Tom Fotherby's Blog

At one point I used to be able to use these codes to do the rubix cube in 2 minutes. In the 1st year at uni we had three cubes and used to race each other.

• Layer 1, No codes needed, just do it!
• Layer 2, Have finished layer on the bottom. This moves top-middle to middle-left:
• FU²RU’R’U²F’ or if the colours match on the front face do U’FU²RUR’U²F’
• Layer 3, Have finished layer on the bottom. We only worry about positions first, then once every cube is in the correct position we worry about the orientation.
• Corner Positions:
• Corners Clockwise (FR stays put): L’URU’ LUR’U’ (outside, last)
• Corners Anti-Clockwise (FR stays put): URU’L’ UR’U’L (Last, inside)
• Back Corners swapped: FU’B’U F’U’BU² (inside, first, last²)
• Front left to back right: UFUR U’R’F’
• Middle Positions
• Middles Clockwise (R stays put): L²UF’BL²F B’UL² (lufbourgh football)
• Middles anti-clockwise (R stays put): L²U’F’ BL²F B’U’L²
• Middles opposite Swap (Swaps F with B and L with R): R²L² D R²L² U² R²L² D R²L²
• Middles adjacent Swap (Swaps L with F and R with B): R BU B’U’R² F’U’ FUR
• Corners Orientation:
• Twist front-right corner clockwise: R’DRFDF’, move the corner that’ll be twisted anti-clockwise into the front-right position, FD’F’R’D’R
• Middle Orientation:
• Flip front-middle with right-middle: FUD’L²U²D² R, change top so other is on the right: R’D²U²L² DU’F’

F = Front face, R = right side, L = left side, B = Back face, U = top side, D = bottom face. ² = turn twice. Turn clockwise unless red’ in which case turn anti-clockwise.

To make my favorite snake pattern, from a completed cube, do:

• L U B’ U’ R L’ B R’ F B’ D R D’ F’

After travelling round Europe seeing street performers and starting to learn to juggle with my friend Rodrigo, I joined the university juggling club and decided to specialise in the diabolo. These harlequin diabolo’s have kept me occupied for hundreds of hours.

Diabolo of choice: Two Heavy duty Mister Babache Harlequins. Robust rubber cups, 335 grams for a good spin duration, two-colour for easy speed calculation.

Learning the Diabolo taught me the importance of practice and not giving up before you start. Many people see something and say to themselves “wow, I wish I was good enough to do that” and the truth is, it’s really something that can be done if you’re prepared to practice.

I developed my diabolo skills at the university circus skills club and started going to other clubs such as “the circus space” in Old Street and then some rave venues in derelict niches of London Bridge where elite diaboloists hung out. I found it inspiring until my rate of improvement started to drop and I plateaued at a level way off from what I’d seen was technically possible by some of the diabolo-masters I had met. Unfortunately, I’ve come to realise enthusiasm and practice could take me quite far but I lacked the natural skill and co-ordination to be brilliant. Learning more tricks using two diabolos at the same time is my ongoing challenge. Check out www.Diarhythm.com (amazing videos) and www.diabolotricks.com (good diagrams).

As a child “Crossbows and Catapults was a firm favourite. The aim of the game was to land a counter of your colour onto the treasure mat of the enemy. You’d have a set of bricks with which to try to protect your own treasure and a set of attack weapons (a crossbow and a catapult). You also had a set of little soldiers to place. If all your soldiers got knocked over, you’d lose. I spend hours playing this game with my best friend, Nick.