Serious Fun Committee

The Press Conference took place today at the Sule Shangri-la Hotel and was a great success. Many journalists, newspapers, TV channels. We wait to see what now appears in the Press and TV.

We were joined by Director of Smile Education and Development Foundation, The Headmaster of the Boys Training Centre Thanlyin, along with two of the young Burmese jugglers that we have been training there.

International Artists Ben Zudd, Captain Finhead, Natalie Brown, MiMi and Haggis Mcleod displayed juggling skills and tricks for many cameras.

Many thanks to all who came along and made it possible!

What keeps us going … is engagement with the Eden Centre for Disabled Kids and the British Council librarians. Workshops like these two make all the difficult stuff worthwhile of course.

At the British Council In Yangon. 30 dedicated people from around Mynamar who run the Millennium Centres, have a fun hour of team building. Not the normal activity in a Library. Shhhh!

At the Eden Centre for Disabled Children for our last workshop before visiting with a small show team.

It’s been a while since the last posting here. We’ve been posting to facebook mostly as that the most commonly used social media here.

It’s been really tough on all the organisers and partners over the last two weeks – dates and times agreed on for some weeks have changed and even been cancelled. We’ve been using our plan b options a lot. Then getting translations and printing all organised has been a long process. Jude and Virgina and Lin and Jeanne and others have been working long in the night after a full day to try and keep the show on the road.

So without being too negative, i’d just like to say that its not been much fun only very serious hard work.

Our delivery of workshops and small shows has continued to be great. Just all the other stuff is really difficult. We are looking forward to when our Jugglers are here and we can get the festival on and rocking. We’ll look frazzeled and tired when you arrive, but we’re sure your energy and enthusiasm with lift the spirits and together we’ll all manage to cope with all the changes and problems that doing an event in Yangon has to offer.

We have good support from 50th Street Bar and Sule Shangri-La Hotel in particular, and from other friends and supporters and we thank them all.

Every Saturday. New jugglers every week.

Elmar’s focused sitting down class balances the wildness of some of the little kids excited running around with flags and hats and juggling rings.

The fourth week at the Boys Training Centre, Thanlyin. What a great group. Great development of skills and now sharing and showing tricks to each other. We are joined by juggler Alberto who passes clubs and shows Contact crystal ball manipulation.

We made another long journey today, out to Hlegu, a good 2 hours north. We met up with our group from the Yangon Photography project (that we did at the Institute Francais) Scholarships 4 Street Kids. We are like mates now and the juggling progress was marvelous to behold. We were in a backyard under trees surrounded by jungly plants.

Warmly welcomed at the hostel which is tucked away in the township of Insein, north of Yangon town, 90 mins by taxi away and through lots of traffic.

20 young people aged 13 to 16, real fast learners.. again.

Moonrise, Sunset, Independence Day in Myanmar. Streets closed off for community football. Went for a quick sunset juggle at Bo Tha Thung Pagoda jetty

In the middle of the road in Thanlyin township

Sunday 28th saw Lin and Jules and driver Pho Ke back on the workshop trail. This time to Thanlyin Monastery School. 30 very excited young people. Mayhem and much fun.