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Oxford Juggling Convention:
A nice space for a nice low key convention that I hadn't been to before - the turnout wasn't huge but enough for there to be an atmosphere. There were even workshops this year! Although I didn't go to any and predictably spent the whole day passing. I went through some standard stuff with Danny (including a reasonable run of swing), but then got on to doing my new pattern I made up on the way - to make up for the pattern I forgot to take :(
It was a take out pattern based on 10 club 2 count feed mixed with scrambled V, my attempt at making the takeout patterns a bit more technically challenging :) I did this with Jon, James and Danny, and it was good fun and pretty tricky! We got maybe 3/4 of a round and started in all the places, so it is definitely doable.
I also had a particularly super session with James, getting decent runs of a89, 9 club 3 count, and some attempts at 789ab (and actually getting 7296b running as warm up), as well as some of my sync variations.
The show was short, which in my book is probably a plus, although not great, however I enjoyed seeing Sadie and Alan's routine as always. After that it was the European Slappy Slappy Point Point championships. I didn't enter but did play some fun more advanced variants - playing with both hands simultaneously but independently, same thing but out of phase (much harder! one hand slapping whilst the other points) and some others.
Brook
That take out pattern sounds interesting, I'd like to see it (and maybe try it, some day, I just have to get a lot better at 10 club 2 count feed first...)
Brook Roberts - - Genitore #
I intended to write up the pattern here, but then got a bit confused. I'm coming to the conclusion we did the wrong thing which explains why it was so hard at one bit! (I think we might have been doing an intercept and carry on the same beat). Regardless, I'll put something up (but no video)
jamesfrancis - - Genitore #
Also a7968 was fun and another one to tick off your list perhaps?
Another fun oxford convention for me. The venue is great and the shoddy show venue from the last few years has been replaced by a brand spanking new nice auditorium. Stand out act for me was the first guy with the balls and shaker thing (Kay perhaps).
Generally the convention seemed to run smoothly this year after some loose organisation last year so well done on Sam and Rob (and anyone else who deserves credit) for sorting this out. Shame they lost some show acts last minute, but full credit for trying particularly hard to rope in anyone they could from the convention to fill the gaps. I have to admit I was still a little worried about being called up on stage despite saying no about 5 times! Left my clubs in my car just in case!
Convention win for me was the 10c Scrambled V Brook alluded to. Really fun and very tough. I will be hunting down people at the EJC to try this again with.
Convention fail for me was 10c 2 count passing with Mandy. After a really successful first go of about 15 passes we then proceeded to get worse and worse every go for the next 15 minutes. Never understand why this happens.
Final thought: Next time they should bring back the volley club net. There should be more volley club in the world.
Brook Roberts - - Genitore #
Yes, I did tick that off my list and continue my slow crawl to 50%. I was trying not to just fill up my review with siteswaps though...
Yes, volleyclub would have been nice, I don't seem to play that very often. Should have gone to Bungay I suppose!
Oxford juggling Convention - Review
I enjoyed:
Alan's company for the long drive to and from Oxford.
The cafe at the venue. I strayed away from the pizza this year and tried a baguette, it was very nice.
Lunchtime conversation and food reviews.
Passing Brook's new pattern with James, Danny and Brook. It was very fast in places but I can see it being a nice one to do once it is running.
I do like the convention venue at oxford. Nice outdoors area and a lovely big hall, cold water fountain and plenty of parking.
I love the new show venue! It's a great little stage (but with no backstage area). Very posh and not at all dingy like the previous one. (slightly hard to find if you don't know the way)
The shark sticking out of the roof of someones house... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Headington_Shark
Very nice fish and chip restaurant meal with Sam + Martin and Mark. Thank you for convincing me not to go for a curry.
The games were quite short but entertaining. Thank you Danny for giving me your games prizes and for partnering with me for long distance passing.
I did not enjoy so much:
It wasn't a great juggle day for me. I wore myself out a bit passing and then playing gladiators in the sun and was quite incapable of anything afterwards.
Forgot my sunglasses, not good for the games.
The show compere. I suspect he might have been a little bit drunk (or worse). Not as bad as the famous Birmingham clown, but definately not an improvement on last years compere.
I did enjoy Oxford convention although it did seem very quiet to me this year. A lot of people play outside in the sun, but even so the hall was mostly empty all day.
The show was short, but the acts themselves were good.
Thank you Sam and Rob and the Oxford team for putting the day together for us to enjoy! I look forward to coming again next year.
Cheers,
Jon
Brook Roberts - - Genitore #
"I wore myself out a bit passing and then playing gladiators"
What else would you want to do?!
Okay, you got me! ;-)
I did miss the vollyclub net. Should we make that a regular fixture at conventions?
I am tempted to buy one and start bringing it to conventions but only if people will play with me. :-)
Brook Roberts - - Genitore #
I would probably play!
It was my first Oxford convention and I had a very relaxing day. Good venue even though it was not easy to find.
The show was a bit short being only thirty five minutes long. I have seen Steve Rawlings do his Knife routine a lot of times but to see someone else do it word for word and every gag and movement the same, even sounding the same was strange. I have not seen Jay Rawlings before but he does need his own material.
I have seen Jay perform some magic routines that are not Steve Rawlings routines and they work very well. People who haven't seen Steve perform were saying that they enjoyed Jays' show. I just thought that the it was the best Steve Rawlings impression I've seen but that none of his own personality was on show.
Cedric Lackpot - - Genitore #
"Not as bad as the famous Birmingham clown"
Oof. Damned with faint praise.
Didn't see the Birmingham clown but the compere lacked all the qualities that you need in a compere.
He was unable to warm up the audience, he failed at the minimal stage hand duties he had to do and he forgot the name of one of the five acts. He did appear to have consumed something alcoholic or mind altering and I would have preferred to see less of his underwear (but that is similar to many yoofs of the last ten years).
Oxford convention has always been a little odd. The large sports hall has never been full at any of the conventions I've attended. The previous show venue was indescribably gloomy but the new one is a vast improvement. The passes, consisting of a bit of string, have to be the cheapest ever (apparently £2.10 paid for this years and next years passes). The trader is always somewhat isolated at the end of the hall.
However if you go to the convention to juggle then there is plenty of space and height. If you go to chat, then there is always someone to chat to. If you go to learn then the workshops and other juggler skills are good enough.
I juggled, chatted, attended a workshop, booked an act for MKJC, watched possibly the shortest convention show ever and enjoyed myself.
Nigel
Cedric Lackpot - - Genitore #
> The passes, consisting of a bit of string, have to be the cheapest ever (apparently £2.10 paid for this years and next years passes).
Circus Space pulled this trick years ago. It was hairy green string, just enough to tie round your wrist and all itchy. Hoxton string is hipster string though, so it was probably £2 a length.
Little Paul - - Genitore #
Anyone else getting loads of div tags in this post?
Thanks for coming! If you performed, ran a workshop or sat taking people's money for me thanks again!
More thanks to Jay for stepping in to perform when I was 2 acts down and Paul for agreeing to do sound and light when I had nobody else.
We've suffered a bit from falling numbers the last few years, down to under 90 this year all together. I'm moving out of Oxford soon and both the Brookes and Uni clubs have all but died out. I will be surprised and impressed if the convention happens next year.
The show suffered from a combination of losing an act the week before and another on the day. The venue is also a bit of a strange one. It looks great once they're on stage but there is no backstage, the stairs up to the stage are at the wrong end of the stage and the lighting can't all be controlled from one place.
I'd like to point out that those were actually the British World SSPP Championships and congratulate Danny on beating me in the semis and then Sadie in the final to take first place. My legs still hurt. I look forward to a rematch in Bruneck
Volleyclub should have been there, I'll admit it was foolish not having that net up, but spending £2.50 on convention passes was very sensible.
Hey hey hey. It's the Oxford Crayfish Juggling Convention next Saturday and I'd like some of you to show up. It will be fun. You'll probably enjoy it if you go. See you there https://www.facebook.com/events/594505684019550/ is a link to its facebook event and if you want more information than you can find there or on here ask me.
Juggling convention raffles:
Can we all just agree we are happy to pay £1 extra on the door so that no one ever has to sit through a juggling convention raffle ever again.
Surely no one has ever won anything they actually wanted and the price of the day ticket is usually irrelevant compared to the cost of getting to the actual convention itself.
James...
...whose previous raffle wins include: cheap plastic diablo with crappy wooden handsticks, mid length staff occasionally used still to hang my washing from, floppy pink and purple hat.
lukeburrage - - Genitore #
Ha. It's simply not a thing at conventions outside of the UK, from what I've found. I don't remember the last convention raffle I've sat through, and I don't miss it at all!
Little Paul - - Genitore #
My only fond memories of juggling convention raffles, was the chocfest cruit set
I wonder what happened to it
Hahahaha! By all means have a raffle, just don't make people feel they have an obligation to enter & don't hold the draw during the show. Raffle draws are a huge bore for a lot of people. Perhaps combine the draw with the juggling games, make the winner of each game draw a ticket.
It's been a long time since I bought a raffle ticket. As an extra source of income I really like the BYJOTY drop count sweepstake which I will always enter. This may be a bit too cynical for a gala show, but I think it works for BYJOTY because as well as providing a nice prize fund incentive the result also works as a basic metric for how well the current crop of performers is doing.
lukeburrage - - Genitore #
The original idea for the drop count sweepstake was to raise money for the best trick prize. Half to the winner of the best trick, half to the winner of the sweepstake. It didn't originate as any income source for the convention.
Oh no, but for another convention it could be a source of income that I think would be far less disruptive than a raffle draw. However, for a gala show it could just feel wrong.
Brook Roberts - - Genitore #
Camvention will not have a raffle next year. I've also noticed foreigners being rather baffled by raffles, and I can't really defend them.
Danny Colyer - - Genitore #
I've won some great stuff at convention raffles. The time to do the draw is at the end of the games, though, when people who haven't entered can wander off and do something else. During the show after an over-long interval is very much *not* the time to do it.
As a convention-goer I despise raffles and I will not enter for fear of accidentally winning a prize, which would probably be a VHS tape about poi. Sometimes I drop some money in the jar anyway and just make sure I don't get a ticket.
I observe that we charged £8 on the door for a one-day convention with a show in 1998, which inflation-adjusted is now £12 or £13. Door prices have not been keeping up.
Oh yes & that's the very nature of raffles, prizes are won in descending order of quality so by design they just get worse!
Can I also give potential raffle organisers a hint: The joke where you start the announcement with, "It's a blue ticket…" when there's only one colour? That's been done.
Little Paul - - Genitore #
Some people get really funny about raffles.
Whenever I've had to do a draw, I've gone with the "draw the numbers as quick as possible, people can collect the tat in their own time" but more than once I've had complaints from people who expect me to wait for them to amble up and collect their spinning plate before drawing the next number. Or worse, expecting to be able to draw the next ticket themselves *sigh*
People also got really shirty about me pulling out fistfuls of tickets and declaring them all losers. As if doing that makes any bloody difference.
The easiest way to avoid all this tedium and moaning is to not bother with a raffle. If you really must dispose of tat in exchange for extra convention funds, go for an auction and hold it during the interval.
I agree that it makes no difference, but why would you draw and declare a bunch of tickets losers? I get the badassery component of it, but I feel like in many situations it would bring the vibe down instead of up. (I like your idea actually, I promote it) but people suck and that's why it might not work.
The nature of raffles is that there is a perverse incentive for the donors of prizes to unload things that nobody would pay good money for, but that will still take up space in the van on the way back.
The nature of shows is that no matter how carefully one may plan the running order so as to achieve a desired effect in the minds of the audience, people will still want to stuff it all up by inserting a long boring raffle in the middle.
I did once attend a show that was followed by a powerpoint presentation. I don't recommend that either.
Now seems like an appropriate time to mention that in my time involved with running it, the Oxford Juggling Convention has never had a raffle (and never will.) If people want a novelty prize they're invited to participate in the 'who can bring me the best crustacean based lunch on the day' competition but in 2 years there have been no participants. This does probably give you better odds of winning something than you get when you participate in other conventions' raffles
On that note, 30th May this year will be the Oxford Crayfish Juggling Convention and I look forward to seeing many of you there.
Are you serious? I work at Red Lobster and would DEMOLISH that competition. What's my prize?
I'm completely serious and though the first year the mystery prize was unclaimed and would perhaps have been unappreciated, this year the prize will be better than ever before. I welcome your submission!
I would question the freshness of a crustacean based dish delivered from the US to Oxford.
I would question the freshness of the prize that has been unclaimed for a year or more.
Mike Moore - - Genitore #
What kind of junky raffles are they running over there?
The Waterloo fest I just got back from usually runs a raffle. I've won a standard kendama, a set of PX3 clubs, a couple sets of decent beanbags, and surely things I've forgotten now...in 7 years of raffles there, I've only lost value once. Most years the grand prize is a unicycle (thanks, Bedford Unicycles!).
At others fests, I've won Gballz and Drop Props (another nice kind of juggling bag, made in Rochester). I use both of those sets of balls to this day. Those two were Chinese auctions (don't be fooled by the name, it's really a raffle).
I certainly agree that winners shouldn't be announced anywhere that everyone is required to be.
I have an autographed Luftgarden DVD by Michael Karas... Great raffle win! The only juggling raffle I've ever been in. So boo you!
MKJC has a raffle. Last year without the raffle we wouldn't have broken even. The prizes are either donated by the committee or the traders. None of the committee have ever donated rubbish. Also the raffle is timetabled into the running order and for the last 3 years the show has finished pretty much on time (the year before had Steve Rawlings as the final act, he was asked to do 15 minutes and did 50+, not many complained).
It is easy to say just add a pound to the ticket price. For individuals that isn't a problem. For families where the cost gets multiplied it can be more of a problem. MKJC has always tried to be understanding about families and e.g. not charge for under 12s but the costs still mount and plenty of people choose not to buy a raffle ticket.
Nigel
jamesfrancis - - Genitore #
I still think juggling conventions are under priced and price isn't a real differentiator in whether people attend or otherwise. For me, getting to any convention costs about a tenner and I usually spend another tenner at least on food, drink or whatever. An extra pound on the gates is minimal in comparison. I agree for families costs mount and child / family discounts where possible should be encouraged and maybe my financial position isn't really reflective of the juggling community, but...
...I just really really hate raffles!
When a 20 minute interval spreads to half an hour followed by a 20 minute calamitous raffle interspersed with unclaimed tickets and people winning free entrance to conventions that they definitely won't go it really just kills the mood for the rest of the show. Coupled with this when you have a 3 hour drive home and people have last trains to catch the absence of a raffle might actually enhance the popularity of a convention and make people more likely to attend in the first place, no?
Rant over
Apologies
Richard Loxley - - Genitore #
In the four years I was involved with running BoB, we had two raffles, and then two tombolas.
I introduced the idea of a tombola as we still needed the income, but raffles kill the show vibe (and people who come just for the day mess things up).
It was an great success (in my opinion). The tombolas made twice as much money as the raffles had (I think because if people don't win the first time, they are more inclined to buy another ticket, which can't really happen with the raffle). And loads of people gave me positive feedback about how much they enjoyed it.
So I'd suggest to convention organisers, if you need to raise funds through prizes, try a tombola instead of a raffle. You may well find that you make more money, and the participants have more fun :-)
Cedric Lackpot - - Genitore #
So, as a long time convention organiser this got me thinking - do we really need to get rid of the raffle at Lestival? So many negative opinions and low-level gripes and grumbles - it was almost as if a thread complaining about something someone didn't much care for, brought all the other nay-sayers crawling out of the woodwork!
And then I remembered how little I care for public games and parades, and all the times I've castigated those stupid enough to indulge themselves in them, and all the well-rounded and agreeably reasoned arguments I've made against them, sometimes in the teeth of considerable opp ..... no, wait a minute, that never happened, I have never lobbied against those things. Moaned about them, for sure, but who on earth would argue against people enjoying things just because I don't?[1] I just don't partake of that which does not appeal to me - simple.
So, because of the appalling way that raffles can drag, the Lestival draw has always been conducted on the principal of 'breakneck speed isn't fast enough!' and we try to rush insanely fast, because we know that lots of people like prizes, but far fewer enjoy the process of distributing them.
The alternative would be to add £1 to the ticket price. Whilst we're at it, could we add another £1 to take away the parade? And another £1 to remove the games? I suck at numbers juggling so perhaps that should be £2 if the games we cancel would've had a lot of numbers endurance rounds. Then lets cheerfully pay up another £1 to get rid of all the poimanglers - I'd do this for free, but one has to be consistent, of course. And another £1 to get rid of endless rounds of gladiators. And one more £1 to lose those stupid fucking jokey convention passes that no-one[2] likes.
And do you know what we would have with the stripped down format and the doubled ticket price? The London Convention, that's what.[3]
And that's why this was an initially attractive but ultimately flawed idea - if you really want to get rid of raffles then do it by addition not subtraction, find something much better to supplant raffles such that the people who do like them have something even better in their place. If that's too much effort then just avoid the bloody raffle, heckle the insane length of some of them, and in the meantime cheerfully indulge other people's enjoyment.
And this really got me thinking about some moaning that has been going on over at /r/juggling with various po-faced types complaining that they actually have to choose whether to open a link, all on their own, without some hidden modesty fairy to protect their sensibilities from offence! I've had to fight quite hard to get people to curate their own experience there and the battle is far from won.
PS I have won raffle prizes that I really, really wanted, the biggest thing being the set of three juggling rubber chickens - I really put somebody out because I refused, there and then, to swap them for something else much nicer or even take money for them. So I applaud the quality of your rant, James, but I dispute the sentiments.
[1] Well, apart from all of bonkers fundamentalist Christianity whining about gay marriage as if they owned marriage in the first place, and were being forced to be gay, marry a gay, and be gay married. And probably a bajillion other examples as well.
[2] Turns out some people do like convention passes. This kind of argument occurs all the time and it's some sort of an appeal to a majority which is passed off as an appeal to all. So when you say "Can we all agree ..." the answer, from some at least, will surely be no.
[3] I kid, I kid. It was just a cheap joke ... much like the London Convention![3]
Brook Roberts - - Genitore #
The difference is if the raffle is during the show, then there is not the same option to just not watch it (assuming you wish to see the show) - the games can be indulged in by everyone who wants to watch/partake and ignored by everyone else. I doubt people would be complaining if it was done during the day/after the show when anyone who wasn't interested could leave.
I always appreciate raffles that actually go fast, although quite a few claim that they will and are anything but.
I did actually enjoy the raffle at Chocfest this year, mainly due to Tiff being a bit mad during it and making it entertaining. It's certainly possible if the effort is put into it - but I feel sometimes it is put in because it's expected.
The "even better" thing could be a lawn, big enough for all us grumbly types to go sit on it with our tea/beer and shout for people who like raffles to vacate our small but verdant premises.
Little Paul - - Genitore #
I thought that was what the bar was for
Mike Moore - - Genitore #
> And this really got me thinking about some moaning that has been going on over at /r/juggling with various po-faced types complaining that they actually have to choose whether to open a link, all on their own, without some hidden modesty fairy to protect their sensibilities from offence! I've had to fight quite hard to get people to curate their own experience there and the battle is far from won.
Classy.
hmmf, it's considered common courtesy among those I know to give people a heads up when sending them video content that might be NSFW or not to be watched during dinner or could be upsetting or whatever.
This is perhaps a cultural difference and it doesn't really surprise me that Reddit is on the other side of it.
Mike Moore - - Genitore #
I'm not sure what you're talking about, I only input text, no links or videos. This is what I see (https://imgur.com/n1vqdLt), is something different from your end?
I was replying to Jay's text that you quoted, but got confused and thought you wrote it.
jamesfrancis - - Genitore #
Well lets be clear, my general grumpiness doesn't just end at raffles. Like you Jay, I also don't like the public games or parades but these are easily avoidable whereas a mid show raffle isn't.
I appreciate what you and others have said though. Some convention raffles aren't so painful and supplementation is a good alternative. As long as some people get some joy out of raffles somewhere, somehow, then I'm sure I can tolerate them quietly in future (not sure cheerful indulgence might be the term I would apply here - but certainly not open disdain).
P.s. Whilst I do dislike raffles I do like the little passes.
Festival Cooking.
As somewhat as a novice at festival cooking, and with BJC just around the corner, I would be interested in hearing your favourite festival recipes. I recently bought a camp stove, so I'm hoping to get the most out of it this BJC (and beyond).
Still on my to do list at some point is to compile a festival cook book. Containing quick & easy recipes that can be cooked on a single burner, can easily scale if friends get together & cook a part of the meal each. Or foods that can be cooked beforehand & keep well in a tupperware box.
I mostly just cook tinned foods or pasta with something to stir in while camping for convenience, but I will also often chop & cook up a load of veggies then mix in an unholy amount of pesto.
Another quick an easy meal I like is to boil some rice, then a few minutes before the end tip in a tin of peas & a tin of sweet corn & boil the whole lot up together.
This Chickpea & Chorizo Curry is good too.
If you are just getting your camping kit together, may I also recommend a Kuhn Rikon Colori paring knife. It's a really sharp good quality knife that comes with an excellent blade guard so you don't slice your fingers off when scrabbling around trying to find it.
Talking of cooking gear for camping, I'm still looking for a decent container for cooking oil that is bullet proof, open/closeable with one hand & has a mess free pour. Anyone know of something that fits the bill?
Cous cous is very camping friendly and you can put nuts and raisins or dried fruit in it, and lemon zest if you can be bothered.
If you've just been to the supermarket then grab a rotisserie chicken and some tasty bread and salad and some napkins, and um this is not really a recipe. But it tastes nice.
Those straight to wok noodles can also be used in soup. Thus: fry an onion (if you can be bothered). Add coconut powder (if you have some) and thai curry paste (this is essential). Add plenty of water. Tip in some tofu or chopped up hot dogs from a jar, or whatever other protein stuff you fancy that won't give you food poisoning just because you kept it in a tent. Add some greens if you want. Break up the noodles in the packet and chuck them in. Add fish sauce if you brought any and lime juice ditto.
If you are not fussy then you can make spaghetti sauce of any kind and then stick those noodles in it.
pumpkineater23 - - Genitore #
This seems a good opportunity for my cous cous recipe:
1. Toss chunks of vegetables (include red onion & garlic) in oil and balsamic vinegar and then roast.
2. Bring to boil :
400ml stock,
1/2 tsp turmeric,
large piece of cinnamon,
juice of one lemon,
juice of 1/2 or one orange,
1 tbsp olive oil,
bay leaf.
When simmering add 250g of cous cous. Take off heat and cover for a few minutes.
Separate cous cous with a fork and add :
Freshly chopped parsley,
chopped dried apricot,
chopped lemon zest,
chopped orange zest,
the roasted vegetables.
Tasty and lasts for days!
Sounds pretty impressive, but I imagine roasting some veg on a campfire or camp stove would be tricky.
pumpkineater23 - - Genitore #
It would be tricky but I was thinking of making it beforehand, hence the 'it lasts for days' bit.
It's also a good opportunity to use one of my clip-down tupperware boxes. I love those boxes, saddo that I am. Sometimes I pop into Robert Dyas especially to browse the tupperware section and see if they have any new ones for my collection.
Robotic juggle - - Genitore #
in boy scouts we put some burgers in tin foil and threw em by the fire till they were cooked (not elegant but if spiced correctly very tasty and juicy)
Robotic juggle - - Genitore #
yah but a few of those will have ur heart in a greasy grogg so you may not want to eat it more than once a day
Little Paul - - Genitore #
Would be a better call if open fires were allowed at bjc, but they're not ;)
Burgers can be done in a nonstick frying pan though if you're desperate for a burger
I feel qualified to talk about this as I've done it before. My methods range from the laborious and lavish to the lazy but good enough.
If you can be bothered:
Make things beforehand, freeze them and put them as insulated as you can. These will last a few days in English weather so you'll be fine. I recommend chilli or other forms of meat and sauce that you can easily heat up. Rice is easy to cook in a field, so eat lots of it.
At BJC southend we made a great sandwich beforehand filled with meat, onion, cheese, mushrooms and more, it was great, but very difficult to eat.
If you can't be quite as bothered but still want hot food:
Get microwaveable ready meal type things that come in plastic pouches. You can get pasta sauces and other filling type stuff which go great with pasta, or better - rice!
Pot noodle (or ethnic equivalents which tend to be far better but have names I can't read) is easy and cheap as you just need boiling water.
However my current favourites which require the least cooking:
Hummus, avocado, and anything that you like eating hummus with. You can get bread, carrots, tomato, crisps, a spoon etc.
Tinned mackerel and sardines are also both delicious and if you have them with loads of lemon you get a meal with a lot more flavour than most festival food. You can also get mackerel in a bunch of different flavoured sauces if you like. Tinned fish can (as I'm sure you've witnessed) be cooked in the tin on an open fire and is delicious.
Supplement everything with fairly stale bread, crisps and chocolate.
pumpkineater23 - - Genitore #
"anything that you like eating hummus with"
I've yet to make nice falafels. I've tried various different ingredients but they're never as nice as the packet ones. Should be so simple. What's the secret?
I suspect you are making the common mistake of cooking your fava beans or chick peas first or even worse using tinned ones.If you do this the mix will be hard to form into balls and stodgy to eat because of the high moisture content.If you soak your beans/peas over night,rinse well and put them raw into a food processor with your other ingredients(onions,garlic,chilli,cumin,coriander,salt pepper etc)and pulse till a paste it will form balls and fry into nice light falafel.
forgot to say that you need to leave the mix for a couple of hours before frying this helps with the texture and marinades the flavours.Also if the mix is too wet to fry add a little gram flour.
pumpkineater23 - - Genitore #
Brilliant, thanks that's exactly the problem! Stodgy and damp, so I add too much flour to dry them out. I have used tinned chick peas before and I also tried the bagged ones - soaking over night then boiling for a few hours. So I still soak them but don't boil them at all, is that right?
pumpkineater23 - - Genitore #
Apologies, you answered that already - raw in the food processor. Thanks again.
pumpkineater23 - - Genitore #
Such a great tip that was Monte... raw chickpeas instead of tinned. Yesterday I added Lebanese seven spice with the mixture, just had them this evening - delicious.
Monte speaks sense! Tinned chickpeas in general are bad. That said there are a lot of foods where I think making your own is a waste of time. I rarely eat falafel but Hummus is definitely one of those. I've made my own once or twice and it just wasn't that great and it was a lot of effort. Tesco in my opinion do the best hummus money can buy (especially since they started putting less tahini in it).
Cedric Lackpot - - Genitore #
If your hummus ain't that good, then you're doing it wrong. Homemade hummus is the dog's fucking bollocks, a country mile better than almost anything you can buy, and light years better than the insipid shite the supermarkets slap their own labels on. And it's a tiny fraction of the cost to boot.
For me the key to great hummus was partly getting the proportions right, but probably mostly down to reserving the chick pea boiling water to dilute the finished product to the correct consistency.
Give me what you think is the ideal hummus recipe then and I'll follow it and see whether or not your opinion is valid. I think you're being way too harsh on supermarket bought stuff though. Sainsburys have recently changed theirs and it's gotten a bit better, Waitrose is poor but I'm fairly confident of the fact that Tesco has some of the finest chick pea chefs in the world.
Cedric Lackpot - - Genitore #
Gah, hung by me own petard.
This is my recipe, but I confess the quantities are vague because I just know how much to use from experience.
Ingredients :-
1 cup dried chick peas, picked over to remove any duds.
Extra virgin olive oil.
Garlic.
A lemon or two.
Bay leaves.
Tahini.
Method :-
There are numerous methods to hydrate dried pulses. Mine is a quick one. Chuck the chick peas and three or four bay leaves in a pan and cover well with cold water. Put a lid on the pan, bring it to a rolling boil for a minute and then let it simmer for a few more minutes. Turn off the heat and let it stand for an hour. Strain off the liquid and discard it, along with the bay leaves. Put the peas in a pressure cooker, cover well, and bring to the boil at high pressure for 45-60 mins. Allow the pressure cooker to cool, strain the peas but reserve the boiling liquid!!
Peel four cloves of garlic and put them and the strained peas in a blender until reduced to a fairly fine paste, but a bit of texture is nice. You might need to do this in batches if your blender isn't big enough.
Put it all in a large mixing bowl, and add a really generous glug of olive oil, perhaps 100ml or more. Squeeze the lemon(s) and add their juice to taste (it will also help preserve the hummus). Add the zest too if you can be arsed. Add salt if that's your thing, but in truth we're making hummus, not tequila slammers.
Now get your tahini and make sure it is thoroughly mixed. This can be a tedious job if it has been standing a long time. Add, I dunno, 200ml tahini (quite a bit).
Mix everything together, to form a horrible stodgy paste that smells of sesame oil.
Now comes the magic : You're going to use more olive oil, and the pea boiling liquid you reserved, to make the perfect hummus. You add oil to make it more unctuous, until it begins to glisten. And you add boiling water to transform the consistency from aforementioned horrible paste, to gloriously goopy and smooth paste, with the consistency of a very soft cream cheese.
It's that last bit that really makes the difference, and a little trial and error will teach you how much of each far quicker than I can. You can make your basic horrible stodgy paste, then divide into several smaller batches and play around with the quantities of oil and water until you get your perfect hummus, just the way you like it.
Consume with good pitta from a decent Turkish grocer, crudités, crostini, and an awful lot of cheap red wine, or even Retsina if you can get it.
Store the leftovers in the fridge in a covered container, with an thin layer of olive oil on top to help preserve it.
Bon appetit!
Cedric Lackpot - - Genitore #
Spotted a mistake : The bay leaves go in the pressure cooker, not the initial boiling water.
As you were chaps!
Robotic juggle - - Genitore #
ok this may seem rude, but i love that your typing has an accent. makes me read it in an accent in my brain.
You may be hoisted by a petard, but to be hung by one would be a peculiar turn of events. I'll give this hummus a go within the next 6 months and let you know what I think
Again if you use tinned chick peas your hummus will be inferior. It is worth soaking and boiling dried ones as they have a lower moisture content and better flavour. If you are fussy about not having too much tahini then it must be better to make your own. I like a lot of lemon not too much garlic in mine.The supermarket ones are too finely processed and bland in flavour in my opinion.
Little Paul - - Genitore #
J and I tend to eat at the catering stands most of the time these days (especially if Monte is cooking) but we do cook from time to time when there's nothing on the menu J fancies (he can be a fussy bugger)
As we generally don't know the menus in advance, anything we take with us has to be easy to store (as well as easy to cook, quick, hot, filling, one pan, minimum washing up etc)
This one isn't especially classy, and it makes wilful use of convenience food, but it's hot, filling, cheap, quick, easy to wash up and (most of) the ingredients store easily in a tent for up to a week. Serves 2, takes about 10 minutes.
- 1 packet Uncle Bens "spicy mexican" express rice
- 1 packet tortillas
- half a red pepper, sliced.
- half a red onion, sliced.
- cheese (more about cheese storage in a minute)
- harissa paste to perk it up a bit
Fry off the pepper and onion for a couple of minutes to soften them. Add the packet rice to the pan along with some water (as per the instructions) - while that's cooking spread some harissa and cheese on a couple of tortillas. Add the cooked rice, roll up and scoff.
The other half of the pepper/onions keep well in a tupperware container. For cheese, only buy in small amounts.
We never have a grater with us (and the pre-grated packet cheese is a step too far for me) so we tend to avoid hard cheese and make a lot of use of soft blue cheese or those sausages of smoked cheese.
We don't have a fridge in the van, but a washing up bowl full of water left under the van (in the shade) keeps the container with the cheese in it fairly cool (handy place to store a pint of milk as well) - at Bungay, before we got the van that bowl of water used to live in the hedge.
Cheese doesn't present much of a storage problem anyway as we tend to snack on it with biscuits/bread throughout the day - so it's never around for much more than 2 days anyway.
Other favourite standby foods - soup is great for lunch on a cold day. Don't like tinned soup? The "carrot/potato/stock cube" approach works fine in a field (and stores just as well) - overcook the potato slightly and use a fork to mash it up a bit.
Orin's famous courgette + lemon linguini also works well, but really needs 2 burners. Perhaps join forces with a friend, one of you cook the pasta the other cooks the courgettes.
#recipe
Little Paul - - Genitore #
Oh, and this works better than you might expect: https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/nigella-lawson/rice-and-tomato-soup-recipe.html
My courgette & lemon linguine is famous?!
I've yet to come up with a decent way to juice a lemon using my minimal equipment in the field though. Best I've come up with so far is squeezing the halves then just fishing the seeds out of the pan. Although come to think of it I've got some muslin cloth now (& have overcome my fear of using it) that I use for ginger beer production that wouldn't take up any extra space in my kit...
Little Paul - - Genitore #
I juice lemons with a teaspoon (even at home) and strain the pips out by running the juice through my fingers.
I'll see if I can find a video of someone doing it.
Little Paul - - Genitore #
What I do, is sort of a combination of these two ideas, but rearranged so I can do them both at once. The juice is trained through the same hand as the lemon.
https://youtube.com/v/Y9VN1dVosjw
https://youtube.com/v/SHGtzm3Uous?start=32
I've used the fork technique for years now. If I'm worried about pips, I use a separate bowl first and fish out the pips. It's an amazingly efficient technique.
You've got a sink in your BOV haven't you! Not sure about using my hand as a strainer in the field (especially with cut & bruised hands after a night of gladiatorial combat, I'm with Miracle Max on that front) but will give it a try though.
Little Paul - - Genitore #
lemon juice and cuts is erm "interesting" - I think in those situations I'd probably go with Dee's suggestion of juicing into a cup or bowl and then picking the pips out with the fork/spoon whatever.
Look, I'm not going to claim it was amazing, but what I did the other day was really simple and surprisingly good.
1) rinse some bulgar and add to pot
2) add water and make hot.
3) put on lid, turn off heat, add crushed garlic, leave for ages until liquid gone and fluffy.
4) to serve, mix with water, olive oil & salt in bowl (cold water if contents are still really hot).
Herbs would be an option, but I doubt I added any (rosemary if anything).
Here is my trivial question:
Who 'invented' the asterisk after synchronous siteswaps so that they repeat on both sides? I think lots of people here will know the answer but that's maybe because I made the question.
Also a not so trivial question:
Why do you think most jugglers are above average smart? At least that's the case with 99% of the jugglers I know.
Little Paul - - Genitore #
You wouldn't know that from meeting some of the compsci students I've worked with over the years
I did deliberately say "through" in order to exclude various people of my acquaintance....
Little Paul - - Genitore #
In the cold light of day, I'm going to revise my statement to "you wouldn't know that from some of the compsci lecturers I've dealt with over the years"
I'm going to guess Ben Beever for the asterisk based on the wording he uses in his book, but I really don't know. Maybe it was Colin Wright.
I don't believe that people differ greatly in natural intelligence. Some people just challenge themselves more. The kind of person that challenges themselves to do difficult juggling tricks is the same kind of person who challenges themselves intellectually. Hence why so many jugglers can't resist the challenge of a Rubik's cube for example. Is anyone else here addicted to the game 2048 (just search Google)?
Rob van Heijst - - Genitore #
Ben Beever is correct! He told us on Dumbo Days that he had made an assignment of siteswaps and that he put a little asterisk behind all the synch siteswaps with a note on the bottom that every trick with an asterisk is repeated on the other side. Later other jugglers started using this symbol naturally for this purpose. He said that since it wasn't his intention to invent this for general use he doesn't want the credits for it. However indirect he did invent it so I give him the credits!
That makes sense. You hear a lot about that juggling stimulates the growth of grey matter in the brain (but so does every other activity) but I couldn't believe it would be that effective. I just found out about the 2048 game last week but I didn't have much time to play it yet. My highscore is 9996 and one time I got a tile of 1024. Down, right, down, right, down, right all the way ;)
Actually, I now remember Sean Gandini thanking Ben Beever for the asterisk in the siteswap DVD.
Here's my 2048 PB so far.
https://i.imgur.com/Vpy5g2w.png
Little Paul - - Genitore #
I've been enjoying https://doge2048.com more, largely because of the lack of clues about which images score what.
https://www.dropbox.com/s/32kzgfggzff7myb/Photo%20Apr%2022%2C%202%2045%2048%20PM.png
Here's the 8192 bit. I'm stopping here. It doesn't show in my preview unless I tap the question mark icon.
That's very impressive. I stopped playing long ago when the individual games started taking too long. I think the largest possible tile is 2^17 = 131072, but the chance of getting it would be very low.
That game is frustratingly addictive Peter, I'm not grateful for your 'introducing' it to me
You're a horrible person.
I was addicted since you posted about this game until now when I finally got the 2048 tile.
Crappy game.
OK a more serious hypothesis.
What you're seeing as "smart" is really only innate intelligence to a small degree. Mostly it's the product of someone who has had the persistence, focus, time and opportunity to learn about things in some depth.
In the same way, what you might think of as "juggling talent" is probably only talent to a small degree; mostly it's having the sheer bloody mindedness to put in enough constructive practice.
If this is the case then it's not surprising that the two things correlate.
noslowerdna - - Genitore #
I agree, there are many other aspects besides raw intelligence. In particular, the "gets things done" factor.
It's remarkable what can be achieved by simply combining persistence and curiosity.
BJC2013 DVD has arrived!
I got my DVD (the two DVD set) today and have spent most of the day watching it. For those who haven't ordered it, this is what you get:
DVD 1
The whole public show (inc. Ed Muir Chinese pole act which ended up being in the renegade that night and we therefore missed it).
BYJOTY (yet to watch this bit)
DVD 2
Open stage (acts from Truan Jay Mathias titled as The Broom Guy, Gale (Gayew) Franics & Fulcrum Circus)
Circus Space/Circomedia (with Truan Jay Mathias, Matt Green, Paddy, Harry & Friend)
Team Shreddie Crunch (Dave & Dan, Alan & Sadie, Patrik)
Renegade (Wes, Luke Hogarten, Max Lastic, someone else I've temporarily forgotten)
Interviews with Patrik and Steve Ragatz
Nathan can't do... where Nathan tries to do a few challenges and you see the main hall in the background
What their isn't is any footage of normal stuff, weird stuff, workshops, most renegade stuff, the juggling security guard, the camping, the weather etc. Everything that makes this BJC different from all the other BJCs and other big conventions anywhere in the world.
Nigel
There's a fantastic hall near where I live, which is available on Thursday nights. It's £30 an hour, so it would need numbers to work. 15 people at £4 for the session. The space is really lovely, similar to Jacksons Lane, but maybe higher, and definitely better lit. Who would come? Obviously aimed at London people. It's about 10 minutes walk from Hanger Lane on the Central Line, Park Royal on the Piccadilly Line and maybe 15 minutes from Stonebridge Park on the Bakerloo Line. Just off the North Circular at Hanger Lane.
Bit far for me even when I am in London. From my (fairly limited) experience of juggling clubs, only spinning @ and oddballs (at a push) seem to get over 15 people a week. I think hoping for that many, especially from the start, might be a little optimistic.
Is there a possibility of getting a Freesport grant like Charlie did to get Southbank Jugglers get started?
Incidentally, does anyone know about Passe Passe juggling club at Staples Corner? Is ~4 miles from Hanger Lane, the website listed looks just like a French juggling shop with no mention of any meetings.
Thanks for that link, Miarke, I'll keep an eye on it. It says more info later in the year for now.
I may just go ahead and book a trial night in January, and if noone turns up, have an expensive juggling session! I will naturally let people know well in advance. I may also try and get some photos of the space beforehand. It really is worth coming this far west, believe me!
oops! sorry the Freesport funding finished in May, but there might be other funding available such as www.ealing.gov.uk/info/100003/community/155/community_grants/2
Owen Greenaway - - Genitore #
Too far west for me unfortunately.
hi guys
new to all of this so thought i'd say hello and tell you a bit about me:
my name's bronte cowley, studying english literature in queen mary uni of london.. that's the boring stuff though.
my dad was ross cowley, inventor of the fyrefli fireball, and the reason i got into juggling. i juggle balls and clubs but only basically as i only learnt this year. i guess i just want to learn more, get better etc
see you all soon
Bront x
Bronte, as a university of london juggler I'm disappointed you didn't come to varsity juggling yesterday! UCL (and other non imperial london universities) did come last in the competition, but between London and Oxford we stopped Cambridge winning - so you missed out on a stunning victory really.
Perhaps if the varsity juggling event was listed on the Edge more people would have known about it :P
Owen Greenaway - - Genitore #
I hadn't heard of this either! What is "varsity juggling"?!
A juggling 'competition' between Oxford, Cambridge, Imperial and other assorted London universities. The event wasn't listed on here because it seemed unnecessary. However one event that is listed here that you certainly should know about is OJCC 2014 on the 14th June (World Juggling Day) which will be great fun, and will include a rock paper scissor tournament.
I thought the Varsity juggling event was only open to members of the three university juggling clubs competing.
brontecowley - - Genitore #
I would've loved to be involved! i didn't know QM students could get involved. I was disappointed that there wasn't a juggling society here but if there's a london uni one that i could get involved with i'd love to!
thanks
Bront
Hi Bronte,
Welcome to the Edge. I remember watching your dad juggle on a few renegade stages at old BJCs. Delightfully silly style.
Cheers,
Void
brontecowley - - Genitore #
hi void, that's amazing! and part of the reason i joined this group, to see if i could find people that saw him/knew him/had even heard of him, so thank you!
would love to talk to you about it/him at one of the meetings soon
thanks
Bront
As Opera continue to kill off everything their users hold dear, they have announced they are shutting down the MyOpera community. So I've just rescued loads of things that I've written which includes some of my early web programming projects which might provide some of you with a few minutes entertainment.
world countries
US States
Test your geographical knowledge.
Snake
Enter to start, arrow keys to move, p to pause (can you beat 73?).
Ricochet Robots
Click to select a robot or press enter to cycle through them.
Click a direction or use arrow keys to send robots in the desired direction.
Press 'u' to undo.
Press 'r' to reset.
Press 'n' for a new puzzle.
In amongst the navel gazing of my blog were a couple of nice/useful posts:
High society
Jon buys a cooker
Jon gets a haircut
Tips on moving house
Your world countries game is an exceptional procrastinator. It certainly feels like sporcle for professionals.
I played a similar game around the early 90s on our first PC, so I did fairly well on this game. Unfortunately there are quite a few new countries now and I have no idea where they are, especially the ones in eastern Europe. On a side note, I was unaware that SVGs could be interactive.
Heh, I had the same comments back in 2007! "World countries, island states & arbitrarily named disputed regions" wasn't particularly catchy.
Liverpool Juggling Convention
I'm considering perhaps maybe eventually possibly reviving the Liverpool convention (but this is by no means certain yet). I was hoping some of the more seasoned Edgizens might remember a thing or two about the original run of conventions. All I know so far is what is already on The Edge (i.e. it was typically in late February, and where it was typically held).
Also, if this convention was to be revived, would people be interested in attending? There aren't a great deal of conventions in the north west (Manchester, WJD), but perhaps that is due to lower demand.
I think that two conventions in such a small area of the UK is quite good. Leeds is also not far away. We have far fewer conventions in the South East considering the large number of juggling clubs.
Sorry, I can't help with regards to the Liverpool convention. I'm sure people would go if you have a good venue.
Little Paul - - Genitore #
I've got fond memories of the Liverpool convention (including some very fond memories of cramming 30 people into Barnesys old flat, RC car races round the car park, pizza/chicken/bacon,cheese and mushroom sarnies/sunday dinner etc - but you're obviously not aiming to recreate those!)
I think Liverpool was reasonably unique from the point of view that the show was an impromptu affair (no booked acts, barely any PA system unless Mini had brought his amp can) and held in the basement bar of The Everyman Theater - a room with 7ft ceilings.
With everyone crammed in to the bar, and with beer and the acts being very much part of the audience it had a very special atmosphere.
Luke Burrage cramming kitchen sponges in his mouth, ben beever on his knees flashing 9 balls under that 7ft ceiling, Barnesy giving us a cheeky wave through his diabolo loop - Mini loudly telling everyone to never try to cram their bollocks into a marmite jar...
There's some footage of the 2004 show in here somewhere: http://juggling.tv/4704
So - yes. I remember the Liverpool conventions fondly. What would you like to know?
I was considering a low-budget convention, and if it was popular then perhaps a bigger one in the future. Do you think a Renegade-style show in a pub would still work? There aren't many conventions that have open shows any more. Manchester is the only one that I know of.
I was also interested in the attendance and how it compared to other conventions at the time. This would probably help with guessing how many people to budget for.
And finally, would it be worth trying to "revive" the convention (i.e. try and bring back the "essence" of the original run of Liverpool conventions), or do you think it would be better to just start afresh?
I think it is always better to start fresh, in my experience most revival efforts end in disappointment. Don't feel pressured into doing what you think is expected. If every organiser did this all festivals would be the same & quickly become stale & boring. It also puts unnecessary strain on you as the organiser. I think the pressure to meet people's preconceived ideas of what *has* to happen at a BJC for example is huge & is damaging to the organisation team.
Richard's back to basics manifesto is an excellent starting point & can either be the finishing point or you can add a few bells & whistles of your own.
Some random ramblings:
You can't guess attendance using past figures. The popularity of juggling itself goes up and down, the popularity of the clubs in your local area goes up and down separately, and you never know how much of the past attendance was due to the reputation of the organising team. I reckon you'd get a better read of attendance with a Facebook poll. Make a Facebook event, invite everybody in the world, and then assume half of the people who said Yes will come and all the people who said Maybe will stay at home.
Low-budget and grow slowly is a really great way to de-risk the whole business when you can't guess your attendance very well (and you can't).
As for the evening: if you do go for a renegade-style show, I strongly suggest priming a good number of suspects beforehand. Good renegades are usually much more carefully organised than the audience are aware of.
Without something strong going on in the evening (and renegade doesn't count), you'll get lower numbers; but if you can break even with low numbers, this would be a great way of getting into the swing of things.
There's space for a convention that does something totally different in the evening, if you can find a way to bring people together and keep them entertained without breaking the bank. Pot luck and disco night! I'd come :-)
Alternatively a more formal show can be run on a low budget IF you can use all or nearly all friendly locals and people who are coming anyway. I.e. no payment, no travel expenses, and probably no comped tickets. This can work if a lot of people owe you big favours. You have good odds that half of them will let you down at the last minute anyway, and you can't really blame them.
Finally, the past was great but it's gone now and it is not coming back. Do it your own way.
Don't make any assumptions based on a facebook poll!
Milton Keynes convention most years has about 100 people saying the will come and about 40 people saying maybe on facebook.
Our numbers over the last 4 years are
150, 225, 200, 200 (approx.)
Of those, about half have indicated via facebook that they would be attending. Some have indicated via facebook that they wouldn't be attending!
I'd say that there is a greater than even chance that a one-day convention anywhere in England will attract upwards of 150 people as long as it is planned far enough in advance and advertised properly. The lowest attended convention I have been to in the last 10 years was Nottingham early this September and they had about 100 attendees.
Nigel
Indeed the Facebook part was meant to be distinctly tongue in cheek, no you can't estimate attendance accurately with Facebook.
As for your estimation approach... mathematically speaking, surely it's likely that there were some lower attended conventions and you didn't go to them!
In an average year I will go to at least 6 one day conventions. If they run on a weekend when I am not working and are less than 4 hours travel (one-way) then I am likely to attend. If they are in the South or Midlands then unless it is Leeds convention I have visited them at least once. Nottingham one-day conventions of the ones I have visited have been the ones with the lowest attendance on more than one occasion. I don't think I've been to another one-day convention with less than 120 people (numbers for Taunton convention anyone?)
Nigel
Manchester convention might have had an attendance of less than a hundred, but it doesn't have a massive venue.
Little Paul - - Genitore #
As others have said, if you want to run a convention - don't try to recreate one from the past. You'd do better to do your own thing. Run a fest you would want to go to.
If you're going low budget, then "a show in a pub" will knock a huge chunk off your costs. A lot of pub venues can be had for free (because the pub will make their money on the bar take) and by doing an impromptu/open style show you avoid a load of hassle with booking/paying/transporting acts - but for it to work well, you need to know that there will be people in the audience who can make it good.
So like Emily said, pre-seed the acts, choose your compere carefully. Are there any open-mic comedy gigs in the area? If so, start going to those, make friends with the guy who runs it and pick his brains for ideas about how to run a successful open-mic show.
I'm not sure what Manchester do at the moment as I've not been for years, but they used to do a pub quiz instead of a show with a few acts in the interval.
There's room in the scene for something different, as long as the party doesn't stop when the main venue closes. If people are coming a long way they want something to do in the evening, but that needn't be a show.
In terms of attendance, it depends how/where you advertise it and what time of year you run it. Pick your date carefully and make sure you don't clash (is the jug-con-org mailing list still running? If it is, someone will pop up shortly with details I'm sure!)
As effectively a "new" fest, you need to make people know it's there.
Facebook/Twitter/jugglingedge advertising is free, flyers handed out at exiting events are cheap. Plug the hell out of it and people will come.
Get the basics covered (day venue, evening venue) and if you think you can break even on 50 people aim for that - if you then get 150 people you can always tack on extras on-the-day like free pizza late in the afternoon, or a free drink in the evening venue.
Aim small, get a nice surprise, give some of it back :)
Little Paul - - Genitore #
Oh, and if you're going for an open format show - *don't* call it a renegade.
That name has too much baggage for a one-day fest, and will put some people off "Urgh, I hate renegade, lets not bother" - so call it something else.
Make it sound like something new :)
The Jug Con Org mailing list still exists, but is perhaps only limping along with maybe just 7 posts a year.
https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/jugconorg/info
"a show in a pub" will knock a huge chunk off your costs
Another alternative is to have acts perform in the hall at intervals. We did this at the Tunbridge Wells Festival in 2002 & it worked really well. Here's what I posted on jugconorg after the event:Here's what we learnt:
We separated the acts by an hour which I was worried would leave too little juggling time in between but it seemed to be about right, but some workshops were cut a little short.
The only complaint we received was that there wasn't enough seating available. This was made by a spectating member of the public rather than a convention goer so it doesn't really count ;) We did discuss getting seating in, & aside from the hassle of laying out & packing up, it also makes for a more formal setting, the argument that won was, we're all jugglers - we all know how to watch a street show.
The system was praised as it maintained a high level of interest throughout the day, particularly for the non-jugglers who wandered in (of which we had quite a few). It also helped for a very relaxed & informal atmosphere as everyone was really close to & on the same level as the performers. It also helped keep the cost of the festival down as there was no need to hire a special venue or convert somewhere into a theatre. Arguably this way of doing things is less spectacular than a grand show, but I felt the excitement & anticipation while a performer set up was much better. I also think we got more value for money as after each show people had time to talk about or try out what they had just seen, whereas if there was another 1, 2, 3... acts on immediately after a lot of what the spectator saw would be forgotten.
We could have done better at the end of each act as there was a brief untidy spell, although this was literally only a matter of seconds. In the street people resume their shopping or whatever & a crowd naturally disperses, but I think there was a slight reluctance for people to resume juggling where the performer was while the performer was still there. If you want to give the system a go make sure there is someone on hand to help the performer pack up props & so on, people will want to say thankyou & chat to the performer afterwards so they'll probably appreciate a hand. Put the music through the sound system as soon as possible too just to get things going again.
I also know that some of the interest in this was because it is a different way of doing things. If every festival did the same thing I'm sure we'd probably get some more negative feedback.
Although I'm not sure how well this would work nowadays as you have to take care to pick performers who are good under street conditions rather than 'just' stage acts. I think the former are less common these days.
Cedric Lackpot - - Genitore #
Everyone else talks much sense Chris-san, but there's one thing to add :-
Get in touch with the Black-E and see if they might be interested in helping out. They've been involved with circus stuff in the past (I think Liverpool Jugglers met there for a while) and promoted a circus show by CASUS Circus just one week ago. They even took the trouble to send me some flyers on the strength of having found my name on the net somewhere. If you're lucky they maybe able to help with day or evening venues, promotion, or co-promotion along with their own productions.
There is the potential in Liverpool to develop something. Good luck.
I think you should do it.
I promise to sport my most glorious scouse accent for at least as long as I can be bothered.
On a more serious note, you can run a convention on a shoe string so long as you can find a decent/cheap venue. Our show venue was the Student Union who were happy to have us for free. Is there a scouse circ soc that might give you a hand? Also I found that a huge quantity of low quality advertisement was very effective in getting people through the door - though to be honest, giving out hundreds of flyers at BJC may have helped in that respect.
There is a scouse circus soc, and I'm planning on breaking the news about a possible convention on Thursday. I don't know what sort of facilities the uni has for us to use, but I'm sure some of the current students will have a better idea.
Another thing I was going to ask about was gimmicks. York has the chocolate cake competition, Leeds has doughnuts, Oxford has crayfish (kudos on the name of next years convention, by the way). Is it worth bothering with a gimmick?
mike.armstrong - - Genitore #
When we introduced the doughnuts in Leeds (1999 IIRC) there were conventions most weekends through the "season", so we wanted something cheap and silly to distinguish us from everyone else. They seem to have become a tradition despite all of the people who made that decision moving on.
I'm not convinced that you need to stoop to those levels anymore! Though if you've got a good idea and can afford it then what's the harm?
Little Paul - - Genitore #
I'd check my tshirt for the date, but it's in the wash...
Little Paul - - Genitore #
You remember correctly, "basil" was 1999
It would be great to see the Liverpool convention starting again, I have good memories of past Liverpool conventions. The after-convention activity at the Everyman were good fun too. I think the Juggling Club might have used to go to the Everyman after their juggling sessions so knew the management and could reserve half the bar on a Saturday night - but I might be wrong about that. I agree it would be better to start afresh rather than trying to recreate something that most people will be too young to remember.
There have been several conventions without big shows, Manchester quizzes in the pub were good, Bradford took everyone for a curry afterwards. Not having a big show saves a lot of organising, but the more you have to offer the more likely people are to come to the convention especially if it means travelling. There is also scope for doing something totally new and different in the evening if you can think of something with broad appeal.
The last Liverpool convention did have a show with acts including Dave Barnes, Dave Kelly & Guy Heathcote, but its atmosphere was marred by being held in half a sports hall with no stage or lighting and a game of football being held in the other half of the hall.
I would recommend teaming up with a university juggling society as they may be able to find a cheap venue. It is probably not coincidence that quite a few UK conventions are organised by university societies.
You don't need a gimmick, but if you want one or think of an easy to organise one that might attract more people it doesn't hurt. York convention did not get the Chocfest name or start the chocolate cake gimmick till after they had been going several years and Leeds' doughnut gimmick didn't happen till the 3rd or 4th year.
I think the main thing if you decide to hold it is plenty of publicity, Camvention did a great job of publicising their convention this year and had an attendance of ~250 for what was pretty much a brand new convention, likewise the relaunch of Oxford Convention was well publicised. If there aren't many jugglers locally you will have to work harder to persuade people to travel to your convention on the other hand holding a convention might encourage more local people to juggle.
I agree with avoiding the term "renegade" and you will get better results if you can ask people in advance if they would like to perform rather than expecting people to just volunteer to perform on the day (the same goes for people leading workshops).
Liverpool is not that close to Leeds it is about the same distance as London to Peterborough but with a slower train service.
The first Chocfest Chocolate Cake Challenge was at Chocfest 4 (I think Chocfest 3 was the first to carry the Chocfest name?) and was invented as a way to get more chocolate in to Chocfest.
It took 3 years to properly catch on. The first year I think we had about 10 or 12 cakes and the second year we had a grand total of 6 cakes (including one huge cake made by the university canteen staff that fed at least half the convention). We advertised it more for the third year and that's when we started getting 20+ cakes (now up to 35-40 cakes!).
As others have said though, a good convention will have the basics done well - the rest is just icing ;)
Only bother with stuff like that once you have nailed the important bits: Budget, venue under contract, vast amounts of publicity, planning for evening events if you are having some.
If you find yourself having organised that lot comfortably with plenty of time to spare then you can knock yourself out on the scouse alternative to doughnuts.
OR if you have an enthusiastic and creative person hovering about who is unable to help with any of the above, this problem is for them.
Little Paul - - Genitore #
This with knobs on.
Get the basics sorted first, then add the quirky stuff afterwards.
The crayfish was more of an accidental promise that we didn't deliver on in any way than a gimmick. The only thing there was to do with crayfish at last year's ojc was me talking about them in the run up to the event, and albie giving me a carrier bag of them on the sunday afternoon when I left his.
That said, I'll be talking about them with similar vigour this year as I'm sure you've discovered already from the name of the convention.
Richard Loxley - - Genitore #
Sounds good.
When picking a date it's worth noting that Birmingham Ballring tends to be early February and Bath Upchuck tends to be late February. If you can pick a date that's not too close to other events you may get more people coming.
I was initially planning on keeping the date close to the original dates used for the Liverpool conventions, but I don't want to "compete" with Birmingham, Bath or Sheffield. (Un)fortunately, there are a lot of conventions in the UK, and wherever a new convention is placed, it will be close to at least one other.
It is only 10 weeks till February which is not a huge amount of time to publicise and organise a new convention.
For comparison JuggLINCOLNvention started advertising ~13 months in advance, Oxford Convention ~7 months, Camvention ~6 months.
This is not to say it cannot be done, but something to bear in mind and maybe will have to publicise slightly harder.
Not to mention that finding an acceptable venue (i.e. cheap enough) can take time, getting an agreement with the owners can take longer, and most of the country grinds to halt for at least two weeks over the Christmas holidays.
Or you could find a venue tomorrow and sign a contract the next day and then bingo! but more likely not.
Also watch out for exam periods. Your convention budget can stand or fall on ten attendees and exams could put a fork right in it.
I had no intention of running it this coming February. I'll probably have to wait until Ballring and Upchuck (and possibly Sheffield) have confirmed a date for 2015 before considering a late February/early March convention.
Ballring is the 8th Feb 2014 and UpChuck haven't announced their date yet, but this year there was only Chocfest, Ballring, Belfast, UpChuck and Sheffield in the 14 weekends before BJC - so there is space for more conventions.
Having conventions on consecutive weekends can also be detrimental to attendance so is probably best avoided.
I'd say that even two weeks apart isn't so great if you are in the same part of the country. There were a number of people at Cambridge convention who had made it to MKJC in previous years but didn't make it this year. Maybe our show line up didn't excite them enough or Cambridge did the publicity better but it is worth thinking about. Saying which Liverpool is a long distance from Bath so that will have much less of a crossover than Birmingham. (I know that despite all the good things I've heard about it that I have no plans for ever going to Durham convention as the journey is just a bit too much).
We made it to two Liverpool juggling conventions and enjoyed them so please bring it back. First weekend of February half term would be ideal for me at the moment :-)
Nigel