Fire twirling
Looks like a good day to ride the bike into work 🙂
Last night’s Irish music session began well but a drunk person put a damper on things – still the early return home meant that my daughter could test the new fire twirling stick she brought back from Melbourne…
It is certainly spectacular – and firewater gives a good yellow flame. I had a go myself and was amazed at the sound the thing makes! It was a perfect evening for it and the recent rain meant there was no danger of fire on the lawn in the event the stick was dropped.
Fire twirlers have found a niche in the folk music festivals and we have found that there is a similar sense of community among them – with plenty of common ground between the twirlers nd the musos – fire twirling is, after all, another form of dance.
The technology is simple – just an aluminium rod with a wooden dowel core in the ends, and the wicks are cotton wrapped in kevlar and screwed through the aluminium tube into the dowel – very secure. The centre of the tube is wrapped in rubber for increased grip – and to provide a good tactile signal that you are moving off-centre if the stick is out of immediate sight (eg when twirling behind your back)
The first light-up is quite spectacular as excess fuel is shed by throwing the stick high into the air and catching it – it seems to keep in line better if you spin the stick along its axis as you toss. And yes we did have a fire extinguisher on hand for safety.
cheers
Jerry
