the magic

THE MAGAZINE OF THE MAGIC CIRCLE Issue 1125 Volume 104 APRIL 2010

Features
105 Tributes to Patrick Page – by John Fisher and others
Circular reasoning
he death of

Page 102
108

Regulars
101 Tricks to See Before You Die: Part 1 –
by Graham Reed
T Patrick Page hit
me very hard.
Although Pat had been
ill for two years, he
98 President’s View managed to keep his
98 News spirits up, and he had
100 Letters to the Editor a table at last year’s Blackpool
100 Obituaries Convention and The Magic Circle
101 Cheeky Dog Chicanery – David Tomkins Dealers’ Day in November. Still, I was
Page 105 102 The Magic Circle Cares – Rev. Peter Liddelow overwhelmed at the passing of the
103 40 Years of TMC at FFFF – Anthony Brahams person I considered to be the most
knowledgeable about all facets of
104 Notes from a Working Magician – Stephen Ablett
magic. I am very grateful to have
112 A Rich Cabinet of Magical Curiosities –
been close to Pat and to have earned
Dr. Edwin A. Dawes
his trust although that in itself was
116 Club Night Events –
Mandy Davis, Convenor of Reports not easy.
Page 116 118 Circular Mentalism – Ian Rowland When Graham Reed and I first spoke
about his idea for an article on “101
120 Adopt, Adapt and Improve – Walford Taylor
Tricks to See Before You Die”, I was
122 Magic in the Regions – Elizabeth Warlock
unsure about his desire to list the
124 In Review performers of the tricks rather than the
126 Council Minutes creators. I finally came to the conclusion
128 Forthcoming Club Events – that, as fine as the tricks may be, it’s
Page 123 Brian Sibley and Mandy Davis the performance that makes magic
EDITORIAL 07910 317 902 DESIGN 020 8521 2631
memorable. The proof of this is that
EDITOR Matthew Field ART DIRECTOR you can watch loads of magicians do
Editor@TheMagicCircle.co.uk John Hawkins card tricks, but when David Berglas
102 Priory Road john.hawkins.7@btinternet.com
Hastings 104d Grove Road performs, those tricks become miracles.
East Sussex TN34 3JE Walthamstow E17 9BY Of course, even the best performer
ASSISTANT EDITOR Tim Reed PHOTOGRAPHERS benefits from first-rate material,
ASSOCIATE EDITORS John Ward
Anthony Brahams, Dr Edwin Dawes, ADVERTISING 07767 336882 and that is, I think, what we have
Scott Penrose, Ian Rowland, BUSINESS AND ADVERTISING MANAGER included here.
David Tomkins Scott Penrose Confession: Next month’s instalment
Cover CONVENOR OF REPORTS Advertising@TheMagicCircle.co.uk
101 Tricks to See Mandy Davis 17 Berkeley Drive, of this series is written, but the final
Mandy@TheMagicCircle.co.uk Billericay chapter is open for your suggestions.
OBITUARIES Alan Snowden, Essex CM12 0YP
5 Folkington Corner, Woodside Park, MISSING AND BACK ISSUES
Send the name and brief description
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PROOFREADERS Sound of Music, Harthall Lane,
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President’s view
The Magic Circle is a Church
n a democracy, a ruling council is elected. If
I a council consists of say, ten members, you
often get 15 different opinions. For that
reason, it has been suggested that a council
of one is best. It has also been said that a
council setting out to design a horse will
inevitably come up with a camel.
What normally happens with a properly
elected council is they decide on a compromise.
With most problems, there are two extreme
possibilities with a grey area in the middle,
and the majority decision ends up right there.
Every now and again someone gets up and
voices their concerns over what The Magic
Circle is all about. Are we just another magic
club, or are we the pinnacle of perfection in
the world of magic? Or are we perhaps
somewhere in the middle?
I would like to ask you to look at the
problem from a totally different angle.
For some of us, magic is so deeply lodged
in our psyche that it has become a religion. If
that is so, could TMC be its church?
In its widest sense, a church is not just a
building. A broad church is a group of people
brought together by a common belief. A
religion seeks to educate its followers until as
many as possible achieve such perfection that
they become saints.
What can we learn from this?
No church is made up of all saints. It is
wrong to think it ever likely that there would
be universal perfection. A church may well
have one or two saints and indeed a few
sinners, the two extremes. But the majority of
the congregation will consist of followers who
98 THE MAGIC CIRCULAR APRIL 2010
are doing their very best and should not be
criticised for being somewhere in the middle.
A church educates by providing a building
where its adherents can meet and discuss
their mutual interest. It provides information
by the way of books and talks by
knowledgeable teachers.
It nurtures development so that everyone
reaches his or her full potential.
The church itself is not perfect. Its
congregation is not perfect. The congregation
strives for perfection bearing in mind its
own limitations, and the church shows them
the way.
So, is The Magic Circle perfection in the
magic world? No, but it can help magicians to
reach the very height of their ability and
thereby elevate the art of magic in the eyes of
the real world.
I can’t claim to be an expert on religions
but guess most of them preach respect for
one another. In magic, we should not be
looking at each other as rivals in some great
competition. I don’t wish to confuse this with
stage or close-up competitions; they have their
place and should be treated as a fun way to
improve one’s performance. We should be big
enough to help fellow magicians in any way
we can so that magic benefits as a whole.
I may have got this wrong, but it seems to
me that there is a new swathe of magicians
who think that success in magic is learning to
do the most horrendously difficult sleights
better than one’s peers.
Some of the best magic is quite easy to
perform; the difficult bit is to put that magic
into a perfectly fashioned act, totally in
keeping with the personality of the performer
that brings forth a storm of applause from real
people who have paid real money to see it.
That is where the competition lies – in the
marketplace. Let’s all join together and have
fun in helping each other to improve our acts
so that whenever lay people hear the word
‘magic’ they get a feeling of warmth from the
pleasurable anticipation of having a good time.
The Magic Circle church is non-racist, non-
sexist, non-classist, non-political and non-
religious; except for magic of course.
See you in church.
Jack Delvin MIMC
President@TheMagicCircle.co.uk
Circular news
Jack Delvin Receives
Murray Award
from Blackpool
Magicians’ Club
Our President, Jack Delvin, was
the co-recipient of the 2010
Murray Award from the
Blackpool Magicians’ Club,
Photo: Mandy Davis
Jack Delvin with Murray Award
Semi-Circles
Former Magic Circular Editor
Peter Eldin’s books are among
the top 25% of borrowings
from public libraries in the UK,
according to the Public Lending
Right. What is unusual about
this is that Peter’s books are
non-fiction for children, and
the majority of books in the list
are fiction for adults. It should
be mentioned that Peter also
writes material for adults! ...
Jeff McBride called it the
“show of my dreams” as he
was featured as star performer
in February at Il Ballo del Doge
in Venice, Italy, the grandest of
all the masquerade balls to
lead off Carnevale in Venice ...
Patrick Martin and
Genevieve were in Rome in
February finishing up their
engagement at the Olympic
Theatre in the show
Supermagic ... Member Adam
Silverstein is an academic in
Oxford and has just published a
book, Islamic History: A Very
Short Introduction (OUP, 2010).
He contributed a piece to the
Oxford University Press blog
comparing the work of a
historian with that of a
magician. He says, in part,
“Western magicians have been
www.TheMagicCircle.co.uk
along with Member John Pye.
The award is given “for
outstanding service to the
Blackpool Magicians’ Club and
for distinguished dedication to
the art of magic”. Also in news
from the Blackpool
Convention, which was held
from 19-21 February, John van
der Put took Third Prize in the
British Magical Close-Up
Championship, and David
Tomkins finished Second in the
Children’s Entertainer
International Championships.
Among those appearing at the
convention were members Russ
Stevens, David & Dania with a
brand new act, and Wayne
Dobson who began his lecture
with a tribute to Pat Page
before being interviewed by
Michael J. Fitch. Judges for the the mannerisms, voice and
contests were John Pye, Eric slapstick genius of Tommy
Eswin, Joan Caesar and Obie Cooper ... If the beginning of
O’Brien. Derek Lever was once [the] tour is anything to go on,
again the convention organiser, the success is set to spread
and the event sold out across the country”.
completely.
Scott Penrose is
John Fisher’s Special Effects Advisor
Jus’ Like That for Love Never Dies
John Fisher’s show Jus’ Like Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Love
That: A night out with Tommy Never Dies, the sequel to the
Cooper has been revived and is smash hit show Phantom of
touring the UK, having opened the Opera had its first London
on 14 February in Cheltenham. preview on 22 February. The
Clive Mantle, from TV’s Magic Circle’s Vice President, the Phantom. It is set to open
Casualty, now plays the part of Scott Penrose, is in charge of at the Adelphi Theatre in
the man in the fez. A review by the special effects in the show. London’s West End on 9
Freddie Whittaker said that With music by Andrew Lloyd March, with a Broadway
Mantle “not only looks the Webber, lyrics by Glenn Slater premiere at an as-yet-unnamed
part in ill-fitting suit and fez, and book by Ben Elton, the theatre on 11 November and
but seems to have perfected show stars Ramin Karimloo as an Australian debut in 2011.

guilty of Orientalism and I’m

not just thinking here of
Tommy Cooper’s fez. Since
the Middle Ages, magicians
have been ‘going East’ in
search of magic and exploiting
the Orient’s mystique to add
allure to their acts”. You’ll
find the full essay at
http://blog.oup.com/2010/02/
islamagic/ ... former Magic
Circular columnist Thomas
Solomon performed escape
stunts on 14 February in New
York City at what was billed as
an “Anti-Valentine’s Day
Vampire Ball” at the
downtown Club Element ... Solomont
Member Stuart Fell (Taro the
Patrick Martin and Genevieve Jester) had a repeat broadcast the latest moves. The store’s
of his appearance on BBC TV’s website is
Priceless Antiques Roadshow www.FantasmaMagic.com ...
on 9 February featuring his Member Richard Steven
collection of spinning tops ... Cohn was featured in a front-
On a recent trip to New York page article in The Park Slope
City your Editor had the chance Courier in New York City with
to visit the Fantasma Magic his wife Alexandra Baltarzuk
Shop owned by Member Cohen in their report on the
Roger Dreyer. With a sold-out “Night of Magic” in
performance stage and lots of January at the Brooklyn Society
Photo: Matthew Field

display room, Roger has for Ethical Culture. Among

installed exhibits on Houdini
(including a figure that
descends from the ceiling!) and
even has a card table set up for
Peter Eldin Roger Dreyer magicians to show each other
others on the bill was Member
Meir Yedid, and magicians in
the audience included Eric
DeCamps, George and Nina
Schindler, and Michael Chaut.

www.TheMagicCircle.co.uk APRIL 2010 THE MAGIC CIRCULAR 99

Letters to the Editor
Good Works by TMC!
This is just a quick note to publicly thank those members of The
Magic Circle who so readily gave of their time and talents on a
completely voluntary basis to provide our servicemen and
women with a truly magical evening on 24 February at our HQ.
Tickets For Troops (T4T) provide free tickets to a number of
sporting and cultural events and I suggested to Council that we
should offer a Meet The Magic Circle evening to them. Council
agreed and T4T were very excited about the prospect. Over 700
servicemen applied for just 63 pairs of ticket and, whilst we had
some late drop-outs due to service commitments, our guests had
a truly magical evening.
The Close-up team of Fay Presto, Tim Shoesmith, Gordon
Drayson, Steve Lobley, David Weeks and yours truly entertained
in the first half and then after a talk by our President, Jack
Delvin, and a short break, the stage team of Richard Pinner,
Romany and John Styles compered by James Fortune gave of
their very best.
A massive team of technical, catering, bar, shop, front of house,
museum, cloakroom and reserves all played their part in the
evening and are gratefully thanked.
Bar and shop takings were brisk which means the evening
would have made a small profit for the CMA but the publicity
committee are working hard to maximise the real benefit to
TMC.
Thank you everyone.
Clive Hyams AIMC
The Magic Circle
Kudos and a Recommendation
Congratulations to Carol Cooper and her team of lady presenters
for a superb show, “Here Come the Girls” on 1 February. A truly
excellent evening in every way.
I would also like to recommend the book On the Road by
Frank Skinner for detailed information about building an act. The
book is published as an Arrow paperback for £7.99.
Graham Reed MIMC
Obituaries
Dennis Collins MIMC 1924-2010
It is my sad duty to report the passing of Dennis Collins MIMC.
As ‘Uncle Dennis and Auntie Jean’, Dennis and his late wife
entertained hundreds of thousands of children in East Anglia and
on the South Coast with their holiday and schools road safety
shows, the latter featuring their living marionettes. Never one to
blow his own trumpet, Dennis was one of the best children’s
entertainers around and remained well known long after his
retirement. Indeed a recent archive photograph of one of his
shows in the local paper elicited a big response of warm
memories and he was often approached by people who
recognised Uncle Dennis from their childhood. A stalwart of
The Pentacle Club and inspiration to many a fledgling magician,
Dennis will be missed by many.
Alan Maskell MIMC

Showcase Sales Henry Smith MIMC 1936-2010

Henry Smith passed
away on Thursday
● Magic Circle Playing Cards (Poker Sized, red or black backs) £3.95●
11 February, having
● Car Sticker £0.95
previously been
● Book Matches three £0.95
● Postcards – four styles depicting posters of Soo, Devant, diagnosed with cancer
Le Roy and Hertz £0.50 each of the liver. As a
● Fridge magnets – four styles depicting posters of Soo, Devant, youngster he was a
Le Roy and Carter £2.95 each (or £9.95 for four) member of the Boys’
● The Magic Circle: Performing Magic Through the Ages Magic Service of Wales
by Michael Bailey £18.95 and performed at
● Bob Read’s Magical London Map £2.95 church and social
● Souvenir Pocket Mirror £2.95 functions. Henry was a
● Inside The Magic Circle Souvenir Booklet £1.95 Major in the Salvation
● Magic Circle Key Ring £1.95 Army and later became
MEMBERS ONLY *please state your Degree when ordering an evangelist, often
● Button Badge* £3.95 ● Jewel with or without Star* £13.50 introducing magic into
● Cufflinks* £11.95 ● Tie £14.95 his sermons.
● Membership Certificate frames £26.95 Although he was a very accomplished children’s entertainer,
These items can be purchased from the Showcase at The Magic Henry was best known as a Gospel magician and was a founder
Circle Headquarters on a Club Night or can be sent by post to your member of The Fellowship of Christian Magicians, attending and
address (P&P extra). Credit cards (Visa and Mastercard) and cheques lecturing at their annual conventions. For ten years he edited The
drawn on a UK bank accepted Gospel Column, contributing his own gospel routines, in the
(cheques payable to “CMA Ltd”) pages of Supreme Magic’s Magigram and he edited two books on
Email ShowcaseSales@TheMagicCircle.co.uk the subject as well as performing gospel magic on a commercial
or telephone 0845 006 2502 video which sold to the public.
Ian Adair MIMC

100 THE MAGIC CIRCULAR APRIL 2010 www.TheMagicCircle.co.uk


How long do you spend at a party?
can remember many years ago
I when children’s birthday parties
sometimes ran for two and-a-half-
hours. If an entertainer was hired, it
would mean working a full hour
before the lunch / tea, then another
full hour afterwards. The children
would eat for half an hour in between,
then charge back into the room where
the entertainer would have to calm
them all down again. It could be hard
work, especially if occasionally the
children only needed 15 to 20 minutes
to eat and returned early. The
entertainer would have to fill in the
extra time. Fortunately these days a
two-hour party has generally become
the norm. There are still exceptions
such as when they’ve hired a bouncy
castle and want to extend the party so
the children have extra time to play on
it after the entertainer has finished.
(When there’s a bouncy castle I always
insist on it being deflated before I start
the show). It’s puzzling when clients
hire me to do a two-hour party and
still book a bouncy castle as well,
leaving very little time overall for the
children to play on it.
Whilst of course, like many other
performers, I’ll accept a two-hour
party booking if that’s what they want;
we can’t pick and choose these days.
I personally prefer doing just the hour
show, (or 45 minutes if for under-5s).
You arrive and set up. The children are
seated and once you have finished the
show, either they go off to eat while
you pack up or, if you are working the
last hour, by the time you’ve finished
the parents are there to collect their
little darlings. With the two-hour
party show, once the children have
finished eating, back they come
recharged with energy and you have
to get them back under control all over
again. (Familiarity breeds contempt!)
A good strong visual story trick works
well for recapturing their attention
and getting them settled. (Giant
Dwarf or The 3 Spacemen & the
www.TheMagicCircle.co.uk
David Tomkins MIMC
Moon Monster are good examples.)
I can always remember the longest
non-stop children’s show I ever did was
many years ago at a company Christmas
party for Xerox. I’d arrived to set up at
1pm. The children were coming at 2pm.
I’d been asked to start the show a few
minutes after that time when hopefully
most of the guests would have arrived.
At 2.10pm all 150 children were sat ready
watching. Just as I was about to begin,
one of the organisers came rushing over
to me to say that they’d just had a phone
call from the caterers. The food was going
to be delayed so the children wouldn’t be
able to eat till 4pm. (If you haven’t
worked that out, I was going to have to
fill 1 hour and 50 minutes!!) So that’s just
what I did! Of course I paced myself and
lucky for me they weren’t an over-
demanding audience. (I had a few
children wander off to the loo during my
‘marathon’, but that was to be expected.)
Another company I worked for over
about three Christmases always insisted
on a three-hour party. Plus Santa. Each
year I’d suggest that they cut the length
down, but no! The customer’s always
right, aren’t they(?). Performance time
worked out at TWO one-and-a-quarter
hour sessions with a half-hour tea break
in the middle. (That’s TWO 75-minute
shows.) The client would always make
sure that the children arrived in good time
prior to my start. Father Christmas would
turn up right at the end of the three
hours, so there was never any leeway for
me to “waste a bit of time”, so to speak.
However, the fee was very good and
whilst I did what they booked and paid
for, I always felt it was overkill, too long
for me and for the children. After the
third year, I promised myself that if the
client rang again for next year, I would
only take the booking on again if they
agreed to either cutting the overall party
length down a bit or, if not, to allow me
to book a second entertainer to cover half
an hour or so, to give me a break and to
give the children a change. Some
performers may have chosen to plod
themselves each year (and consider the
material consumption!). However, by
that time I had decided it was much
better to give the children the variety
of two performers than to risk the plain
repetition of just one, no matter how
good the show might be. They agreed.
Having to pay the other entertainer,
my own fee was reduced and whilst
money is important, on this occasion
it wasn’t everything!
Whilst I normally do a 45-minute
show for under-5s, have you ever
taken a booking where the client
specifically requests only a half-hour
show for young children? In your mind
you think, “That’ll be a cinch!” This
happened to me. I’d set up my show
in one room whilst the children ate
lunch in another. At 2.30pm Mum
popped her head round the door and
asked if I was ready. I was. In crept my
audience, just FOUR four-year-olds
who simply sat in a row on the floor
nearby staring up at me with great big
eyes. I sensed I’d have to play the
show very gently and low key. To cut a
long story short, for half an hour they
just sat there, eyes glued. Don’t
misunderstand me, they were enjoying
the show, smiling very occasionally, but
there was no feedback, even though I
tried to encourage it. There was full
attention, but complete silence
throughout. It was hard work and
the longest half hour show I’d
ever done, but Mum and Dad
were delighted!.
APRIL 2010 THE MAGIC CIRCULAR 101
 by Peter Liddelow AIMC
The Magic Circle Chaplain and Welfare Officer
It has been a sad time for The Magic Circle, for a number of our
long-standing and treasured members have passed on. In
February we said farewell to Dennis Collins MIMC, Henry
Smith MIMC and Patrick Page MIMC and at their Funeral Services
we celebrated their lives and gave thanks for their friendship,
faithful service and for all the fun they have given over the
years to so many through their magical skills. Their families are
special to us and we remember them in their sorrow.
Several friends of The Magic Circle are far from well, frail or
infirm whilst others, in their twilight years, are finding life
somewhat of a struggle. In particular spare a thought and
prayer for:
Fergus Anckorn MIMC – convalescing at home following a
spell in hospital.
David Baldwin MIMC – undergoing hospital treatment.
John Calvert MIMC – undergoing medical treatment.
Charles Reynolds MIMC – hospital tests and treatment.
Frances Gilbert (Ron’s widow) – who is blind and her
daughter, Susan, and son, Craig, are ill.
Andrew Webb MMC – awaiting the result of medical tests.
Also continue to remember the following members and their
families, mentioned in the March Circular, who are still unwell,
for their ongoing treatment:
Bobby Bernard, Nick Cohen, Peter D’Arcy, John Derris,
102 THE MAGIC CIRCULAR APRIL 2010
John Dudley, Sue Fisher (John’s wife), Wayne and
Kathleen Mattox, Jerry O’Connell, Ilona Scarlett (Peter’s
wife), and Roger Withrington.
Contact addresses:
Barbara Grey (niece of Dennis Collins) 75, High Street,
Somersham, Huntingdon, Cambridge PE28 3JP.
Kathy Smith (widow of Henry Smith) 78 Thames Drive,
Taunton, Somerset TA1 2TE.
Janette Page (daughter of Pat Page) 32 Venner Road,
Sydenham SE26 5EF.
Fergus Anckorn 16 Hollingworth Way, Westerham, Kent TN16 1BS.
David Baldwin 40 Twin Oak Road, Short Hills, NJ 07078 USA
John Calvert 1031 Richland Way, Bowling Green, KY 42103 USA
Frances Gilbert 7 Woods View Road, Talbot Park,
Bournemouth, Dorset BH9 2LJ
Charles Reynolds 3 Grove Court, New York, NY 10014 USA
Andrew Webb 249 Whitley Wood Road, Reading,
Berkshire RG2 8LE
If you hear of members or their families who are unwell or
facing difficult times please let me know so that I can get in
touch and send them a Magic Circle card or get-well gift.
Peter Liddelow (Chaplain and Welfare Officer)
23 Kings Road, Barnet, Herts., EN5 4EF
T. 020 8441 2968
E. Chaplain@TheMagicCircle.co.uk
www.TheMagicCircle.co.uk
 Princess Anytime by Anthony Brahams MIMC
his month Fechter’s Finger Flicking
T Frolic celebrates 40 years of annual
conventions devoted to close-up
magic, with attendance by invitation
only. ‘Chief Forker’ Obie O’Brien has
always welcomed magicians from abroad
and The Magic Circular celebrates this
great institution with seven bimonthly
columns (this is the last) featuring the
magic of some of those TMC/FFFF
attendees. For more information about
Fechter’s Finger Flicking Frolic, check
out www.FFFFmagic.com.
Our contributor this month is
Anthony Brahams, magician, author
and, with his Cairn Press
(www.TheCairnPress.com), publisher of
some excellent books on magic.
Anthony writes that the major
attraction of Fechter’s for him “is the
opportunity to spend four days with
magicians who are friendly, even if I did
not know some that well. There is an
atmosphere of enjoyment and pleasure
of being with each other, talking with
each other and performing close-up
magic. My first visit was in 1978 and
though sadly it was Eddie Fechter’s last,
at least I was able to spend a lot of
time with him as he frequently called
me over to perform some of his superb
card material for me (an Englishman
was a rarity then and he was also
www.TheMagicCircle.co.uk
delighted that I had performed for HRH
Prince Charles!). I had been used to large
British Conventions where close-up was
minimal and an ordinary youngster
(comparatively) like me never got to speak
with any of the “Stars”. This was so
different”.
Princess Anytime
by Anthony Brahams MIMC
I have received e-mails from lay people
with a trick whereby the faces of six cards
are shown on a computer screen and the
viewer asked to think of and remember
one. On a later screen five cards are seen
– the selected card is missing.
This is the Princess Card Trick – the
original one, as another trick involving
hands of five cards dealt has the same
name. [The original was “The Prince’s
Card Trick” by Henry Hardin. Ed.] The
secret is that the five cards seen in the
denouement are not among the six
shown at first. This, of course, is easy to
do using frames on the internet, and
there have been many methods, over
many years, using fake cards in some
form. There have been a few versions
with regular cards but complex and
difficult to perform.
Set up an ordinary pack of cards (but
do not use those words in your patter!) as
follows:
From the top of a face-down pack six
cards all face-up, or you can have them
face down and turn them face up, it
depends how you like to work. These are:
King of Hearts, Jack of Clubs, King of
Spades, Queen of Diamonds, Queen of
Clubs, Jack of Diamonds; next a face-
down indifferent card, Ace of Hearts face
up and finally five face-up cards: King of
Diamonds, Queen of Spades, Jack of
Hearts, King of Clubs and Queen of
Hearts. Hold a left little finger break
under the Queen of Hearts.
Fan the top six cards face up and ask
the spectator to think of and remember
one of those cards. Square the six cards
on top of the deck and apparently turn
them face down. You do this but turn
all the other cards above the break as
well. There will still be a face-down card
on top.
Say, “Before you actually name your
card I’ll make it disappear!” Gesture as
if you are taking out a card and
throwing it in the air. Ask, “For the first
time tell us – what was your card?”
Rapidly deal the cards singly from the
top, turning them face up as they are
placed on the table on top of one
another, saying, “One, not the ‘Jack of
Clubs, Two, not the Jack of Clubs…”
and so on until you have dealt all five.
Announce you know what they were
thinking of.
After a slight pause say, “If you are
thinking the Jack of Clubs is back on
the pack, it is not… that’s the Ace of
Hearts!”
You have just performed an
applicable handling of Marlos’s KM
move. The two cards on top of the pack
are the Ace of Hearts, face down,
followed by the indifferent card face
up. Push them off, squared so they are
held by the right thumb tip on top and
the tips of the right first and second
fingers beneath. Pull the cards, still
aligned, off the pack from the right
long side so that the left second, third
and fourth fingertips can press against
the back of the indifferent card.
Immediately the cards clear the pack (all
part of the same movement), the right
hand moves upwards, making a clicking
sound with the Ace of Hearts as it hits
the bottom of the left thumb.
Simultaneously the left fingers push the
indifferent card face down on to the
top of the face-down pack.
Note: I sometimes use the Braue
Addition for the Switch but the effect
then does not have the character
although the sleight is very good. This
and many other Switches may be found
in Card College. I also recommend
looking at Roy Walton’s “Pocket
Princess” in Hierophant 6.
APRIL 2010 THE MAGIC CIRCULAR 103
 What Kind of Entertainer Are You? by Stephen Ablett MMC
here is an argument amongst the
T magic community about what is
the best style of entertainer for
children. Some adults seem to think
that a quiet, reserved entertainer is
best. They have watched a one-minute
promo by a quiet magician and think
that’s the way their entire show lasts.
The problem with this is that the
magician probably recorded their act
twenty times, and you only saw
snippets of the best take.
I have watched hundred of children’s
shows by some famous and other not-
so-famous magicians and one of the
few things I have learnt is the quiet,
calm entertainers don’t last long. Their
shows are short and they mainly
specialise in close-up for adults, while
only performing the occasional kid’s
party to supplement their income. You
visit their websites and it’s all about
them as an adult entertainer and you
look at their material which is either
extremely old or not suitable for the
age group they are performing for.
I have been told several times that I
treat my adult audiences like kids. I
cannot help this because 95% of my
shows are for children. But the same
conditioning mistake can be found in
the calm magician, where he treats the
children too much like adults, so that
they don’t understand the humour,
jokes or entertainment in the show. I
saw one kid’s magician perform the
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104 THE MAGIC CIRCULAR APRIL 2010
knife through arm. Another performed
the seven-foot French guillotine. Both
were at a children’s show and both have
released a DVD. The children undoubtedly
had nightmares after witnessing these
effects. This is the perfect example of an
entertainer performing his adult cabaret
show for children and thinking he can get
away with it. These are highly unsuitable
props for this age group and, in my
opinion, have no place in an adult show,
never mind a kid’s one.
Children demand laughter, they want to
shout out and be an active participant in
the show. The tricks you choose should
motivate the kids to shout back and get
involved in the trick. Even if it’s just giving
them an opportunity to say the magic
words, that is enough for the kids to feel
they played a part in the effect and helped
make it work. That is what the kids want.
The quiet magicians who simply show off
their skills quite frankly bore the children
and most often they will let the magician
know what they really think of him!
An interesting thing to note about
videos from this style of performer is that
their DVDs are all recorded in a school.
For child control, that is the perfect place
as there are teachers present and a child
knows that, if they misbehave, they get
detention. Therefore, it doesn’t matter
how bad an entertainer you are, you will
get good footage because the kids are
forced to behave. A proper show should
be presented in a normal village hall or
private home as it truly shows what the
entertainer is capable of. Only then can
you see how the children respond when
given the freedom to run about. These
are the real challenges we face, like
talking parents and overly excited
children. In these parties, I find it is the
loud and exciting magician who
encourages the children to shout back
who survives the event and lasts a full
hour or two.
Being able to control the children
when encouraging them to shout is, of
course, a required skill, which many
entertainers don’t have. If not handled
wisely, it can look like you are losing
control and you will not make a good
impression on the parents. You have to
utilise an arsenal of shut-down lines to
stop the hecklers before they take the
jokes too far. I have several tactics at my
disposal and my favourite is to redirect
the heckle into something more
productive. Some of you will know that
I wear a frog on my head, hidden under
the hat. If I feel the children are
screaming too loudly and won’t settle
so that I can continue with the next
trick, I simply take off my hat. The
children instantly shout out, ‘There’s a
frog on your head!’ I then put the hat
back on, hiding the frog and the
children shut up. I can then continue on
with the show. This method of re-
directing the heckles to something I
have complete control over is a vital
tool in playing the loud magician.
In the past I have used balloon
modelling as a reward system for those
who remain quiet. I have also blown my
whistle to get them to stop. But
nothing works better, and looks more
professional, than redirecting the joke
while keeping the laughter level high.
You might not want to wear a frog
on your head, but if you have your own
running gag that features throughout
the show, you too can use this as a tool
for child control and with the weapons
in place, you too can be the exciting
magician the kids and clients want.
www.TheMagicCircle.co.uk

PATRICK PAGE MIMC
17 March 1929 – 11 February 2010 by John Fisher MIMC
hen I was very, very young one of my
W treasured books was an anthology of short
stories for children that included the classic
account of a small boy’s visit to a magic shop by H. G.
Wells. It conjured up an atmosphere of anticipation
and mystery upon visiting such an emporium achieved
nowhere else in literature. Several years later I would
enter just such a shop and meet just such a magician.
The shop was that of Lewis Davenport and Company
opposite the British Museum in London’s Great Russell
Street, the magician was Patrick Page.
Pat did not possess the supernatural ability of
Wells’ creation to conjure his stock out of thin air or
the disconcerting knack of magically transporting his
customers from inside the shop to the pavement
outside, but in other respects he did not disappoint.
On an early visit I recall him causing a lighted match
to disappear in his bare hands and making a
matchbox open and close by remote control as a
prelude to crawling over his hand like a trained
mouse. There was nothing this slight, but stocky man
was not prepared to demonstrate, no question he
© John Fisher 2010
would not answer for you, short of explaining how a
match feasibly could dissolve into nothingness or the
secret of whatever miracle had teased your
imagination.
Many of the wonders that I saw him perform
www.TheMagicCircle.co.uk
Photo: Philip Pound
behind that counter in my younger days I know now
to be attributed to his skilled use of an old
Davenports stand-by, the ‘Topit’ Vanisher. This had
been a speciality of the great George ‘Gilly Gilly’
Davenport, whom Pat succeeded as the presence
behind the counter in the firm which George’s father,
Lewis had established. His quicksilver proficiency with
this trademark item alone would have qualified him
as the natural successor to this position.
No magician that talented could be held behind a
shop counter for long and Pat with all his Scottish
resourcefulness would in time break away. His ability
to hold a commercial audience in the palm of his
hand with the most basic tricks is legendary. His
expertise with ‘The Miser’s Dream,’ for example, was
on a level with that of his great idol in magic, Al
Flosso. Not long ago I saw a reference to Pat as
Britain’s answer to Dai Vernon. That did not do him
justice. As a teacher and catalyst for the good of
magic Pat could well have stepped into the Professor’s
shoes. But his knowledge and experience had been
obtained in the hard cut and thrust of performing
commercially for the public in a way that Vernon
never really came to do. Pat was more than a walking
encyclopaedia of magic and magicians, rather a
human CD-ROM of unbounded capacity upon which
▲
everything appertaining to the art, however
APRIL 2010 THE MAGIC CIRCULAR 105
 important, however practical, however
fascinatingly trivial, had been stored. I
question whether there has been
another magician in the United
Kingdom in recent times with a working
knowledge of magic as immense.
His ability to communicate can be
measured by the text of one of the
great unsung magic books of recent
years. The Big Book of Magic caused
much controversy when it appeared in
high street bookshops in the mid-
seventies. It will come to be seen as one
of the best books on the standard
magic of its day ever written, explaining
in brisk, no-nonsense language not
merely the ‘how’ of magic but the
‘why’ and the ‘wherefore’. This style
was carried through in a series of more
specialised works published exclusively
for magicians and in a long-running
series of instructional videos and DVDs
The following tributes to this great magician and gentleman of magic are from Members who were some of Pat’s closest friends.
Patrick Page was so much more than a
friend to me ... he influenced almost
everything I have done in magic for the
last 45 years. He had a special gift for
finding that ‘little twist’ that every good
magic trick needs ... not only that ... he
was a fine magician and the world has
lost a Great Master!!! My only hope
now is that I can make his magic live on
through the work that I do in the future
... I will miss him ....
Colin Rose MIMC
When I visited Pat the week before he
died, I was worried. He had lost weight,
was very tired and his voice had gone.
But all he could think about was going
to the Blackpool Convention. To be
honest, getting to the bus stop would
have taken a big effort, but Pat did not
recognise the problems, he WAS going
to Blackpool. He had shown such spirit
throughout his illness and had lived for
the last few months on will-power
alone. What a character! What a
wonderful, generous character who was
universally liked and respected, but who
had time for everyone.
John Alexander AIMC
Now that Pat is no longer with us, he
will be remembered and appreciated by
many of the magic fraternity from his
books, lectures and marketed routines.
Those lucky enough to have known him
106 THE MAGIC CIRCULAR APRIL 2010
which, alongside those of Johnny
Thompson, are in my opinion the best to
be found in the business. He extended his
writing talent into two practical books on
visual and physical comedy techniques, an
area about which so little has been
written. With his friend Matthew Field he
was working on what will prove to be his
magical magnum opus at the time of his
death.
Over the years as a dealer in his own
right, Pat marketed many of his own
routines and devices. None proved more
popular and commercial than his ‘Card in
Wallet’ routine. This came complete with
gags and bits of business that had been
honed by years of experience. Inevitably it
found its way into several professional
acts, not least that of Paul Daniels. No
one could fail with that routine, but no
one performed it better than its
originator. And like Daniels, Pat had an
have lost a generous friend. But his work
as an entertainer was also outstanding. In
his own field, projecting his enthusiastic
personality with routines of great skill, he
was a master of ‘the art that conceals
art’. Audiences warmed to him. He made
it look so easy and such fun. It can’t get
better than that.
Larry Parker MIMC
Although I could well have met Pat
before, my first vivid recollection of
meeting him was in the mid-1960s when
he was behind the counter at Davenports
when they were situated in Great Russell
Street. What a demonstrator!
He was certainly on a par if not better
than Jack Chanin or Ken Brooke. He could
certainly sell, and an Eskimo would have
happily bought a refrigerator from Pat,
BUT only if Pat felt it was right for him.
He would never sell you a trick or a book
Pat receives the AMA Master’s Fellowship
ability as an entertainer that went beyond
the scope of his magic. His pawky sense
of humour was in direct line of descent
from a great tradition of Scottish humour.
To spend time in Pat’s company was a
cherished experience. You always came
away having learned something. Above all
else he was a modest man. That should
not stand in our way in recognising him
as one of the great national treasures of
recent British magic and certainly the best
thing in legerdemain to come out of
Scotland since John Ramsay.
[Patrick Page leaves behind a daughter
Janette and her partner Philip, son Jeremy,
a grandson, a sister in Canada and
companion Karina Manninen, as well as
hundreds of admirers and magicians to
whom he gave his nonpareil expertise. See
his cover feature in the April 2007 Magic
Circular for details about his life. Ed.]
just for the sake of making a sale. It had
to be right for you. He was rarely without
a Topit, and could work miracles before
your very eyes.
He was always kind and thoughtful and
more importantly generous, not only with
his knowledge which was second to none,
but also with many a kindness in sending
along a photograph, a letter heading or
some other piece of relevant ephemera if
it was needed for a literary project.
When I organised single-handedly the
Flying Sorcerers’ Convention for Goodliffe
in 1968, it was Pat who persuaded Keith
Clark to give his very first lecture ever,
never seeking any acknowledgement or
recognition. He was a great friend, advisor
and Stage Manager to Maurice Fogel and
often added that little extra finishing
touch that made all the difference to
several of his choice items.
He entertained at our engagement in
1969, and with [his late wife] Margaret he
was at our wedding, as well as
entertaining at our daughter’s wedding,
too. ‘Easy Money’ is his greatest legacy to
table hoppers; there is no finer piece of
highly visual instant re-set close-up magic.
Last March we enjoyed seeing him in
good sprits and performing brilliantly at his
surprise 80th birthday party. For once he
was at a loss for words! They used to say
about Max Miller, “There will never be
another”. Well it is the same for Pat – there
really will never be another quite like him.
www.TheMagicCircle.co.uk

Aldo Colombini kisses Pat at FFFF
To Janette and Jeremy we send our
thoughts and prayers at this difficult time,
and also to Karina who is truly an angel
looking after him so well in his last
difficult months.
Chris Woodward MIMC and Nadine
With the passing of Pat Page, the world
of contemporary magic has lost one of its
truly great men and, incidentally, one of
its unsung geniuses. The qualities that
most defined Pat were his modesty, his
generosity and his creativity.
Pat spent most of his life in magic as a
magic dealer, author, lecturer and
consummate performer of great wit and
charm. If one word could be found to
characterise Pat’s approach to magic, it
would be ‘practicality’. Pat knew what
worked and what didn’t and why. He
learned it the hard way not only as keen
observer of the magic scene and close
friend to most of the major magicians of
his time, but from working virtually all the
venues available to a professional
magician, from gritty working men’s clubs
where, more often than not, he shared
the bill with the obligatory stripper, to
playing upscale cabaret engagements at
the top hotels and clubs of London. He
also appeared on television and in films
where he frequently functioned as an
advisor and magic consultant. He even
appeared as a David Devant-like illusionist
performing the Mascot Moth on one
episode of the popular Hercule Poirot
television series.
Though Pat was a man of many talents,
one at which he did not excel was that of
self-promotion. He was content to make
an adequate living as one of magic’s great
generalists. For those of us who have
amassed sizeable libraries and references
www.TheMagicCircle.co.uk
on magic that we regularly refer to in our
work, probably the most valuable thing
we possessed was Pat’s telephone
number. He was always full of valuable
insights and creative ideas and, of course,
was generous in sharing them. When one
thinks of the startling change of blank
pieces of paper to real currency (in my
opinion, one of the greatest close-up
tricks of all time), one thinks of Fred Kaps
who popularised it. When one thinks of
the beautiful and poetic levitation of a girl
on water fountains, one thinks of Doug
Henning who, with Pat’s blessing,
introduced it. Similarly, the highly
entertaining stand-up version of Matching
the Cards is a high point of the club act
of Raphael Benatar, and was taught by
Pat in his lectures to magicians. But these
are only a few of literally hundreds of
Pat’s magical concepts.
One of Pat’s best pieces of advice to his
fellow magicians was, “Don’t trivialise the
magic”. He never did, and many
magicians were smart enough to take the
ideas that he so freely shared and to
make performing gold out of them.
In April, 2008, Pat was honoured with
the prestigious Masters Fellowship
awarded by the Academy of Magical Arts
at Hollywood’s Magic Castle, putting him
in the company of a very select group of
great magicians who received it in the
years before him. Pat was justly proud of
that award and certainly deserved it.
What he did not deserve was that, in the
short period of his life remaining, he
would be plagued by an incurable illness.
Characteristically, up until the last few
months of his life, this did not slow him
down. He continued playing club dates,
lecturing for magicians in the US, Europe
and South America, working on his final
“Big Book,” attending the London West
End shows of Derren Brown and Arturo
Brachetti and even, with his devoted
companion Karina, to making a last trip to
Ali Bongo and Pat
Paris for the circus season.
Pat’s magical legacy lives on. Though
he would be the last to admit it, he was
one of the truly great magicians.
Charles Reynolds MIMC
As many of you know, I worked very
closely with Pat for the past two years
on what will be his final book. I had
approached him several years earlier
with a question about whether he was
working on such a book, with no desire
to work on it myself. Pat said he had
been writing the book for some years,
and I told him I was glad, because other
than The Big Book of Magic, Bell’s
Magic Book, Patrick Page’s Book of
Visual Comedy, Slush and books for the
public under the Whizz Kids brand
(Card Games & Tricks and The Jokers’
Handbook), most of what Pat wrote
were small booklets (such as Patrick’s
Pages of Magic and lecture notes) which
he sold at his dealer table at conventions
and lectures and were hard to find.
In January 2008 Pat knew he was ill
and I think that motivated him to get his
material edited into a form for publication.
I agreed to take on the job, mentally
calculating that I had just given up my
weekends. At our first meeting he
handed me a huge carrier bag of what
he had written. That was augmented
by lots more as time passed. “I just
remembered something”, he would
say with that elfin glint in his eye.
He found working on the book pretty
boring, so when I was at his flat in
Camberwell, London, he would often
have a DVD or video he wanted to
watch, or a new trick he would show
me, or tell me what was wrong about
so-and-so’s act, or he’d bring out old
Punch & Judy figures he’d want to talk
about, or a discussion of music would
ensue because Pat knew I had been a
folksinger in the ‘60s and knew
something about old-time music, which
he loved. He was honest, sometimes
brutally so, but his generosity to fellow
magicians was legendary.
The title of my interview with Pat in
the April 2007 Circular was, “I Enjoyed
Every Minute”, and Pat really did. The
book will eventually be published, and I
can honestly say that working with Pat,
befriending him and seeing him so
often, is something for which I will
always be grateful.
Matthew Field AIMC
APRIL 2010 THE MAGIC CIRCULAR 107
Several books have recently
been published with similar
themes: 501 Places to Visit
Before you Die, 1001 Movies
to See Before You Die, and so
on. I thought that “101 Tricks
to See Before You Die” could
be an interesting article.
What to put in was the first
problem, but following a
fruitful harvest of suggestions
from TMC members, the
problem became what to
leave out!
I decided to focus on tricks
and illusions which have the
‘wow’ factor – ideally linked
with specific magicians,
living or dead, but I planned
to include only people the
contributor had seen in
person.
If you feel strongly about
the omission of your favourite
trick and performer, send your
suggestions to The Circular
and we will try to publish
your comments.
According to Graham, the
following list, the first of three
parts, is in no particular order. A
reminder that the names
following the effects are the
performers, not necessarily the
inventors. We are grateful to
David Hibberd for providing many
of the images in these articles,
depicting the performers (if not
always the actual tricks) from The
Magic Circle Archives. Ed.
108 THE MAGIC CIRCULAR APRIL 2010
TRICKS TO SEE BEFORE YOU DIE
Part 1 of 3 by Graham Reed MIMC
ZIG-ZAG ILLUSION – Robert Harbin
This incredible
1 illusion, in which
the centre of a
female assistant
is visibly
moved (!),
took the magic
world by storm. When the method was
published, several performers included it
in their acts but nobody did it better than
the originator, Robert Harbin, who was a
prolific inventor of practical ideas.
FLYING – David Copperfield
Man has always
2 wanted to fly
and no illusion
creates this
dream better
than David
Copperfield’s
‘FLYING’ in which the performer soars
around the stage and inside a large
transparent ‘box’ without any visible
means of support.
CHOP CUP – Paul Daniels
Paul has taken a close-up trick and turned
it into a mini stage ‘illusion’ with which
he has amazed, and amused, theatrical
audiences worldwide. Paul’s routine,
perfected over many years, is a lesson in
the value of
3 presentation –
it’s not what
you do, it’s how
you do it.
To see Paul
performing his
chop-cup routine is to see a magical
superstar at the top of his game.
CHEATING THE GALLOWS – Maurice Fogel
The ultimate ‘Just Chance’ stage illusion
in which five rope nooses are shown. Four
are genuine but the fifth pulls apart; they
all look identical. A spectator selects a
noose which is suspended from the full-
size gallows –
4 the performer
stands on a
chair, puts
his head in
the noose –
and jumps!
Thankfully the noose pulls apart and the
performer survives. Maurice first
performed the illusion in 1961. His
favourite patter line was – “If this trick
fails I will not hear your applause – so
can I have it now please”! For full details
about this great performer, don’t miss
Maurice Fogel – in Search of the
Sensational by Chris Woodward and
Richard Mark.
GOLD MEDALLION PREDICTION – Al Koran
Many great
5 ideas have been
created by Al
Koran and none
more popular
with fellow
performers
that his brilliant prediction in which a
number freely chosen by members of
the audience is found to be “inscribed”
on a gold medallion. The trick was
inspired by the old classic ‘Borrowed
www.TheMagicCircle.co.uk
Coin in Ball of Wool’. Since the original
was marketed several variations have
been sold with the prediction on hotel key
tags, identity bracelets and so on. The
trick is fully described in Professional
Presentations and Al Koran’s Legacy both
by Hugh Miller and there is an excellent
version in Professional Secrets by
Geoffrey Durham.
THINGS THAT GO BUMP IN THE NIGHT –
Doug Henning
This is a classic
6 illusion which,
in the Doug
Henning
version, had an
extra-powerful
ending. The
performer is standing in a small cabinet.
He holds a large cloth which seems to
come to life and cavort around the stage.
This is repeated two more times then the
performer retreats into the cabinet. Two
of the dancing figures reveal themselves
to be glamorous women – and the third
cloth is thrown away and it’s Doug
Henning himself! Doug gives the cabinet
a twirl, opens the door and inside is a
huge tiger!!
TOTAL COINCIDENCE – Juan Tamariz
There are some
7 incredible card
tricks, but this
routine of
several
remarkable
coincidences
will take your breath away. It’s based on
an effect by Luis Garcia and it’s fully
described in Sonata Vol. One by Juan
Tamariz. Thankfully there are no
complicated sleights and no gimmicked
cards – two hours of practice and it’s
yours – add another two years to achieve
a polished presentation.
OUT OF THIS WORLD – Harry Green
This must, surely, be the greatest ‘self-
working’ card trick of our time. It was
created (in 1942) by Paul Curry when he
and John Scarne were having a session
together trying to improve Walter
Gibson’s ‘Pay Off’. It was with this trick
that Harry
8 Green famously
amazed
Winston
Churchill. From
the spectator’s
point of view,
www.TheMagicCircle.co.uk
the trick is a genuine miracle because can be performed surrounded.
they seem to divide a shuffled, face- Paul Daniels adapted the idea and
down, pack of cards into red and black created his own version of In-Flight in
suits – the magician hardly touches the which the cardboard box has cut-out
cards. See Paul Curry’s Worlds Beyond windows front and back.
by Paul Curry.
FLOATING TABLE – David Berglas
CHINESE STICKS – Roy Benson Forget everything you know about the old
The forerunner table-turning trick beloved by crooked
9 of this trick can mediums. When David Berglas ‘floats’ a
be found in The table it levitates – it dances – it moves in
Discoverie of the most inexplicable way. And these are
Witchcraft by heavy tables – ordinary tables. David has
Reginald Scot been performing his table routine for over
(1584). The fifty years under every kind of condition –
basic design, used today, is credited to including at
Carl Brema. It is a trick which many of us 12 the side of a
have bought, tried, and then discarded. It swimming pool
is a trick which seems deceptively simple on a luxury
to perform – but proves to be quite the cruise ship. On
reverse! The Roy Benson routine uses television he
three sticks and it is baffling and great has levitated
entertainment, too. Fully detailed in Roy a table with a celebrity lying on it –
Benson by Starlight by Levent and Todd Karr. petrified! On another occasion he
accepted a challenge from a wealthy
THE VANISHING BIRDCAGE – businessman to float his own table in his
Harry Blackstone Jnr own home – David did it, and was given a
Throughout this £1000 cheque for charity.
10 list you will find
examples of KNIFE THRO’ ARM –
relatively ‘small’ The Amazing Johnathan
tricks which, Once again we
thanks to a 13 have a simple
powerful stunt which
presentation, have been built into stage- many
filling ‘illusions’ – and there is no better performers
example than Harry Blackstone Jnr ‘throw away’,
vanishing a birdcage. He starts by but in the
vanishing the birdcage in the traditional hands of The Amazing Johnathan it
manner and then walks off stage to get becomes a show-stopping, heart-stopping
‘another one’! Holding the birdcage he feature with audiences laughing and
asks for young volunteers to help him – screaming.
the kids are asked to each place a hand
on the birdcage and in an instant the SYMPATHETIC SILKS – Paul Potassy
birdcage vanishes – under extremely Even a gentle
difficult conditions. 14 trick can have
the ‘wow’
IN FLIGHT – Nicholas Einhorn factor if it’s
The performer performed well
11 steps inside – and nobody
an empty performs The
cardboard Sympathetic Silks better than Paul Potassy.
box and, In his hands the silk scarves become
mysteriously, knotted, and un-knotted, in a delightful
starts to way … they seem to melt through each
levitate! It’s spooky and it seems to be other – pure magic! The trick is described
absolutely impossible. At the end of the in The Magic of Paul Potassy by Schenk
trick the box is shown to be totally free and Sondermeyer.
from deception. Nicholas created this
one-man illusion in 1999 for a STACK OF FISH BOWLS PRODUCTION –
competition at The Magic Circle. There Jack Gwynne
▲
are very few pack-flat illusions which Described in programmes as ‘Crystal
APRIL 2010 THE MAGIC CIRCULAR 109
 Pyramid’, the
15 production of
a stack of
fish bowls
(complete
with water
and fish!) was
a major feature of Jack Gwynne’s act.
During The 1930s/1940s he even
performed the trick in the centre of
nightclub floors – virtually surrounded by
his audiences. The original set he used
was given to him by Houdini as a ‘thank
you’ for various props Jack made for
Houdini. For a full description read Jack
Gwynne – the Man, his Mind and his
Royal Family of Magic by David Charvet.
FLOWER PRODUCTION – Dinardi
A most
16 incredible act –
once seen you
will never
forget it! And
the act
consisted of
one trick repeated over and over again.
When the curtains opened there was a
large trunk on top of a table. Dinardi
tipped the trunk forward to show it to be
completely empty – and then he
proceeded to produce huge bouquets of
(feather) flowers. Just when you thought
it was impossible to find any more they
kept coming – dozens of then –
completely filling the stage. Unbelievable!
THUMB TIE – Richard Pinner
Another magical classic which is rarely
seen these days – which is a shame, It’s a
spectacular trick and, from the
performer’s point of view, it packs small
and plays BIG! Richard Pinner has created
a powerful
17 routine in
which his
thumbs are
convincingly
secured with
plastic cable
ties – he catches several hoops thrown by
members of the audience and, for his
finale, catches a savage looking ring of
barbed wire! It combines mystery with
some nice touches of humour.
RISING CARDS –
Devano/Samuel Hooker
We tip our hats to two
inventors/performers for this classic card
trick – in which selected cards
mysteriously rise from a pack of seemingly
110 THE MAGIC CIRCULAR APRIL 2010
ordinary cards. The Devano Rising Cards,
invented by Mitch Devano, is a beautiful
trick performed by countless thousands of
magicians worldwide. To see a card rising
from a pack which is isolated in a wine
glass, well away from the performer, is to
experience true magic.
The Samuel Cox Hooker Rising Cards
seems to baffle
18 virtually every
knowledgeable
magician who
has seen it
being
performed.
Theo Bamberg described it as “the most
perfect and most incomprehensible trick
I ever had the pleasure to witness”. In
recent times, John Gaughan performed it
at the L.A. Conference on Magic History
(2007) and fooled everybody. For a full
description see Jim Steinmeyer’s article
in the April 2008 Genii.
THE DRUM THAT CAN’T BE BEAT –
Harry Blackstone Jnr
Harry
19 Blackstone Jnr
looked, and
sounded, like a
magician, and
his ‘The Drum
That Can’t Be
Beat’ has been described as the perfect
example of ‘big-stage misdirection’. The
patriotic theme guaranteed enthusiastic
audiences wherever it was shown in
America. From a previously shown empty
‘drum’ the performer produces the flags
of all the American states and then Gay
Blackstone appears dressed as ‘Liberty’ –
and just when you think this is the finale
you realise that, on stage, there is a
donkey and an elephant – where did they
come from?!
THE HYDROSTATIC GLASS –
Geoffrey Durham
Another example of a simple trick made
into a show-stopping finale by a top
professional magician. Geoffrey first
performed Hydrostatic Glass in 1976 but
realised that if
20 he used props
that were far
larger than
normal he
would have a
powerful mini-
illusion. A skilled glassblower made a
glass and jug to Geoffrey’s unique design
(the glass holds four pints and the jug six
pints!). The first performance, with
the new props, was on The Best of Magic
in 1989.
TWO-PERSON MINDREADING –
The Piddingtons
Only readers of a certain age will
remember the massive impact that the
husband and wife team of Sydney and
Leslie Piddington had with their radio
shows. And their incredible stunts of
telepathy – did they use trickery or
were they
21 genuine? The
Piddingtons
were, without
any doubt, the
most publicised
people in the
entire United Kingdom. Their full story is
told in The Piddingtons by Russell
Braddon.
THE BACKSTAGE ILLUSION – Dante
This classic illusion has been featured by
many performers including Paul Daniels
and David Copperfield, but it is usually
associated with Dante. When the curtain
goes up, the audience see a backdrop
with an audience painted on it and Dante
performs to this simulated audience with
his back to the real audience! Dante
explains that he is taking us all backstage
to show how
22 an illusion
works, and
we see his
assistant Moi-
Yo Miller being
hidden before
she is then produced – but when she
appears it’s a different girl – and Moi-Yo
Miller has vanished – we’ve been deceived
in a very clever way.
CONFABULATION – Alan Shaxon
Alan’s truly incredible prediction was
originally inspired by George Grimmond’s
‘Triple Forecast’
23 and Al Koran’s
‘Dream Car
Prediction’
but Alan
experimented
with various
different methods and, during the 1960s,
had the brainstorm of using a smaller pad
and sealing the prediction inside a zipped
wallet. This eliminated all the moves and
shortcomings of the earlier versions,
enabling the trick to be performed close-
up or completely surrounded in a cabaret.
www.TheMagicCircle.co.uk
The trick was first published in Alan’s My
Kind of Magic in 1970. It was marketed
by Ken Brooke and is currently sold by
Paul Stone.
TORN AND RESTORED CARD –
Guy Hollingworth
There have
24 been numerous
variations of
the T&R Card
theme but Guy
Hollingworth
raised the bar
with his ‘Reformation’. Inspired by J C
Wagner’s method in Seven Secrets, Guy
developed an effect which is truly magical
– the tearing and piece-by-piece
restoration of the card is without any
suspicious moves – it leaves audiences
totally dumbfounded. For a detailed
description see Drawing Room Deceptions
by Guy Hollingworth.
KNOTTED HANDKERCHIEFS – Slydini
The
25 handkerchiefs
are tied – they
are tugged
tight – very
tight – and
then they
virtually dissolve apart. Yet again another
trick with a simple plot but made into a
feature item with good showmanship.
Slydini’s name is linked with ‘The Knotted
Handkerchiefs’ but several magicians have
mentioned that the trick was also
performed by Charlie Edwards – a street
magician of yesteryear.
EDUCATED GOLDFISH – Scott Penrose
Let us give
26 Scott Penrose a
standing
ovation for
recreating
David Devant’s
‘Educated Fish’,
which was first described in Our Magic by
Maskelyne and Devant. The effect is
unique to say the least: a water-filled, bell
shaped, glass aquarium is in a three-
legged stand, within which four goldfish
happily swim in the water. Twenty six
small tablets are shown, a letter of the
alphabet is painted on each tablet, and
they are all dropped into the water. A
word is chosen from a newspaper and,
thanks to the endeavours of the goldfish,
the appropriate letters float to the top of
the water spelling the chosen word! The
www.TheMagicCircle.co.uk
original apparatus described by Devant
had to be completely re-designed to
suit modern working conditions.
The mechanism is complex, but Scott
has retained a plot which is simple
yet baffling.
SLAP ACES – Michael Vincent
Michael first saw ‘Slap Aces’ being
performed by Richard Kaufman at
Tannen’s Jubilee in 1982. Michael
expressed interest in the trick and Richard
told him to buy a copy of Dai Vernon’s
Tribute to Nate
27 Leipzig by
Lewis Ganson.
Michael did so
and says the
advice was ‘a
wonderful gift’,
as he learnt from the book that you could
develop a close-up trick into a powerful
stage presentation. Performed by Michael,
the trick is a polished Four Ace routine
which is beautiful to watch.
LINKING FINGER RINGS – Billy McComb
To a lay audience, linking three borrowed
finger rings is
28 inexplicable.
Billy McComb
performed it
with disarming
humour which
didn’t in any
way dilute the magic. Let us give credit to
Richard Himber who gave birth to the
trick – eventually to be performed by
countless thousands worldwide. See
McCombs Magic – 25 Years Younger by
Billy McComb.
KNIFE THRO’ COAT – Bob Read
Borrowing something from a spectator
and then apparently damaging it is an old
plot in magic, and nobody performed the
Knife Thro’ (borrowed) Coat/Jacket better
than the late Bob Read. Bob was a classic
example of
29 misdirection by
laughter. His
audiences were
always in tears
of laughter –
and applauding
the magic they were enjoying. Don’t miss
Thanks to Pepys by Bob Read.
BENDING – Uri Geller
A worldwide sensation for decades – Uri
Geller could mysteriously cause borrowed
cutlery and keys to bend using his special
powers – or
30 was it all a
trick?! Some
will argue Uri
doesn’t belong
in this article,
but why not?
He is a true man of mystery who has
achieved international fame. Some have
tried to expose him – others have tried
to copy him – but there is only one
Uri Geller.
LOTTERY PREDICTION – Derren Brown
Arguably we should only include
traditional magic tricks and methods in
this article, but it would be churlish to
deny Derren his place on the fame list.
The Lottery
31 Prediction has
been chosen
not only
because the
effect was first-
class but
because the ‘explanation’ was so cheeky.
Well done to Derren and his team of
backroom boys, particularly Andy Nyman.
FLOATING VIOLIN – Norm Neilsen
It takes the genius of Norm Neilsen to
take the rather tired ‘Zombie’ floating ball
and transform
32 it into the
beautiful
Floating Violin,
which has been
a feature of his
act for many
years. The violin floats, mysteriously, and
at the end of the routine comes out onto
the stage, on its own (!), and takes a
bow!!
That ends the first part of this three-part
series. To suggest a candidate for
inclusion, please provide the name and a
brief description of the effect, as well as
the performer you saw performing the
effect and why it warrants inclusion. Send
it to Graham Reed, 26 Hobbs Close, St.
Albans, Herts. AL4 0TH, UK, or e-mail
TheGrahamReed@aol.com.
APRIL 2010 THE MAGIC CIRCULAR 111

378. JAMES WAKEFIELD, ALIAS JAMES CARL – ‘THE DERBY CONJURER’
ne of the early, very accomplished, provincial members
O of The Magic Circle was James Wakefield, who initially
worked under the name of ‘James Carl, the Derby
Conjurer’, a well-known and popular entertainer in that
county town of Derbyshire and throughout the Midlands.
James Arthur Wakefield was born in 1874 at Norton-in-the-
Moors, Staffordshire, a small village occupying a position
between two branches of the River Trent and north of Stoke.
His father was a coal miner and James was the fourth of the
family of five children, three girls and two boys. The family
then moved to Ilkeston in
Derbyshire and by the time of
the 1891 census James, at the
age of sixteen, had become a
boarder with the Durose family
in Uttoxeter and was working as
a house painter in which
business he was to continue
throughout his life.
James married Mary Walker,
the daughter of a blacksmith, in
1897 at Barrow-in-Soar, a village
in North Leicestershire, his wife
being six years his elder, and at
the 1901 census, the couple
were residing at 100 Chester
Green Road in Derby with a one-
year-old daughter, Evelyn Jessey.
He was now listed as a Master
Painter and Sign Writer. A son,
Alfred Chapender was born in
1905, the boy’s second given
name being in memory of Martin
Chapender, the talented sleight-
of-hand performer who had died
at the early age of twenty-five in
February that same year.
Precisely when James became
interested in magic is not known
but clearly by the time of his marriage and arrival in Derby he
was a proficient performer and sufficiently in the magical
mainstream to be godfather in 1904 to David Bamberg, the
son of Theo Bamberg (Okito), who later became famous in his
own right as Fu Manchu. David’s mother (née Lilian Poole)
came from Derby and returned there for the birth of her son
which took place at 24 Sitwell Street.
Wakefield commenced his conjuring career under the nom
de théâtre of James Carl. Just as when George Routledge
published Modern Magic he had suggested to Angelo Lewis
the nom de plume of Professor Hoffmann to provide a
desirable continental or American touch, so did Wakefield
112 THE MAGIC CIRCULAR APRIL 2010
Edwin A. Dawes
believe that Carl added a suitable continental aura. He continued
to use that billing until World War I with Germany when he then
decided Carl sounded too Germanic for comfort and thereafter
reverted to his natal name. He was elected a member of The
Magic Circle on 3 March 1908 and attained MIMC status in 1912.
In 1909 he issued a neat little brochure which incorporated
several photographs of him in action, listed the range of
audiences for whom he catered, and printed a selection of
testimonials to his prowess from satisfied clients.
Later in life James disclosed that while he had contemplated
becoming a professional conjurer in
his younger days, in 1905 he played
one week at Scarborough
Aquarium and that cured him of
any such ambition as it was the
most miserable week he had ever
spent. “I left a good home, a nice
wife and a little girl and a good
business. I saw more poverty in pros
that week than I have ever seen
since. Fellows (alleged comedians)
wiring for next week at thirty
shillings and two pounds. I had the
large sum of four pounds ten
shillings and had to get to
Scarborough and back. I never
wanted to be a pro since.” His
appearance at the Aquarium was
accorded the notice “James Carl,
the Modern Magician, is very good,
and received warm approval”.
However, later in life he did
appear at St George’s Hall for
Maskleyne’s and explained “The
reason I got a fortnight at
Maskleyne’s was so I could put on
my card that I had performed there.
They offered me a month but I told
them I had a business and two
weeks would suit me better.”
In 1911 Wakefield’s first book was published under the name
of James Carl. Titled Practical Conjuring, it comprised 27 pages in
pictorial boards and cost two shillings. George McKenzie Munro
in his ‘Book Notes’ in the October issue of The Magic Wand that
year, after “hurriedly glancing through its contents”, noted that
it was written for those already versed in the conjuring arts to
whom the knowledge disclosed would be advantageous but he
was displeased with the quality of the illustrations and considered
that for fidelity half-tone photographs should have been used.
Carl was also dealing at that time, and in the book offered for
sale all of the apparatus described therein as well as advertising
www.TheMagicCircle.co.uk
MIMC
At St George's Hall
lessons in sleight of hand. George McIntyre (1977) in his Magic
Circular series on ‘The British Magical Dealer’ recorded as No.55
a list issued by Carl in 1911 which might well be identical with
that printed in the book.
Practical Conjuring contained a section on Tricks with Cigars,
including New Sleights, three methods for Vanish and Recovery,
and To Make One Cigar into Two. This field of manipulation
became a specialty of Wakefield and in 1927 he published a
monograph on his favourite topic titled Original Tricks with
Cigars. It was mimeographed with printed paper covers and
comprised 21 (unpaginated) pages.
During the First World War Wakefield served in motor
transport and entertained a battalion of the Sherwood Foresters
on the first anniversary of their service at Christmas 1915 and
subsequently gave many other shows to the troops and to the
wounded in hospitals near the front line. Following
his demobilisation in 1918 the June issue of The
Magic Circular announced that James Carl was
resuming his magical activities but would in future
be known by his real name, James Wakefield.
Under the title of ‘Are New Tricks Necessary?’,
in 1921 he continued a discussion in The Magic
Circular initiated by Leon Berkeley on the
desirability of originality in magical presentations.
He opined it was not so essential for the drawing-
room conjurer to be original as it is for a
professional, but none the less it was pleasant to
have something that you know the audience has
never seen before. But he did not agree with
Berkeley’s contention that to improve old tricks is
not art, and in illustration cited a modified method
for performing the vanish of a canary taken from a
cage and placed in a paper bag, which he ventured
to say is art. His appeal to members for their views
does not appear to have elicited any response.
The dealer Wilford Hutchinson of Ashton-under-
www.TheMagicCircle.co.uk
Lyne advertised in the December 1924 issue of his house
magazine Conjurers Chronicle a trick by James Wakefield titled
‘Upside Down’, which in effect was a miniature version of
Devant’s ‘New Page’ illusion. A mahogany box (cigar box
shape and size) is shown empty and two dolls are introduced.
One doll is placed in the box standing upright and the box
closed, while the other is placed in an upside down position
on the table. When the box is opened the doll inside is now
seen to be upside down. The lid is closed and the doll on the
table is turned upright and the doll in the box is found to have
followed suit. The original price of 30 shillings was reduced to
20 shillings by arrangement with Wakefield in March 1925.
It was in November 1924 that, as previously mentioned,
Wakefield featured his ‘Drawing Room Magic’ for two weeks
at St George’s Hall for Maskelyne’s. The report in The Magician
discloses that he commenced with his favourite cigar
manipulations, followed by an original trick with a borrowed
ten shilling note, and one with a borrowed watch, and
concluded by drawing the outline of two rabbits with white
chalk on a sheet of black tissue paper stretched on a wooden
frame. He then plunged his hand through the tissue and
produced two live rabbits. The reporter commented that cigar
tricks did not show up well in a big hall.
A few years after Wakefield’s death in 1955, Wilfrid Jonson,
reflecting on ‘Rabbits and Hats’, commented that the last
magician he knew to do the trick, including the multiplication
and the rolling of two rabbits into one, which Devant had
described in Our Magic (1912), was James Wakefield. He
mentioned that the Derby Conjurer bred his own rabbits and,
in his opinion, used them before they were really old enough
to be taken away from their
mother.
▲
APRIL 2010 THE MAGIC CIRCULAR 113
However, in Devant’s ’Silver Ball’ routine which Wakefield
performed, the rabbits have to be small enough to fit inside the
Silver Ball and the table top compartment, factors that
undoubtedly determined the age at which they were used.
In the borrowed ten shilling note trick its serial number was
noted prior to it being placed in an envelope. The loaner of the
note was offered a cigarette from a case that clearly contained
only cigarettes and then the envelope and its content was burnt.
As a consolation the lender was offered another cigarette and
when the cigarette case was opened the borrowed note was
found inside.
In connection with his watch trick, Wakefield recounted to
Francis White the occasion in Nottingham when, on asking for
the loan of a watch, a man at the rear of the hall threw his
pocket watch over the heads of the audience to the stage. With
an instinctive reflex reaction he thrust out his hand and
miraculously the watch stuck!
He also contributed another amusing incident to The Magic
Circular (1930) which was preserved in the text of a local
newspaper and headed ‘How are the mighty fallen!’ It arose
from a performance he had given for children and which he
prefaced with the moral don’t leave your baggage within range
of prying eyes or fingers, especially when entertaining
youngsters.
AN EXPOSURE
A story reaches me which seems to prove that conjurers are
not so clever after all.
Only the other day, Mr J. Wakefield, that master of
deception, was unmasked by a small country boy. The lad
had seen the conjurer perform to the village school children
of Sutton Bonington and was deeply puzzled at the ease
with which rabbits were created out of nothing. So he
kept an eye open for Mr Wakefield’s next visit when he
performed to the old people at a dinner given by Sir Cecil
Paget. He made a search, noticed a box among the
conjurer’s possessions, and with a whoop of delight
announced to an admiring throng of youngsters that
he had solved the problem. “He brings the rabbits with
him” he declared disgustedly.
The Magic Circle Country Members’ Night at The Circle in 1926
was reported by H.B. Denham who lamented the fact that,
despite practically every Country Member being written to
and invited to contribute to the entertainment, only a few
responded, none of whom wished to participate. This statement
galvanised Wakefield into action and he fired off a salvo to the
Circular. “Are there likely to be any replies if members are not
invited? I, for one, have
never been invited to
perform at any meeting
since the War. I have been
looking at my first badge,
which says ‘1908’. Perhaps I
am such an old member that
they have forgotten me. He
[Denham] also says “that
disposes of the contention
that Country Members were
eager and indeed anxious to
display their prowess in
David Bamberg (Fu Manchu),
godson of James Wakefield

London”. So you see that does

not dispose of that contention.
At the same time I do not say
that they are anxious or eager
to come. What I do say is, ask
them to perform at some affair
which is something; say the
Grand Séance or the Circle
Dinner instead of trotting out
the same performers with the
same old tricks.” This letter
received support from Bill
Stickland and a response from
J.G.G. Stone on behalf of the Watch Trick
Entertainments Committee
setting out their guiding principles, the necessity of knowing the
ability of a performer for the Séance and Dinner, and suggesting
that an invitation to Wakefield might have gone astray in the
mail. The latter acknowledged that ability was paramount and
suggested Stone looked at back issues of the Circular for the
name of James Carl. He had made his point and ere long was
participating in The Circle’s mainstream activities.
Appropriately, the first of these was the Country Members’
Night on 4 July 1930 when it was reported he enhanced his
reputation as a magician with a really excellent show as the final
magical act on the programme. He opened with his customary
cigar manipulations, then shattered a borrowed watch with a
hammer and eventually restored it intact to its anxious owner. The

114 THE MAGIC CIRCULAR APRIL 2010 www.TheMagicCircle.co.uk

parasol trick and the vanish presented his usual act, opening with the cigar productions as
of a glass of water completed previously described, and in July 1933 he was back at The Circle
the act. for Country Members’ Night. On this occasion he opened with a
On 26 March 1931 sequence of knot effects with a length of curtain cord, followed
Wakefield lectured to a large by a masterly presentation of ‘The Miser’s Dream’ using half-
audience of Circle members crowns. Next he transformed three indifferent cards successively
on ‘Tricks of the Trade’ with into the replica of one chosen by a member of the audience,
George Johnson, Editor of and back again. Then, he presented an amusing variant of the
The Magic Wand, in the ‘Cap and Half-pence’ with half-crowns, half a match box and a
chair. He commenced by ball of silver paper, culminating in a lesson in conjuring for a boy
giving a typical from the audience who was treated to a demonstration of the
entertainment and then elusiveness of a half-crown in the conjurer’s nimble hands. He
explained the details of the concluded with a padlock which, having been demonstrably
tricks. A report of the lecture locked, fell open at the instant when the key hole on a pictured
James Carl with Rabbit replica was erased. He was praised for his technical skills and
showmanship.
by T.B. Donovan was printed in For coin manipulations he used silver half-crowns and also
two issues of The Magic similar coins which had their reverse (tail) sides burnished
Circular and he observed that smooth for ease in palming a quantity, but retaining their milled
it was almost unnecessary for edges. These were described under No.267 in J.B. Findlay’s
the lecturer to mention the Conjurers Coins Medals (1964).
tricks were the result of thirty The ‘Haunted Padlock’ effect was the subject of a subsequent
years’ experience, the letter Wakefield wrote to the Editor of the Circular on 7 October
performance running on such 1933, relating to a problem of general interest:
well-oiled wheels that it was
obvious that many years of the Could I ask the Hon. Reporter through the Circular to state in
practice which makes perfect his reports whether an effect has been shown before at the
had gone into its making. “The Circle?
experiments chosen by Mr The last time I performed there (July 1933) I showed a
Wakefield enabled him to distinct novelty in the ‘Haunted Padlock’, a feat that has not
display a thorough command been performed since Verbeck’s time. I never saw Verbeck (I
Carl Performing of sleight of hand, and his skill am too young).
in mis-direction was Anyway, a certain dealer who is a MIMC, told me some
particularly admired….Every move, every phrase, was so studied time after that it was a fine trick and they were having a
that, sitting within a few feet of the performer, no suspicious dozen made up for sale. I am not greatly annoyed about it,
action was observable.” but if ever I performed that feat again at the Circle I should
The tricks demonstrated included his cigar productions, a not like the members to think I am the copyist. It makes me
version of the mutilated parasol involving a handkerchief wonder whether it is wise to show novelties at the Circle. I
borrowed from a lady, the burnt and restored pound note, a maintain that if I had not shown the padlock there, there
couple of unidentified coin tricks from Modern Magic, and a would have been none on sale.
candle that could be extinguished and re-lit by a pistol shot via I would like to say that my old friend ‘Heriot’, of Oldham,
the medium of a tiny electric bulb, a battery in the base of the made the padlock specially for me. When I first received it I
candlestick, controlled by a small switch on the latter. Wakefield’s could only perform it once without leaving the stage; with
lecture was enthusiastically received. my improvement I can show the effect fifty times without
Wakefield was on the bill for the 25th Annual Grand Séance at going off. In the interests of the Art of Magic I hope you will
the Rudolf Steiner Hall in 1932, sandwiched between Cecil Lyle’s publish this.
noted ‘Magical Milliner’ act and George Davenport’s ‘Modern With kind regards, etc James Wakefield.
Magic’. He had been requested to present some classics of
magic chosen by the Entertainments Committee but as a prelude Interestingly, the provenance of the ‘Haunted Padlock’ was taken
featured his cigar production act in which some dozen cigars up by the knowledgeable Hugall Benedict in the following issue.
materialised at his finger tips, which he followed by filling an He pointed out that he had seen the Padlock Trick performed by
empty cigar box with more cigars, some of which were distributed Dr Lynn, a son of the celebrated Dr Lynn, in the Winter Gardens,
to the audience. There followed comedy with a youngster and a Bournemouth, in April 1918. And in a further letter Benedict
handkerchief that was successively transformed into a long strip noted that the Padlock Trick was listed over forty years previously
and into pieces but was finally discovered restored inside a in the catalogue of the Parisian magic dealer De Vere, from
lemon. The Sun and Moon and the misadventures of a borrowed whom Verbeck may well have purchased it; the price was 35
watch which eventually turned up in his helper’s pocket shillings.
completed the act, the tricks of which reporter T.B. Donovan
wrote were “all performed with the skill of which the artiste (To be concluded)
gave us a demonstration at his lecture last year”.
Later, in October 1932, Wakefield appeared at the Order of
the Magi’s Annual Night of Magic in Manchester when he

www.TheMagicCircle.co.uk APRIL 2010 THE MAGIC CIRCULAR 115


Carol Cooper Mandy Muden
Jayne Loughland Mandy Farrell
Monday 1 February 2010
Here Come the Girls – Carol
Cooper AIMC and Company
Reported by Russell Levinson
This was an evening that featured an
enjoyable show which would have
benefited from avoiding some
duplication of effects.
Carol Cooper introduced compere
Mandy Muden, whose cheeky charm
has made her a highly successful
professional and who managed to coax
some response from the jaundiced
Monday night crowd.
Mandy Davis opened the
show with calm assurance,
performing a rope routine and a
three card divination. For her
first performance on The Magic
John Ward
Circle stage, the genial Natalie
Cro was surprisingly relaxed. She did a
rope routine, a burnt and restored
banknote, a comic bill switch and a
snowstorm finale.
Jayne Loughland, half of the illusion
act Safire, gave us a glamorous routine
using silks, candles, and the production
of a bottle of champagne. Mandy
Farrell, in a thoroughly over-the-top 20s
dress and head feather, gave us what
she calls her Handbag act, although it
was actually based around her footwear.
116 THE MAGIC CIRCULAR APRIL 2010
Mandy Davis MIMC Convenor of Reporters, John Ward
45s) competed against Peter Scarlett’s
extended Professor’s Nightmare, with
Peter’s trick more polished from continual
performance.
Round Two was a ‘Paper Trick’ with
prospective member Eli Bosnick against
Fay Presto. Fay’s routine was excellent and
deservedly won most of the votes. The
Mandy Davis Natalie Cro third round, ‘Mentalism with Cards’, saw
Neil Henry vying with President Jack
Delvin. Both tricks were strong, although
Neil’s seemed better suited to the stage
setting.
The fourth round was titled a ‘Floating
Trick’ and saw Christian Lee’s floating
Mandy Fletcher Fay Presto
It featured the production of a giant wand,
business with her stockings, and used her
stiletto heel to stab the last chosen card
from a card fountain – great fun.
Last was Mandy Fletcher, with a
Scottish-themed act, tartan-edged outfit, James Fortune, Mandy Davis and Lee Hathaway
tartan silk effects, Big Country music, a
nice floating ball routine, torn and
restored blue and white napkins to saltire,
and a snowstorm. She proved to be a
confident and graceful young performer
with obvious potential.
Fay Presto produced a champagne
bottle from silks, and her card routine
featured her amusing rabbit puppet Eli Bosnick Fay Presto
Harvey and a rising snake from a basket
finding chosen cards.
[The Pre-Show Hands-On Session
featured John Ward.]
Monday 8 February 2010
It’s Them or Us! Contest
Reported by Joe Stone Christian Lee Clive Hyams
This competition saw a clash of the
generations, pitting the over-45s
against the under-45s – would youthful
enthusiasm overcome experience? Six
rounds of magic would decide.The
evening was compered by Mandy Davis,
who introduced team captains Lee
Hathaway and James Fortune. In the
‘Rope Trick’ category Jake Banfield (under- James Fortune John van der Put Rob Cox
www.TheMagicCircle.co.uk
AIMC convenor of Photographers
table against Clive Hyams’s chair
suspension. Christian carried the day. The
penultimate round was two Bill in Lemon
routines, with Lee Hathaway against James
Fortune, and Lee’s strong routine won.
In the final ‘Free Choice’ round, John
van der Put performed his ‘Flaming Straw’
and Rob Cox introduced us to an unseen
card revealed over the telephone. Rob
won the vote. The prize was awarded to
the over-45s who won most of the
rounds. Overall, a very entertaining
evening, hopefully to be repeated, with
credit due to Mandy, the team captains
and all the performers.
Jake Banfield Peter Scarlett
Wayne Fox and Neil Henry Jack Delvin
Monday 15 February 2010
My Influences – Alan Shaxon MIMC
Reported by Mandy Davis
Alan Shaxon gave a well-prepared lecture
about the people who had influenced his
magical career. Each magician was
illustrated with a trick, a photo and/or a
piece of film.
Alan started with details about an
elderly magician, Ernest E. Noakes, who
had lived along the road from his
childhood home and was able to guide
and help the young Alan. Edward Victor is
well known to us all for his Cut and
Restored Rope moves, if nothing else, and
his series of books on “Magic of the
www.TheMagicCircle.co.uk
Hands” inspiring
a generation of
enthusiasts
including Alan.
We already
know that
Robert Harbin
was one of
Alan’s greatest
Alan Shaxon heroes and
influences. Alan has always had a love
of illusions, and The Great Levante was
one of the last to tour a show of this
nature. Raoul, a pupil of David Devant,
presented a colourful act which
featured in the shows of Maskelynes
during the 1940s. Alan saw his summer
season in Whitstable in 1950.
Maurice Fogel was the great
showman mentalist during the last days
of the variety theatres. He lived
dangerously, featuring his Russian
Roulette, and presented a show of
hypnosis along with his renowned
mentalism. Al Koran was another great
hero and an outstanding magician who
found fame as a mentalist. He is still
revered today by magicians for the legacy
of his direct and telling presentations.
Saturday 13 February 2010 Ali Bongo’s Saturday Show
We have photos from Katherine Rhodes of the stellar event.
Carl Pettman Christian Lee
Richard Pinner Peter Pinner
John Booth, who passed away so
recently at the age of 96, was one of
magic’s most remarkable people:
magician, adventurer, pastor, and
author of innumerable books on a
variety of subjects. His two initial magic
books were an enormous influence
upon Alan in his early years.
Of course David Nixon brought magic
to TV in the UK, his charm and wit
making him a favourite with the public
and magicians
alike. Alan and
Anne’s first guest
appearance on
his TV shows
exposed their
‘moonlighting’
activities to Alan’s
banking Christian Lee
employers, but also led to offers
that inspired them to give up life in
the City and become full-time
professionals.
And thus ended a fascinating insight
into the influences of Alan Shaxon.
[Christian Lee was featured in the
Pre-Show Hands-On Session in the
Devant Room.]
Fay Presto
Richard McDougall
APRIL 2010 THE MAGIC CIRCULAR 117
 Magic Is Real
he remit for this column is for me to scribble about goings

T on in the world of mentalism. As my handful of readers

are well aware, I usually stick to this brief poorly if at all,
much like a Post-It note on its third assignment. In fact, this
month I’m not going to mention mentalism at all, because I
have something far more important to write about.
On 12 January a massive and devastating earthquake struck
Haiti. Magic Circle member Doug Segal had the idea of
organising a show of some kind to raise money for Haiti disaster
relief. What happened after that was truly extraordinary.
Let’s be clear: it was impossible for this event to succeed. For
a start, the production budget was exactly zero. Finding a venue
that could be hired for free wasn’t easy, and the organisers
had to settle for a Wednesday night in a central London bar.
At the risk of stating the obvious, Wednesdays aren’t ideal if
you want people to turn up and support a live show. People
have jobs to get home from and to get up for the next day,
and there are kids and school things to worry about.
The selected bar had no stage, no lights and no sound gear.
In other words, everything needed to put on a live show
would have to be obtained for free, delivered to the venue
and then set up within a single evening. As well as trying to
make this show happen, the organisers also faced the problem
of persuading 250 people to actually turn up and pay to see it.
All of this in three weeks flat.
An impossible task. Luckily, the one thing magicians know
about is how to do impossible things.
A great many Circle members, magicians and friends of
magic immediately rose to the challenge. Jon Randall took on
the task of finding all the staging and sound equipment that
would be needed. This involved a lot of dead ends and
fruitless quests, but he got wonderfully helpful offers from
Martin MacMillan, Ian Keable and others. Eventually, David
Berglas called in some favours and obtained some ideal
staging from the Earnshaw theatre school. Many Circle
members also offered the use of their own PA equipment. In
the end Jon was able to borrow top-flight sound gear from
Steve Heliczer at QED Productions. Steve isn’t a Circle member
but he likes and supports magic, and his company just
happens to be the country’s leading live events facilities house.
Other Circle members offered to perform at the event for
free – so many that it wasn’t possible to use them all. The
eventual line-up included Michael Vincent, Hiyashi, Neil Henry,
Chris Hare, James Brown, Todd Landman and Lee Warren. As
the intention was to put on a variety show, Neil Henry, Lee
Hathaway and others took on the mantle of ‘talent bookers’,
working hard and phoning round to find other acts who could
add some variety to the evening. One of the first to sign up
was ace comedian Adam Bloom, who doesn’t perform magic
professionally but has a keen interest and has marketed some
original card effects. The eventual line-up also featured Matt

118 THE MAGIC CIRCULAR APRIL 2010 www.TheMagicCircle.co.uk

Ian Rowland AIMC
AIMC

Hennem, the mime and juggling genius who headlined last
year’s MacMillan gala show.
Circle member Darius Ziatabari and close-up magician John
Morgan took it on themselves to be the marketing experts for
the event. Both pretty savvy when it comes to internet
technology, they advised on how to use ‘viral marketing’ and
social networking sites to boost attendance, as well as how to
set up an online donation website. Michael Vincent was also
instrumental in the marketing campaign, persuading a friend
who works as a professional events promoter to donate his
services (and vast mailing list) for free. Duncan Trillo prominently
featured the event on ‘Magic Week’ and many people,
magicians or friends of magic, began listing the event on their
websites and mailing lists.
The offers of help kept pouring in. Circle stalwarts such as
Martin Taylor, who would have been a great asset to the live
show, took care of relatively mundane yet vital tasks such as
checking tickets on the door. Still others took it on themselves to
help with logistics, loading and unloading, and running vital
errands. Others (too many to list here) loaned their support just
by turning up and bringing friends along.
It was decided to hold a charity auction on the night, and
many Circle members and friends of magic donated terrific
auction items, including Uri Geller, Martin Breese, Spyros Melaris
and Peter Willats. Rodney Piper even got in touch from Spain to
offer a VIP visit to the House of Illusion, including flights and
hotel. The generosity, the kindness and the good ideas kept
coming in.
Notwithstanding the aim to make this event happen without
spending a cent, a few unavoidable expenses were incurred
along the way. Some well-known Circle members offered to
cover these expenses, although all preferred to do so quietly and
anonymously.
In three short weeks, it all came together. The tireless
promotional efforts paid off and the venue was filled to capacity.
The performers were all on top form, and the show ran almost
flawlessly (with some slight over-running). The auction was
highly successful, with many of the more generous winning bids
coming from Circle members in the crowd. Oh, and everyone
had a great time too!
The event raised about £5000 for Red Cross relief efforts in
Haiti. In a single night, with three weeks’ planning, with zero
budget. Here’s the truth: magic is real. It lives in the hearts,
talents and capabilities of Magic Circle members and their
friends. It lives in their determination to show that anything can
be achieved, no matter how impossible it may seem.
inviting him to change his mind as often as he wishes. Once
he has settled on a number, you invite him to double it, and to
add the original number to the result (if necessary using a
calculator). You then ask him to circle any one digit in this new
result and tell you what it is. For example, he says ‘3’. You ask
him to concentrate and you then divine the remaining digits:
‘7’ and ‘2’. Correct!
The whole point is that this looks and sounds as if there’s a
mathematical method, which is what magicians in the room
will look for. They will look for a long time because this effect,
as stated, cannot be achieved via any mathematics.
Real method. Find your spectator before the show and do
some close-up magic for him, preferably where the patter is
based around being able to remember what you see. At the
end of this short private performance, tell the spec you’d like
to see if he can remember one more thing, and show him a
card with ‘124’ written boldly on it. This is one of the easiest
numbers in the world to remember. You say that during the
show you will do a routine with numbers, and that you will do
your best to make him forget this number or change his mind
– but his job is to stick to 124 no matter what, and not to be
put off. During the routine, he starts with ‘124’ and the rest is
just double-talk, acting and lying.
Invitation
If you have items, stories, jokes or vicious rumours of
interest to mentalists, please drop me a line
(ian@ianrowland.com). If you can’t afford Derren and
want to hire a fairly good also-ran mentalist, or you just
have time to kill, please visit www.ianrowland.com.

QUICK TRICK
Here’s a trivial idea you can use, if only as a magician-fooler. You
invite a spectator to think of any three digit number and write it
down (you can’t see what he writes). You make great play of

www.TheMagicCircle.co.uk APRIL 2010 THE MAGIC CIRCULAR 119


A LESSON IN TELEPATHY?
wo-person telepathy does not
T seem to be as popular as it used to
be. Maybe it is because of the
difficulty in finding a partner willing to
devote the time to learn and practise it.
If so, the following routine will appeal,
because it requires no memory work on
the part of the medium and very little
on the part of the performer. What’s
more, I can guarantee that it is
staggeringly baffling to a lay audience.
The telepathic transmission of a song
or tune is not at all new, but as far as I
am aware this method is novel and the
routine is different, involving “teaching”
a member of the audience the art of
projecting a musical thought. What
follows is a verbatim reproduction of a
performance without leaving anything
out. You may care to try to figure out
the secret.
Ladies and Gentlemen: You may have
read about experiments being
conducted in BCI – Brain-Computer
Interfacing – at Southampton University
in the UK and at the University of
California, Los Angeles, where thoughts
from the motor cortex of one individual’s
brain are transmitted to the visual
cortex of another’s across the internet
by the aid of electrodes on their heads.
I have been carrying out my own
research, but without an interface, in
what I call BBI – Brain-to-Brain Imaging
– and I would like to demonstrate the
results this evening, by trying to
transmit a chosen tune to our pianist
here simply by thinking of it, and even
teaching a volunteer from the audience
without any previous experience, to do
exactly the same. [Performer obtains the
assistance of a volunteer.]
Here are 40 or 50 song titles. [He
shows cards on which different song
titles are printed.] Would you just
confirm that the tunes are all different?
[After confirmation the Performer turns
the song titles face down.] In a moment
I shall ask you to take any song and
when I ask you to, but not before, I’d
120 THE MAGIC CIRCULAR APRIL 2010
Walford Taylor AIMC
n
gers i
an t and Glory
Str e Nigh
th
Fig. 1
like you to show it to me and then we
will both concentrate on the tune in our
heads. Now please select any one at all
[no force], but for the moment don’t
show it to me. Do you know the tune? If
not, you may take another one. Excellent!
Show me the song, please. [Performer
glances at it and from then on remains
silent and motionless as he and the
volunteer concentrate on the tune.
Immediately the pianist, who is
blindfolded and seated with her back to
the audience, starts playing a few notes
falteringly but then gains confidence and
eventually breaks into the tune being
thought of by the Spectator –“MOON
RIVER”!]
In case you think that was a
coincidence, let’s try it again. Choose
another song title, please. Can you
recognise the tune? Would you show me
the song now, please. [Performer looks at
the title and again remains silent and
motionless as the pianist starts to play the
correct tune – “MICHELLE”.]
You have obviously got the idea! Now
we’ll do it once more, and this time I’ll let
you go solo and try and transmit the song
by yourself. Please choose another song
and make sure that I cannot see what it
is! Have you recognised the tune? If not,
take another one. Perhaps you can think
of the song by yourself, this time.
[Performer turns head away as the
Moon
Land of Hop
e
River
volunteer takes her song title and keeps
still and silent whilst she concentrates. He
genuinely does not know what tune has
been selected. The pianist starts playing
“UNFORGETTABLE”.] Is that the tune you
are thinking of? [Volunteer (amazed at
her own success) confirms that it is.]
Ladies and Gentlemen, would you
please give a round of applause to our
friend here for what I think you will agree
is a remarkable achievement in learning
Brain-to-Brain Imaging in such a short
period of training!
Note
● The above description contains
everything necessary for the Medium
to know what tune to play.
● Spectator has a completely free choice
of tune and there is no force.
● Performer does not know what tune
has been selected until the spectator
shows it to him, after which he keeps
completely silent.
● For the last part of the effect the
performer never knows the title of the
chosen tune until it is played by the
Medium.
● No confederates.
● Performer says nothing to the Medium.
● No transmitters, wires, threads or
secret gimmicks.
● Effect may be repeated, the song being
different each time.
www.TheMagicCircle.co.uk
THE SECRET Being reluctant to throw anything away, it names of forty or fifty popular tunes”
No doubt the above will bring to mind occurred to me that I could convert the and “Choose a song, please”. It is
the marketed effect Musico (from deck from a playing card reader deck to a better to select a middle-aged to elderly
Hamley’s (Max Andrews’) Catalogue song tune reader deck. To do this, all that person as a volunteer from the
c.1948), but that uses a force requiring a is necessary is to paste on to the face of audience as he or she is more likely to
wooden card box and there is no each card a label on which is printed the know the evergreen musical standards.
genuinely free selection. Again, Scalbert’s name of a different tune. To help the To signal to the Medium what tune
Musical Mystery (in Scalbert’s Selected spectator recall the tune I also add, when has been chosen it is only necessary to
Secrets, Supreme Magic, 1981, p.116) I think it may be of help, a few of the code the name of the playing card
achieves the same effect, but the commencing words in brackets, e.g. because the Medium has a crib which
performer always has to be aware of the [There’ll be blue birds over] THE WHITE gives the name of the song against
name of the tune he has to signal and it CLIFFS OF DOVER, [We all live in a] each appropriate playing card (see
uses a rather complicated, although YELLOW SUBMARINE. Using a word below).
ingenious, code. My version involves a processor the result is perfectly acceptable
code but it is extremely simple to learn (Fig. 1), particularly if you use a Korner Specimen Crib Sheet
and is coupled with another principle Short gadget (Davenports and other Normally, concealing the crib sheet will
which, I suggest, to the layman makes the magic dealers) to give the labels rounded not be a problem when the medium is
demonstration look like genuine thought- corners. sitting at the piano, as it will be either
transference. I employ just the 40 non-court cards, within a music book or laid flat at the
My idea came to me when clearing out not all 52. Of course, you can convert side of the keyboard away from the
some drawers containing old magical bits your Ted Lesley, Boris Wild or other audience. However, for other
and pieces, and I came across an old E&S treasured reader deck instead if you are circumstances I have designed a
Mocker deck (this was one of the earliest willing to sacrifice it! In performance I different crib which I may describe in a
mass marketed Reader packs, now long- never use the words “pack” or “deck or later article.
since superseded by regular-back readers). “card” but simply say, “Here are the
The Stack
HEARTS CLUBS
The cards are arranged according to
A YESTERDAY A STRANGERS IN THE NIGHT
1 MARIA 1 YELLOW SUBMARINE your favourite system (Si Stebbins, Eight
2 BEGIN THE BEGUINE 2 THE WHITE CLIFFS OF DOVER Kings, Charlie Chan, (TMC Feb 2008
3 RULE BRITANNIA 3 HEY JUDE p.40)), referring, of course, to the
4 WE’LL MEET AGAIN 4 FALLING IN LOVE AGAIN markings on the backs, but stacking
5 IT’S IMPOSSIBLE 5 MICHELLE them in reverse to the usual order when
6 AS TIME GOES BY 6 SECRET LOVE cards are stacked face-up. In fact, any
7 UNFORGETTABLE 7 DAISY, DAISY order of cards can be used and
8 YOU MADE ME LOVE YOU 8 FOR HE’S A JOLLY GOOD FELLOW recorded on the crib sheet, but a
9 SINGIN’ IN THE RAIN 9 JINGLE BELLS recognised stack makes it easier to re-
10 SUMMER HOLIDAY 10 NOEL
set when necessary.
The working should now be clear.
DIAMONDS SPADES
A EMBRACEABLE YOU A OLD MACDONALD HAD A FARM Against the name of each card on the
2 STAY AS SWEET AS YOU ARE 2 APRIL LOVE printed crib sheet which the medium
3 SOMEWHERE OVER 3 GOD SAVE THE QUEEN has in her music book or at the side of
THE RAINBOW 4 AULD LANG SYNE the keyboard is the name of the Song
4 MY WAY 5 I’M DREAMING OF A WHITE Title on the card above it in the stack.
5 ALFIE CHRISTMAS When the pack is fanned, face down, for
6 BRING ME SUNSHINE 6 THE STAR SPANGLED BANNER a selection to be made, the performer
7 CLIMB EV’RY MOUNTAIN 7 WHEN I FALL IN LOVE separates the cards (in the usual way) at
8 EDELWEISS 8 I’LL SEE YOU AGAIN the spot from which the card is
9 MOON RIVER 9 I CAN’T GIVE YOU ANYTHING BUT
withdrawn and places the upper stock
9 MOON RIVER LOVE, [BABY]
underneath the remainder of the pack,
10 RAINDROPS KEEP FALLING ON 10 BAA BAA BLACK SHEEP
MY HEAD thus having plenty of time to read the
marking of the top card, which he then
▲

www.TheMagicCircle.co.uk APRIL 2010 THE MAGIC CIRCULAR 121

signals to the medium using the code to
be explained in a moment. Because the
marking of this card refers to the identity
of the card above it and not the card
itself, neither performer nor medium has
to make the mental effort of converting it
to the next one in the set-up sequence.
For the third part of the effect, where
the spectator is instructed to “go solo”
and where the Performer is not shown
the choice of song, he can turn his head
away whilst the card is removed, so that
there is no question of his seeing what is
chosen. This is the convincer!
The Code
The Code for the Suit
The suit of the card is signalled by the
initial of the first word of the sentence
asking the volunteer if she knows the
tune (see below).
CLUBS Can you recognise the song?
If not, choose another one…
HEARTS Have you recognised the
song? If not, choose
another one…
SPADES Say if you don’t recognise
the song. If you don’t,
choose another one…
DIAMOND Do you recognise the song?
If not, choose another one…
If the tune is unknown to the spectator
the card is retrieved and placed on top of
the pack, which restores the stack and a
further choice can be made.
The Code for the Value
For the first two tests, where the
performer and spectator are together
concentrating on the chosen song, the
value of the card from 1-10 is signalled,
after the spectator has indicated that she
is familiar with the tune, by the first
word of the sentence asking her to
show the performer the tune she has
selected. Thus:
[ONE] I’d like you to show me the
song now, please.
[TWO] So show me the song now,
please.
[THREE] Can you show me the song
now, please?
[FOUR] Will you show me the song
now, please?
[FIVE] Would you show me the song
now, please.
[SIX] Please show me the song, now.
[SEVEN] Perhaps you would show me
the song now, please.
122 THE MAGIC CIRCULAR APRIL 2010
[EIGHT] Splendid! Show me the song,
please.
[NINE] Excellent! Show me the song,
please.
[TEN] Marvellous! Show me the
song now, please.
Anyone familiar with Telepathy for Two in
Step Eight of Corinda’s 13 Steps to
Mentalism will recognise the above
number code (slightly adjusted) which, for
ease of memorisation, I arranged so that
the medium only has to count the
number of letters in the first word of
the sentence to arrive at the value of
the number being transmitted. In the
case of the numbers 8, 9 and 10, it will
be appreciated that the exclamatory
words, “Splendid!”, “Excellent!” and
“Marvellous!” need to follow on
immediately after the spectator has
confirmed that she knows the tune,
otherwise it would sound unnatural. If for
some reason this cannot be done, or if
you consider that those words do not suit
your style, then both you and the medium
would need to learn alternative code
words for the numbers eight, nine and
ten, such as “Now”, “Now then” and
“Just” respectively, although obviously it
defeats the object of being able to count
the number of letters in the word.
If you now refer to the description of
the effect you will see that by the time
the volunteer shows you the chosen tune
card you have already signalled it to the
medium! As you will appreciate, the
performer never addresses the Medium,
and after asking the spectator to show
him the tune, says nothing else at all
before the Medium starts hesitantly to
play the tune.
You will also note that all the sentences
spoken by the performer sound more or
less the same so that the demonstration
may be repeated a number of times if
required without any obvious variation in
the wording.
The Modified Value Code for the Last
Test (Spectator goes Solo)
For the last test, where the Performer is
not shown the name of the chosen song
by the volunteer, he glimpses the card
marking from the stacked deck and
signals the suit to the medium, as before,
when he asks if the spectator recognises
the tune. To signal the value of the card,
the code words remain exactly the same
as before, but instead of the performer
asking the spectator to show him the
tune, he asks her to think of it, e.g.
[ONE] = I’d like you to think of the song
here has been much magic around
T in the Regions during the winter
months despite the arctic weather
conditions, but magicians do not let
things like ice and snow detract them
from their magic. So it came to pass that
a hundred close-up enthusiasts gathered
in Gloucester in January for the fifth
The Session organised by Andi Gladwin
and Joshua Jay. Here it was good to see
The Magic Circle Close-up Magician of
the Year, Matthew Wright, performing
great magic at a bar with some clever
card and coin miracles and effects like
the Three Shell Game and Cups and
Balls. And of course there were names
like Joshua Jay, Daniel Garcia, Rune
Klan, Brett Bishop, and Thom Peterson,
all lecturing and performing.
It finished with a Gala show in which
some great comedy was to be seen
especially from Alan Hudson with an
hilarious prediction effect using
coloured balloons, and Danny Butler as
emcee interspersing the acts with the
funniest version of the Six Card Repeat I
have seen for a long time, and an
equally funny routine with the Monkey
Bar. He surely has to be one of the best
comedy magicians around.
We were saddened to learn of the
demise of Joan Raffles on Boxing Day.
Wife of the famous Mark, pickpocket
by yourself this time, please;
[TWO] = So think of the song by yourself,
this time, please, etc.
REMEMBER – It’s not as complicated
as it looks. The medium only has to
listen out for the first word of two
key sentences spoken by the
performer: the first key sentence,
asking the spectator whether she
knows the tune (where the first letter
stands for the suit), and the second
key sentence, asking her to show you
the tune or, in the case of the last
test, simply to think of the tune,
(where the number of letters in the
first word of that sentence represents
the card value).
www.TheMagicCircle.co.uk
 Elizabeth Warlock MIMC
Mike Gancia
and illusionist, she really came to the fore
when, in 1984, she and Mark took over
the Wychwoods illusion act using
miniature white poodles, with which they
toured extensively. She was a lovely lady
who will be greatly missed. Our
condolences go to Mark and the family in
their great loss.
Congratulations go to Mike Gancia on
being given a Lifetime Achievement
Award by the Blackpool Magicians Club.
This was presented to him by their
President Alan Coventry at their annual
Xmas Party. It was as a child that he had
his first brush with magic when his father
showed him a card trick. Years were to
pass before his interest in magic was
aroused, as his main hobbies then were
soccer, cricket and jazz.
His first love was card magic, but he
realised this was not enough during the
No Pianist?
Even if the medium is not a pianist, she
may well be able to pick out the tune
with one finger (this is a telepathic test,
not a piano recital!) and, of course,
instead of a piano the medium can use
any instrument or even sing, hum, whistle
or merely announce the name of the
tune. Scalbert had the idea of having the
medium whisper the tune to a pianist to
play when she was unable to play it
herself, or handing the pianist the
appropriate sheet music from a pile after
she had “divined” the selected song.
Why stack?
The chosen card could itself be read from
the markings on the back as it is
www.TheMagicCircle.co.uk
1960s and 70s when close-up magic had
not quite taken hold. Stage and cabaret
were still popular so he concentrated on
this field with an act including such
effects as the Miser’s Dream, Rising Cards,
Linking Rings, Burnt and Restored Note,
Cards Across, and Koran’s Dream Car, all
linked with some great comedy. It became
a great favourite with working men’s club
and theatre audiences and he appeared
with many famous names of the time
such as Marty Caine, Lenny Henry,
Michael Barrymore, Tommy Trinder, David
Whitfield and Mohammad Ali, whom he
had the honour of presenting with the
Silver Wand of the BMS. In fact in 1976
he won the Clubland Command
Performance Award for his comedy
speciality act. He also appeared in
television’s New Faces, becoming second
in one of the heats which brought him
many lucrative engagements, many of
which he had to decline as he wisely
decided not to relinquish his day job
as a company director.
When stage and cabaret work waned in
the late 80s and early 90s, Mike turned to
close-up magic, appearing at many
prestigious corporate events. For 25 years
he organised the close-up events at British
Ring conventions. Although now retired
from performing, he will often be seen
doing a close-up spot at the BMS At
withdrawn. It would then be possible to
dispense with the stack and for the
spectator herself to shuffle the cards. My
view is that, first, by having a stack it
means that the performer’s head can be
turned away at the time of choice, so that
there is no question in the minds of the
audience that he might have glimpsed the
song title, and this applies particularly for
the third test where the spectator “goes it
alone” in transmitting the tune and which
gives the baffling climax to the routine;
secondly, it gives much more time to read
the marking of the top card in a more
leisurely fashion after the selection has
been made; and thirdly, in any event there
is no requirement for shuffling, which is
associated with playing cards: these are
Home evenings, and is still very much
involved in magic, having held a number
of official positions, including two years
as president of the British Ring and
twice as president of the BMS. He has
an extensive library of videos, DVDs and
books, attends numerous conventions
and other magic related events. His life
is truly magical.
When Jimmy Carlo won the Kidabra
International Family Entertainer of the
Year last year in Pigeon Forge,
Tennessee, his magic life changed. No
longer just doing the round of birthday
parties and school shows, he was now
in demand internationally. In January he
was invited to lecture at the Magic
Castle and perform over brunch at the
weekend. Jimmy has been in the magic
business for over 20 years, and many
may recall his Japanese Sumo act which
won for him the British Ring Shield in
1991 and with which he toured
extensively with Ken Dodd.
These days he mostly concentrates on
shows for the little folk. Later this year
he will travel again to Pigeon Forge
where he will present a lecture at
Kidabra, appear in the Gala show and
perform a live show to a specially
invited audience of children.
I’ll be with you again soon with more
News from the Regions.
just “song titles” which are spread and
shown to be all different before the
demonstration begins.
Conclusion
I do hope that those of you who have
two-person telepathy aspirations will try
out this routine. Do not be put off by the
length of the explanation: this is to make
sure that everything is clear beyond
doubt. Unlike other systems requiring
evenings of study, it will be EASY to “sell”
to your spouse/partner/girl friend, which
has to be a “plus” point!
Anyway, the main object of the whole
exercise is that I haven’t had to throw
away my old Mocker Deck after all!
APRIL 2010 THE MAGIC CIRCULAR 123
 The Davenport Story Vol. 2:
The Lost Legends
Edited by Fergus Roy
Hard cover book, 340 pages, 12 x 8.5
in, with dustjacket, illustrated with
index. £68, £76 in UK postpaid (£84 in
Europe, £95 in US – about $156,
including postage). Exclusively from
www.DavenportMagic.co.uk or
Davenports Magic, 7 Charing Cross
Underground Arcade, The Strand,
London, WC2N 4HZ, UK.
Reviewed by Matthew Field
When George “Gilly” Davenport died in
1962, his daughter Betty sealed his
office. Betty’s husband, Fergus Roy,
opened the room as he was researching
the fabulous story of the Davenports
(this is the second of five
projected volumes) and made
an astounding discovery.
Among the material which
Gilly had purchased but never
published were three books by
well-known magicians, and
these have been collected
here.
And what magicians they are. We
have Magic Marches On by Robert
Harbin, here augmented by the series
“Twelve Initialled Secrets” reprinted
from Abracadabra, With Magic Hands
by Edward Victor, and Mystia or The
World of Magic by G.W. Hunter.
Many will be interested in the Harbin
material, for here was a mind of
unparalleled magical inventiveness. The
material, mostly for the stage, has items
like The Vanishing Accordian, the R.H.
Clock Dial, and 38 other effects
illustrated by the great man himself.
There is no Zig-Zag Lady, unfortunately,
but the material adds immeasurably to
what we know about the South African
who made most of his career in
England. It is of great interest.
Edward Victor was the author of the
Magic of the Hands trilogy, a successful
performer who ended his career as a
popular shadowgraphy artiste. This
124 THE MAGIC CIRCULAR APRIL 2010
fourth volume in the Victor series contains
sleights and effects with cards including a
force and false cut and five effects with
duplicate or prepared cards, a Cut and
Restored Rope routine in rhyme, Cups and
Balls moves and some miscellaneous
items, illustrated by Victor himself. The
material is good and practical.
G.W. Hunter is probably best
remembered for the Hunter Knot, but he
was a successful performer who played
on bills with some of the tops names in
conjuring in the late 19th to early 20th
century. From his backstage vantage point
he was able to make notes about the acts
and workings of effects of people such as
Buatier de Kolta, Charles Bertram, Charles
Morritt, Alexander and Carl Herrmann,
Harry Kellar and J.N. Maskelyne. The
material is phenomenal – descriptive and
a window to some of the great stage
magicians of all time. This section also
includes eighteen effects and illusions, as
well as routines from people including
Servais LeRoy. Illustrations include
drawings as well as stagebills, photos and
newspaper extracts.
What a bonanza! These books are solid
additions to the knowledge base of
magic, and Fergus Roy has done a service
to our art in bringing them together in
this collection. The book is very highly
recommended.
John Calvert: His Magic
and Adventures
by John Calvert
80 min. DVD. $24.95 (about £16) plus
p&p via credit card from
www.JohnCalvertMagic.com.
Reviewed by Matthew Field
When I grow up I want to be John
Calvert. Here is a man who was a movie
star, a yachtsman, an airplane pilot, a
magician with his own touring show – a
real-life adventurer. He might be slowing
down a bit these days, but at 98 years of
age he’s earned it.
This DVD is the story of the man,
beautifully shot and produced. Each of
the eras John has lived
through is introduced
by historical material to
provide a context for
his adventures. There
are performances by
John at the Magic
Castle and other venues, including his
cigarette act (which he so beautifully
performed at The Magic Circle Centenary
Celebrations in 2005), as well as the
Dancing Hanks, Spirit Cabinet, the Buzz
Saw, Blindfold Flight, Paper Balls Over the
Head and movies of John as a young man.
There are clips of John as the star of the
serials featuring The Falcon included as
well. Some of the stories John tells are
unbelievable – except they really happened!
John and his wife and assistant Tammy
have been together 50 years, and she tells
her story as well. John comments on
things like what he thinks about
contemporary magicians, and his
observations are well worth listening to.
This is living history – the story of a man
who bought and toured with his own
circus, was captured by pirates on the
high seas, and through it all never once
lost his love and passion for magic.
Modern Marvel Vols. 1 & 2
by Mel Mellers
Two DVDs, about 90 mins. each. $35
(£18) plus p&p from
www.RSVPMagic.co.uk or your favourite
dealer. Dealers contact Murphy’s Magic
Supplies, www.MurphysMagic.com.
Reviewed by Ian Rowland
Here are two high-quality DVDs wherein
Mel Mellers performs about a dozen
routines in front of real audiences, plus
explanations. Producer Russ Stevens has
done an excellent job, as always, and Mel
comes across as a likeable, seasoned
performer with a genuine love for what
he does.
No-one would claim
this is a showcase of
magical creativity.
Almost every trick and
www.TheMagicCircle.co.uk
method will be familiar to most viewers,
and several of the routines are essentially
a dealer dem of apparatus. This being so,
the only originality on offer is that of
Mel’s presentation. Given that Mel is a
successful working performer, I assume
this will be of interest to those interested
in emulating his success.
The explanations are less helpful to
students of magic than they could have
been. For example, Mel’s ‘Six Card Repeat’
uses borderless cards that render the
counting largely pointless. Cards with
borders would make the counting, and
therefore the trick, visually meaningful.
‘Mass Distraction’ is a simplistic Magic
Square routine followed by an incorrect
explanation (Mel says the target needs to
be at least 21, when in fact it needs to be
at least 34). Also, Mel uses an out-dated
method wherein the four ‘key’ numbers
differ markedly from the other twelve. It is
just as easy and more elegant to have all
the numbers within a close range.
The handcuff escape routine features
the comedic novelty of ‘an underwater
escape without water’, which I admired.
In 2000 the first winner was Scott Penrose;
in 2002 Loki took the title;
in 2004 Duncan Trillo triumphed;
in 2006 Romany became the first lady winner; and
in 2008 John Archer won the contest
The first prize is £1,000 plus a handsome
trophy and the prestige of becoming
The Magic Circle Stage Magician
of the Year 2010
The contest is on Sunday 10 October 2010
www.TheMagicCircle.co.uk
However, the routine itself is simply that
the cuffs go on, and then they come off. I
think there are better ways to present
escapology for modern audiences. The
brilliant work of Daniel Hunt (‘Amethyst’)
springs to mind.
‘Watch This’ is a comedy routine with a
borrowed watch. Mel uses the Bob
Cassidy microphone switch, but doesn’t
do it well and gives no credit. ‘Bottle
Opener’ is essentially a demonstration of
a Nielsen Bottle. ‘You Could Be’ is a T&R
newspaper routine without the torn part,
thereby lacking any logic whatsoever.
The routine for Magic Ian’s ‘Slice Of
Hand’ illusion adds little to a dealer dem
of the prop, and defies logic by creating
the (unwanted) illusion that the
spectator’s hand is on back-to-front.
‘Personalitree’ is a weak version of Larry
Becker’s ‘Sneak Thief’ (no credit given)
that omits the strongest part of Becker’s
original concept.
‘Multum-in-Parvo’ is just a dealer dem
with the ‘funny’ twist of using pretend
urine instead of the more usual milk. Mel
suggests using stewed tea as fake urine,
WHO WI
THE NEX LL BE
MAGICITA STAGE
THE YEAN OF
R?
but this becomes visibly more
transparent during the routine,
somewhat telegraphing the method.
Performers usually use (fake) milk
because it stays opaque. When
explaining ‘Pseudo Card Routine’, Mel
says it’s a Barrie Richardson trick but
seems unsure which one. For the
record, it’s ‘Close-up Memory
Demonstration’ from Theatre Of The
Mind.
Perhaps none of this is important.
Neither magicians nor reviewers pay
Mel’s wages – audiences do. So long as
they enjoy his magic, and it seems they
do, that’s perhaps all that matters.
Finally, Mel’s brand of humour
sometimes involves gags at the expense
of spectators and participants. Some
performers would say this is offensive,
and Mel addresses this point during a
‘Q&A’ section on Disk 1. He takes the
view that if he offends a few people,
this is better than being bland. I
disagree, but kudos to him for
addressing this point on his own DVD
and with evident honesty.
APRIL 2010 THE MAGIC CIRCULAR 125

Council minutes
MINUTES OF THE MAGIC
CIRCLE COUNCIL MEETING
HELD AT HEADQUARTERS
ON 4 FEBRUARY 2010
PRESENT
Jack DELVIN
David BALL
Rupert CONNELL (Chairman)
Keith COOPER
Michael BAILEY
Michael CARR
Carol COOPER
Rob COX
Mandy DAVIS
Steve DELA
Andrew EBORN
Alan MASKELL
Fay PRESTO
Alan SHAXON
Brian SIBLEY
Chris WOOD
1. APOLOGIES
Peter Scarlett, Scott Penrose.
2. DEATHS
Ray Trinder (84) Reading,
Derrick Speight (83)
Rickmansworth,
Dennis Collins (85) Huntingdon Dudley for the gifts/flowers
and Joan Raffles wife of
member Mark Raffles.
Council members paid
tribute to Derrick Speight who
had been a past Chairman of
Council and a dedicated
worker for TMC in finding our
current premises. He was the
originator of the Young Magician for John and condolences came
of the Year Competition and
commissioned the mural on the Magicians in respect of Derrick
staircase at Stephenson Way.
Council stood in silence as a Officer, Peter Liddelow, a letter
mark of respect.
3. MINUTES
On a proposal by Keith Cooper,
seconded by Michael Bailey, it
was agreed that the minutes
of the meeting held on
3 December 2009 be
confirmed and signed
(MC,CC,RCx,SD,BS) not voting
as they had not been present
at the previous meeting.
126 THE MAGIC CIRCULAR APRIL 2010
4. MATTERS ARISING
Brian Sibley asked that a letter
of thanks be sent to Gordon
Drayson for his photography
on Club Nights. The Secretary
reported that this had already
been done. In future a team of
photographers will be used
with John Ward acting as
convenor.
5. SECRETARY’S REPORT
a) It was agreed that the new
members on the attached
schedule be accepted.
b) On a proposal by Andrew
Eborn, seconded by Michael
Bailey it was unanimously
agreed that Stephen Kennard
be promoted to AIMC.
c) There was one re-
instatement agreed by Council.
Steve Bryan from Norfolk.
d) There were no resignations.
e) The Secretary was in receipt
of letters of thanks from:
Sean Brannigan on his recent
promotion, Terry Seabrooke on
receiving the Maskelyne
Award, Peter D’Arcy and John
received, the families of Ray
Trinder and Brian Eames for
charitable donations and the
Salvation Army for the
donation in remembrance of
Joan Raffles.
Tammy Calvert thanked TMC
for our thoughts and prayers
from the Society of American
Speight and via our Welfare
of thanks from Elizabeth Speight.
6. TREASURER’S REPORT
The Treasurer distributed copies
of the financial summaries for
October/December 2009
quarter which showed receipts
of £21,828.63 and payments
of £36,129.21. Due to the
overlap of events in different
quarters these figures do not
give a true picture and the
Treasurer has agreed to provide
a report with a running total of
income and expenditure
starting at the beginning of the
next financial year in April.
The bequest of £10,000
from Ali Bongo’s estate has
been received for the
Maskelyne Endowment Fund
and both the Treasurer and The
President have written a letter
of thanks to Ali’s niece Alison
Dolden.
Keith also reported that the
Finance Committee will soon
provide a budget for the next
financial year.
7. CMA Ltd.
The Secretary informed
Council that there had been two
Board meetings and the AGM
since the last Council meeting.
A very small profit had been
recorded in last year’s accounts
which was a good result,
considering the loss of £42,000
in the previous year. The
Annual Christmas Show had
also been a great success and
showed a good profit.
Unfortunately, due to the
economic climate, commercial
bookings are currently down
by about 20%.
The Chairman and the
Secretary had met with
Stephen Kennard, Terry Wright
and Rod Gautrey from Moore
Stephens to discuss the
proposed restructuring plan.
Rod Gautrey is of the view that
the proposals should not cause
any VAT/Direct tax or
accounting complications. A
new Outsourcing Agreement is
to be entered into with Magic
Circle Enterprises Ltd to replace
the Management Agreement
and Public Events Agreement.
There are many operational
and accounting issues to be
finalised and discussions with
the team helping with the
project will continue.
8. GROUP MAIL LIST
Whilst the Chairman had
prepared a draft paper on the
subject, Council members had
not received this prior to the
meeting. It was agreed that
receiving Committee reports in
advance of Council meetings
was an advantage, and
although not all members look
at their emails as regularly as
others, it was felt that
communication between
meetings could be very helpful.
The Chairman thought that
there were a number of valid
points made and will re-submit
his draft paper to all Council
members to enable the
discussion to be continued at a
future meeting.
9. DEALERS’ DAY
Following the published
December minutes, Peter
Altman, who has organised the
event for many years, wrote to
the Secretary with statistics
showing that the attendance
figures for 2009 were up on
2008. It was agreed that the
there was perhaps a lack of
publicity for this annual event
and details could have been
sent out to members on the
announcements list. The Magic
Circle itself has had a stand in
the past but for a number of
reasons it was not possible in
2009.
Other ideas were discussed
and matters were left with the
President to talk and liaise with
Peter Altman.
Action. President to discuss
with Peter Altman and report
back to Council.
10. BANQUET & AWARDS
After a recent meeting the
Awards Panel put forward the
suggestion that members could
in future propose names of
those who they felt would be
worthy of an award for
consideration. It would be on
the basis that any final
decisions would rest with the
Awards Panel and that no
correspondence or dialogue
would be entered into with
anyone making a nomination.
Some members of Council
questioned the procedure of
choosing recipients for awards,
but the President expressed the
view that there should not be
consultation with Council as it
was possible that a member of
Council would be in line for an
award, and he felt secrecy was
important.
Harry Reeve had suggested
that a Certificate for
‘recognition of services’ be
awarded in certain cases. A
sample was shown to Council
by the President and this is to
be taken forward and known
as the President’s Certificate.
The Awards Panel had
discussed the proposal, put
forward at the AGM by
Graham Reed, to award Ali
Bongo the Gold Medal
posthumously. The President
thought that the decision to
award Ali the ‘Devant’ was the
www.TheMagicCircle.co.uk
right one. The Secretary said It was mentioned that some rate with a storage company New AIMC elected on
this was a unanimous decision members do not like appearing for advertising that they ‘held’ 4 February 2010
by the Awards Panel and as ‘online’ in the members’ the secrets of The Magic Circle. Avrom SURATH
expanded on the reasons why area of TMC website and the 7, Boyles Street, Beverly,
they had reached this Chairman admitted he was 12. ANY OTHER BUSINESS MA 01915, USA
conclusion. It was noted that one of these. Andrew Eborn raised the T 978 922 2482
the membership needs to have question of Bank charges Reinstatement to MMC,
a clearer understanding of the Publicity regarding payments made 4 February 2010.
awards and it was suggested Nick Fitzherbert had circulated electronically compared with Steve BRYAN
that the ‘Circular’ should a report to Council prior to the cheques. The Treasurer stated Row Hill Farm, Hindringham,
feature this information. Chris meeting; the report contained that the cost of online credit Fakenham, Norfolk
Wood is to be provided with good ideas and suggested the card payments cannot be T 07876 150057
full details of past recipients to use of You Tube to give TMC a absorbed, but cheques are
place a ‘Roll of Honour’ on the higher profile. It was always banked in bulk for Promotion to AIMC.
website. acknowledged that this would which the charges are minimal. 4 February 2010
Further discussion was bring the public to TMC Andrew Eborn pointed out that Stephen Kennard
deferred until the next meeting website and raise awareness, costs could be saved by
and a paper would be whilst giving control over the accepting electronic transfers. Alterations to Records
circulated in advance of that video presentations to avoid The President had previously No. 404
meeting. any possible exposure. After distributed an ethics report
October 2009 – January 2010
The Secretary reported that much discussion the proposals received from the Society of
the Events Committee will be were accepted by Council and American Magicians and asked
meeting soon with Brian Sibley was asked to thank that Council should take on Stephen BAKER
consideration being given to Nick for his report. board some of its findings. 14, Lorne Gardens, Knaphill,
holding one annual event only The Chairman suggested that Woking, Surrey GU21 2Q
this year instead of a Supper Development Committee the Ethics Committee should Carl BUCK
and a Banquet. The Development Committee take a look. 18, Sunbury Rise,
reported on a lengthy meeting
Countesthorpe,
11. COMMITTEE REPORTS during which alternatives to The meeting closed at
Close -Up Competition 2010 Summer School and MTMC 9.10pm Next Meeting Leicester LE8 5XP
Andrew Eborn reported that evenings were discussed. The Thursday 4 March 2010 Martin HOBBS
there are seven finalists for this Summer School proposal was The Annexe, Sissinghurst Place,
year’s Close-Up Competition on passed to the Club Night New members elected on Biddenden Road, Sissinghurst,
22 March. Committee but no conclusion 4 February 2010 Kent TN17 2JP
regarding an additional MTMC Christian FLETCHER
T 01580 720357
Trade Marks evening was reached. The Swan, 12, Swan Street,
Sebastian HUNT
The President reported that Alvechurch,
member Luis de Matos from Club Night Committee Worcestershire B48 7RP 3, Town Orchard,
Portugal had confirmed to him Brian Sibley stated that the T 07595 662334 Southoe, St.Neots,
that a company there was next programme of events is Humph JAMES Cambridgeshire PE19 5YJ
already using the name ‘Magic almost complete. 69, Wroughton Place, Cardiff, Graham JOLLEY
Circle’ for which it holds the Council was informed of the South Wales CF5 4AB The Old Stables, Lower Hale,
‘trade mark’. The President is decision to replace Summer T 07720 836616
Farnham, Surrey GU9 9RP
awaiting advice from School with ‘Cogs’. The idea is John PARKIN
Murgitroyd & Co. Andrew that multiple choice themed 48, Highcliffe Road, Two Gates, T 07850 780191
Eborn mentioned that licensing evenings will allow members to Tamworth, Staffs. B77 1EE Michael MANDER
cannot proceed until The gather into small groups T 01827 705722 22, Oakfield Park, Much
Magic Circle holds the trade depending on their particular Andy REAY Wenlock, Shropshire TF13 6HJ
mark rights. field of interest. Brian requested 90, Packenham Road, T 01952 727232
that the ‘fixture list’ be put on Basingstoke,
RAJAN
The Maskelyne the agenda for the next meeting. Hampshire RG21 8XX
Endowment Fund T 01256 415812 27 Odeon Parade,
With the death of Derrick YMC Barry SMITH 480 London Road, Isleworth,
Speight a new Trustee was Mandy Davis informed Council 11, Elizabeth Close, Thornbury, Middx. TW7 4RL
needed. Michael Bailey that numbers have increased to Bristol BS35 2YN James SANDYS-RENTON
proposed that Alan Shaxon 75-80 participants each T 01454 851762 2, Ivy Cross, Shaftesbury,
should be made a Trustee, Saturday workshop and the Marianne STAFFORD
Dorset SP7 8DW
seconded by Andrew Eborn. shows following on in the 96, Harrington Road, South
T 01747 850080
The decision was unanimous. evening are well supported. Norwood, London SE25 4NB
T 0208 656 5844 Eddie SHAUGHNESSY
Internet & Technology Museum John ZEE 25, Huddlestone Road,
Committee Archivist David Hibberd had 3, Woodside Cotts, Dunkirk Willesden Green,
Chris Wood reported that a provided his annual report and Road North, Boughton, London NW2 5DL
free database was being the Chairman wished to record Nr.Faversham, Kent ME13 9NY T 0208 459 1892
sought for the Museum online his thanks to David for the T 01227 751652
Stephen WELTON
system. He also informed extensive report and for the
Council that the computers in excellent and vital work he is New AIMC with Silver Star The Old Rectory,
the HQ require regular network doing. Storage at Stephenson elected on 4 February 2010. Church Road, Newick,
and system maintenance. The Way is becoming a serious Joe TURNER East Sussex BN8 4JZ
IT Committee is unlikely to problem and the President 39 Wesleyan Place, Dallas,
have the capacity to deal with wondered if it would be GA 30132-9250, USA
this at present. possible to negotiate a reduced T 404 644 6791

www.TheMagicCircle.co.uk APRIL 2010 THE MAGIC CIRCULAR 127


Find books, magazines,
ephemera, cards, silks,
magic sets, magicians
and more
05601 259596
All available for sale online at
www.magicianslibrary.com
128 THE MAGIC CIRCULAR APRIL 2010
Forthcoming club events
Club Night Committee: Brian Sibley, Chair; Mandy Davis, Secretary
The Headquarters are open on Club Nights from 3:00pm until
10:30pm. Unless otherwise stated, events start promptly at 7:30pm
and are scheduled to finish between 8:45pm and 9pm. Club
Nights are principally for Members, so entry is by Membership
Card. A bona fide magician guest may attend any evening that is
not marked ‘Members Only’ on condition that he or she is able
to show membership of a magical society. A non-magician guest
may only attend evenings that are marked as ‘Show’. Guests may
only attend two evenings a year. No guest may attend unless the
CMA is told in advance, so if you wish to bring a guest please do
not contact me but phone (020) 7387 2222. There is a limit of ten
guests per night. All guests must pay an entry fee of £10 at the
door and respect our Conventions. Indeed, it is your duty as their
sponsor to ensure that they do. The Magic Circle reserve the right
to refuse entry. Information in this column will always supersede
the Fixture Card. See our website or subscribe to Big Reminder
(free weekly emails) for any last minute changes to the schedule.
APRIL 2010
Tuesday 6
YMC ENTERTAINS – Hosted by Mandy Davis, MIMC
The Young Magicians Club will be entertaining you with some
‘works in progress’. Some are previous prizewinners and all are
definitely going to be among the magical names of the future.
Monday 12
KOSTYA KIMLAT
A lecture by widely acclaimed card-magician
(‘The Roadrunner Cull’ etc) also noted for his non-card
effects ‘Post-it Prestidigitation’ and a new ‘hot’ favourite with
performers ‘!WARNING’.
Saturday 17
ALI BONGO’S SATURDAY SHOW
Great close-up and stage magic. Doors open 5.15. Show finishes
8.30. All invited. £8 from TMC Box Office in advance.
Monday 19
ILLUSIONS OF GRANDEUR – John Palfreyman, MIMC
John shares memories of the pleasures and pains of creating
illusions for various TV performers. Illustrated with clips from
shows and a display of working plans and memorabilia.
Monday 26
MAGIC’S ROOM 101 – Roy Marsh, MIMC, finds out what magical
people, props, patter and paraphernalia Geoffrey Durham, Fay
Presto, and Darryl Rose would consign to the darkest recess of
Room 101!
Change of address? Contact Secretary David Ball,
Secretary@TheMagicCircle.co.uk
Member in need? Contact Chaplain and Welfare Officer,
Peter Liddelow, Chaplain@TheMagicCircle.co.uk
www.TheMagicCircle.co.uk