I fill I should be writing this to music..... that's better
I use to be a scout leader and worked for Royal Mail delivering Wokingham until one day at work I was asked if I would like to help with Postman pat, as I was good with kids, at an event ( I didn't know I had to wear it) all went well in fact they keep asking me until I took it over I also became a ambassador for Royal mail given talks to schools and option formers.
It was 1999 I did my first party for my daughter, this was just games as I didn't know anything about balloon's or Magic, it went really well so well my friends were asking me to do their kids parties and so it started to grow. I went to Jugglemania I think it was called near Kingston and they put me on to Davenports in London where I got my first magic tricks and a puppet cat ( black and white) don't know how people heard of me but I started to get bookings, I knew I wasn't that good so I would over compensate making every child a 3 twist dog before I went to the parties to give out at the end.... £60 for a 2 hr party how bad is that, but it was just a hobby.
I then got the millenium employee of the year award for work in the committee, so yr 2000 I had to make a choose stay as a postman and part time PR and parties or go for a higher paid job in Royal mail. I choose to stay as a postman.
I then had my first encounter with balloons, a clown called Bigfoot told me about a shop just outside Wokingham I forgot the name of it but it did juggling and kites, the lady there ran a circus skill workshop every month where I met A balloon twister I wish I could remember his name and he showed me some of the things that could be done with them.
2001 I moved with my family to Trowbridge in Wiltshire got a job transfer I then looked around again for something like the circus workshop but found the Bath circle of magicians, I joined which surprised me as I had very little knowledge of magic, But on the first meeting I met Mel Harvey and paid for a workshop into marketing and magic then a year on I became president (only a small club) at this point I was still only doing the basic balloons. I met mike stoke who showed me somethings every time I picked up my order.
Then it happened I think it was 2004 I got an email from Graham inviting me to a Care and Share day in Bristol, I went and met some great twisters including Graham since then I have gone from strength to strength and hope to continue to do so after leaving my job with Royal Mail in October 2006.  
Sorry I went on a bit.

Nice composition Dave.... Thx for sharing...