"A DAY without laughter is a day wasted," said Charlie Chaplin.

With that in mind I headed to the final Friday Family Fiesta Night in Bournemouth Gardens to see how much "entertaining" I could cram in to one hour.

If you've been down to the Lower Gardens and Pier Approach on a Friday night you will have seen the amazing acts warming up the crowds before the fireworks display.

My mission was to blend in with these talented individuals and wow the masses with my own unique performances.

7.40pm: Time for a lesson in fire-juggling with Tim Marsden and his Juggling Inferno team.

I was handed two flaming torches and proceeded to flail them about in what I thought was a seductive manner.

Fortunately, two exotic fire-juggling girls were on hand who actually knew what they were doing. With the heat taken out of some of my fierier dance moves, the audience warmed to the performance and even started taking a few photographs.

Swiftly moving on, I extinguished the batons and rushed down to the Pier Approach.

8pm: It was time to get in the swing of the evening by joining in with Bournemouth-based band Samba Panashe.

Clipping myself to an enormous steel drum, it wasn't long before my erratic drumming style marked me out as an imposter - though thanks to the encouragement of the other band members, I soon got into the Brazilian groove.

The conductor even trusted me with a drum solo and, glancing at the swaying and smiling public, I knew I'd got away with it.

8.15pm: Time to hit the beach and throw my weight around with a spot of inflatable sumo wrestling at the Summer Sizzler.

The beach barbecue event is organised by Bournemouth Voluntary Services and intended to provide young people with fun activities.

Within minutes I'd picked a fight with a youth worker and went head to head in the sumo ring. Restricted by the cumbersome inflatable sumo suit, I graciously let my opponent win the first 10 bouts then posed for a few well-staged photographs with me as champion!

8.30pm: By now darkness had descended and 17-year-old jester Jamie Jigsaw had recruited me as his new assistant.

Wearing a builder's helmet and clutching a net, I joined Jamie's act as he skilfully balanced on barrels and threw balls at me.

With barely a word spoken, the act became ever more bizarre as I had to make my excuses and leave before he lost his audience.

Jamie is currently studying for his A-levels and his mum and dad were very nice, considering I nearly ruined his act.

8.40pm: By now I was experiencing the natural high of the public entertainer and felt ready for anything. Well, almost anything. My swansong was to dance with the Boredom Busters, a hyperactive troupe of children's entertainers.

Dressed in colourful superhero costumes, the group has a hugely popular kids' disco on the Lower Gardens Bandstand.

Dressed in a sparkly panto dress, I sheepishly went on stage and bounced around to songs such as The Timewarp and Don't Blame It On The Boogie.

Amazingly, the watching audience gave me a big cheer, despite looking like I'd wandered in from a passing stag party.

That's entertainment!