Arts Fresco, Market Harborough

If somebody had told me that I was going to spend a Sunday morning in September standing in the street outside Fat Face and Joules in Market Harborough watching an 'Aled Jones - the difficult years'- lookalike (his description) wearing nothing but a fake tan and a tiny pair of pink frilly pants while riding a unicycle (him, not me) I'd have said 'I don't think so!'

But no, there I was, and I was laughing so hard that my face ached, as was the huge crowd of people that had also gathered to watch this rather surprising spectacle for a rural market town (performers Garaghty and Thom).

The reason we were all there was the rather fabulous Arts Fresco street theatre festival, which is totally free except for donations.  This was its 15th year, and my second visit, and it's such good fun for all ages.

From stilt walkers and face painters for the children, to an array of street food stalls and drinks tents, the atmosphere was warm and friendly despite the chilly wind that made the eight-foot high unicyclist's job even more precarious than normal.

The first act of the day we saw was Betty Brawn - not her real name I imagine - who was billed as The World's Strongest Lady.

She was amazing - talk about ripping up the gender stereotype book, one of the aspects of her act, as it happens.

She took a 500-page romance novel purchased from a charity shop up the road and ripped it clean in half; she followed this by breaking a chopstick in two using  her 'breasts of steel' (i.e. cleavage); she snapped a chain across her back and then proceeded to pick up men out of the audience.

I mean literally pick them up, and throw them over her shoulder.  Her finale was hoisting two twelve stone men using a yoke-type device and turning herself into a human carousel as she spun them around.

Funnily enough, I don't think she warned us to not try this at home, but some things go without saying!

Many thanks to all the performers, organisers and volunteers.