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'Spinning plates has taken me around the world'

Ollie SamuelsNorth West, Penwortham
BBC A man in a white t-shirt smiles in front of a tent. He has dark hair, blue eyes and a short beard. In the distance, a tree can be seen over his left shoulder.BBC
Marky Jay grew up in Preston but, until this year, had never performed in his home city

Marky Jay's circus skills have taken him as far away from his Preston roots as Australia and Mexico, but he said nothing was better than performing for the first time a juggling ball's throw from his home city at the British Juggling Convention.

The event has been held this year in Penwortham, which faces Preston across the River Ribble in Lancashire.

Jay's "homecoming" inclues spinning plates from a popular Swedish furniture store, throwing a diabolo or two and generally showing off his juggling tricks while wearing a giant cat's head.

"I'm super proud, not only to represent British juggling, but also Preston, Penwortham and Lancashire," he said.

Dozens of jugglers throw clubs into the air. Surrounding them are hundreds of people sitting and watching them. They are sitting in a green field, with blue skies above.
Jugglers compete at the British Juggling Convention

This year's seven-day event concludes at All Hallows Catholic High School later.

Jay said performing there was "just a really nice, full-circle moment, and when the BJC offered it to me, I was over the moon".

PJ Perkin, who is one of the organisers, said the event gets "people of all ages from all around the world, bringing skills they are interested in sharing and learning, and demonstrating and doing shows".

"The youngest... is 11 weeks old, the oldest is in their 80s," he said.

"We have people in wheelchairs with accessibility requirements, and young people who are up all night in a 24-hour gym."

A man smiling with grey hair and a black moustache. He is wearing a floral shirt with a jacket over the top. In the background are several tents standing on a mown grass field.
PJ Perkin is one of the convention's organisers

The convention featured workshops and skill showcases as well as a variety of imaginative competitions.

These include endurance events and Simon Says-style games, sometimes on unicycles or while juggling balls or hula-hooping.

Jay said he loved the people here as much as the juggling.

"These are my people, we celebrate our diversity," he said.

"We celebrate just being off screens and talking.

"This is our own little world."

He said juggling can even also help pay the bills, which was something he takes takes great pride in.

"I bought a house from this," he said.

"You wouldn't think so, but I managed it."

Jay said he was always looking for ways to improve his act.

"If it's on fire, I'll juggle it," he said.

"I'll 'risk assess' a child, and if they are up for it, I'll juggle them too."

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