ROLL up! Roll up! A popular North-East venue has been giving visitors a chance to try their hand at circus skills as part of a summer of fun.

Ushaw, just outside Durham City, hosted two Circurama workshops for adventurous souls wanting to learn juggling, uni-cycling, plate-spinning, and much more.

On hand to dispense the magic was children’s entertainer, Marty Bloomfield, who regularly takes his performance skills to parties, schools and corporate events.

After spending twenty years as a postman, Marty realised that his real passion was in entertaining, and opened a shop, Airotherapy, in Whitburn, on Wearside, “selling his hobby”.

He also began holding Circus Skills workshops in the hall beside the shop, and in 2010 they proved so popular that he closed the shop to concentrate on his Circurama business.

David Ellwood, Education Officer at Ushaw, said: “This is the first time we’ve had this activity in our summer diary, and has proved very popular. We’ll definitely be making it a regular fixture in the future.”

The Rodgers family – mum Helen, dad Lindsay, and daughter Ailsa, from Belmont – came along together to try their hand at the circus tricks.

Lindsay said: “We thought the Circurama would be a fun thing to do as a family, during the holidays, and we also came to the Meccano workshop. We’ve really enjoyed both of them.”

There are still plenty of activities to join in with this summer at Ushaw. For more details, check the website at: www.ushaw.org