BIRTHDAY TIME!!!

November is the month of birthdays... for Fred, Chi Chi and ME! This week saw Chi Chi and I going for a double birthday treat of getting our nails done (me glittery silver and Chi Chi neon pink... of course!!!) and then I got a relaxing (sort of - but that's another story) facial so I look 20 years younger (or have my eyes just got worse?).
Wednesday night we went to celebrate Chi Chi's birthday with all her friends - many of whom had the most AMAZING shoes... ideal for Brighton but not for hiking!

Life is very hectic with Fred and Chi Chi travelling all over the place to various cabaret's and shows. Yesterday they were in Oxford, tonight Brighton and tomorrow they are frontlining the Cirque de Cabaret at Martlets Hall in Burgess Hill with their amazing illusion act. Tickets are £12 and doors open 8pm.
Then neither of them have a day off until after Christmas and even I will make a couple of appearances as 'Santa's helper'... elf costume at the ready!... not sure green is my colour but it will be a laugh.
I'm now working on updating the Fred's Flying Circus website so keep checking the blog out... I'll try and keep up to date with news and gossip... NOT from the caravan I hasten to add... but from the comfort of the armchair by the log fire!
I wish you fun and warms for the jolly season.
Toodle pip for now
Mrs Fred xxx

FRED'S GOING FLYING FOR THE WEEKEND

Sorry for not blogging for SUCH a long time... things have been busy here at circus headquarters and now we are on our final sortie of the year. For the 8th year running, we are back at Shoreham Airshow for the weekend and enjoying every minute! I have just got back and have had such a great day helping with the circus workshops - which kids, mums, dads and grandparents have all joined in! AMAZING!!!!
Fred and I are also a BIT sad as we have now sold our beautiful little big top and it will be going to it's new home straight after the airshow. However... we are SOOOOO happy to be passing it on to the amazing Zaz who is turning it into Circus Pazaz. Zaz started his dreams of the circus about 25 years ago when he went along to one of Fred's juggling workshops in Brighton and was inspired!!!!... so we feel it has come full circle and Zaz has also asked Fred to tour with him next year - which Fred is incredibly excited about!!!
Anyway.... off to make a well earned cup of tea - I will be back soon with more news and gossip from circus headquarters.
If you're at the airshow tomorrow - do pop in to see us!
Toodly pip for now
Mrs Fred x

NELLIE THE ELEPHANT PACKED HER TRUNK

Well we may be saying a goodbye to the little big top.... but I'm sure it's not the last you will see of the Fred's Flying Circus duo!
We are now back at circus headquarters, unpacking our trunks and getting used to sleeping indoors, carpets and running water!
It was a truly amazing last week of our 'little' Big Top tour this year which started last Saturday at Shoreham-by-sea. A really lovely time we had helping the school with their annual summer fair - the big top put up in the morning, 2 shows to amaze and amuse and then a take-down at the end of the day. Thank you to all the brilliant helpers and audiences!

The Circus crowd at East Grinstead

Sunday we were up early and off to East Grinstead where we were met by a fabulous team of helpers and a HUGE tray of bacon butties!!!! (now THAT's what I'm talking about!!!). During the afternoon we put on 2 shows to a packed big top and then Monday we stayed on to give the whole school the chance to try their hand at circus skills.
Monday night we were back home and just enough time to pack ready for our final school of the year over in Essex.

Fred and Chi Chi joined by Zaz

We visited Giffards school last year and we're SOOO happy to be asked back again.  For the next 3 days we worked with a different group of children and each night there was a show. Again we had a packed house every night - helped enormously by the many colourful posters that the children had designed and hand drawn all around the school and displayed on the school gates (see my previous post). We were also joined by Zaz the clown who is all set to take over the big top from April next year. He came along to learn the ropes of putting up the big top and also gave us a hand entertaining the masses... thanks Zaz!!!

The most exciting news for Chi Chi was the arrival of her brand new LED hula hoop. She couldn't wait until it was dark to try it out and I got all arty with some long exposures on the camera...

Friday night was the last show - a very strange feeling for us all - especially Fred and Chi Chi who had been touring in the tent for the last 8 years. Both Fred and Chi Chi pulled out all the stops and the show was AMAZING!!! (Fred was particularly funny with his cups and balls routine and I'm sure the woman sitting next to me was in danger of wetting herself). It's such a special thing to see Fred and Chi Chi on stage together - and especially in their little big top which we all fell in love with the first time it went up many years ago...
Here are some photos from the final show...
I'll be back with news and gossip of their latest projects... including details of their circus workshops and shows without the big top... so watch this space!
Thank you to everyone who has booked us, helped us or come to see the shows in our 'little' Big Top over the years - you've all made it a truly magical experience.
Toodly pip for now (sniff, sniff)
Mrs Fred xxx

A Fred and Chi Chi pre show hug

All set up and ready to go!

Zaz and his hats!

Fred and his bottle balancing

the juggooping Chi Chi

Chi Chi getting the feet into gear and Fred checking the safety of the chairs

Great signs the kids made for Freds chair

And Chi Chi's chair

And another one for Fred!

The Giffards children and teachers surprised us all with a bunch of flowers, big cake (complete with big top on the top and a huge card made by the kids... Fred must have got a fly in his eye!

Add caption

xxx

FRED'S FLYING POSTERS

Just a quick post before I upload all the gossip and news from the Fred's Flying Circus last gig in the 'little' big top!

I thought you might like to see these AMAZING posters that the children of Giffards school designed to advertise their show with us... pretty spectacular!

CIRCUS ENDS FLYING HIGH

We're at Giffards School in Essex for the last EVER show in the big top before we hand over the reins to Matt Zaz.
It's sure to be a great show... and a big box of tissues back stage for the tears.
Watch this space for the full story and LOADS of photos... coming soon to a screen near you!
Toodly pip for now from the Circus tent!
Mrs Fred xxx

Mad welshmen and shiny new tractors!

It's been a few days since we got back to Circus headquarters and I have only just got over the amazing experience of Y Bont Faen Primary school!!!
It was just over a week ago that we set out on a new adventure - to what the GPS tells us was a new country. How EXCITING!!!
The trip there went well with Fred, Chi Chi, Henry and me all in the van. We knew that there was going to be a problem with access to the school field but on arrival we decided to give the sloping field a 'go' and drove down the the flat area when we were to put up the tent. This also meant that Chi Chi didn't have to sleep in the van in the carpark - which was nicely positioned between a graveyard and the bins! (she's obviously been watching too many zombie films!).

The last of the stakes being bashed in by a team of 8!

First slight hitch was trying to bash half the stakes into Limestone!!! But... to the rescue came DYNAMIC DEAN and his team who used their brute force, determination and muscle to power through the Welsh landscape.

Tent up... job done.. and then we decided to see if we could get the van out of the field... I think it was on about the 10th attempt the Assistant head came along and said - "don't worry - my husband will come along and drag you out with his tractor - no worries" (Thanks Julia)
The next few days we were treated like royalty. With the threat of gale force winds and heavy rain the school offered us shelter in the school - but we're a hardy lot and braved it out in the van and Chi Chi slept in her tent backstage inside the big top.
We have to thank the amazing Headteacher Meic who kept us entertained with his amazing comedy banter, sense of humour and kindness. The highlight has to be sitting in the school hall Friday night watching Tin Tin on the huge screen!!!... Chi Chi was in heaven.

Meic looking busy!

The shows were amazing and what a great audience - they whooped, whistled and cheered all in the right places.

And so to Sunday... After the 2 shows on Saturday we packed up as much as we could and Sunday morning came the team of helpers... including Meic who had only had 3 hours sleep...

Spot Fred's matching John Deere hat that Chi Chi
had bought him for fathers day... what a coincidence!!!

And then came the exciting bit. A HUGE THANK YOU to Julia and her husband (and his new tractor)... who towed us out of the field... our most dramatic exit of the year!!


And so now we are into our final week of touring with the big top. There is going to be many a tear as Fred and Chi Chi (and Sam) have had many memorable and magical experiences and I have utterly enjoyed touring with them these last 2 years.
Fred and Chi Chi are still working hard on many projects and are going to continue their work in schools - but just without our lovely big top.

Look out for my next blog as we are bound to have a few new adventures in our last week. Next stop... Shoreham-by-Sea.

And thank you again to all the staff and children at Y Bont Faen school - you are definately in our top 3 schools of all time!!

Toodly Pip for now
Mrs Fred xxx

MORNING CAMPERS!

Sorry not to have been posting for a while... the heat frazzled a few more brain cells and a hefty workload has been keeping my blogging at bay! (Not that I'm complaining!).
The last time I wrote we were in the idyllic countryside of West Oxfordshire, fanning ourelves and trying to find shade. The shows at Shipton-under-Wychwood were FABULOUS!!!! Everyone was SO lovely to us and we had a really wonderful time. Saturday, after the afternoon show we packed up and popped home for a night so we could get ourselves ready for Tunbridge Wells (or Bumbridge Smells) as we so fondly renamed it!
On the Sunday we were again met with bright smiley faces and Debbie, the organiser, met us with a whole big box full of Jaffa Cakes!!!! It was also a welcome sight to see many helpers arrive - amongst them, Bob - a 6ft 12 (or so it seemed) muscle bound helper who had worked on the festival circuit for 20 years... we just showed him where to find the sledge hammers!
Unfortunately I had to toddle back off home to Mrs Fred headquarters to finish some projects off and then I rejoined the Circus crew at the take-down on Wednesday evening. Again, it was packed tents and a very happy smiley PTA...(which could have just been down to the huge jugs of Pimms they were brandishing about).
Anyway... here are some photos from backstage that I took - in one of those quiet moments before the frivolities began...

Next stop... SUNNY Wales!... perhaps we'd better take the wellies!

Toodly pip for now

Mrs Fred x

THE SHOW MUST GO ON!

What a LOVELY time we're having here at Shipton-under-Wychwood the Cotswolds... but our journey here was not free of drama! Wednesday morning we were all set to go and as we were pulling the caravan out of  storage we slightly misjudged and one of the trimmings wrapped itself around the gatepost. All I heard was 'oh nooooo!' from Chi Chi and dashed round the back to find half the back of the caravan ripped off!!!
After the initial panic...we quickly got a plan together and Chi Chi and I dashed off to buy a tent as Fred off loaded everything we needed from the caravan into the van.
Our lovely poor circus caravan was put back in storage - ready to be sorted when we get back home. In the meantime we are now all safely under canvas and the school here have been amazing - providing us with lights, 24hour wash rooms, copious amounts of tea and even a fridge!!! Thank you to everyone especially Paul!
The show must go on and as I write Fred and Chi Chi are in the big top working with the first group of children who are going to perform tonight. Tomorrow it's the school fete so another group of children will arrive in the morning and there's another show tomorrow evening. The sun is out, Henry is chillin' and I'm happily tapping away from the new circus headquarters.
Hopefully my next post won't be as dramatic.
Toodly pip for now
Mrs Fred x