The weather was on our side when we went to The Fancott in Toddington this weekend. The pub is so much more than just a pub. The food looked amazing. The children at this party had huge burgers bursting with salad and a big plate of chips each. The trouble was that they were too excited to eat very much and it was doggy boxed to go home with.
The Fancott has its own miniature railway, and so with tickets booked for 2 pm, there was no time to lose.
Fun at The Fancott
As we were outside in a public area we invited all the children to come and join us. It made a great party atmosphere. The staff turned down the music allowing me to perform my show . The adults were brilliant and joined in the fun.
Grown ups enjoyed the fun
I thoroughly recommend you go and find this pub. The staff are friends and the food is great. Book your tickets in advance for the train ride.
Auntie Julie is back and so are her amazing parties. After a long and hard year it is time to book Auntie Julie for your spring and summer parties.
29th March – We have Garden Parties for up to six people
12th April – Garden Parties for up to 15 people
17th May – Garden Parties up to 30 people Indoor Parties up to six people
21st June – No restrictions – Party time is truly back
Road Map to Party Time
So what has Auntie Julie been up to ?
Auntie Julie has been very busy during lock-down
Firstly she tidied up all her magic boxes. It is amazing how much magic you can accumulate in 20 years. Then it was time for some zoom shows with guests from America and Europe. Every Monday was tots story time with singing, dancing, and bible stories. In the summer smaller garden parties were allowed so it was nice to get back to doing shows with an audience you could reach. During the second lock down Auntie Julie was still able to entertain at one residential home for older people. That kept her busy with magic, singing and arts and craft sessions. Christmas shows did still happen in some schools, with socially distanced performances to year group bubbles of children. Some shows also happened on zoom
It is so nice to be able to book everyone in for this coming spring and summer. Don’t delay, it’s going to get busy
….. Just a little update – Christmas bookings are coming in quickly now, so if you would like Auntie Julie to come to your school or nursery this year please get in touch today.
Just when we were starting to get back to normal everything changed again. We had just got used to the new rules, when they became the old rules and new ones took over.
Let us not be downhearted . We have all learnt to adapt. We can still have a party and have lots of fun.
Auntie Julie can still come to your home. We just need to keep the numbers down. You can have two grown ups, four children and Auntie Julie who – as an outside trades-clown doesn’t count. The news gets even better. Why not Zoom all your friends into the party. It is so simple. Just open a Zoom or House-party room, face one camera to Auntie Julie and let technology take the strain. Now everyone can join in.
Rule of six parties are now available
If you hire a venue – then we can have a larger event with social distancing. This would be a sit down, theater-style magic show, where guests stay strictly in their family groups. Food would need to be served to the tables, with no wandering around. It isn’t a perfect solution but has been working remarkable well. Some pubs and cafe’s may work nicely for one of these ‘sit down’ parties.
The news from the government is fantastic. We can all start to get back to normal. Ok, so it isn’t quite the same normal, but that doesn’t mean we have to stop having fun.
Auntie Julie is now booking parties for the summer. All you need to do is keep the numbers within current guidelines and have your party in the garden. If you don’t have a garden, then maybe a corner of a local park. A Gazebo should help with any shower or bright sunlight. As the parties are going to be a bit smaller, please ask Auntie Julie for a quote. It will be less than the current website prices.
Don’t let Covid-19 spoil your child’s birthday party
Who would have thought Auntie Julie would be performing parties online?
Well, due to Covid-19 online, virtual Zoom parties are here, and are rather a lot of fun.
We know it’s not the same as having all your friends around but it is the next best thing. Why let this tricky situation be, well, tricky?
It’s very simple. Download the Zoom app – you can also use WhatsApp if you prefer. You book a time slot then invite all your family and friends. You will be given a Zoom invitation code and you just jump into the party.
The bigger the screen you can use the better.
Auntie Julie will invite the party children to join in with her magic, dancing, singing and games. It is amazing fun.
You will also notice the price. Only £20 for 20 minutes. You can have longer, just ask.
It doesn’t even have to be anyone’s Birthday. How about a treat afternoon, simple for working hard, or behaving nicely?
Auntie Julie had a great Christmas season, starting as always, in November. The first show was for Oak Lee Montessori, a wonderful nursery in Love Lane, Pinner. I think I have worked here for nearly 10 years now and love every show. I do two sessions, one for the over 2’s and one for the really tinies. Later in the season I pop over to their newer site at West End Lane. This was one of my smaller shows but really one of the sweetest. I had a mum singing and dancing her heart out, with no encouragement from me.
This year brought some new venues. One cold Tuesday evening I headed up to Oxford to the university and performed for a group of 90 volunteers from the Samaritans. Other than one emergency visit from the paramedics ( before I laid a spell on anyone) I had a great evening. I don’t often have the opportunity to perform magic to adults. It is something I really should do more. As far away as Oxford was, this year I had one very close to home. The Methodist Church Toddler Group in Croxley Green. I think my commute was about 3 minutes ( in rush hour traffic). Toddler groups are notoriously difficult but with some careful setting up and a cup of tea for the parents before we got started the show ran like clockwork, right up until Santa was ready to visit
Jelly Tots at HSBC Canary Wharf
My last show was with a company called Jelly Tots and we went mob handed to the HSBC building in Canary Wharf. I had the pleasure of working with a great bunch of friends. I was performing magic with the others on juggling, dancing and balloons.
Auntie Julie is pleased to announce the arrival of a new member of her family. Bailey is a Shetland Sheepdog. His breed comes from the highlands of Scotland, and as the name suggests, were used as sheepdogs. They are now known as a historic breed.
Right now, other than giving me the odd ‘high five’ he tends to either be sleeping, eating or chewing. He is incredibly cute.
In due course it would be nice to have him trained as a ‘pat dog’ who I can take into hospitals. That is for the future. Right now its my job to keep him safe and happy.
On Saturday I was invited to a lovely birthday party at The David Lloyd Centre in Northwood. I had been there before in a room off to the left, but this time I was in the DL Kids Centre. It is a great area with two rooms. One for play and one for the food. The venue also has plenty of parking.
Duke was in charge of the food and the room. He was a life saver as the metal beam holding the roof up played havoc with my radio mic and he spent the first part of the party under my magic table performing a magic trick of his own. We were soon up and running.
began.
The show went very smoothly with Dougal being a very popular end to the show. The children enjoyed Pizza and Ice cream before coming back for dancing and circus fun. I had one or two adults successfully spinning plates. This rarely happens. I was very impressed
I wanted to share this picture with you. My birthday girl gave it to me before the party. This may be her first published piece of art.
I regularly attend Star Fish Ward to entertainer and cheer up the children who find themselves there. Last week I was treated to the loveliest boy I’ve ever met, who brought such fun and laughter to the ward. I wish I could have bottled the happiness be brought. Here is an extract from facebook
Facebook
Fun on Starfish Ward
Amanda writes, “You really brightened up Oscar’s day on Friday and he is still talking about your visit now.” It’s rays of sunshine and smiles all round on Starfish Ward. Julie writes, Oscar was on Day 8 in hospital and was starting to get frustrated and bored. The afternoon I visited, he was particularly sad and so he had a full magic show plus my signature parrot balloon.
He loved the magic show and made so much noise, we ended up being joined by two student nurses who hadn’t had the Pod experience before. It’s amazing the effect laughter has on a ward . One by one, members of staff popped by and left with smiles on their faces too.” Pod’s three monthly visits here are funded by Clowns in the Sky, GlaxoSmithKline and Radlett Rotary. Our thanks to all three donors for the sunshine they’re providing.
Play Specialist Helen at Watford General Hospital says, “Our three Pod entertainers really bring a ray of sunshine to the children and young people that are here with us on Starfish Ward.” These rays can be seen in Amanda’s photo of her son with Julie Carpenter, Auntie Julie, really bring a ray of sunshine to the children and young people that are here with us on Starfish Ward.” And these rays can be seen in Amanda’s photo of her son with Julie Carpenter.
Amanda writes, “You really brightened up Oscar’s day on Friday. He is still talking about your visit now.” It’s rays of sunshine and smiles all round on Starfish Ward. Julie writes, Oscar was on Day 8 in hospital and was starting to get frustrated and bored. The afternoon I visited, he was particularly sad and so he had a full magic show plus my signature parrot balloon. He loved the magic show and made so much noise, we ended up being joined by two student nurses who hadn’t had the Pod experience before. It’s amazing the effect laughter has on a ward – one by one, members of staff popped by and left with smiles on their faces too.” Pod’s three monthly visits here are funded by Clowns in the Sky, GlaxoSmithKline and Radlett Rotary. Our thanks to all three donors for the sunshine they’re providing.
I’ve just completed a three week project at Pinewood Lodge in Oxhey, bringing a class of pupils from St Josephs school into the care home to meet with the residents
Our first session was themed on ‘Magic’ so everyone had the Auntie Julie magic show. The concept of the project was to have the children working and interacting with the residents. To make this happen I created a magic trick for everyone to make that involved colouring in. I had the residents helping the children choose the colours.
Auntie Julie Balloon Workshop
The last session was all about balloons. I didn’t realise how many tricks and routines I had that involved balloons. It’s a good job no one was worried by them.
The project also involved a dance company called Dinky Dances. Between us we ran 6 very successful sessions. We are hoping to cover some different carehomes and schools in the near future
Our second session was Circus themed. I didn’t think that a workshop with 40 participants would work in such a small area. With a little care to protect the seated residents from flying plates we learned juggling, plate spinning and diabolo.
I have spent three wonderful mornings at Pinewood Lodge with the residents, and visiting children from St Josephs school. It was a great project from Three Rivers District Council bringing together the two generations.
