Saturday 7 July 2007

Saturday 7th July 07

Quite an early start, as going to the Sheffield Green Fair today. Cycled to the station well loaded up and got my ticket before getting the 9.44 (I think!) to Sheffield. I sat next to a pretty young woman and chatted to her. Jane from Newcasle was off to a wedding in Birmingham, a Muslim friend, she worked as a lorry driver. An interesting and unusual woman, we enjoyed the hour we spent together. When got to Sheffers, walked for 15 mins to get to St Mary's, Bramhall Lane, arriving there at about 11am. The event was supposed to start at 12, so I had a good wander round and was happy to meet Jude on a composting stall who has helped John from St Nicks with a funding bid, and reccomended St Nicks for an award, which it got along with £2500!

Other composters there too, including a WRAP chap who works with Isobel Bloomfield, and the gent Richard Clare, who several years ago sold me the Jack Edwards Climbing Pea Beans which I have distributed widely. I told him the story of my Dad, who grudgingly took some dried Pea Beans from me, saying they won't be as good as Runner Beans, but would try them anyway. That year he agreed they grew well and tasted good.. A subsequent year it was too dry for his runners to do well and the Pea Beans did very well, and he was converted, and now grows fewer Runners and more Pea Beans, and he's been distributing them amongst friends and neighbours. This little story made Richard's day, apparently! I bought several more types of self-saved seed from him, which I look forward to trying out.

Towards midday I got changed and did some unicycling around and then did parts of my show and workshop, stopping at 1, when my friend Lorna arrived. It was really good to see her, as she's going through some difficult times and needs the support. My long-term friend Dawn arrived, it's always lovely to see her, and she and Lorna chatted as I started work again and did another batch of circus workshopees. At 2.15 I did my full one-hour show, including working with a young girl with cerebral palsy, which was difficult but the audience gave her a big round of applause, and later in the show I got her back out to do the yoyo balls (Astrojax) which she was able to hold and do, getting more applause. When I got paid at the end of the event, this girl's Mum had told the organisers how pleased the yougster had been to be included, and she was really happy... therefore Mum was too, and thank you very much!

The circus show finished at 3.30, which is when I was due to start the Balloon Show inside, but the inside people were running late so there wasn't a problem, spant 15 mins blowing up balloons and then did about an hour of balloon modelling activities, also went down well (well, most of them stayed up, some popped, only two went down... hahahahaha!) and there was one Mum and daughter in the audience who appeared to really enjoy it, laughing and offering heckles, lovely to see. When I'd finished and walked to the station, they were there, and getting on the same train as Sophia, as Mum was called, lives in Crowle near Doncaster. We had a right laugh on the train, and chatted to another couple Lee and Jill who had been cycling a 300 mile Sustrans 30th anniversary journey near Bristol, and who were going back to Newcastle. They had 2 young kids who'd done the journey with them, so the 'quiet carriage' was actually full of chatter, laughter, childrens noises and eventually it all got too exciting and the children added crying to the noise. There was another person who joined in with the party, Alison from Chesterfield, off to Scarborough , and she also enjoyed the 'up' feel to the journey.

I cycled back home and arrived at about 7pm, Gill had created some cauliflower cheese and this was very welcome!

Enjoyed 'Live Earth' on the TV.

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