Sunday 13th June 10

I got up at 9am to get myself ready for work, a gig starting at 11am in Haxby. So I set out with all my circus and balloon stuff at about 10.30, and got to the private house at 10.55, in costume, and just managed to get my bike and trailer down the passage at the side of the house to the marquee set up in the back garden.

The birthday girl had about 30 friends there, most of her age (she will be 7 tomorrow) and so this looked like the perfect party for me; a good-sized audience and the perfect age for what I do.

But there were also a good sized group of grown-ups, which I like too, as some of my humour is aimed over the heads of the children to the adults whom I like to sit on chairs behind the kids who are usually on a carpet or rug in front of my 'stage' area.

The show went well and absolutely as it should do. Afterwards several adults also said they enjoyed it, which is always nice. I got paid and got everything packed up and set off towards home. I called in on Robin on the way back as I wanted to talk to him about a possible job removing a dead tree but he hasn't got a decent chainsaw at the mo so that's off for a while.

Then, when nearly home, I spotted a big lump of Chicken of the Woods on a Cherry tree, so I with much glee used my penknife to slice that off and bring it back. This is my favourite edible mushroom and I'll do something special with it tomorrow.

I picked up one small sack of compostables at Freshways and about half a dozen loaves.

I needed to rest a bit when I came in, but then Gill started going on about buying some potatoes for tea so I cycled down to Country Fresh and got spuds, carrots, broccoli, bananas and eggs.

Then after a coffee I went down the garden to do a load of compost management. I started to move the compost heap from where the bee hives will be going, putting the contents into two empty daleks for it's final sit. I'm also going to reposition the Sun Mar 400 tumbler as it has moved away from being horizontal and I want it to be more level, as it should work better.

Gill cooked the potatoes and broccoli for tea and made a nutloaf with bread, baked beans and grated carrot. Very orange and delicious.

Lots of emailing and facebooking tonight, following the mega social weekend. I took the dressing off my ripped up knee to let the wound scab over: it is hideous. And still painful.