Thursday 17th December 09

A very enjoyable day... I did a good gig which was well appreciated and then went to a party and had several good chats, and plenty to drink!

So, up fairly early to help Gill with morning stuff and then more bits and bobs around the house, spoke to Rachel who is a parent who home educates and is driving from Pocklington to Great Ouseburn, where I was booked to do the Christmas Party. She agreed to come by and pick me up at 12.15, so we could get to the party for about 1pm. She arrived, driven by her partner Tommy and travelling with 3 of her young sons, a bit late, and heavy traffic meant that we didn't get there til 1.20... but still plenty of time to do my circus show, have party tea and then do the balloon activities. I had a great time and several of the children also told me it had been lots of fun. One of the organisers wants to book me again for a science day... although these children are home educated, they regularly get together for group activities and special events, and they often use Great Ouseburn Village Hall as it is equidistant to Harrogate, York, Pocklington and Easingwold, where the different families come from.

The children were very excited as during the 1-4pm event, it started to snow heavily, and some of them hadn't seen much or any snow... Getting home again was very slow, as the traffic was mega heavy and I don't think the snow helped either. But I was back by 5.30.

And at 7pm, it was the St. Nicks Christmas Party. I took a bottle of the Blackberry and Elderberry 1994 which is uncannily like Port, and had a lovely time, including about 4 glasses of the 'Port'. A good day.