2010:365:183 Just because...

Half way through the 365Project!  It's hard to believe that I've been blogging every day this year, though admittedly some of them have been pretty "thin".  One advantage of it is that there's a memory trigger for a number of things that I'd have forgotten already.

Some days the chosen subject has no particular significance; that's the case today.  I was looking for colour, for something quick, for fun ... so the juggling balls seemed to fit the bill.  They're from Toybox, a company that works with street children in Latin America.    http://www.toybox.org.uk/gifts/crafts-and-accessories/fun-gifts/

Juggling with three props is easy enough.  (The items used by a juggler are called 'props' and can be balls, hoops, knives ... or just about anything that may be thrown up in the air and then caught!)  It always reminds me of school where, in a combination of bounce and toss juggling, we were able to employ five props easily and sometimes had a go with six or seven!  Long since gone is the skill to do that though I wonder if I had the right bouncing balls would it come back.  Our parents must have had the patience of saints as we practised against the house walls for hour on end.  

These knitted props don't bounce but are perhaps a little easier to catch.  

Juggling is an ancient art.  1994-1781 BC is the date range for this particular illustration from a tomb wall painting in Egypt.  It is known across the world in ancient times - in China, Polynesia and Aztec civilizations as well as Egyptian, Greek, Roman and Norse civilizations. 

During the Middle Ages this activity was frowned upon but in 1768 a revival began when Joseph Astley had jugglers in the first modern circus.   

Jugglers were used in the nineteenth century to provide entertainment in front of the curtain in music halls between the acts.  Then, in the 1950s it became a hobby as well as a skill for street entertainment.  

Sometimes juggling is used as a metaphor when you're trying to multi-task.  Maybe that was in my subconscious when today's photograph was taken?

In darkness and in light,

in trouble and in joy,

help us to trust your love,

to serve your purpose

and to praise your name;

through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen. 

Book of Common Prayer.

Friday prayers.