From: thomasl@silver.ucs.indiana.edu ((thomasl))
Subject: Re: Beard brand clubs--opinions wanted
Summary: dog si d dot
Organization: Indiana University
Date: Fri, 11 Sep 1992 06:13:52 GMT

In article <1992Sep11.044208.24876@cc.uow.edu.au> mcelwee@wampyr.cc.uow.edu.au (Bennett) writes:
>OK, there's this guy, see, who has these clubs.  He says they are made by
>"Beard", from the UK.  They are truly beautiful, the softest, nicest handles
>I have ever, erm, handled.  I'd never heard of Beard before.  Does anyone know
>anything about them?
>
>He also said that Todd Smith clubs were the best thet he had used--are they
>that good?

well, since you asked...

yes

and

no

both spotlight (hiya dave!) and beard have become powerful forces in the
prop trade overseas.  there has been a tremendous juggling boom recently,
esp. in the u.k., and these folks have stepped in to meet the need.  why,
practically every weekend there is a fest somewhere in england -- often
the first annual, or second annual, etc.  also, there is an amazing huge
number of "juggling shops" there.  outside of more balls than most, tho,
i have my doubts...
i visited a juggling shop in portsmouth, and it was a head shop, but there
WERE clubs, stageballs, unicycles, indian shirts, chinese shoes, incense,
and freak bros. comics
ok
thats in keeping with much of the european juggling scene
less uptight about drugs, lifestyle or quality, and keeping unemployed people 
from having any means of support, outside of america, juggling is growing
(see my upcoming posting: what a long strange trip it's been or
why a european festival is like a grateful dead show)
the owner of the aforementioned shop brandished one of these clubs with
pride and said, ferociously (or as ferociously as anyone breathing
patchouilli fumes can speak) "these clubs have broken the dube' stranglehold
on europe"
i didnt notice brian strangling anyone there; but there WERE lots of cheaper
clubs
they were ok, not supergreat and
they were still not supercheap.  everything was expensive
(and becoming more so, for me at least --  the exchange rate got worse
daily, as the dollar sunk to a record low since WWII.
i have unceasing admiration for tokyo dave, one of the american daves
on tour. smartest guy i met: in an olympic AND expo year, this guy sunk all his
money into pesetas. i wept, and wrote my phone number on the back of a
worthless greenback.  yeah, i took a pounding in england, in sterling)

but i digress.
here's a brief report:

Lighten up! 

henry reigns supreme in europe
everybody wants 'em
(but not as much as they want silicone)
the clubs are light, well balanced and attractive
with really nice knobs
(fucking expensive, too, if you want to buy some round ones to
to make your torches fit for swinging
--why do the clubs come with round knobs and the torches not?
go ask henry
he hand lathes those little foam bits himself)
henrys are the standard the inexpensive knock-offs imitate
which is to say
they are a dowel/plastic body construction
with a screw holding the tip on
they are very, very light
and the plastic is almost renegade soft
the handles often feel squishy to me on the cheaper clubs
(but then, even the newest aja's felt really odd in the handle
tho the decorations are stunning
valentin and i passed some borrowed ajas in the games
that was probably where we went astray) 
both clubs have a relatively cheap feel to them
i prefer the spotlights over the beards i think
they seem to be a bit higher quality
tho maybe not
i didn't much like either of them
they are better than jugglebug but
for the money
i think i would prefer a set of dube' glo-in-the-dark airflights
maybe the hot pink ones
they are less expensive, and you can juggle them in the water
(which is a plus, in banyoles
where it is glorious to juggle lake-side
in the heat of the day
and retrieving the drops is refreshing)
in any event
the clubs are overall very very light and
they pass them about in slo-motion
it's more laid-back on the continent
everyone thought my todd l.h.e. clubs heavy
(hahaha
NOT any more they don't...
don't you tell henry, but
circus is as circus does and
sufficient to note that while i think it is a fine thing that todd's
mylar coated cardboard reverses silver/gold
for sprucing up your clubs it is very nice but
it adds a surprising amount of weight to the club
weight which i rather miss, actually)

why they call them americans:
noone in europe juggles them

but!!!

i think they are ALMOST ready, because...

the renegade (*snicker*) stage club was a big hit over there!
people drooled over the candy colors and ludicrously boob-like design
so after they have cut their milk teeth on this larger, safer, softer
cartoon type club
maybe the u-ropeans will be ready for an american club
you know americans, right?
big, white, hard, and simple
easy to spot from a mile away
molded out of plastic, with nothing inside
and cheaper, to boot

one final note:
glow-in-the-dark is majormajor in europe
luminous props are everywhere
u.v. shows, fire shows, glow-in-the-dark...
pass the chillum, pass the clubs

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