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)