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!