Friday 30 December 2011

BARGAIN HUNT, BAUBLES AND WHITE BEARDS!!

A day at the races!
Me and Mr Fred
It's been a busy season here at Circus headquarters. Normally the Circus tent is packed away for the winter but this year we gave it a special treat and went to the races!!! Fontwell is just down the road and a couple of days before Christmas Chi Chi and I went to put up the tent in preparation for the Fontwell family Race day on Boxing Day. The weather was a bit blustery but luckily we had plenty of helpers to help keep the tent from being whisked off while we battened down the hatches! Boxing Day was great and Fred and I opened up the tent for the day to run workshops... there were children spinning plates and Mum's and Dad's brushing up on their juggling skills all day!
December kicked off with our filming the Bargain Hunt auction... it was one of our most exciting days ever... watch this space and we'll let you know when to tune in to see whether we we won a fortune... or not!


The absolute highlight of December has been playing Santa and his naughty Elf (Chi Chi of course!). Fred and Chi Chi played the part at themed restaurant evenings where Fred had all the women queuing up to sit on his lap (HILARIOUS!!!!!) and then they did some great children's Christmas parties for the forces. Fred and Chi Chi absolutely LOVED it and everyone commented what a great Santa he made... never thought I'd be Santa's Mrs!!!
The bookings are still coming in which should keep them out of mischief over the winter.
That just leaves me to say Have an absolutely splendiferous Christmastime and a wonderfully warm and happy new year.
A HUGE thank you to everyone who has booked us or come along to see us this year - it really has been our best and happiest season ever.
Hoping to see you soon
Toodly pip for now
Mrs Fred x

Friday 11 November 2011

CIRCUS GOES LOOKING FOR A BARGAIN!!!

OOOOh, it's been busy here at the Circus head office... Fred and Chi Chi have many a tale to tell and have been non-stop performing for private parties and cabarets from London to New York!!! Yes... China's dreams have come true and as we speak she is over in the big apple with another couple of performers putting on shows in a theatre in Manhattan... I've never seen her as excited! Check her out at www.chichirevolver.co.uk.



The other main event of the month was becoming contestants in Bargain Hunt!!! They were both SO excited - as was I - as Fred and I usually have a lunch date with the programme every day of the week. They have yet to take their amazing buys to auction and the whole thing will be televised in the new year... watch this space...
To top all the events Mrs Fred... yes ME, turned 50!!!! Fred was husband of the year and took me on a surprise birthday treat... a week sailing up and down the Stratford canal. We celebrated at the end of the week as no-one fell in - not even Henry the mind reading dog - and we only had one 'difficult' moment when we were trying to turn the boat around... I had sense of humour failure as boats just don't do what they're told but luckily Fred came to the rescue with a pole and guided the boat out of a sticky end... Here's me back on form and at the helm! And then one of me blowing out the candles on my chocolate hedgehog cake which my sister and niece kindly surprised me with in the restaurant! (thank you - I've never eaten Hedgehog before... yum!)
So it's over and out for now... will be back soon with tales of bargains, New York and Fred and Chi Chi's birthdays.
Toodly pip for now
Mrs Fred xxx

Wednesday 21 September 2011

FRED GOES LIVE!!!

It's been a bit busy at Fred's Flying Circus headquarters... driving up and down the M1 motorway, discovering Krispy Kreme lemon meringue donuts (AMAZING!!!), making popcorn and teaching some truly DELIGHTFUL children how to be as skilled and as daft as Fred and Chi Chi. A HUGE thank you to all the children and staff at Jerome School in Norton Canes - you treated us like royalty and the many cups of tea and friendly faces were much appreciated! Thanks also to the team of 'muscle' who stayed behind after the show on Friday to help take down... you do win the prize for getting the stakes out of the most difficult ground this year. At one stage we thought we would need to find a Land rover and a rope to get them out but your brute force and determination got the better of them!
Also a big thank you to the wonderful children we taught at Huncote near Leicester. We only had just over an hour to teach you the whole routine and you did it all SO perfectly...

We're back home now and I've been busy setting up a brand new website for Fred... It's quite basic at the moment but images and videos will be going up over the next few days so keep checking him out at www.freddelius.co.uk

If you have missed us this year, you now have the chance to see Fred and Henry, 'the World's only Mind Reading Dog' on youtube...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F7v_MCkpaHw
enjoy!

Toodly pip for now!
Mrs Fred x

Thursday 15 September 2011

Flying circus nearly flies away!

The sun is shining, the tent is up and at the moment I can hear Fred and Chi Chi in the big top amazing and amusing the children in the morning workshop.
We arrived here at Jerome School in Norton Canes, just outside of Cannock on Tuesday night to a great reception of smiles and tea a plenty.... but also plenty of wind!!! It was still rather strong after Monday's gales and so we set about bashing stakes in with our sturdy helpers. On Wednesday morning the wind had died down enough to lift the lid and the children gathered on the playground to watch the big top go up - now you don't see THAT every day at school!
Today and tomorrow night the school children will be working with Fred and Chi Chi and tonight they will be starring in their own circus show.
I'll be back soon with more news live from the circus caravan.
Toodly pip!
Mrs Fred x

Tuesday 13 September 2011

Back on the road...

The schools are back and after a summer of fun, cabaret and entertaining the public we are back on the road for our last few gigs with our beautiful little big top (before it gets too cold and dark for Mrs Fred to be out camping!!!). We've just packed up the van and in a couple of hours will be heading off to Cannock in the midlands to spend some time at Jerome Primary School. Then on Sunday we head 50 miles East to the Blaby festival where we will be working with a group of children to put on a circus spectacular later in the day... watch this space for photos!

And finally... Have you heard of horse manning?... it's a craze that started in the 1920's named after the headless horseman and we just HAD to have a go!!! It's brilliant fun... go and google it now and see how others have beheaded themselves!
If you see us on the road, give us a toot!
Mrs Fred x

Friday 19 August 2011

Up up and away!

We were up early this morning and by 9.30 I was tootling round to pick up Chi Chi and Kate - our glamorous helpers! We met up with Fred to pick up the caravan and we were soon arriving at Shoreham airport where it was a hive of activity! As we came in on the A27 a hurricane was coming in to land and stall holders were on the airfield setting up for the weekends events.
The first thing out of the van were the teabags and the doughnuts... and by the time the kettle had boiled our great friend The Incredible Mr Marsh (www.rufusmarsh.co.uk) had arrived to lend a hand. Other helpers were slow to turn up and so even yours truly took up a sledge hammer. Don't think I was MUCH help but was quite proud of the fact that I drove 3, 4ft stakes into the ground when normally I wimp out half way through the first one. The medal does have to go to The Incredible Mr Marsh (otherwise known as Rufus) as he drove in the majority of the stakes and quickly took the nickname of 'the machine' as he just didn't stop!
The Team (including me who is behind the lens)
We will be back at the Airshow first thing tomorrow morning to help lead the procession at 9.45. The circus tent will be open all day both Saturday and Sunday so DO come in to see us.
More news coming soon...
Bye for now
Mrs Fred x



Thursday 18 August 2011

Chocs Away!

We're all SO excited here at Fred's Flying Circus headquarters! Tomorrow we are heading over to Shoreham airport to put up the 'Little' Big Top in preparation for the Airshow weekend. It's an event we do every year and thoroughly enjoy!
We will be one of the major children's events and are starting the proceedings with a Circus parade at 10am Saturday morning. The tent will be open all day Saturday and Sunday so you can come and try out some circus skills. At various times during the day Fred will be amazing and amusing with his magic and Chi Chi will be performing her incredible hula hoop routine. I will be there to help out and make cups of tea.
I'll be back very soon with news of the Airshow straight from the circus caravan!
Watch this space!
Mrs Fred x

Friday 29 July 2011

Mr and Mrs Fred go on a photo shoot!

Fred is busy planning a guitar offensive to keep him out of mischief in the cold winter months. The ground will be too hard (or too soggy) to knock the Circuses 4ft stakes into the ground and Mrs Fred definately will NOT be found sleeping out in a caravan!!! (don't think Chi Chi will be up for that either!).
A publicity card is being produced by yours truly and here are a couple of photos I took of Fred down by the beach huts at Rustington last night... Think he looks rather handsome! Amazing what a bit of photoshopping can do in the right hands! (sorry Fred!).
Fred is available to entertain and amuse with magic, music, comedy and other dangerous stuff!



Speak again soon
Mrs Fred x

Thursday 21 July 2011

Home and dry!

We'd just like to say a HUGE thank you to everyone at Upminster Junior School. We have just completed a 3 day circus experience for the year 6's - each day a new class worked hard in the tent with Fred and Chi Chi and each evening they put on a fabulous show. There were so many brilliant moments with hoops landing on heads, diabolos being flung around and volunteers on stage who were an absolute gift!
Last night we hit an all time record for the take-down of the tent - thanks to all the brilliant volunteers who stayed on after the show in the pouring rain. In 15 minutes we had the tent packed away in the van and in half an hour we were saying our goodbyes. Thank you especially to the 2 guys who were there at the putting up of the tent in the thunderstorm AND they made a special trip to come and help with the take down - you know who you are. If either of you ever want to run away with the circus....
This morning Fred and I went and emptied the caravan and put it away until it's next trip in August. The washing machine is on constantly, I'm busy catching up with emails and Fred and I had to go and treat ourselves to an ice cream to give us some energy!
Fred, Chi Chi and I have had the most wonderful schools tour this year. We are back on the road again in September with the tent and then working in schools during the winter months  (without the tent... it's far too cold). We still have dates available so if you want a circus experience to cheer up those winter blues, do give us a call.
Fred and Chi Chi are working at several events and doing quite a bit of cabaret over the summer. Chi Chi is also running a hula hoop workshop at the Sidney Walter Centre in Worthing during August. She has had to hire the room for an extra hour to run another class as she has been inundated with people signing up. There are still places on one of the courses - go to http://www.chichirevolver.com/#/workshops/4552344081 for details.
The next time the tent goes up is at The Shoreham Airshow http://www.shorehamairshow.co.uk from the 20th-21st August where we will be running FREE workshops all day... hope to see you there!
A BIG thank you to all the schools we have visited this year, the pupils, the teachers, the caretakers and the audiences... and all the people who gave us a toot on the road!
I'll be back soon with more tales of our adventures...
Mrs Fred x

Tuesday 19 July 2011

The Thunderstorm blues!

Well I woke up this morning... with a resonator guitar in the tent!
This isn't something that you will see in the circus show... but this is another talent in Fred's vast repertoire... his serious side I guess. Fred took up the resonator guitar just about a year ago after we had seen a beautiful guitar in a shop window on the Isle of Skye. Fred's musical talents go back a long way when he used to play classical guitar to audiences in Brighton many moons ago. Since then he has also learned to play classical and blues piano and now the resonator is his love. When he's not 'clowning around' he will be practicing his guitar... and it sounds pretty damn good too!!
The Thunderstorm Blues could be heard far and wide as we got to Upminster Junior School on Sunday night. We had just arrived to start setting up when a wind whipped up and the heavens opened... and then just as we were about to lift the pole a thunderstorm arrived. We delayed the lifting of the pole until the worst of it had passed to avoid more interesting hairstyles in the circus! Thanks to all the helpers who turned up and braved waterfalls coming off the side of the tent... I think the screams of laughter meant that everyone saw the funny side!
After everyone had gone, we were left in a soggy field and Chi Chi's tent wasn't looking such a good idea... so this is what she devised... PURE GENIUS!

A van-tent... Chi Chi's cosy nest!
We are now well into 3 days of children's shows - working with a new group each day and what LOVELY children they all are.
Last nights show went down a storm (excuse the pun) and today it's a new group and the sun is shining! If you're near Upmister and fancy coming to see the show - do come along!
Henry and I are busy working away in the caravan (well SOME of us are!!). Henry has had to take a few days rest as he has a paw injury... think Bert is helping out!


Toodly pip for now...
I'll be back soon.
Mrs Fred x

Thursday 14 July 2011

Fred's Flying Circus World Tour


Just sat here in the circus tent drawing up a new logo for Chi Chi Revolver. At the moment it is a mix of tattoo glamour, hoops and stars. Chi Chi keeps looking at my scribbles and is making all the right noises so it could well be up on her website in the next couple of weeks... www.chichirevolver.com.
I've also just been to look at my blog stats and amazed and delighted to see that people have logged on from all over the world... Australia, France, Germany, Russia, USA and of course a huge percentage of readers from the UK. Hello to you all and thanks for reading my caravan ramblings - it's so lovely to know I'm not talking to myself - as usual!
At the moment we are just an hour from home, here at Cradle Hill School in Seaford. We seem to have a lot of rainbows appearing over our tent - which we take as a good omen!


Last night was the first show and the children were absolutely amazing! This is our final day here and we finish tonight with another children's show. Fred and Chi Chi are busy working away with the kids in the tent as we speak.
We will arrive back home tonight and then we're off again on Sunday to Upminster... our last school before the summer holidays. Keep checking out the blog as I will be posting news of our summer adventures... and then September we are back working in Schools again. We still have some dates for September/October so if you're interested please don't hesitate to call and speak to myself or Fred. Contact details can be found on our website www.fredsflyingcircus.co.uk
Toodly pip for now and do hoot if you see us en route!
Mrs Fred x

Sunday 10 July 2011

Who got the biggest ice cream?

Well... the Boss, of course! Not too sure Chi Chi was so happy about it!.. but then Fred doesn't know about the Jaffa cakes I've sneaked into the caravan for our next trip! shhhhhhh!

Just to keep you up with our latest shenanigans - Yesterday was a long but fabulous day. It all started at 6am when we picked Chi Chi up from her new house. Sideshow Sam and Russell bear (their dog) were still happily in the land of nod as we set off to Leighton Buzzard Carnival. We were there by 8.15am and met by a lovely and very well organised carnival team. By 9am we had unloaded the van and marked out and as I was starting to get the stakes out I turned around to see our helpers arrive... eight army cadets and their Sargeant and Lance Corporal - all ready for action! PERFECT!
The tent was up in no time at all and as I was starting to put up the scenery Fred and Chi Chi arrived with hands full of complimentary bacon butties - the best we'd tasted in a long time!
12.30 we were opening the doors to a whole crowd who had turned up for the Circus workshop. The kids were all brilliant and showed that just by trying again and again they were soon starting to juggle, balance and spin!
Fred and Chi Chi watching the Carnival floats come in!

The carnival was buzzing and soon we were in to our two circus shows of the day.

If you want to learn to hoop like Chi Chi Revolver and you live in the Worthing area, why not sign up to her 6 week course where you can learn to hoop and giggle at the same time www.chichirevolver.com/workshops
Before we knew it everyone was packing up to go home and the heavens opened. 
All packed up and a little soggy round the edges we set off back home for a well earned bubble bath and sat and watched our friend Romany perform on the Penn and Teller show - an absolute delight! She may not have fooled Penn and Teller, but she fooled us!
Today we are getting ready for tomorrow when we are back on the road to Seaford which is just along the coast. Look out for more blog posts from the caravan and if you see us on our travels DO give us a toot!

Friday 1 July 2011

Pots of gold!

There's a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow!

Wednesday and Thursday night's shows at Hinckley in Leicestershire were a HUGE success! The rain stayed away but I managed to snap this as we were taking Henry for his 'after show run'.
The tent was full to capacity on both nights and a great time was had by all! Thank you Battling Brook Community School for inviting us along to help you fund raise... thanks to the children who were all FANTASTIC!... and thanks to Julie from the PTA who looked after us so well... and, most importantly, bought us much needed ice creams at the end of the Wednesday show. I'd also like to thank her for the packets of popping candy she gave to China for the journey home... it was HILARIOUS watching Fred trying to negotiate the M1 motorway and a mouthful of fizzing popping sugar!... it did help to keep us all awake!
We arrived home in Worthing at 1 O'clock in the morning for bubble baths and a good nights sleep.
Chi Chi is off to London tonight to perform her cabaret act and then Fred and Chi Chi head off to Tunbridge Wells on Sunday. I'm off to Dorset for a family reunion and to celebrate my uncles 70th birthday... HAPPY BIRTHDAY UNCLE PETER!!!...
I'm back with the Circus on Monday... toot if you see us on the way!
More news soon!
The school bus/cafe that sits in the playground (spot our poster)


Wednesday 29 June 2011

8 HOOP SPLITS!

... Following on from Chi Chi's upsidedown hula hooping from the trapeze (see Chi Chi Revolver's facebook page for a short film of this death defying act)... I caught her practicing her new 8 HOOP SPLIT!!! Inbetween intensive looks of concentration and giggles she is well on the way to performing her spectacular new 'hoop trick'. Check HER out at www.chichirevolver.com!


Meanwhile the show rehearsals are in full swing at Battling Brook school in Hinckley... The show tonight has been completely sold out... so just off to make bucket loads of popcorn.
I'll be back shortly to give more news from here in Hinckley Leicestershire. If you're coming to the show tonight or tomorrow, you're in for a treat!

Sunday 26 June 2011

Fred's Flying Circus nearly takes flight!

Friday night and we've all settled down after a storm of a Circus show. The children of Greenford Primary school put on a great performance and looked VERY bright in all their costumes! (go to http://www.schooljotter.com/showpage.php?id=128501 to see all the school photos - there are some really great ones there!).
Anyway... Fred was ready for bed at 8.30 but Chi Chi and I were wide awake so decided to venture to the local pub for a swift half of lovely local cider. About 10 we left to get back to camp. There was a bit of rain in the air and it was a bit blowy...  we bedded down for the night as the rain started hammering down and the wind started buffeting the tents and caravan. I soon got a text from Chi Chi in her tent... "EEk it's a bit blustery in here!". All night I kept an ear out in case Chi chi's tent took flight and much to our delight it stayed firmly fixed to the ground. One of the School's gazebos obviously took the worst of the storm and produced a very abstract, mangled looking sculpture in the corner of the field. At about 8.30 I heard Chi Chi's tent zip and looked out to see a VERY tired and disgrunted face!!! I guess it's hard to sleep when you feel you're inside a very noisy washing machine!
A few cups of tea later and we were all feeling a tad more human. The school fete was in full swing now and I found Chi Chi at the sweet AND cake stall looking for something to replenish her energy stores (apparently)!
This will wake me up!
Chi Chi saved her last sweet for me... ahhh!
The Circus show was the finale to the fete and before we knew it (thanks to our amazing helpers) we were back on the road to get home to hot bubbly baths. Chi Chi was particularly excited as her and Sideshow Sam have just bought their first house just down the road from Fred and I... which is AMAZING!!!
Tomorrow we are back on the road up to Hinkley in Leicestershire... do give us a toot if you see us!

Friday 24 June 2011

THE SAT NAV IS HAVING A LAUGH!

Wednesday we set out on a pretty straightforward run to Greenford School in Dorset but on the way the Sat Nav decided to demonstrate it's sense of humour and took us on an interesting route for the last part of the journey. Instead of following major A roads it decided it would be MUCH more fun to see Fred panic as we found ourselves in a sprinter van pulling a caravan venturing up single track country lanes!!! Ha ha ha we thought! Luckily we did actually get to the school... and the warm welcome, tea and biscuits soon calmed Fred's nerves!
A great bunch of helpers turned up and the tent was flying it's flag in no time at all.

Putting up scenery first thing in the morning

Next morning we were up early putting up scenery and the trapeze... ready for the workshops to begin. The day started with the whole school turning up in circus outfits to dance outside the tent in the sunshine! BRILLIANT!!!

The day went well with Fred and Chichi running workshops for the whole school.

This morning Fred and I started the day early with a lovely walk through local water meadows with a river running by... Maiden Newton is pretty idyllic. The whole village is also festooned with posters advertising the circus shows tonight and tomorrow afternoon so we're expecting a good crowd.

We got back and found a very happy but pretty exhausted Chichi. Her new smaller hoops arrived yesterday and we found her practicing her new 8 hoop split!!!!! (has to be seen to be believed... I'll put a picture up in the next couple of days). Looks amazing already and knowing Chichi she will master it in no time at all... check her out at www.chichirevolver.com

If you're in the area DO pop along to see one of our shows which includes the AMAZING children's circus show (definately NOT to be missed!)... you can also see Chichi 'hooping', Fred with his magic, mayhem and bad jokes, Henry, the world's only mind reading dog!!!... and ME selling homemade popcorn and a whole load of new badges that have just arrived (after completely selling out at a show last week)....



Until next time...
Mrs Fred x

Monday 20 June 2011

Circus lion eats Fred!


Our adventure to Poringland Primary school was just amazing... After battling through the traffic on the M25 we arrived and were greeted by a whole team of helpers and big smiles. The tent was put up in no time at all and we were soon settling down to putting up scenery, setting up camp and rehearsals.
Fred disrupting Chichi's rehearsals!
The next days school assembly was held in the tent as all the children were introduced to Fred, Chichi and the amazing little big top in their school playing field. The day continued with a timetable of circus workshops so all the children in the school could experience a taste of being a circus star. 
Friday was spent teaching a group of 23 children circus routines that they would then perform that evening in front of a live audience. Fred and Chichi commented that these were amazing children - they all listened and put their all into their learning experience. During the class the children are asked if they have anything special they'd like to perform..."A double back flip and a somersault will do nicely" is Fred's usual request... only this time he was greeted by "yes okay"... we just so happened to have a champion gymnast in our midst... in fact 2!! The show that evening was spectacular!
Grrrrrrrrrr!
Saturday was the school fete and a fabulous painting of a lion and it's tamer was installed by the circus entrance. We were now ready for the three shows of the day and I set about making copious amounts of popcorn!
Some of the children who had performed the previous evening turned up in their bright costumes and red noses to perform again... they'd really got the bug! During the second show they even improvised and made up a new routine all by themselves - a sign of being true professionals!
It was sad when the last show was over but it was great to see so many people stay to help us strike the tent. We set out to beat our record of 30 minutes to take down but we were severly hampered by the kids coming round with trays of FREE CAKE... yum!
After being waved off by everyone we were on our way back home... oh WHAT a lovely time we had in Poringland Primary! Thanks to Richard Burbage and all his staff and PTA who made it such a lovely experience for us all.
Next stop... Dorset. We hit the road again on Wednesday so do give us a toot if you see us on the way!

Tuesday 14 June 2011

Mrs Fred runs away with the Circus!

Well we're now well into June and my plan of starting a blog from the Circus caravan back in April was rudely interrupted with putting up big tops, making popcorn with my new Whirlypop machine and making sure Fred and Chichi have enough snacks and cups of tea!
The season started superbly well with our annual visit to Brooklands Park in sunny Worthing.


This is our fourth year running at Brooklands and it just gets better and better. We saw plenty of new faces and plenty of fans who come back year after year and the tent was full to capacity most of the time. We were truly blessed with good weather and those sun hats and ice creams came rolling in!
Next we were off to Furley Park school in Ashford Kent for a week. Fred and Chichi worked each day with 40 children (what a squeeze!) who then put on a show for their parents and the local community in the evening. We did this for 4 nights running to a full house each night. All the children and staff were FANTASTIC - they all made us feel very welcome and it was quite sad to be waving goodbye.
Our next stop was Giffards school in Essex... we were greeted with smiles, cups of tea and Jaffa cakes and it just kept getting better! The last night was spectacular - most of the audience stayed after the show to help us take down the tent and pack up and the circus. We were so pleased to be asked to go back again next year!


Last weekend we headed off to Benenden School in Kent as part of the weekend activities for the girls there. Our tent looked so lovely on the green in front of the school. Again we had such a lovely time with the girls who put on an amazing show... amongst all the giggling! A huge thank you to the staff who looked after us impecably AND invited us to the most amazing sunday brunch...
Next time I speak I'll be sat in the circus caravan up in Norwich tapping away on my laptop... we are heading off tomorrow... give us a toot if you see us on the road!