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Kenyan Conjurations
by Tom Lyon
"You
do realize," said Drummond, "if we run out of flash paper, we're more than five
thousand miles from Davenports."
It was quite a thought. I had been shredding the stuff and throwing fistfuls of
fire for a good half hour in an attempt to lighten the mood. We were sitting
dejected in a scrotty room in a flibby guest house somewhere near a shebbly bit
of beach on the coast of Kenya. Thus far our adventure had been disastrous.
Our grand idea had been to turn our backs on a summer of magnolia garden parties
and take a bohemian trip to Africa. There we would spend August travelling
around performing magic wherever we went. We would be real magical shaman,
sowing joy and delight on the dusty, ochre ground.
Africa had different plans, it seemed. The first night in Nairobi was
entertaining enough for we walked quite accidentally into a brothel. There we
were well received even before we whipped out our tricks; but the following
days, as we began our journey up the coast, left plenty to be desired.
Our rudimentary Swahili meant approaching people was very hard and since
sleight-of-hand is not an established part of Kenyan culture, people did not
know what to make of us. One man had a seizure and collapsed. It would have been
a new triumph for L & L; we were a little concerned. Things were not going
swimmingly.
But as we slowly adapted to the cultural differences and expanded our Swahili to
include 'blow' and 'fist' and '1,2,3', we found our magic enabled us to make
extremely strong bonds with many different kinds of people. We were welcomed
into homes like old friends and shared jokes across the language barrier like
old hoofers. In four quick weeks I had some of the most rewarding performing
experiences in 15 years of doing magic.
We filmed our travels and are selling a DVD called Kenyan Conjurations. The
money raised will build a new primary school out in one of the very villages we
visited near Malindi. The production costs have been sponsored which means every
pound spent on the film will make its way to Africa. It is only the two of us
recording the fun we had but the magic, in every sense, comes from the heart.
Visit
www.kenyanconjurations.co.uk for DVD previews and updates.
© Tom Lyon, April 2008