pocketlizard

I’ve just got back from Spun Out 2008, aka fire-twirling camp. It was AWESOME! The atmosphere was great - cruisy and laid-back, but still full of energy and fun and craziness. Here is a short summary in list form:

Things I Did:

• Learned some cool fire-twirling stuff - especially a fan of the anti-spin and isolations we did in the staff workshop on saturday.
• Saw a lot of really cool tricks
• Gave myself a henna tattoo, of a peacock and swirling vines
• Watched a fire-show including all the usual stuff, but also a rope dart (which came very close to the people), a fire whip, spinning fire wheel things, a home-made flame-thrower, a wooden man set on fire, and a man riding a flaming bicycle wearing only a bike helmet and his (synthethic!) boxers!
• Had a go with the flame-thrower - omg. so. awesome! You pull on the handle and this huge flame just goes *woof* above you - it made me laugh every time…
• Did a bit of fire-twirling (with fire) - of course, once I had the fire I completely forgot all the cool stuff I’d learnt earlier in the day
• Danced
• Played fire soccer - which has to be the craziest thing I’ve ever done, but also one of the funnest. When the ball went out of bounds, someone would have to run after it, put out the little fires it had started, and kick it back in. Every now and then it would go too far or in the wrong direction, like, under the DJ’s equipment (which got us banished to the far end of the sandy patch), under a bush, or even under a car! (Luckily it just rolled straight through, and the guy who’d run after it just picked it up and pitched it back). Fire soccer was exhilarating, scary, hilarious, and awesome!
• Learned a bit of contact juggling, which is rolling the ball around on your hands and body, and stuff like that
• Decided that I want to go to Burning Man
• Twisted my ankle walking to my tent in the dark
• Talked to lots of cool people
• Cut up two enormous watermelons
• Walked on stilts - straight away! No desperate clinging to poles and rafters… I was pretty pleased with that
• Rekindled my interest in fire-twirling, especially staff (I want to buy a fire-staff now…)
• Generally had an awesome time.

Some photos soon, hopefully… But now I have to get back to the real world and do some work