A magician's diary

Sunday, July 31, 2005

On Friday I went to see a lecture by a fantastic sleight of hand magician from the United States called John Carney at a secret location in London. I'm a fan of TV magicians like Derren Brown, Penn and Teller and to a certain extent David Blaine but my favourite magicians are people that everyday folks have never heard of. They are the guys that magicians themselves learn from. John Carney is a modern day expert sleight of hand magician and many London magicians attend to learn from him. I had a great night.

On Saturday I did magic at a wedding in Richmond, London. It was outside and although the weather looked pretty grotty the rain held off which was good news.

Spent some time this weekend working on ideas for myself, a friend and also for a new effect for the website. I'm hoping to record it in the near future so stay tuned.

Tuesday, July 26, 2005

Last week was The Magic Circle centenary celebrations and magicians from all over the world came to perform and lecture to the 1000 or so magicians present. I didn't go for the full 4 days as I was working but I did visit the magic dealers on Wednesday and popped in on Thursday evening as well.

To see a room full of magic dealers is quite a crazy site, it looks like a car boot sale with a lot of colour and unshaven blokes milling around with rucksacks. I went mainly to buy some new magic books and hang out with some magic buddies who live all over the country and I don't get to see very often. There was quite a bit of telly coverage of the celebrations last week so you may have caught some of it.

Last Thursday I went to help out a friend who was auditioning magicians for residencies at bars across London, Essex, Kent, Surrey, Hertfordshire, Middlesex, Berkshire and Buckinghamshire. It was great to be in my civvies and see other magicians work for real people which I rarely get a chance to do. I often work with a couple of magicians at large events and you are too busy to watch the other guy.

On Friday night I did magic for a friends wedding near Uxbridge and on Saturday I did a garden party in Kingston.

Saturday, July 16, 2005

Sorry about going "dark" for the last few weeks. It's been so hot that I've been avoiding the computer and sitting with the phone and a deck of cards in the garden...rock and roll eh? Wearing promotional t-shirts and shorts makes me look like John Travolta in the last cafe scene in Pulp Fiction.

Hectic week last week. On Monday and Tuesday I was at a trade show at Earls Court. On Wednesday I was at a private party near Leicester Square. On Thursday I was working at a summer party for lawyers. On Friday it was a do for investment bankers at Chelsea Royal Hospital Gardens. On Saturday I did a promotion for a mobile phone company in Islington in the day time and in the evening I did table magic at an awards ceremony at the Grange City Hotel, London. On Sunday I plan on eating Haagendaz and watching The Simpsons.

Lastly, I just wanted to give a quick plug to a friend of mine Luke Jermay who is a splendid mind reader and has a brand new website at Mind Readers UK. Even Derren Brown is a fan. That makes 2 gingers.

Diary archives
04/01/2005 - 05/01/2005
05/01/2005 - 06/01/2005
06/01/2005 - 07/01/2005
07/01/2005 - 08/01/2005
09/01/2005 - 10/01/2005
10/01/2005 - 11/01/2005
11/01/2005 - 12/01/2005
12/01/2005 - 01/01/2006
01/01/2006 - 02/01/2006
03/01/2006 - 04/01/2006
04/01/2006 - 05/01/2006
05/01/2006 - 06/01/2006
06/01/2006 - 07/01/2006
07/01/2006 - 08/01/2006
08/01/2006 - 09/01/2006
10/01/2006 - 11/01/2006
11/01/2006 - 12/01/2006
12/01/2006 - 01/01/2007
02/01/2007 - 03/01/2007
04/01/2007 - 05/01/2007