Number 504 - 20th February 2010
South Tyneside International Magic Festival 2010.
Friday 12th – Sunday 14th March, The Customs House, South Shields.
"South Tyneside Council and Martin Duffy, past President of the
Newcastle Magic Circle, supported by
Magicbox have
put together a fantastic line-up for the 2010 International Magic
Convention. The South Tyneside Festival burst onto the Magic Convention
scene seven years ago and in that short time is now one of the most
talked about conventions in the UK! The three-day convention is a must
for magic enthusiasts everywhere with an enthralling mix of top
magicians from around the globe..." Visit
www.southtyneside.info/magicfestival
for the latest updates and to register. 20.2.10
Best
of British Variety Tour 2010. The Krankies, Paul Daniels, the
Grumbleweeds, Dana, Syd Little and special guest host Christopher
Biggins go on tour later this year - see
What's On for dates
and booking information. Paul Daniels discussed personal finance in the
Telegraph last week in a piece that included some sage advice
Click Here. "In my younger days I threw caution to the wind when it
came to cars and I regret that now. I bought some expensive Ferraris and
Bentleys, but I got rid of my last Bentley four years ago. It cost me
around £150,000 in 2001 and I sold it four years later for around
£30,000. A fabulous touring car, but what a waste of money. I don't need
status symbols anymore so I drive a Prius." 20.2.10
Magic
Night goes to Vegas! "Magic Night enters its fourth year in March
and to celebrate we're going to Vegas, with glamour, a mythical animal,
poker and the best box trick ever! Piff, the dragon with attitude, will
be slicing his singing girl in a box, Lee Hathaway will play poker with
your mind, and Wes, the comic prop meister all the way from the USA will
take you on an hilarious comic journey. But Magic Night Vegas style
would not be complete without the King, so, yes, we have Elvis, and in a
way you would never have dreamed of! Not forgetting our MC, the mighty
sorcerer; Magic Neil (or Neil Henry as he is more commonly known to the
council tax people.)" Friday 5th March. Doors open at 7.00pm, Show
starts at 7.45pm, Tickets £10 or supper and show ticket: show ticket
plus dinner for two: £40. Tickets can be bought at Ticket Web
www.ticketweb.co.uk or
www.lastminute.com Madame
JoJo’s, 8-10 Brewer Street, London W1F 0SP (Map)
020 7734 3040 www.magicnight.co.uk. 20.2.10
The
Gellers appear on
All Star Family Fortunes at
5.45pm today (Saturday 20th February) on ITV1.
Former Atomic Kitten star Liz McClarnon and family battle it out against
Uri Geller and family in a bid to win money for charity. The
McClarnons are playing for Liverpool-based charity RASA, while the
Gellers are supporting the Red Cross. Hosted by Vernon Kay. "Uri mind
trick led to arrest"
Click Here, "Me and my school photo: Uri Geller remembers bombs,
curfews and shootings in Cyprus"
Click Here, "Spoon-bender Uri Geller takes legal action in Belfast"
Click Here. 20.2.10
Blackpool
Blog - The team of Matt Parro, Stuart Harley, Geoff Hunt and Max
Curd want your views on the Blackpool Magic Convention. With continuous
updates of news, reviews, videos, audio and tweets make sure you're part
of the conversation via
www.magicbloggers.co.uk (the cards in the photos individually read "We
- Want -
Your - Views"). 20.2.10
Mind2Magic
is the name of the website featuring the magical creations of John
Vincent, and 2010 has got off to a flying start with the release of
TimeZone: a three-phase mental routine with a borrowed watch, and
The 4th Key: a pocket sized book test. These two new products are
published by Alakazam Magic and are the first of many exciting releases
due from Mind2Magic this year. Visit
www.mind2magic.com
to find out more about TimeZone and The 4th Key. 20.2.10
Kimmo
and Practical Magic invade Scotland! Ace Performers are proud hosts
of the Kimmo Lecture and Practical Magic Dealer Demonstration on
Thursday 8th April at 7.30 pm (Doors 7pm). The venue is St. Margaret's
Church Hall, 96 Hall Craig Street, Airdrie ML6 6AW. "Guaranteed to be a
massive night and certainly one not to be missed!" Entry is free for
members and only £10.00 for non-members. For more information contact
Gary Dunn on 07710 988814 or email
garydunn@mac.com. 20.2.10
"New
and clever ideas" Peter Roberts, will be offering some new and
clever ideas when he lectures at the HQ of Blackpool Magicians’ Club on
Tuesday, 9th March. Doors open at 7pm and the lecture starts at 8pm. An
award winning performer, Peter, who is the 2010 President of the
Manchester Circle of Magicians, is well known for presenting magic in an
entertaining way so there will be something for everyone in this
lecture. As usual, entry is free to all members and associates of the
Blackpool Magicians’ Club. Details of membership and associate
membership (which is only £25 a year) can be obtained from the club
website
www.blackpoolmagic.com. 20.2.10
Henry
Evans, FISM World Champion (Cards, 2000), will be lecturing at The
Leamington and Warwick Magic Society on 24th February 7.30pm for 8.00pm.
Visiting Magicians welcome for a guest fee - call President Keith
Pearson on 024 7645 0683 for details. 20.2.10
Magicality
- first prize winners, Showzam 2010. Last Saturday 'Magicality' took
part in Showzam's Talent Show at the Globe Theatre, Blackpool Pleasure
Beach, competing against 13 other acts including singers, dancers, and
comedians. Pleasure Beach owner Amanda Thompson, Jamie Rae, Singer Kevin Simm, Choreographer Dugie Squires
and Radio Wave Presenter Andy Mitchell judged. Magicality (Rick Green
and Becci Pearson) were the first on, but they ended up coming out on
top by winning The Big Showzam Talent Show Trophy, presented by Amanda
Thompson. The prize also included the chance to perform at Showzam
Central and also the opportunity to have a make over and photo shoot by
Stageworks. For more information on Magicality visit
www.magicality.co.uk. 20.2.10
Mark
Worgan sets off for Texas on February 25th to perform and lecture in
San Antonio and to lecture in Dallas, and hopes to add a few dates along
the way. He can then be seen here in the UK compering for the AWS
Centenary Convention before leaving for Bangkok to join the Nautica,
sailing to Mumbai performing comedy and close-up magic
www.markworgan.co.uk. 20.2.10
Ghost
Stories. Following its Liverpool opening, 'Ghost Stories' hits
London playing at the Lyric Hammersmith from 24th February to 3rd April.
Phenomenal reviews and a totally sold out run have made this a hot
ticket - book via:
www.lyric.co.uk "A perfectly constructed piece of theatre...
mixing
fairground ride tricks with psychological warfare and a vicious dark
humour." Daily Post. "[The play] culminates into a sensational,
genuinely unsettling climax." Click Liverpool. 20.2.10
Eldin
in top 25% The Public Lending Right figures for 2008/9 have just
been released and once again Peter Eldin’s books are among the top 25%
of borrowings from public libraries in the United Kingdom. This is
remarkable because Peter specialises in non-fiction for children and the
majority of books appearing in the Public Lending Right figures are
fiction for adults. Magicians know of him for his books on magic and his
contributions to The Magic Circular, Abracadabra and other magic
magazines but magic is a very small part of his output. He has also
written books on Cats, Transport, Trees, Puzzles, Jokes, Gardening,
Mysteries and many other subjects. Name almost any subject and Peter has
probably written about it! Peter is a successful freelance writer with
several best-selling books to his credit. His success is undoubtedly due
to the fact that he has a rapport with children and knows instinctively
what they will like. He does not talk down to his readers but still
manages to import factual material that is interesting and informative
in a way that children of all ages can understand. He also writes for
adults. 20.2.10
The
3SM held its second annual close up competition on Monday February
8th. An audience of over 100 were thrilled with the razzle and dazzle of
nine competitors, filling two rooms. Competing: Phil Slater (Pip), Max
Francis, Russell Leeds, Jason Hill, Damon Conian, Dave Stevenson, Craig
Davies, Ed Sumner and Dean Brindley. Professional magician and
entertainer Aaron Hayes from Liverpool, accompanied by two laymen,
judged. The overall winner was Dave Stevenson and the best amateur award
went to Damon Conian. The evening was a great success. The club is in
its second year and already has a large membership featuring both
amateurs and professionals. Photo L to R: Jonte Sparrow (host room one),
Damon Conin winner (winner - 'amateur'), Ian McGarva (club president),
Dave Stevenson (overall winner), Paul Evans (host room two). 20.2.10
Northampton
Magicians Club held its annual close up competition on 16th
February: "As expected it was strongly contested with some really high
quality exhibitions of close-up magic. After much consideration the
judges awarded the first place and trophy to Graham Sargeant (photo)
whose routine included a close-up card stab and finger ring on to chain
effect. Congratulations also to David Miller who collected the award for
best trick for his gold fish production." 20.2.10
Henry Smith MIMC is remembered by Ian Adair, Click Here. 20.2.10
The
Illusionist. "An aging French magician who is a dead ringer for
Jacques Tati uses sleight-of-hand to give a clueless Scottish girl a
poetic assist toward adulthood in The Illusionist..."
Click Here "The Illusionist has lasting effect on Edinburgh"
Click Here • "Magician replicates century-old Houdini stunt"
Click Here • "Kylie Minogue poses as a magician's assistant and
gets sawed into sexy quarters"
Click
Here • Ian
Rowland's 'Magic Is Real' Haiti benefit show raised £4,871 for Red Cross
relief efforts in Haiti • '35 Really Useful Card Sleights' DVD from
Paul Gordon is reviewed by Al Smith this week,
Click Here • "Final Page turns as Pat Page - the 'magician's
magician' - completes his last trick"
Click Here • Your UK magic news is always welcome - see you
next week, Duncan.
20.2.10