Circus in Town

Well, I was right that the circus was in town, but I was wrong about the Michael Jackson music I heard blaring from the valley. I heard the music, but it was a part of Bike Week that was happening on the school grounds across from the Circus.

This was Southern England's Greatest Jay Miller's Circus, the 21st Anniversary Tour. It was very interesting. I bought a ring-side seat [of course], and I took some pictures, but without the benefit of a flash, they aren't very good. It was pretty entertaining. I bought a souvenir brochure and learned about this circus company.

First of all, there is a welcome letter from Jon Miller, the director, on the inside cover. He begins by saying joined the circus at the age of 14, and it's the circus where he met his wife, they have four children [two of whom were in today's circus] .. and then suddenly he's on a tirade about how politicians have irreputably damaged a "... traditional form of family entertainment". Animals are now omitted. Jugglers "should wear hard hats in case they drop a club on their head". Rises in fuel costs that affect their transport [lorries], generators and power heaters.

There are no allowances on VAT [Value Added Tax], no grants, and funding for circus schools as the Circus is not recognised as an art form. Wow! Who knew? I thought I was just going to see some clowns!

There were lots of ways that this troupe drew in money in addition to the cost of my ticket. The programme I bought that turned out to be a big piece of education. Sales during intermission on food and soft drinks; Peppi the clown would paint the kids faces; and souvenirs such as spinning plates, a lottery for large stuffed animals, and balloons on your way out.

It was a small troupe, but everyone's picture [except Jon Miller's, oddly] are in the programme with a little history on each one of them, even those that work only behind the scenes. And speaking of, there was a woman, Anastasia, from Russia, who did a Cloudswing act. She was suspended above the floor without wires or nets, and basically did a vertical tumbling act from a pair of circus silks [ropes]. She was very good. I watched "back stage" as she was doing her bit and when she would go up towards the top of the big tent, there were four guys that pulled the cable and then locked it in with a carribeaner. When she would come back the floor, they would walk forward with the cable and then it would be locked again into the carribeaner. These were the same four guys, by the way, that are also acts in the show, like the two [pictured right] performing the modern "strong man".

I couldn't help but think of the last circus I saw. It was O, a Cirque de Soleil production at the Bellagio in Las Vegas. Both aiming for the same end, to entertain through risk and illusion, but how different the scale! It really made me appreciate this troupe. I now get the emotional outburst in the programme! G'night!

Summer Solstice

As the UK is so far North, AND because my house faces East, I have been particularly struck by the long days. Yesterday was the Summer Solstice which was its earliest in more than 100 years. The last time the June solstice fell on June 20 was in 1896, a time when Queen Victoria ruled England and the first modern Olympic Games took place. It was also a leap year, like 2008.

The June solstice occurs when the sun is at its furthest point from the equator – it reaches its northernmost point and the earth’s North Pole tilts directly towards the sun, at about 23.5 degrees. According to Swinburne University of Technology, if the earth's rotation was at right angles to the plane of its orbit around the sun, there would be no solstice days and no seasons.

The June solstice day has the longest hours of daylight for those living north of the Tropic of Cancer. Yesterday's sunrise was 452am and sunset at 931pm. Add to that the sky is light 30 minutes prior to sunrise and 30 minutes after sunset, it's no wonder I am having trouble sleeping! I think it's the combination of the sunshine hitting my face and the immediate heating of my bedroom that takes place when the sunshine hits the window! It goes from the low 60s to 75 degrees Fahrenheit almost instantly! It even moves Allie off of the bed to seek a cooler, shadier place to sleep.

The solstice marks the first day of the summer [yay!]. The word solstice comes from the Latin word "solstitium", meaning "sun-stopping" because the point at which the sun appears to rise and set stops and reversed direction after this day. The sun is now rising to the north of east and sets to the north of west.

New Words or Phrases:
Pants - after a frustrating journey by car, one of my staff members told me that, "traffic is pants!" Of course, I thought this was a typo. Nope. The congestion was significant causing slow motoring speeds and additional journey time. Basically, the experience was crap.
Whiz that - means to send something electronically
Beyond the tin box - think outside the box, be creative
Rubber windmill - participate in a learning simulator
Critical friend - to have an executive coach

When I was returning into town yesterday afternoon on the A-roads [country roads], I saw two things: 1st - traffic on the M-5 was completely stopped due to accidents in both directions and I was happy to not be stuck on the motorway, and 2nd - a circus has come into town and is set up on the field where the Carnival was last weekend. I can now hear Michael Jackson's, "Beat it" blasting in the valley, so I'm going to have to go check it out. Have a great weekend, all!

Portishead Carnival 2008

Today was the Portishead Carnival. A parade of "floats" started at the Lake Grounds and made their way to the showground near the Gordano School [bottom of the hill]. It was quite the production. There were two things that stood out for me.

Firstly, the "floats" were lorries, and if you'll remember, the lorries open from the side with tarps, so they picked a theme and decorated their float accordingly.

Secondly, instead of passing out sweets, like you might do in the States, the floats are voted on, by the public, with donations. Each float has folks with buckets collecting coins. It's mostly the copper coins [one and two pence ... now I know what to do with them!], but that is how the public casts their vote for their favorites.

Oh wait, thirdly, they used Uncle Sam as the mascot to donate to your Carnival!

There is also a panel of judges [I wish I would have gotten their photo!], but I couldn't tell if that counted more or less than the money!!!

When the last float goes by, everyone collects their stuff and follows the parade to the showgrounds for the carnival. It was amazing. There are probably 40,000 people that live in Portishead. There were easily 10,000 there today.
Loved it!

Looney's Visit, Days 7-9

Day 7 - Sunday in sunny London, motivated us to watch the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace. This is a 300-year old tradition where the guard comes from the residence at St. James to Buckingham and officially "switches out" those standing post outside the front of the palace. When the Queen is in residence, there are four guards posted. When she is gone, there are only two. However, the Royal Standard was flying from the flagpole at the top of the palace, so some members of the Royal family were in residence.

There are officially five different troops of footguards, and yes, they all wear bearskin hats. [This has been a source of controversy here as they are wearing real bear skin!]. The five guards are -

1. Grenadier
2. Coldstream
3. Scot
4. Irish, and
5. Welsh

As the Queen is getting ready to celebrate her official birthday [next weekend, I think], we had a special treat and footguards from either Sri Lanka or Malaysia actually took over standing post. I have combed the Internet to get country confirmed and I haven't been able to find them, but their uniforms are great! They are wearing a green sarong around the outside of their dress whites.

Watching the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace is particularly busy on any day. Add to that a sunny Sunday and you can imagine the crowds. You have to pick you spot. We chose to stand facing the square so that we could see the guards entering and exiting the courtyard.

After this, it was time to look for some lunch and make our way to Hanley's Toy Store. I guess until recently, it was the largest toy store in the world. Not sure how that is defined, exactly. I've seen some Toys R Us that are pretty overwhelming. At any rate, it is 5 floors, plus the Ground floor and Basement. It's got something for everyone.

Day 8 - On Monday, we decided to split up. The girls wanted to shop, Mike wanted to sit in a centrally-located pub, and Mom & I wanted to see the Tower of London and Westminster Abbey. This is the first time I have been a "tourist" in London since I first visited in 2001. My visits since then have been from train stations, hotels and the office. I was looking forward to seeing new things.

By far, the Tower of London is the favorite thing I have done in Great Britain, to date. Though I can appreciate the abbey's and castles that dot the landscape, what I like about the Tower is that it is a "living" castle. It housed 500 years of the monarchy. The Queen still has a house there [and a guard] and the governor of the Tower lives there. The Yeoman Warders live there with their families.

The Yeoman Warders are also known as the Beefeaters. The name is thought to have two origins, it is either from the French word, 'buffetier' whom were guards of French kings, or from when the Yeomen Warders at the Tower were paid part of their salary with chunks of beef.

In principle they are responsible for looking after any prisoners at the Tower and safeguarding the British crown jewels, but in practice they act as tour guides and are a tourist attraction in their own right. There are twelve Yeomen Warders, and recently, the first woman joined the guard. Their role is usually confined to the Tower of London. They will take part in Coronations where they form a guard of honour inside the annexe at Westminster Abbey.

To apply to be Yeoman Warder, you need to have at least 22 years' military service; to have reached the rank of warrant officer; to have been awarded the long service and good conduct medal and be between 40 & 55 years old at appointment.

Whilst we were at the Tower, there was a a 55 gun [cannon] solute over the Thames River outside of the Tower's walls acknowledging the 55 years since Queen Elizabeth II's coronation. We also saw the changing of the guard at the Queen's house. Just two footguards marched in, switched the guard, and two footguards marched out back to St. James.

We stopped for lunch below the Tower Bridge and then made our way to Westminster Abbey. This was my fourth attempt to see the Abbey and it was worth the effort. It really reminded me of visiting Vatican City, and I guess since it is the head of the Anglican Church, that would make sense. It is rich with history, tombs, kings and queens as well as statues, plaques and paintings that honor poets, writers, American Presidents, Prime Ministers, and so on. Westminster is the sight for royal coronations and funerals.

And speaking of, Erin & Emily were amazed at how much Lynn and I could rattle off about the Royal Family, mostly Princess Diana as we had both stayed up all night in high school to watch the wedding, then all night the night she was killed, and then again when she was buried. They didn't get it, but we assured them someone would come along in their lifetime that they would pulled into the publicity and persona.

Day 9 - Time to head home. I left for a 530 train to get to Gloucestershire and the rest began their journey at 700. Mom wrote and rehearsed the instructions I gave. Taxi to Victoria Station. Gatwick Express to Gatwick Airport. Shuttle train to South Terminal. Get in line to check your luggage. They made it safely! And I took a nap!

G'night!

Looney's visit, Days 4-6

Day 4 - It was an early day as Mike and all his girls headed to the Bristol airport to fly to Paris for a few days! We would travel to London in a few days and meet them there.

I had to head into Gloucestershire for a meeting, so Mom & Dad tagged along and did a little sight seeing at the Docks and made a visit to the Cathedral whilst I was away. I have heard that the Cathedral is beautiful, though I have yet to visit. Some day soon on my lunch break, perhaps. Mom & Dad were great sports to tour around whilst I worked for a few hours.

We made our way back to Portishead for another bar-b-que dinner, this time chicken wings. The one nice thing about the weather here is that it does not really stop you from being able to fire up the barby, which a favorite here in the UK. On this, we agree!

Day 5 - Mom, Dad and I headed North to the Cotswalds. The weather promised to hold out for most of the day. We headed up to Burton-on-the-Water. I had been there last fall in October when I was in the UK looking for a place to live. It's considered a weekend destination even for the Brits. There is a stream that winds through the village with shops, restaurants and cottages right on the water. There is also a park to visit exotic birds and gardens. We opted not to walk in there, but we did see a black-headed swan, some very large trout and cranes being fed their lunch near the front gate.

We stopped in Bath on our way, too late to tour the original Roman Spas, so we stopped and had tea in the Pump Room instead. From there, you could see the largest pool and also peak through the gate and see some of the ruins. It is pretty cool. The modern building is built on top of the original Roman Baths.

In this picture, Mom & Dad are in front of Pulteney Bridge in Bath. It is one of four in the world, lined with shops, and it is modeled after the Ponte Vecchio in Florence, Italy.

This year, Bath is celebrating its founder, King Bladud. There is a 3,000 year old legend that tells how King Bladud founded Bath after discovering the healing powers of its hot spring waters wile walking with his swine. So throughout the city are 100 of the decorated pigs in his honor.

We made our way back to Portishead where we had dinner at the WindMill pub. It over looks the British Channel / port on Avon River. It is one of the more popular pubs in town. And on days that it is not rainy, many walk to enjoy the patios and bring along their dogs.

Day 6 - On Saturday, we made our way back to London via train. Mike, Lynn and the girls were taking the Eurorail from Paris, traveling 168 mph under the British Channel to join us. After arriving and checking into our hotel ... that I booked, we notices something unique about Mom & Dad's room ... it was over the tracks to Earl's Court tube station!

We headed into London and did what every good first-time visitor does in London: climb on board the double-decker bus to see the city. From there, you virtually get to see the whole city and plan out where you'd like to get and then back on again to continue your tour. It was a nice way to end a long day of travel for everyone, and we figured out at least one thing that everyone wanted to see in the coming days.

Looney's Visit, Days 1-3

Hiya. I've decided that there are way too many stories and pictures to potentially post about my recent visitors to do it all in one posting, so I think this will be a three-part update. First of all, let me review who came to visit ... my Mom & Dad, my brother, Mike; his girlfriend, Lynn; and his girls, Erin [12] and Emily[10].

Day 1: Travel

They arrived on Bank Holiday Monday, 26 May, at Gatwick Airport. Murphey's Law was working against us. I traveled via train to meet them and bring them back to Bristol. First off, their flight was newly scheduled to arrive an hour earlier, at 700. I could not leave [by train] until 530, scheduled to arrive @ Gatwick airport by 815 ... which was delayed to 900, once in the journey, and THEN, just three stops from the airport, a tree had fallen on the tracks, closing the line! I followed a guy in a white sweater to circum-navitate around the closed line and arrive at Gatwick airport at 930am to a tired group ... and we had three more hours to get to my house!

We shuttled, trained and taxi'd to Paddington, only to miss our scheduled 1100 am departure for Bristol by six minutes! We made it to Bristol by nearly 1330, half taking a taxi to Portishead and half riding in my very ugly, though practical, mustard yellow Renault. And then it began to rain ... for the rest of Day 1, I shuttled folks from the hotel at the bottom of the hill to my house in the middle and fed them. Goal: stay awake until 1800.

Favourite quote of the day from Lynn: "I feel like I've joined the Navy Seals. I've been awake 24 hours, and now I'm walking in the woods!" [The dogs and I walked them to their hotel room via the Chicken Run, at the bottom of the hill at the end of the day.]

Day 2: Stonehenge

On the second day, we headed for one of the most visited tourist-y spots in England: Stonehenge. It was raining ...

Stonehenge is only 70 miles from my house. It took us two hours to travel the first 35 miles. We stopped for lunch [always my favorite!]. Mike hit his head on a low-hanging beam ... Dad missed it. There were road works [construction] along the way, so we were delayed quite a bit, and re-routed to a 25% grade [read: vertical!] hill. I honestly have no idea how the people mover ascended the hills. I was happy to stop for some food and get out of the car!

That's pretty much all we accomplished! It was soon time to head back to Portishead for some food in Portishead!

Day 3: Wye River Valley

On the third day, we crossed over the British Channel to Wales. Two notable things about Wales: 1st- it was raining, and 2nd- it was under construction. We stopped to tour Chepstow Castle [pronounced "chep' sto"] and then made our way up the Wye River Valley [pronounced, "why"]. At Chepstow, we toured the castle ruins. Here is a picture of the castle view of the Wye River ... and then how the former tenants may have ... used some of the rooms in the castle to keep it clean-er. Yes, Mike is on the loo!

Technically, we saw the Tintern Abbey ... but that was from the Car Park, as NO ONE was motivated to do any touring in the rain. Mom got a photo from the people-mover [mini-van].

Personally, I saw great-looking pubs and plan to return to in the Wye River Valley.