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Liverpool's annual is happening right now at the on Greenland street and will run until tomorrow night the 6th of September. The events began on Thursday, which is when I made my way on a painfully slow train from London to join in.

Very late, my facilitator Jo and I raced into the screening of the . This is a film by Richard Butchins, which follows a modern day freakshow across the United States. The audio description was live, which helped when the DVD kept freezing. The describer even told us exactly which frame it hat stopped at. She also whispered the description when the action was quiet, and spoke loudly to be heard over the din of the rickety buss in which the 'freaks' travelled.

There was a Q&A with Richard afterwards, where he let us in to a little secret. The performers in the freakshow were a lot more stable than the able bodied organisers.

Later we went to what is called the Side Show. Mat Fraser was the very able MC, and it featured the lovely Liz Carr, a fantastically funny cabaret act called Blind Gurl and the Crips, and the irrepressible punk band featuring people with and without learning difficulties, . Heavy Load's film will be released in October, and Blind Gurl and the Crips are writing a musical about Ian Dury which will be performed in Glasgow in November. So watch this space for more info! Pictures of the acts will also arrive at some point, once a whole range of boring computer problems are sorted out.

On Friday I attended a presentation explaining the , and what it means for disabled artists. This is where each region of the UK celebrates the coming of the Olympics to London, by hosting numerous cultural events with the Olympic branding. It's going to be huge. There are literally masses of events planned over the next 4 years, and the first one to get money attached to it would you believe is the unlimited programme, which aims to have the biggest number of disabled artists performing together at an event, ever. Again, I'm sure Ouch will be talking about this in the future.

Friday afternoon included a set of short films by people with learning disabilities, which were fantastic by the way, especially Germ Academy, which is about washing your hands. They were presented by the Oska Bright film festival, so if Oska Bright comes to your neck of the woods don't hesitate. These movies are funny, and sometimes educational.

So you want to be a DaDa Star was an open Mic session at the Picket. One of the acts was an 18 year old called Craig McDonald who writes poetry. He is the youngest performer I've seen so far at DaDa, and hopefully he will go a long way

In the evening I went to see Laurence Clark's show, Spastic Fantastic. I'd recommend it. Very funny. And I won a Spazstick. It will probably be given away to one of you lucky readers, so wait by your computer for the chance to get your mouth around some caffeinated lip balm.

I tend to be just the tiny bit calamitus by nature, it's Saturday afternoon as I write this entry. The first time I've had the computer working properly since arriving. I'll hopefully check in tomorrow though, with more pictures and news from the festival. The weather is clearing up, so if you are in the vicinity, pop along. DaDa in the Yard is happening right now and looks great.