Chocfest HLGCB
Marty
for hours with the kids i thought i'd reflect on yesterdays 13th Chocfest:
High: Making it to a one dayer other than one i'm involved in organising!
The last few years i've not done many one dayers due to kids/ work/ family
life generally and it was great to be there. Last Chocfest i did was
Chocfest 7.
Catching up with friends as ever, especially the reigning gold martin and
half of team randall
Learning some new 6 ball patterns - thanks tiff!
Low: The drive home - was battered as i'd been up at 530 with my daughter
and had to use every trick in the book to stay awake....arrived home at
0045
Goal: Do lots of juggling and for my son ozzy (4) to have an enjoyable
convention - check
Crush: Without a doubt my son ozzy, razzing around the hall on his scooter
getting hit by numerous props and enjoying the freedom and friendly
atmosphere of a juggling convention - bring on the BJC - this year i might
have a bit more time to spend with them as i'm not one of the orgs!!
Bane: Sore balls - nuff said
Thanks to all the orgs and look forward to seeing some of you at Oh No!
Nott Another Juggling Convention on March 1st
Marty
--
----== posted via www.jugglingdb.com ==----
Emily
> High:
Bringing a crowd from our local juggling club the Flying Teapots, which
isn't normally full of convention-goers, but lots of them are really
starting to get excited about the BJC! I think there were 11 of us, and
all had a blast.
Some old friends bringing their baby to baby's first juggling convention.
Doing a remarkable amount of juggling, learning some new passing bits and
bobs with James.
Finding some decent food in the evening for once.
Arriving in a spaceship and not having to drive.
Rachel's hooping awesomeness in the show.
Erik Borgman, mega talented AND a great entertainer at the same time. Now
really looking forward to seeing some more of his material in the BJC
public show. (No he will not be doing the same routine).
> Low:
Not having room for enough cake.
> Goal:
Distributing our luminous orange BJC logo biscuits! Check!
Having a great time. Definitely check.
> Crush:
Plumsie his second time ever on stage. Also, looking HOT in that
builder's outfit.
> Bane:
The compere deriving entertainment from dissing the acts. Not funny IMO,
sorry.
Emily.
MonkeyJuggler
before so this was always going to be a good day.
Finest milk chocolate:
Pete getting back on stage in the second half.
Erik Borgman (?sp) excellent skills and funny patter, what else would you
want?
Hilarity in passing workshop and having to usher my passing partner out
before the end.
General hilarity through the day.
The Hitmen - inventive and funny.
The show crowd for booing the compere after his crack at the Hitmen.
Jay's extremely well timed diabolo screw up.
Minging plain chocolate:
The compere. I didn't like his patter. Slagging off the acts isn't a
great way to introduce folk, was too quiet and killed energy.
Inappropriate humour too.
The chippie was shut!
The worst cover versions of Abba songs I've ever heard.
I don't really have goals at these events beyond enjoying myself and that
was met with ease.
Some few photoes here:
http://www.monkeyjuggler.net/Pics/main.php?g2_itemId=1050
but no exciting show pics, sorry.
Have fun and see you there next year (I hope)
Alan (aka PhysioMonkey)
Norbi
- Erik's act! Hilarious, technical, awesome!
- "Killjoy"! If you were there, you will know!
- Throwing a knot on my first try, and looking like i can do it easily :-P
Lows:
- 2 harsh floor lights, and 2 strip lights, as the show lighting.
- "Killjoy"!
- Not being able too throw a knot again for about another hour :-p
- Totally messing up the entire final sequence of my act.
Goals:
- Perform my new routine and have people enjoy it...the few i spoke to
liked it, so i guess check.
- have fun with people i hadn't seen for a while, and make new
friends...check!
Crushes:
- A Bod
- Erik
- Guille
- "Killjoy"!
Banes:
- Tiredness
- Show lights (can that be in bane and lows? meh, why not)
- Addiction, and result of, eating too much chocolate! lol.
Probably more, but i'm tired and want to sleeeeep....
Adrian Pole
I hope he goes Notts...I know he will be at BJC...hurrah!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Mini Mansell
Erik
i first saw him perform in holland a few years ago and have been trying to
convince a few people to book him since. I am pleased it happened. he
was just the perfect end to the show.
and such a nice guy.
Low.
Listening to Mamphy trying to get hold of the building superviser to locate
the lighting desk.
As the clock moved towrds the show the hole felt bigger
Goal.
went with no goal at all, but during the day hit a goal i set myself a
year or so ago
i finally managed to break 100 throws with 4 clubs (even though my average
is still 25)
Crush.
Mamphy for not giving in with the lighting desk
Plumsie for not giving up on his act
Bane.
Batteries
during the morning. my electric toothbrush broke
my electric shaver broke
so had to walk miles to buy some blades and a toothbrush. did get bogof
though.
The Void
> ... 13th Chocfest...
A lovely Chocfest weekend.
Disordered thunks:
Trees bite. Amazing passes. Unicorns amuse. Unexpected attendees. Anna's
an ace host. Cake!
Strawberries. (H)Air vent. SNAKE! Coffee! Jack bringing shame to the
family onstage. Finding a setting
that worked on the camera. Bobby Dazzler not being cocky (or loud)
*enough* for it to have worked
well. Miark impressions. Plumsie's fortitude. Mission Impossible being on
Mini's iPod. Hitman humour.
Erik's fantastic timing. The Spink hoodie - CLICK! Table kendama! Tom
hitting stuff on film this time.
Fun in the cemetery. Sunday dinner (Where are the chips?). Tom's
circuitous navigation. Pipettes on
the stereo on the last leg of the journey home. Realising I'd paid to get
in, when I was in the show -
D'oh! Saying no to chocolate....?!
Pics at
www.tlmb.net/galleries/ChocfestXIII
Thank you Mamph & crew!
The Void
...................
The sweetest perfection, to call my own.....
mike
Highs
Barnsey's Chocolate Cake and his Ear to Ear grin caused by his Cake
Eric Borgman and The Hitmen
My best new friend Dave's choice of pubs for food
Seeing Cambridge bods for the first time in AGES!
Lows
Not bringing camera to the show for the first time ever and then
realising that there were some top shots to be had (congrats to void
who managed to catch them!)
Goals
Stay awake - Done but only just!
Crush
Sharon
Eric B 's hair (swine!)
Bane
Nowt
mike
ps, void, tanks for posting the photo of me, one of the better ones :)
HelenS
High:
Erik (Best 'talking' act I've ever seen, I think, and amazing tricks too)
The Hitmen
Photo opportunities - hair and snowdrops (I'll post them at some point)
Beautiful weather and a fantastic venue for the morning after the night
before.
Dave's cake. Mmmmmm...
Spending time with friends
Low:
The compere's patter - sorry but it just sapped all the energy out of the
show between the (very good) acts
Not being able to spend more time with friends
Goal:
Passing. Mainly failed. And made my thumb bleed in the, oh, about 5 mins
that i was actually juggling.
Bouncy balls. Yes. Purchased at Notts BJC and pristine until now. But now
I know 3 tricks (thanks Oliver!)
Crushes:
Alex and Rhiannon
Plumsie for getting back up and doing a great job
Sam for managing to stay (or at least seeming to stay) in control and
being a lovely hostess and having lovely new soft carpets
Bane:
Club vs Thumbnail contests (see above)
Nice gallery, Void. I especially like the one of Lorri on stage - you've
perfectly caught her 'I'm smug because I've got chocolate' face!
boosh
The second half of the show. No more needs to be said, if you were there,
you'll know.
Playing with a kendama, finding out it was fun, and hence gaining a nice
little toy/addiction.
Actually managing to *talk* to people rather than just juggle.
Meeting chris noonan, and having a walopping time swapping tricks.
Managing to do 5 ball hi Low shower by fluke.
Learning a funky 180 trick.
General hilarity.
Low (s)
The compere for the show.
Missing the games (albeit that we were having fun anyway)
Doing the swinging spike thing first time with my kendama, and then not
being able to do again.
Realizing I didn't have my camera.
Goals:
Have fun: check
Practice routine: sort of check, due to forgetting my ipod.
Crush:
Leeds crew + additional extras.
Alastair.
The hoop girl from the show, for being more original than I thought she
would be.
Bane:
Just hunger really.
See you all at Bjc.
luk
x
A Jones
> - "Killjoy"!
> - "Killjoy"!
> - "Killjoy"!
Haha awesome!
alex
AnnaBod
getting to be on stage, not too many drops in the routine, lots of people
being very nice to us afterwards.
the hitmen
erik - hilarious, and seemed like a truly lovely guy, i cant wait to see
him again at the british
finding a really good climbing tree and climbing it (simple things...)
loads of people in my house - killjoy hilarity.
the cemetery on the day after - hairvent silliness
Low
suddenly feeling very very very tired about an hour before the show, -
fortunately caffeinated drinks were on hand
missing the games, again - i'll get to them next year!
not eating as much chocolate as normal due to self inflicted dietary
restriction - bah humbug
Goal
get something sorted for stage - check
get to know people that i've been seeing at conventions since i was about
12 better - check
meet some cool new people - check
get further with 5 ball - of course not
Crush
the hitmen
mamphy for organising stuff and generally being awesome
george, alex and nick - not many people could put up with my very childish
sense of humour throughout rehearsals
Bane
rubbish housemates deciding they had too much work/taxis were too
expensive/they didnt like juggling enough to come. tsk.
killjoy skipping - missing some of that awesome film...
fakoriginal
A late decision [1] to attend saw me getting out of bed at stupid o'clock
to drive up to York, only to get stuck in traffic on the ring road, but
the welcome when I did arrive more than made it all worthwhile.
Good stuff:
Passing, cookie engineering, strawberries, Around Japan, Ian's workshop,
Plumsie getting back on stage [2], cake, Around the World, Tom's scary
face, Erik (both his skills and comic timing), the Nottingham crew,
satellites that know where you are going, Clurb's reaction to workshops,
Pratchagan completion, hair vents, kendama unicorns, sleeping in a proper
bed [5], TV Champion, Around the World, the pass, Bungay promotion [6],
The Hit Men.
Bad stuff:
Tiredness kicking in on the drive home [3], the incredible yellowness of
the main hall [4], parking, cake on the back seat, people who seem overly
fond of the sound of their own voices, Abba, satellites that know how fast
you are travelling.
Well done to all of the organisers. See you all next year.
fak - photos posted at
http://www.fakoriginal.com/fak's_fotos/Chocfest_2008/index.html
[1] prompted in no small part to the delivery of a shiny new toy.
[2] That took serious guts and there's no way I could have done it. Huge
dollops of respect.
[3] Staved off with sugar, but the crash at juggling later was not
pleasant.
[4] "I thought the Sakura labels were red?"
"They are"
"Those are definitely orange"
"No, they really are red".
[5] My word, that was delightful, and just the ticket.
[6] It's horrible, don't go.
plumsie
High:
Making it to the end of my routine on the second attempt,
Being the only person in the show with a colourful costume,
Seeing old friends for the first time in almost a year,
Making some new friends.
Finding our that I was not the only person on stage to have walked off,
Just the only one to do it that night.
Low:
Failing to remember my new routine at the first attempt,
Missing all the chocolate cake and cookies because I was rewriting my
routine,
Dropping loads in the show when I could run my routine clean in practice.
Goal:
Perform. check!
Promote Lestival. I didn't but Jay did and I sorted some other details for
the day!
Crush:
Erik, For making me get back on the stage.
Mamph, For having such faith in me.
Rachel, For cool Hula to cool music.
Bane:
The lights, We had no lighting desk and only a couple of big flood lights.
Also meant we had no proper tech run as we were waiting for the desk
before we started.
All in all it was a good day. I learnt a lot and have a new respect for
performers. See you all next year.
Plumsie.
........
Looks like a lemon sat on an orange.
Matthew Tiffany
your act was one of my favourite bits, nice work it looks great!
tiff
xx
mattds
>
> A strange day for me but still enjoyable.
>
> High:
> Making it to the end of my routine on the second attempt,
Total respect for you from this end too, for getting back on stage and
doing it. I find that even in
renegades, walking out on stage, tricks I know I can just do in practice
fail as my legs turn to some
kind of jelly. I don't know if you remember from last year, but in the
show at Chocfest I dropped 2
handsticks and my devilstick from my first trick. In a funny way, being
the worst thing that happened
it was the best thing that happened, but I wouldn't want to do it again!
Also, being in the audience,
and realising that the second time, every single trick you did got a huge
cheer (from me as well) gave
me real confidence in realising that at juggling conventions in
particular, the audience IS really willing
you to succeed.
Anyway:
H: plumsie getting back on stage (and the bright costume)
the cemetery chapel (with the (h)air vent)
passing with Mamph
seeing everyone who hadn't been at the Scottish or BoB
Erik
realising I could enjoy Chocfest, instead of worrying about the show
all day
L: failing to make passing tricks that I'm sure I've been able to do for
a while work, either with Mamph
or in the workshop
throwing upside-down clubs to people in several patterns.
being so tired at the end of the day that I just wanted to crash out
G: enjoy - check
come up with some new tricks for my devilstick routine - check
do some work on said routine - check
C: Mamph because she's completely awesome, being involved with a great
convention, and looking
after myself, Helen and Tim when she could barely keep her eyes open!
The Hitmen
The York Uni Jugglers (the ones in the show - I don't know your names,
I'm afraid)
Barnesy and his chocolate cake making skills
B: The very yellow lights in the main hall, making you blink every time
you came out into the bright
sunshine
Cheers
Matthew
alastair
chocfest. this is the first convention i'd been to for ages, not
including leeds when i had loads of jobs to do and couldn't spend much
time juggling or socializing so i enjoyed myself even more than usual.
highs
the show loads of top acts the hitmen, the students, eric, norbie (always
enjoy those ringjams)
when plumsie got back on stage and nailed so much of his act.
passing with tim and matt who aren't around enough anymore
lows
plumsie leaving the stage and realising it wasn't part of his act and the
not having enough money for a kendama, i'm assuming that we won't be able
to move without knocking one over at the british
goals
to enjoy my day check
to juggle some 4 club patterns that will help on the long road to 5 clubs
check
crush
Josh and Chris, i taught them to juggle three balls, then four then to
pass then they left me behind. i'm always so proud of them
boosh and dave for the same reason
mamph coz she sorted out the show problems, which seems to be the theme
for
yorkshire based conventions this season (fingers crossed at the bjc)
alice for going to get the chips
bane
the compares stye was lost on me and made me feel sorry for the acts, i
just felt that as a member of the crowd i wasn't whipped up into a frenzie
of enthusiasm for whoever was up next.
the lights in the hall
there was no correct change wagon wheel at the door this year, in my
drunken state the night before i'd made sure i had loads of coins.
see you all at th british
alastair
AnnaBod
I think i might try and run another cookie engineering workshop for bjc -
the sugar high that results is quite addictive, anyone else interested?
Norbi
>
> i love the cookie engineering diabolo thing fak! very cool
>
> I think i might try and run another cookie engineering workshop for bjc -
> the sugar high that results is quite addictive, anyone else interested?
>
If I'm there, count me in! When i came in for lunch and saw those super
awesome cookie structures, i was bummed i didn't attend!
Jay Linn
> I learnt a lot and have a new respect for performers.
I'd not bothered contributing to this thread so far, but yeah, I was
guessing that your attitude to performers might undergo a permanent
shift, which is doubtless A Good Thing. It's a pity you had to undergo
it in quite such a blunt way, but hey ho - nobody died.
There were two lessons learnt there : First was the one you learned -
on stage in front of your peers can be a bloody hard and scary place.
Second was the one the audience learned - falling off a horse and having
the guts to get straight back in the saddle is a hard, hard thing that
most of us deeply hope we never have to confront.
I'll still be taking the piss, though :-P
--
Jay Linn
Is officially "like Bodger and Badger, Chucklevision, and Monty Python
rolled into one".
other Helen S
>
> Well no-one else has started this yet and being as i've been up and about
> for hours with the kids i thought i'd reflect on yesterdays 13th Chocfest:
>
H - Hitmen, Eric Borgman, 'TV Champion' Sunday morning juggle, H(air) vent
L - arriving late (own fault), compere (sorry, just didnt work for me)
G - meet folks (check) have a good time (check)
C - AnnaBod for having hippy tea
B - nowt
H
A Jones
Highs:
Performing on stage and not completely sucking!
Like anna says, everyone being such rocking dudes afterwards! All legends,
every one of them!
Qualifying 8 ball for the first time,
The killing of joy, need I say more!
Erik
The compere, despite such a bad press I thought he was pretty good and not
ony made me laugh but put me at ease before heading out!
Lows:
Feeling ill the day after from too much chocolate and stress and
consequently not heading over to the cemetry for more fun.
Goals:
Not suck on stage: check!
Never perform again: definitely not check! It appears we will have to go
through it all again!
Meet new people: checkio!
Crush:
The Borgmeister
Ryo Yabe on some crazy Japanese juggling gameshow...
Bane:
nope
thats about it
plumsie
>
> plumsie wrote:
>
> > I learnt a lot and have a new respect for performers.
>
> I'd not bothered contributing to this thread so far, but yeah, I was
> guessing that your attitude to performers might undergo a permanent
> shift, which is doubtless A Good Thing. It's a pity you had to undergo
> it in quite such a blunt way, but hey ho - nobody died.
>
the reason I first decided to try performing was to see how hard it is so
that I know what it is like when I criticise other performers.
I'm quite happy with the way I changed my opinion. nothing like a short
sharp shock to straighten things out.
> There were two lessons learnt there : First was the one you learned -
> on stage in front of your peers can be a bloody hard and scary place.
> Second was the one the audience learned - falling off a horse and having
> the guts to get straight back in the saddle is a hard, hard thing that
> most of us deeply hope we never have to confront.
>
Stage is a scary place, but, I will be back at some point and hopefully I
will catch one or two of the props that I throw next time.
I was surprised at how the crowd got behind me so much afterwhat had
happened in the first half but I would like to say thank you to everyone
who was there and cheered me on. Without the support of the crowd and the
silly comments from the people standing backstage I don't know how I would
have got through it.
Again, Thank you everyone!
> I'll still be taking the piss, though :-P
>
I would hope so too, what sort of friend would you be if you didn't.
Matthew Tiffany
>
> there was no correct change wagon wheel at the door this year, in my
> drunken state the night before i'd made sure i had loads of coins.
>
>
> see you all at th british
>
> alastair
>
yeh
i feel your pain, i had correct change too!
tiff
xx
unsatisfied!
Matthew Tiffany
i have also melted on stage serveral times and in differet situations, not
just as a juggler. mistakes and interaction with the audience are what
makes a performance different from a prerecorded event, if you deal with
your drops properly, (still in character and with creativeness) you can
make as many as you want, just as long as you have your audience coming
along with you; and you did the second we saw that costume!
it really did take a huge hairy swinging sack of gonads to get back on
that stage, i dont think i would have. nice work!!!
tiff
xx
mamph
followed by the rest of the day. :)
Low: The missing lighting desk.
Crush: Julian for the passes. Mat for being so supportive at his first
convention. Mini for sound goodness. Nick for food. All the Yorkies for
doing the on the day stuff (I would name check them all but I'm bound to
miss someone). Alice for club passing and taxiing.
All the acts in the show (shame I didn't get to see it!)
Goal: Run the convention without major incident - almost tick. :) One
year maybe a CF will happen without a crisis to manage.
Bane: The distance between the assembly hall and the sports hall.
Mamph