The Writer ~ William Duthie was born in 1852 and passed away in 1870. Born in London to working class parents He was a goldsmith as well as a poet. On becoming a goldsmith, he lived in Hamburg, Germany and travelled around France. Returning to London, he contributed to periodicals such as the Charles Dickens magazine Household Words, recounting his travels abroad, which lead to publication of “A Tramps Wallet”. In the 1850s Duthie was also involved in the National Sunday League, an organisation that opposed Sabbatarianism, which advocates the observation of the Sabbath in Christianity.
Our Reader ~ Heidi Renata-Gallon is a dynamic entrepreneur, keynote speaker, and tech industry veteran, blending cultural intelligence with strategic foresight to empower rangatahi and startups through awarding-winning programmes and initiatives. Her leadership style, infused with warmth and energy, earned her the title of 'Entrepreneurial Woman of the Year' in 2024 at the Inspirational Women Awards. Heidi’s philosophy - “Feel the fear and do it anyway” - drives her mission to foster inclusive, future-ready communities where digital fluency and cultural identity thrive side by side.
Licensed to Juggle
Some years ago a short iron-built man used to balance
a scaffold pole uponhis chin; to whizz a slop-basin round upon the end of it; and to imitate fire-works with golden balls and gleaming knives,in the public streets of London. I am afraid his genius was not rewarded in his own country; for not long ago I saw him starring it in Paris. As I stood by to watch his evolutions, in the Champs Elysées, I felt a patriotic glow when they were rewarded with the enthusiastic applause of a very wide and thick ring of French spectators. There was one peculiarity in his performance which distinguished him from French open-air artistes - he never spoke. Possibly he was diffident of his French accent. He simply uttered a grunt when he wished to call attention to any extraordinary perfection in his performance; in imitation, perhaps, of the “La!—la!” of the prince of French acrobats, Auriol. Whatever he attempted he did well; that is to say, in a solid, deliberate, thorough manner. His style of chin-balancing, knife-catching, ball-throwing, and ground and lofty tumbling, was not so agile or flippant as that of his French competitors, but he never failed. On the circulation of his hat, the French halfpence were dropped in with great liberality.