Jonathan the Jester Officially Appointed to the City of Salisbury by His Grace the Mayor of Salisbury Jeremy Nettle. Ratified by National Guild of Jesters, I was first appointed Jester the the Mayor of Salisbury in 1997 by Beryl Jay. Beryl Jay was one of the greatest Mayors this City has ever known, and in recent times we have had some truly astonishing Mayors. Then her successor, Paul Sample decided to make it official, he called me into his office and made sure I understood what it was he wanted me to achieve, for myself, for his Mayors appeal and more importantly for The City of Salisbury. By the end of his Mayorship we had forged a role for a city Jester. Since then 7 other cities have appointed their own jester. But if you study our record, Salisbury has the most successful Community Jester Scheme EVER! So what exactly do I do? First of all I have to try to cheer up the wider community. I have a civic duty to all of the Mayors subjects. I do this by mingling amongst the throng and performing silly tricks or stilt walking, or performing street shows. I provide workshops for local schools and I do this either for free or at greatly discounted prices. I do not get paid by The Mayor or The Mayors Office. Nor do I command a wage from any local body. I am self employed. The title is good for business, but it is expensive in terms of what I have to put into earning it. Fortunately, it coincides with what I want to do with my free time so being the City Jester is also my hobby. Some Mayors have used me far more effectively than others, some have allowed me to get on with what I do best. I have enjoyed working with or for all of the Mayors. One Mayor even denies that I was his official jester, even though we both got on the front page of The Salisbury Journal, the first time a Mayor has made the front page in many years. I hope when he's read this he will change his mind.

The Mayor of Salisbury's Appeal South Wiltshire Advocacy Network The National Guild of Jesters HOME PAGE

Here are the highlights of my career so far:

1997 Paul Sample narrowly beats the record for a Mayors Appeal Fund rasing over £70,000 for the Winged Fellowship Trust. As well as this I raised over £18,000 for The Breakaway Trust.

1998 I attended the funeral of Peter Gaisford "Jesterfool" the jester of Newbury. At just 32 years Peter died of a liver complaint. At his funeral, Peter made his mother smile by refusing to come into the chapel. Peter had spiritual beleifs but had always refused to go to church. At his funeral, his coffin would not pass through the chapel doors. His cardboard coffin was theoritically narrow enough, but the bearers could not squeeze it through with dignity. After several attempts, his mother had them leave Peters body outside and the funeral was conducted without him. He was late for his own funeral.

1999 The National Guild of Jesters formally becomes an association. I modestly persuade them to give me the title "European Jester of the Year 1999." The Guild also ratifies my appointment as City Jester.

2001 Jonathan the Jester (that's me) falls overboard off The Three Brothers at The National Guild of Jesters moot to ratify the appointment of Peterkins the Fool of Bristol. This is me being rescued by Vic Ellis and Sylvester the Jester. They pulled me up very quickly. They are both very strong men. Despite a bass drum on his back, Vic thought nothing of his own personal safety as he leant over to grab me and pull me out. Had Vic gone in I think he would have been in serious trouble. The Bristol Docks are deep with absolutely no visibility. I was lucky because my costume filled with air on the way down and helped me stay afloat. Roger and Vic - I thank you!

And this picture explains how I fell overboard in the first place. Boats are dangerous places. I did have permission to swing from the rigging, I just swung from the wrong rope when I fell. Had I let go of that rope I would have been in serious trouble.

2002 I did a 12 hour Stiltathon for Children in Need with Andy Stilts Walker. We raised over £3,000.


2002 was also the Queens Golden Jubilee. After the foot and mouth crises in 2001 we really needed cheering up. The Golden Jubilee was bigger than the millenium. My phone rang and rang from February onwards. Despite offers of stupid money to work in London, myself and my colleagues decided to stay and serve our existing customers. We managed to keep all of our existing customers happy over those 5 days. The logistical excercise of moving equipment from gig to gig was amazing. We hired in some roadies and finished the weekend in Salisbury Cathedral with The Salisbury Festival Jubilee Fireworks.

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