crashed spectacularly into a wall which although worth noting is not worth rewarding with points.
By Laurence
Ed; Hope your feeling better Kevin. I've actually felt really bad at times this week. I made some stupid mistakes, lost money & my self esteem. So I hope your situation gets better. When people actually are experiencing rough times, I'm probably the worst person to talk to as I've never "been there". My sympathy does go out to you and anyone else who isn't having the best of times recently.
Have a good week all!
Ed; It loses sync somewhere before the devilstick part & has too many "blinky" cuts which make Dave especially seem less skilled.
I was trying to get the hang of that stutter edit look. But it's really easy for me to lose track of where important sections are, that and going overboard with them.
By Orinoco
Simon & Cat spent a lot of time talking about diabolo string length. Newbie Jada Giada made great strides in learning to juggle on her first night & managed to pick up the basics very quickly. I demonstrated that neither Paul's reverse psychology or a girl fluttering her eye lashes is powerful enough to make me swing poi. Cat & Chris were both learning the 2 diabolo shuffle, Laurence was trying 7 rings, Paul was looking very dapper while wearing enormous padded shorts. I made Kevin squeal lots during gladiators.
By Orinoco
Nicky & I turned up late so missed much of the evening, but I think most people spent their time watching Cat's anime music videos. Everyone loved Bungles Kevention video. Simon showed me Wes Peden's latest 3 club vid which was very cool. Cat took to the 3 person stealing stuff with Simon & I very well. Paul is apparently still nursing his unicycling injury he sustained last week. Jo hates coasters.
By Laurence
For the first time I can remember - NO CLUB PASSING
There was Devilstick, walking globe, take outs, t
I won two rounds of the semi-official gladiators that I would likely have lost if there had been the full count of people.
I went to the Aikido club as they were leaving, I balanced a Traffic Cone on my chin & they tried to push me over!
By Laurence
Quite possibly the only TWJC I can remember with NO club passing. Variety this evening Devilstick, Diablo, Walking globe, Ceramic Plate manipulation, Blunt Juggling Knives(I must remember to tell people they ARE sharp),
Absolute Juggling Knives are very, very far from the quality of Dubé
By Laurence
I wanted to monkey and nobody wanted to take-out. Awww, poor baby. I talked rubbish, I just couldn't shut up. Jon did some awesome devilstick patterns before doing a complicated 3 person steals trick with all the people really solid at passing... Much more devilstick than average went on. Paul and Lucas unicycled. Many violent nil point rounds at gladiators.
Jon said he'd let me borrow his fire devilstick. Thank you. Fun, fun, fun, flames.
The guy who's name escapes me is Chris, from Maidstone can play some impressive guitar.
I would like to have been more supportive of people's juggling, but I can't please all the people all the time. 'sa Catch 22.
By Orinoco
Much of the evening was spent redistributing lost/borrowed/stolen property in the wake of the weekend's Kevention. Cat successfully pulled off the ridiculously difficult scooping kendama trick. It was nice to see Luke again after enjoying himself at the weekend. Plus we were also joined by Emily & the Canadian Ambassador who sharpens his juggling knives. Simon & I tried doing some take out tricks on the 3 of 534 which proved really hard.
Gladiators was interesting because I don't think we have ever had so many games where no one scored a single point.
By Laurence
Birthdays:
It was Anna's birthday
It was Si's yesterday. He is now even more technologically endowed than before. He brought various sweet snack treats for the club.
Update: It's Beth's Birthday this Saturday IIRC
Events:
There was a lot of talk about the upcoming Kevention. There was probably even more talk, shock & surprise that the unbreakable Jon was injured holding a hefty pole during the erection. Being the legend he is we were expecting him to turn up at some point and laugh it all off as if nothing had happened. He didn't, we are concerned.
-
Beth hurt her shoulder falling off the balance board. As Beth is the clubs own balance trick heroine, it was quite a shock. She seemed to be OK afterwards... Still I set it up and if Beth can fall off it it must be unsafe.
Music:
A change from Charlie's collection to a tasty selection of Dubstep from Beth. I look forward to more sub-shifting tunage.
Me:
Whilst ignoring the rest of the club in my own world...
I did lots of 360's under the influence of said bass driven dance beats. Getting erm, 3 single spin 360's in amongst lots of the double spin variety. Pulled off 2 rounds of Kenswap* dropless more often than not. 4b HLHLHLL shower was ok, but nowhere near perfect or symmetrical.* Nowhere near flawless practice, but it was a lot less droppy than last week.
Others:
Simon showed me several very difficult 3 & 4 club tricks that I couldn't understand.
I wish I'd done more juggling with others this week, instead of pfaffing about with my own self-absorbed training. I tried to show Alex some tricks, I don't feel like I did a very good job as the tricks I was trying to describe I still haven't mastered myself.
Gladiators:
I think the consensus was vague mumblings conferred that it was a friendly match with no official scores. I won once. Dave L & Japsi dominated IIRC. I believe Herr Feldhaus also won once.
Pub:
*SJC inspired cloned stuff
By Karina
...We got up ridiculously early for a bank holiday Saturday and drove over to sunny Sissinghurst. Upon arrival Cat and I assessed the scene. Big field check, TWJC members check. Kevin, Nicky, Jon, Frag, Paul and Louisa were already in the swing of laying out huge tent poles to enable the erection. I sauntered on to site and generally made a pain out of myself by taking lots of photographs of the happenings.
Then IT happened Jon hurt his back and being the stoic gentleman that he is, he made minimum fuss and just decided it would be wise to have a lay down on the floor for a short time, while his back recovered. Jon was trying to move a very large pole and was in more pain that I realised. Upon standing with the help of the lovely Nicky he turned a very interesting shade of pale grey and crumpled to the floor. I was dispatched for water…Nicky called an ambulance…everyone else wandered around not really sure what to do next. I mean is it bad form to carry on trying to put up a big top when one of your number is awaiting an ambulance? In the end it was decided NO, lets get on with it and get to the pub as soon as possible! I ran out to the main road to meet the ambulance as the crew had been told to look for someone in a red hoody (my very fetching BJC number). The ambulance came and it was decided that it would be best if Jon was taken to hospital “just in case”.
I felt a little scared at the prospect of all the very large steel tent poles being lifted in to the air by steal cables that didn’t look very strong to me…Yeah I know, history of the big top… its just a big tent… no recorded accidents… physics, engineering…blah, blah, blah. In my mind the whole construction was going to twist, fall and squash the remaining members of TWJC (I think I should give up watching the Final Destination films). As the poles rose in to the air the A frame that Cat and Kevin were supporting started sliding and carried on sliding, the A frame hit the floor and the steel cable came down whip style and hit Cat on the back of the head and shoulder…He was fine, but does have a very nice looking whip mark across his shoulder (that has nothing to do with me).
The structure went up quickly after we got the poles up (I have a feeling this blog could do with a few more innuendo!) We all joined in the spreading out of the very heavy tent material, coloured very pretty
stripy red and yellow, and laced it together. Then the hard work started, out came the Jack-hammer and Frag’s Sledge-hammer and lots of loud noise happened, while a lot of large tents pegs were bashed into the ground. Cat still has numb thumbs from going at it with Paul.
The fantastic big top was then lifted towards the sky and secured to its MANY tent pegs. There was some difficulty getting the sides of the tent on as the curtain “rail” wire had snapped. Once this problem was resolved the big top looked fabulous in all it’s yellow and red glory. Then it was off to the pub for a lovely pub lunch and a drink.
Yay, for Kevention Take 2…Make it a good one!
Please feel free to add your comments…innuendos and the names of the lovely big top erection team, that I have forgotten, they were all brilliant.
I have no photos of the ambulance but I know that Paul and Louisa do please can you post us a link?
By Orinoco
Cat, Karina, Dave L, Nicky & myself all rubbed everyone else's nose into the fact that they all missed a stonking show at BJC 2009. Dave L & I managed a Why Not in surprisingly few attempts (pass, double, zip, pass, self...). We welcomed 2 newbies, Alec & Chris who both found their way to us independently & settled in nicely. I managed to add a few lacerations to my body after a brief session with Cat's bullwhip. Nicky & I managed a respectable acro session including a flag with Nicky spinning a hula hoop. Unfortunately I can't play any musical instruments so Uke Hula Death will still rein supreme, however we both have hands free so we may be able to build a bigger combo trick in the future. There was almost as much excitement for The Erection as there was for the following Kevention.
Like the King's of Leon's sex life I was on fire during gladiators last night picking up 5 points, including a bonus point for a successful Yoink. Laurence picked up a 1 point penalty for hiding in the corner. Sorry Laurence but the point of the leaderboard is to encourage bold, flambouyant & downright vicious play.
By MrK
It was jolly nice to see Anna - she chose tonight to come and visit us after years in the wilderness. Much post-Crawley enthusiasm abounded, at least it did from those of us who weren't too shattered from the weekend's excesses to turn up, or who weren't already on their way to BJC.
Jon & Nikki pulled off a nice reverse candlestick and some frankly rubbish spin-up-to-angel-on-the-shoulder* things. Dave K unilelecycled some more and discovered that he's not an ambiturner. Paul and Japsi were congratulated on their photographic work. Japsi took three gladiators victories to Jon's lowly one.
*Apologies for the technical Jargon.
By Orinoco
In the wake of the rapidly approaching Crawley festival this weekend the hall was buzzing with excitement, & I can't believe I'm going to type this but pretty much everyone seems to be relatively organised this year. Good news even Kevin has caved in & will be joining us. There were several attempts at a Rotating Y, first with old Simon, young Simon, John & myself, then with young Simon, Dave K, Dave L & myself, neither team got much past one rotation. Mr K was very sweaty. Cat was wearing cyber doggles.
Young Simon was a man posessed during gladiators this week using his fiercesome Ninja skills to pick up 5 points for 3 wins & wiping out Dave & me, taking him to share the top spot with Dave L while I slip to a lowly third.
By Orinoco
Dave L & Simon were passing 8 clubs both on doubles & singles very nicely. Cat broke out his Kangaroo stilts again. Beth was riding the vigor board on 1 wheel. During gladiators Paul, Laurence & Kevin all pulled themselves out of mediocrity & entered into the hall of fame this week, mainly due to the latest update to the Leaderboard which allows a considerably more arbitrary approach to awarding points.
& finally, the Crawley countdown is now in single digits! The show line up reads as follows:
Ian Marchant Dextrous plate spinning
Martha Harrison Outstanding hand-standing
Emmet Louis Diabolo
'Strictly Dumb Prancing' (Tat and Nikki) Comedy Acrobalance
Matt Hennem Delicate crystal ball manipulation [Woo! - Orin]
Paddy Waters Cycling supremacy
Tedros Club Juggling
So and So Circus Theatre Athletic lindy hop dance
Compered by Charlie Holland
By Orinoco
We had good numbers this week as wandering vagabonds Beth, Mr K & Frag returned for the evening. Kevin provided the leftovers of his 'well risen' chocolate cake which narrowly missed a place at his local flower show competition. Dave L. & Simon's 9 club passing is coming along very nicely. Beth & I came up with a new hoop trick. Using Cat as a static lynch pin we tried to spin a hula hoop round him & keep it going by batting it like swingball. This saw large numbers of people surrounding Cat & swinging wildly at the hoop & unfailingly missing each time until the hoop hit the floor. It is this sort of experimentation that really pushes the boundaries of circus skills. Louisa (not Laura) taught me how to sign my name. Even after several weeks I am still unable to get her name correct verbally let alone with hand signals. Apparently everyone knows the sign for toilet. Dave K played his unicycle while riding a ukelele, the tempo seemed to adjust to his speed.
Gladiators was fantastic. The words of Jay Gilligan which I posted last week clearly had the desired effect: no one was standing around patiently waiting to be attacked, instead each game was like a scene from Braveheart. Never before have I had so many clubs swiped through my pattern without actually clipping anything. Simon took an early lead before Dave L & I clawed back a number of wins later on leaving us each on 4 wins apiece, we were ready to go to the pub at this stage but Jo the scribe's inner American surfaced & decided we needed a clear winner & demanded a final game where I managed to take this week's crown.
Although wins were only picked up by the same three players as last week, there were notable advances in the arms race from Laurence & Paul in particular, & Beth could probably have picked up a win had she followed rule 6 of an as yet undetermined list of arbitrary 'rules' for success at gladiators: If you think you've finished always check behind you before you stop juggling.
By Laurence
Things I made up learnt today
-The first rule of Gladiators is to RUN AWAY!
-The second rule of Gladiators is to make your opponent THINK YOU ARE RUNNING TOWARDS THEM
Further rules involving waving stuff through patterns are mostly useless as most matches are won and lost according to the first two rules. Most Gladiators matches are lost through human error.
This Blog entry may contain lies, spurious allegations inaccuracy and/or impudence.
By Orinoco
No poetry this week unless you read this in segments of 10 syllables.
It was nice to see the hall full with people. I managed some very pleasing handstands this week which was just as well because my juggling was terrible. Matt showed Simon some of the patterns that he showed me in Bungay. I taught Dave & Simon the gorilla. We had a really good gladiators session. In an effort to raise the overall skill level I present rule 19 of an as yet undetermined list of arbitrary 'rules' for success at gladiators: Don't tentatively approach an opponent from the front, or wait for the other person to the first make move because it makes it really easy for me to plough through the middle & take you both out. The fabled TWJC Gladiators League Table might not be a bad idea.
By Laurence
Haiku-esqe Diary Entry
difficult in haiku
event description for dairy
I struggle with words
Pete six months last here
only managed to pop in
on way St leonards
props fall from above
"You Hit My Nose" I slipped again
clarity ever closer
I try to stand tall
Alas alarming motion
So I stoop forward
Good Gladiators Sesh'
Swooping dashes diving clash
path coordination
...and one about some weather
summer storm raindrops
melting sky draws evening dark
thunders morning clears
There weren't a lot of people this week, probably the weather who knows, I had fun anyway.
By Laurence
Diary
Tonight the collective view
"Juggling? too HOT I will NOT do"
prevailed muchly for some time
I strangely felt the need to rhyme
But not in fact at the event
because then of those views I was exempt.
By Laurence
POI!
JON EXPERIENCES SHEER TERROR AS POI ATTACKS!
WILL HE SURVIVE THE HORROR OF THE UNNATURAL ROTATING OCCURRENCE? NEWS AT ELEVEN!
Cider Potential of Jon's Orchard
STATUS: May require some drastic Miracle-Gro action. Simon's garden is reckoned to require this, but it may have unwanted side effects such as creating Super-Weeds capable of rupturing space time, thus subsequently ending the Universe as we know it
Jon goes around the universe: Arrives in far off place where juggling is in the opposite direction
HOT REVERSE BACKCROSS ACTION! Somehow that makes me want some form of Toasted fruit bread. Just me?
Spins
REVOLUTIONARY!!! Although I probably missed whatever else went on because of this. I may be dizzy, still.
By MrK
Nudity was the theme of the evening. It came as a surprise to most (though not to Jon) that Jon is in fact a lady. Dinosaurs roamed the hall. I was running, but my legs were trapped in treacle. Suddenly I was doing an exam, but I didn't have anything to write with, and everybody else seemed to know all the answers. I learnt to fly and swooped around the hall, magically fitting through hoops being tossed in the air by supermodels - much to their delight.
It's possible that I may have missed last night, and the above was just a dream.
By Orinoco
Kevin seems very excited about Kevention 2 which will hopefully be happening in Early September. I quite enjoyed having a go at 4 club multifrequency juggling - which is where one hand throws at a different rate than the other. The simplest example of this is juggling one hand on doubles the other on triples which is a ratio of 2:3 so you are constantly changing from sycnh to asynch. I dominated the evening's gladiators winning 3 out of the 4 bouts. Charlie 1 talked about her boobs a lot while hula hooping.
The Three Womble Rule
As from today there will be a new rule for the TWJC blog. No person may write more than three diary entries in a row, so if you see three posts each with a womble (or someone else's piccie) next to it then the next diary entry must be written by someone else.
So next week someone else will need to jump in.
All group members have permission to write entries & it's really easy. All you do is write down a few sentances that make me sound really good.
By Orinoco
Plumsie travelled all the way from Leicester (not really) just to promote Lestival 2. I was really grumpy & frustrated because I couldn't throw anything where I wanted it to go. Paul was starting to learn back crosses with clubs. Acro was quick & clean this evening including a very smooth candlestick counterbalance. Mr K turned up late, played his ukelele while riding a unicycle around the hall, then left early for the pub. Shameful. Nicky & I did some Haggis & Charlie which worked very well. Plumsie joined in for some 5 ball stealy stuff which was less successful, but I got to be Charlie for a change which was a nice change for me.
By Orinoco
I did lots of solo club juggling which was pretty droppy, I'm really struggling to get my left hand shoulder throws to travel forward enough & for some reason I can't get the release angle to match that of my right hand side. Kevin appears to be tentatively ploughing full steam ahead with a second Kevention sometime around September time. It was nice to see Simon & Laura again with their sproglett in tow. I managed to frazzle the minds of Passing Guru Dave & Simon with the 3 person five club pattern I learnt at Bungay. We managed to get it running pretty well in the end but adding the 6th club was way beyond us. Nicky & I got a cheer for the candlestick counterbalance even though every attempt ended with a spectacular dismount into the crash mat. Paul & Louisa (not Laura) will be coming along to Crawley with us to complete our most behemoth contingent yet.
By wooyayjohn
Passing, passing and passing. A lot of passing went on tonight. I helped Paul get a bit further with passing six clubs and later did some passing with Mr K. Simon and Charlie made progress with seven clubs.
There may have been some non-passing activities going on...
By Orinoco
It was very buttercuppy at the Bungay Balls Up.
What was it like back home?
By Orinoco
There was no Kevin this evening because he was busy laying down plans for the next Kevention. Congratulations to Paul & Laura who have now been assigned a number. Simon suggested passing 7 clubs with Cat, so they did, very well, & Cat had never passed with 7 before. Lawrence pulled off a very impressive run of 744 back into a clean cascade. Nicky took on the role of Charlie to my Haggis for some 5 ball taking out & dropping in work & managed to pick it up really quickly in spite of my alarmingly shaky 5 ball cascade which seemed really fragile compared to my 5 clubs earlier in the evening. Dave L. & Simon did some very nice runs with 8. Dave K. turned up for 5 minutes then went to the pub.
By Orinoco
I spent quite a bit of the evening reading Charlie 2's comics. There was quite a bit of acro prompted by Helen's return. Turns out my feet go white in many balances while Nicky's turn red. Hmm. Kevin is feeling the pressure for a second Kevention. The Crawley build up is already in full swing, looks like it will be another good year.
Other stuff possibly happened. Erm... what else can I report...? My passing pattern mapping thingummy is starting to work pretty well - in the future Passing Guru Dave will have no excuse for not being Passing Guru Dave.
By Cat Charlie
The evening was filled with passing. Everyone was doing it! Simon and Me practiced 4 count and 3 count, then went on to try some doubles, which I was pleased with getting the hang of quite quickly. Jon, Simon, Mr. K And Dave L were doing passing patern where one of them juggled 1 count to the other three who I guess would have been juggling 3 count. It looked quite good when it didn't turn into a flourish of arms and clubs every where from the feeder. Laurance was getting Jenny started with passing balls, and Nikki and Frag were passing some more clubs, though I think that they both need to put a little bit more spin on there throws. Laurance tried to do some passing with me while on the Walking globe though I think he needs to get more stable on the Walking Globe first before passing from it, But it was better than when he was passing from standing on a chair.
Nikki also brought her Unicycle down, which I expect had been missing the Hall. The new kid (Whats his name?) was having a go with everything, and wasn't doing to bad on the walking globe, even if it is nearly as big as him. he even asked if he could go on the Ultimate wheel, though I don't know how he got on with it (Or if he even got on it!).
In the pub there was talk of the kent county show and how you get your kids into the cresh for free. And the japanese language, Katakana, Hirigana and Kanji, I came out more coufused than when I went in!. Simon also reviled that he didn't know that Frag was actuatuly another Dave....
Oh and Jon, don't forget to find that Information.... or I will have to set the Wrath of Jo on you...
By Orinoco
Supremely awesome passing from the Daves, Simon & myself. Clearly there is a specific factor that raises the bar. With only one argumentative hand wavy session we managed several really good runs of the pattern where everyone feeds PPS. I spent quite some time pointing every single twitch of people's feet during an Albert/Trebla session. These were all the more noticeable with Kev's bright pink plimsolls. Somehow I went all night without making a cat in the hat reference.
Things to remember:
Louisa, not Laura
I owe Sam 2p
By MrK
Shoddy passing from the Daves and Simon. Strangely touching two-man Vigor Board from Cat and Frag. Very cool haircut from Laurence. A surprisingly successful spot of acro given the extended hiatus undertaken by the participants. And I did a nice handstand.
By Orinoco
A very active night. Nicky smacked me in the face during a runaround. Simon & I spent quite a bit of time transferring 5 clubs we came agonisingly close on pretty much every attempt but only managed to pull it off 2 times over the course of the session. I blame the cameraman. I think newbies Paul & Louise were suitably intimidated by their first visit to TWJC, although worryingly Paul did join in with the gladiators so maybe we are losing our touch. Up the pub I discovered that Charlie had a disproportionate amount of slow motion footage of my girlfriend on his camera.
By Orinoco
Nicky & I enjoyed a very nice meal at Kitsu. Jo sadly missed out because she didn't know we were going. I declare that The Ragged Trousers is a Good Pub(tm) because it has Stowford Press on tap.
Homework for this week:
Everyone needs to email Bungle & tell him he should continue with his Youtube video blog (episode 11 out today).
By Orinoco
Bungle inspired a Circle of Determination1 with one of his tricks from one of his videos. It seemed so simple, just balance a ball on the body of a club, throw the club with a single spin then catch the ball back on the club. I was the first to achieve success (naturally), Bob, Cat, Dave K also proved themselves worthy. John, Dave L, Dave K, Simon & myself had a very entertaining passing session practising the running sweep feed pattern we came up with a few weeks back. Tonight though we added the extra excitement of running through the pattern rather than around the back. I say run but it was quite a leisurely stroll allowing various Swan Lake & Genesis inspired silly walks. During the frenzied running some people found keeping track of the pattern a little difficult so feeder Simon announced the brilliant plan of calling out who he would pass to next, "John, Dave, Jon, Da... this isn't going to work."
Remember: NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO juggling next week
1 TWJC Vocab Watch
New term: Circle of Determination a gathering of jugglers all intently trying to achieve a new trick.
By MrK
Eek! Tuesday again already?!!??
Erm, stuff happened. And things.
By MrK
Marcus was looking very smart in collar and cufflinks. Perhaps we should introduce a dress code. Jon and Nicky did some acro, but they did more giggling. Jon, John, Dave and Simon tried some one-feeder vs three-feedee three count passing with varying success. John looked confused. Later conversation included: "How many people does one have to kill to be a serial killer?" Rob the barman reckoned it was just two, but they had to be at different times or you'd be a parallel killer. Jo has since supplied this: "three or more, over 30 days or more, with a cooling off period between each". And she should know.
By Orinoco
Lawrence showed 2 really nice 5 ball patterns which I will have a think about at some point to work out the siteswaps for. Kevin & I were very impressed. Bob & I had some good runs with 7, but I was far more impressed with passing a single club from & to a hand balance, very pleasing. I ruthlessly demolished Nicky during a game of backgammon.
By Orinoco
Not sure what happened, my hair was in my eyes.
By Nix
Decent numbers for a change, with much of the evening taken up by a six man passing session at the far end. Kev devilsticked a squash raquet, Karina and I had a respectable stab at the four ball thing, followwed up by the mills mess thing.
I confiscated the snakeboard.
Mr K and Frag eloped to the pub.
I doubt I will be delegated to do the diary entry again.
By Orinoco
It was cold. I showed Kev the latest trick that I've learnt from the 2009 advanced trick ladder. So far it looks like I could progress for 3 tricks. The Daves, Simon, John, Bob & myself formed 2 lines of 3, the 2 in the middle did a sweep feed, while those on the outside either a) dropped or b) did a nice pass, pass, self, self 2 count feed. Other stuff probably happened.
By Cat Charlie
Although the numbers was sparse, a reasonable amount of Juggling happened. Everyone was granted a loud (For the amount of people) cheer (Exception on Kevin and I). Kevin’s wrist seems to be getting better, He commented that it was a bit ‘tight’ on occasion when juggling 3 clubs, he was also trying some 3 ball tricks as well, and commenting on his lack of work (anyone got any jobs for him?).
Laurence was attempting to do a walking handstand (I think, it could have been that he was failing at doing normal handstands?). Dave L, Simon and Bob spent time passing while Simon’s CD played in the background. I’m starting to get the hang of flourishes and succeeded in one through out the night, though fluffed up shortly after.
The talk of the evening was the new update of the BJC website, the BJC logo and games on computers.
Also quite a dangerous game of floating the rings down the hall between Bob, Dave L, Karina, Simon and me.
Karina and I didn’t attend the pub.
Anyone who lives in walking distance who didn’t turn up really had no excuses. See you all next week.
Cat.
By Orinoco
There was talk about the upcoming 2009 British Kendama Open, I suppose I really ought to start practising, I don't think The Void would approve if I only entered the beginner's trick ladder. I lead Kevin, Marcus & Dan through the beginner's trick ladder from last year's competition (still got it) & as much as I could remember of the advanced ladder (got much futher than I did in the competition). We really need to get Dan to a festival to meet some Team KD members. Nicky was happily practising four when she was hacked down by Simon with a hockey stick. Dave L calmed Simon's slasher tendencies for some very nice 8 club runs with the occasional crossing triple.
This post was touch typed.
In under an hour.
By Orinoco
Kevin has hurt his wrist so was limited to left hand juggling. Nicky & I had a good pass, I think I'm finally getting through that instead of saying sorry whenever she drops or miscounts she should abuse her passing partner. Excellent progress was made on this point. I finally managed to successfully spin a hula hoop around my knees for a brief time. Charlie 2 has started his bid to win the Mr Universe title. I was warned that an embarassing video will be appearing on YouTube at some point, I'm not worried about being gyrated & tweaked by Dave, it's the evidence of participation in karaoke that concerns me.
By Orinoco
I didn't do a great deal of juggling this evening but had a good acro session. Daniel was happily juggling while wandering around on a walking tube. There was another running sweep feed session, this time with 5 feedees. We also had a go at a constant running line feed with no switches back to the start of the line, this pattern tended to fail due to the runners forming a logjam while trying to get in position at the other end on time. Another early retreat to the pub - it must be the cold. Or the beer.
Christmas meal organiser Jo has got all the info about what's going on but wants confirmations from those who have not already done so, see the forum for details.
By Orinoco
After a brief hiatus for Chrimble I can just about still juggle. Dave K has a new hat, but cannot lean at 45°. Nicky made full use of the radiators, I maintain though that juggling is a far more efficient source of heat. Daves L & K, Bob & I had another bash at the running sweep feed which was good fun & saw some wonderful & ridiculous failures amongst some really good runs.
Jo turned up with a meticulously researched & completely unbiased survey with options for the 2008 or 2009 TWJC Christmas do, the results of which can be ridiculed in the forum, Jo is now looking for confirmation of numbers.