This is the script that my tribute to Sam was based on – there are a few things in it I forgot to mention on the day and a few things I’ve added after talking to people on the day. They include Ali from No Fit State Circus who was with us in Nicaragua and went to Cuba with Sam in 1989 (check out the No Fit State Circus archive to see the video Ali in Cuba to see Sam performing a cigar box routine among other things) and Andy who literally took things to new heights. The Saroste jugglers grew out of the Friday night juggling /circus workshops that Playspace had started running in Manningham sports centre. From 1987 to 1990 Sam, Ron and Steve spent their Summers zig zagging across the country from Edinburgh to Chichester, Scarborough to Cardiff performing and then the winters in Manningham sports centre usually shivering but also rehearsing. The Saroste’s never formed a company (although Ron and myself were Binns and Robinson scriptwriters on Enterprise Allowance for a year – limited amounts of headed notepaper still available) but the Saroste’s did have a company car after Sam’s Citroen 2CV van finally gave up ( I do remember holding two wires together from Bradford to Newcastle to keep the windscreen wipers on) and the yellow ex telecom van went up in a cloud of barbecue lighter fuel induced smoke (The yellow van is a bit of a mystery as nobody seems to recall exactly when Sam had this vehicle although lots of people remember it and the tale of its spectacular ending). The first car we bought, which actually had enough seats for all three of us for the first time, was a Polski Fiat estate (not a popular model) – this was also my first ever car as I’d never needed one before because I couldn’t drive. Although our carbon footprint at that time must have been massive we did have ethics and we always boycotted Shell garages – which often reduced our carbon footprint as Ron and myself would end up pushing the car for miles when we ran out of petrol. Sam was very envious of the Fabulous Salami Brothers and their big arts grant funded van and the Avanti Display Team in their sleek and stylish Citroen DS but somehow the old crap estate cars we drove round in (and sometimes we were towed around in including over the Humber bridge – and yes the AA payed the toll) scratched and dented cars were more us and reflected Sam’s lacksadaisical approach to driving – often involving pouring a cup of tea at the same time as cornering - and his complete disregard for paintwork. (Having consulted others Sam’s disregard extended to all parts of cars and their maintenance). We certainly spent more time sat in cars than we did performing – but we did also do shows, street shows, cabarets, benefit nights, festivals and often very windy galas. By 1988 we were certainly busy. In 1988 Sam broke the world juggling endurance record by juggling for over six hours (he was reported by Jugglers World to have also pogo sticked up Mount Fuji – but as far as I know this was an early case of fake news and it was the previous record holder who owned a pogo stick – if Sam did ever pogo stick up Mount Fuji he never mentioned it to me!), his photo was in his beloved Guardian and on the cover of the European juggling magazine Kaskade, he was a key organiser of the European juggling convention in Bradford, the Saroste’s won the National busker of the year competition in Leicester and the £1000 pound first prize (which was great as my Mum was there and I could say “see it is a proper job!”) and Sam also persuaded me to go with him on the Jugglers for Peace tour of Nicaragua for a month. There were about a dozen performers on the tour, a mix of American and English with slightly different views on politics and performing leading to many long debates and discussions (including the debate on who should wash our clothes – us or the women who made a living doing the guests washing!) We toured schools, hospitals, community centres and a week of military bases out in the countryside riding in army trucks and jeeps past fields with beware minefield signs. (There is a link to a short film of the tour in the tribute from Graham Ellis). The Saroste’s kept going for another year but like many a rock and roll band we couldn’t really decide on where we were going and the economics of being a three person act was always against us – and there was (I’d forgotten how very lovely he was until meeting him again!) Andy Beattie waiting in the wings! And so the Saroste Jugglers became the Samande Jugglers. Over the next few years we all did bits of juggling together and in 1992 I stood in for Andy on the trip to Expo 1992 in Seville which is where Sam got his Blue Peter badge – the episode does appear on YOU TUBE sometimes but for some reason they usually just have the first half with Princess Diana rather than the bit at the end with the jugglers. The Saroste’s never reached the level of fame that Sam hoped for and which some of those we performed with did - Eddie Izzard, Julian Clary, Henry Normal, John Hegley - but we did have a lot of fun along the way. Steve.