31-4,p2

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Dear Donna,

Enclosed is a news cutting which I thought was a good back-up to Sque's article in the March / April newsletter.

"Supporting Billy Connolly at a recent performance at the MacRobert Centre, Stirling, was the American Chris Bliss, rock'n'roll juggler.

"His colourful performance is enhanced by special lighting effects, strobe lights, and above all, fire, and ends with a few fake explosions at the side of the stage.

"I'm told nobody thought to tell the management about the explosions, and they were detected by the heat sensors which set off the first alarm. The alarm is directly connected to Stirling Fire Station, and fully equipped fire engines raced to the universityl"

The moral: always check for fire and smoke detectors before using open flame indoors.

There is a good tip for fire torch jugglers in the February 1973 IJA Newsletter, on p. 6. It states: "When using fire torches on a casual date, soak them at home and wrap the fire ends in regular kitchen aluminum foil. In this way you do not have to carry any fuel and they are ready to go. This makes for big savings in time and trouble."

Some fire jugglers use an asbestos blanket to put out their fire torches and it can always be used in an emergency. The best idea I ever saw was former UA President Martin Gray's method. He carried his ready-to-use fire clubs in a violin case, gangster style, and to extinguish them he just popped them in the case and shut the lid.

All for now, and keep up the good work.

--Lindsay Leslie

Newport-on- Tay, Scotland UK

Donna,

I think that many of our members will be interested in the following bit of history that I found in "Witches, Midwives, and Nurses - A History of Women Healers", by Barbara Ehrenreich and Deirdre English. In their discussion of the history of the witch craze in Europe , they include the remarks of a leading English witch-hunter:

For this must always be remembered, as a conclusion, that by witches we understand not only those which kill and torment, but all Diviners, Charmers, Jugglers, all Wizards, commonly called wise men and wise women...

Take care, folks. Eric Roberts

Dear Sirs:

The purpose of this letter is to nominate Stu Raynolds for an Honorary Life Membership in the IJA. He is qualified and should take his place among Art Jennings, Roger Montandon, et al. We are requesting a vote of the quorum on this matter at the 1979 convention in Amherst.

We feel Stu Raynolds should be named an Honorary Life Member because:

1. He is a great juggler.

2. He gives freely of himself to the UA.

3. He is a past president of the UA.

4. He was host of the successful 1977 IJA convention

in Delaware .

5. He has won as many club and numbers championships as anyone.

6. He is always willing to help other jugglers. He has

taught and been a great inspiration to Hovey Burgess

and Barrett Felker, among others.

7. His clubs are considered, by educated people, to

be the finest made. He is an artist in the tradition of

Harry Lind and Doc Crosby, not just a prop-maker.

8. Stu Raynolds even takes in stray dogs.

These are just a few of the reasons Stu Raynolds deserves to be an Honorary Life Member. We feel the UA would be doing Stu a great injustice by depriving him of being Stu Raynolds, Honorary Life Member.

Mitch Kelly

Kelly Gregoriatis

Philadelphia , PA