Thursday, 25 August 2011

Wednesday 10th August 11

I got up at 8 as I had to be on my bike by 9 and at Huntington Library by about 9.40 latest.  It was raining hard.  I got there in about 25 minutes, including the slight diversion when I almost took my bike into the GP Surgery next door, by accident!

The librarian let me in once she'd seen me at the door, and I had a look around the venue to check it was OK to wheel my bike in.  As it had a wooden floor, the wet bike was no problem, so in it all came.  I got changed and talked through the format of the morning.

At 10 the punters arrived, a gaggle of children with Mums.  I was introduced by the librarian and then proceeded to do my usual 'warm-up-act' where I invite an 'entertainer of the future' to come and try out their skills (usually a joke or a cartwheel or something similar!) and then I got on with my show.  I particularly enjoyed the workshop, as one of the Mums proved to be really good, quite unexpectedly, at first the diabolo, then she did devilsticks surprisingly well, and when I suggested she might want to try juggling, she said 'no, I could never do that' but she was doing a three-ball cascade within a matter of seconds.  I was astounded, and I think she was too, although she wasn't one to express her emotions much.  She was just a complete natural, but had never, ever been exposed to a situation where she could try these skills.  I cycled home feeling very emotional.

In the evening I met Catherine, a student, in the Three Legged Mare, for Green Drinks, as she wanted to interview me about green groups in York. Several other people arrived and it became a more open discussion.

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