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Spring has finally sprung here in Vermont after what has seemed a very long winter. Of course I spent a good portion of that winter in the Caribbean, so I am not complaining. I have spent a week at home here in Bennington and in that time I have finished setting up the vegetable garden for the coming season. I have also been finishing up the clearing and cleaning up of the southeast corner of the garden which had previously been used as a bottle dump (and worse, I pulled out

It's been awhile since I produced a Blog post, I spent a good deal of time in March at home in Vermont, during which time I did a fair bit of skiing and a little time gardening as the weather warmed up. I am writing this from the good ship Norwegian Star, where I will be for another week. This is my last scheduled cruise until December and I will be glad of the time on land, I have spent a lot of time at sea this winter season and I have enjoyed my time onboard all the ships,

It started with this! In 1983, at the tender age of 15 my friend Patrick Walker and I, armed only with a copy of the Hitch-Hiker's Guide to Europe and Patrick's desire to reconnect with the female French exchange student from Bordeaux he met earlier in the year, set off from England in search of adventure. I hitchhiked down to Bordeaux with Patrick, but there we went our separate ways. I found a hat on the streets of Bordeaux and became Guy the Hat, poet. I continued on to t

Monument to the Immigrant Considering the political situation in the United States of America at this moment, I thought the photograph of the Monument to the Immigrant I captured this Friday on the waterfront in New Orleans was appropriate. Sometimes life throws you a bone. As it was so very, very cold in Vermont and New York State, Norwegian Cruise Lines decided that I could (and should) fly straight from Jacksonville to New Orleans and spend three nights in a hotel there, i

Back home in Vermont, it is currently - 20 Celsius. I'm writing this from Tortola in the British Virgin Islands, where I am happy to report it's a comfortable 26 Celsius. Last time I was here, I spent the day snorkelling and lying on the beach with my lovely daughter Poppy, sadly today I am all alone. Having said that, I actually have a friend "Magic Brian" who is also performing on the ship, however his show is tonight, and therefore he is doing his tech rehearsal whilst I l

Roatan Once again you find me on board the Norwegian Jewel where I am more than halfway through this 11-day cruise from Miami. So far we have visited Cartagena, Colombia; Colon, Panama (and a bit of the canal); Limon, Costa Rica and now we are on the beautiful island of Roatan, Honduras. I've been off the ship and had a little exploration and a bit of a lounge at the beach. As tonight is my second show night, I cannot do too much, so now I am sat in a café doing this. It's al

Happy New Year. I'm hoping that this year will be more peaceful than the last. We need more tolerance, understanding and above all love in the world. Let us stand up to bullies. One of the greatest ideals I took from my almost 10 years of being a Key West citizen is that we are all "One Human Family". I'm currently performing on the Norwegian Jewel and right now we are anchored in Gatun Lake, which is part of the Panama Canal. There are people from all over the world on this

Mohonk Mountain House and Lake Sometimes I do think I made a right choice in becoming an entertainer and one gig that makes me really happy is Mohonk Mountain House. Located about 100 miles north of New York City, up in the Hudson Highlands (fairly close to Woodstock), Mohonk Mountain House commands a fantastic position at the top of the Mohonk preserve with views stretching far across the Catskill Mountains. Built starting in 1870 by the Smiley Brothers, the resort became so

My contract on the Norwegian Joy was over on the 20th October and I thoroughly needed a rest after being on tour since the 11th June. My plan was to have a month off and start back up with a gig at the Iconic Mohonk Mountain House on 21st November. So what did I do, I stayed at home for two weeks and mostly did the garden! I am battling against Buckthorn (which is a nasty invasive species), and planning my vegetable patch, I also had a nice big bonfire. On the 4th November,

Norwegian Joy Cartagena, Colombia 2025 Wanting to be fresh for my 6 am flight for Guatamala City via Chicago and knowing I had to check in by 4.30 am, and therefore be up at 3 am to drive to Albany airport, I went to bed at 9 pm. Just as I am about to get under the covers, my phone pings with an email, for some reason I look and see it is from Jennifer, the senior show and experience manager onboard the Norwegian Joy, which all being well I am joining tomorrow afternoon. Jenn

Pepe May 2025 Photo by Dave Pickens Pepe Mime, in my opinion the best follow clown ever, died this September, after a lifetime of alcoholism and a brief battle with liver cancer. I'm guessing he was in his early sixties. My first memories of Pepe were back in 1987 near the Pompidou Centre, Paris. I remember a large crowd and at the centre of it a small man in a red hat. I didn't speak to him then, indeed I was just passing by, and I only stopped for a moment, but I clearly re

It's not a competition! If you read my last blog, it is kind of obvious why I posted this picture first! Having slept the entire flight from Munich to New York City, I collected my suitcase and headed for my car, conveniently parked in the long term parking at JFK. It was hot, and I had a 20-hour drive ahead of me, which I was going to do over three days (what did you think). I had planned on not going too far the first night, but I hadn't planned on the traffic getting out o

Gromwy and Richard underneath their massive poster On the final night of the Spektakel Landshut festival, indeed the early hours of the next morning, my friends Richard Garaghty and Gromwy Thom asked me to take a picture of them with their poster behind them. "But there are posters of you all over town!" I exclaimed. "Yes, but apparently this one is really big!" One of them replied. Due to this posters' location which was facing away from the city centre, none of us had seen

With the Ed Larkin Contra Dancers If J R R Tolkein's Shire is anywhere, it is in Vermont. Tunbridge World's Fair has a backstory, the Ed...

Eric the Viking When I first set out for Key West (January 2001) I passed by the Renaissance Fair at Marathon airport on my way up the...

I have been a resident of Vermont since 5th July 2010. I remember it took us 3 days to drive up from Key West in a large yellow Penske...

Every fair is different, and the Kentucky State Fairs uniqueness is that it is mostly inside and air-conditioned! This is my second visit...

Yes, Okay, I haven’t blogged for a while now. I have been at home for some of this time, and I am glad to say that completely absorbs me!...

Bell Wagon, Circus World, Baraboo, Wisconsin I had a couple of days off between the excitement of Sac City and my start at the Wisconsin...

The Big Attraction, Sac City, Iowa. Iowa has an abundance of fields! Agriculture is massive in this heartland state! And so I found...