Blackburn & District Society of Magicians
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REVIEWS OF PAST MML MEETINGS
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Looking forward to the New Year (and, ultimately, our
centenary in 2014) the AGM in January saw the ‘A’ team re-elected.
Donald (the Anything-but-Average) Monk bowed
out as President after what only seemed like a few weeks, and Joe Gilmour was
sworn in as his replacement, with Brian Lead taking up the rear as President
Elect.
The Les Brooks Trophy for the
best contribution to the Memel
magazine went deservedly to our longest-standing member Mo Howarth, who has
been regaling us with magical memories of his time as a ‘lime boy’,
spotlighting all of the top acts at the theatre in Burnley in the early part of
the last century.. |
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Photography:
Allan Clarke and Joe Gilmour
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Review: Brian Lead |
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Children's Magical Christmas Party
The MML year ended in style with our traditional Children’s
Party, hosted this time by Prez Donald Monk and featuring the kiddies’
favourite two Pauls – Paul Guy and Paul Joyce,
who romped through an afternoon of fun and magical mayhem which even
managed to explode PJ’s clapometer.
Santa was there, too, of course, brought along on this occasion by Ron
Baron.
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Photography:
Joe Gilmour |
Review: Brian Lead |
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President's Command Performance
First up was Anne Walmsley with a colourful blend of
effects, both to patter and music.
Young
member Jonathan Joyce performed with a confidence beyond his years, while Joe
Glimour raised the temperature by almost having his finger lopped off by a
vicious-looking rat trap.
Young Magician of the Year Ben Proos was as suave and
immaculate as ever, moving into the field of patter and trying out a couple of
effects ahead of his appearance on the BBC’s Blue Peter .
The President himself, Donald the Average, brought up
the rear in part one before announcing the spud pie, which went down a treat
with mushy peas and red cabbage.
Opening
up the second half was Allan Clarke, messing with our minds as only he can,
followed by young Harrison Houghton who gave a very creditable rendering of the
‘Shape of my Heart’ effect.
From the
youngest to the oldest, Maurice Howarth then told the delightful tale of the
moving pothole while another junior, Harry Moulding, really attacked the
audience with well delivered patter lines to accompany a range of effects.
Paul Guy brought up the rear with one of his
unique routines which this time had been specially designed to fit in with Donald’s
presidency.
Chairman Roger Woods echoed all of our thoughts in thanking
Donald for a truly memorable feast of magic . . . and Lancashire spud pie.
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Photography: Hana Jo Gilmour
and Joe Gilmour |
Review: Brian Lead |
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It was a merry, magical evening when members of the MML and
their guests assembled for our annual banquet at the ideal venue of the Mytton
Fold Hotel, snuggled beneath the shadow of the witching hill of Pendle.
Guests of honour this year were the President
of the North Western Society of Magicians (aka the Barrow Boys) Chris Taylor,
with his lady Louise, and Terry Crawford, President of the Northern Magic
Circle, with his lady, Rose. Their
speeches, along with that of our own Pres, Donald Monk, were well crafted and
greatly appreciated.
The cabaret was in the safe hands of the current Magic
Circle Young Magician of the Year, Ben Proos, and the previous Young Magician
of the Year, Michael Jordan, performing with Tamsyn as High Jinx – direct from
their appearance on the box with Penn and Teller. The versatile and very popular Shaun McCree
compered with his pet ferret, and brought the house down as usual. Ben delivered his award-winning act
impeccably, while the High Jinx duo threw everything at us; including sharp
knives, razor blades, the obligatory but beautiful snow storm and the illusion
which almost fooled P and T.
One special feature this year was the presence of a number
of really young magicians from our recently-established Junior Section, all
diving in to present close-up magic around the tables alongside the
veterans.
It all made for a really
special atmosphere – so good, in fact, that our special guests are looking
forward to returning next year as part of the paying public. Can’t be bad. It must be that old Lancashire magic!
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Photography: Joe Gilmour |
Review: Brian Lead |
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Granville Taylor (alias Faust, the last of the Great
Magicians) paid us a welcome visit on his birthday, regaling us with
fascinating tales from his long and eventful life in magic.
He was initially bitten by the magic bug when
taken to see the likes of Chefalo and Levante at his local Nelson Palace
theatre around the age of 8, and after training as a teacher in Hull he soon
turned to show business with a ‘devil’s bar’ act.
There was the amusing story
of DC, PD and Devant’s kettle, which he used for 35 years until one of its 6
compartments refused to function. We
heard of his experiences when working for Lyle and Murray (who was said to have
the best sub trunk routine in the business) during the 1950s; followed by his own
illusion show which proved so popular in Japan during the 1970s.
There was mention, of course, of the great Find the Lady controversy
inspired by Amac’s illusion, and many details of his Martin-built apparatus
along with his self-constructed props.
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was a really enthralling canter through the acts of yesteryear from an
insider’s perspective, complemented by a wide range of slides. A larger than usual audience was delighted
that Granville had chosen to spend his special day with us – making it a very
special occasion for us, too.
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Photography: Joe Gilmour |
Review: Brian Lead |
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There was virtually a ‘full house’ at our September
meeting, to greet popular magic dealer Adrian Sullivan for a ‘dem’ which turned
out to be a full afternoon of entertainment as Adrian performed with a range of
his products as only he can.
Items went
from £2 to £70 in price, with a great running gag about the latter – a wonder
box which seemed to be mentioned in every effect in some way or another!
Everyone was able to pick up something from the experience, if only laughter
and a few tips – but most went away clutching new possessions to sneak into the
house.
If you haven’t had Adrian along
to your Society you really have missed out on something special. Give him a
try. You won’t be disappointed.
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Photography: Joe Gilmour |
Review: Brian Lead |
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An extra-large turnout on a summer’s afternoon testified to
the esteem in which our guest, Brian Sefton, is held.
Even the hardiest pros went away at the end
feeling they had learned something, and the mere mortals just goggled. As Brian said, manipulators don’t need to
fear exposure or ‘copy cats’ as very few would be willing to put in the years
of practice needed to get themselves anywhere near the required standard.
Brian presented a classic act using billiard
balls, thimbles, silks, cards and zombie, and then dismantled it in detail to
show the positioning of all the items and the great lengths taken to conceal
them.
This was a veritable tour de
force, including tips which could apply to most magic acts, all delivered in a
clear and unassuming manner. It made for
a perfect afternoon of summer sorcery. |
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Photography: Allan Clarke |
Review: Brian Lead |
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Our Chairman’s Day went al
fresco this year as Roger and
Joan Woods invited us all round for a magic barbecue, with a performance area
in their spacious garden.
As well as
monthly Sunday meetings the League holds weekday workshops in which members
brainstorm and help each other to iron out problems; and so the theme for this
day was ‘Magic from the Workshop’.
Paul Guy opened with an appropriate letter-prediction effect
which transformed the anagram of ‘odd rows’ into Dr Woods and ended up by
giving away a batch of £20 notes – in the form of novelty serviettes for the
barbecue!
Donald Monk transferred an
elephant from one side of a piece of paper to the other, demonstrated a (w)hole
trick, did torn and restored rabbit(!) and concluded with a suitable
illustrated rhyme concerning sausages.
Allan Clarke presented a range of head-scratching number-orientated
routines along with a prediction item from the late Cliff Lount, while Ron
Baron introduced us to a block up the chimney (also to delightful rhyming
patter) and a mis-made card assembly.
Peter Dean entertained with a pack of
cards and a ‘volunteer’ assistant as only he can (you are too busy laughing to
recall later what went on) and Joe Gilmour reprised his ‘improved’ rat trap
which still sends a shiver down the spine on a hot summer’s day.
Our youngest
performer, Harrison, dazzled with card magic to musical accompaniment which
belied his age and Norman Greenhalgh continued the card theme to patter.
Then, it was on to the splendid spread which soon started to
vanish, while groups could still be seen around the place still playing with
ropes and spinning plates.
Joan, Roger
and Margaret Guy were heartily thanked for rustling up such a wonderful repast. |
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Photography: Joe Gilmour |
Review: Brian Lead |
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The large turn-out for our June meeting attested to the
popularity of our guest – the globe-trotting Jay Scott Berry. We were not disappointed.
Jay presented a flawless routine including a silk fountain
and bottle production, then dismantled it with wise comments relating to the
use of diamond-cut silks (as showy as the more conventional ones, but with only
half the bulk) and extolling the virtues of the finger shell, which he uses a
great deal (for anything from the production of silks and sponge-balls to a
bill switch) along with a well-designed
topit .
Featured effects included a
novel cane production from a silk, a floating candle flame behind a £20 note,
which worked on a clever zombie principle, and the Destiny card trick, employing an Al Baker forcing pack to great
effect. Jay also applied some Pavel rope moves to silks and alerted us to the
‘running gag’ of producing a magnifying glass from the pocket to disguise
steals. One of the main themes was not
to appear superior as a performer, but to be as surprised and delighted by the
magic as the audience, much in the Cardini mode.
What you can’t bottle, of course, is Jay’s warmth and
charisma as a performer. He is a fine
musician as well as a magician, and the routines were complemented by tracks
from his own CD.
It was an altogether splendid and magical afternoon, from
which everyone came away a little wiser. |
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Photography:
Joe Gilmour |
Review: Brian Lead |
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By her own admission, Su Jayne has been in and around magic for 36 years, having been taken to her first convention at the age of 4. She is now part of a magic dynasty, going back to Dad Don Beattie and with the baton now being handed on to her daughters, Leah May and Sara Jade.
Su Jayne, who has followed in her father’s footsteps as President of the Northern Magic Circle, began with a deconstruction of her daughters’ act, plotting its development over time and making the point that ‘the little things count’.
She then went on to analyse features of her own award-winning ‘Edwardian Lady’ act and showed the intricate workings of, among other things, her ingeniously-constructed jacket which apparently allows embroidery to be removed and replaced.
Su Jayne, the mistress of so many talents, is obviously a dab-hand with the needle, even covering her own shoes with material to match the rest of her costume, and we were enthralled by the amount of painstaking detail put into every aspect of the performance.
This was a most informative afternoon in the company of a very talented lady. |
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Photography:
Allan Clarke |
Review: Brian Lead |
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There was a larger-than-average turn out at our March meeting to welcome Paul Cooke, who went on to regale us with a multitude of anecdotes relating to his life in magic, all backed up with video clips and images.
He was remarkably generous with his ideas, showing designs of all his work and letting us see many ‘tricks of the trade’ (when is a camera edit not a camera trick?), and with his time – he was willing to stay and chat after the ‘formal’ session for as long as we wanted, sharing ideas and reminiscences.
Many questions, of course, related to his consultancy involvement with the Magicians TV programme, and he was very honest with his responses.
This was a most lively and informative afternoon, and everyone went away feeling much better from having shared it with Paul. Catch him if you can!
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Photography:
Joe Gilmour |
Review: Brian Lead |
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A record 75% of members turned out for the February meeting to welcome Shaun McCree back into the MML fold. Shaun left the Society in the early ‘80s to pursue a career in teaching, but it was education’s loss and magic’s gain when he changed tack and became a professional magician, equally respected on stage and as a close-up performer.
Shaun has never lost touch with the League, and has now become a member again – presenting on this occasion the most elaborate ‘initiation show’ we have ever seen! He painstakingly and entertainingly taught several items from his highly-rated DVDs, dealing not only with cards but also with coins, a chop cup and even some pieces of paper which tantalisingly changed themselves into banknotes.
Shaun kept his listeners enthralled for the whole afternoon, and we were aware that we were witnessing a very special event.
Also on the bill as first-time ‘initiates’ were Paul Joyce and Jack Leeson, both of whom acquitted themselves well with close-up routines and will doubtless be assets to the League in the years to come.
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Photography:
Joe Gilmour |
Review: Brian Lead |
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January 2011 - Annual General Meeting
There was blood on the floor at the AGM in January, as members fought ruthlessly to secure positions of power within the League.
Well, that’s not quite true, but I felt for journalistic purposes that I had better ‘sex up’ a thoroughly civilised meeting at which Joe Gilmour was made President Elect for 2012 and Allan Clarke handed over the Presidential chain to Donald Monk, who in turn ‘knighted’ Chairman Roger Woods for his services to the Society using an appearing sword.
Ron Baron accepted an Honorary Life Vice-President’s certificate on behalf of John Tattersall, while Paul Guy received, in absentia, the award for the best submission to the Memel magazine in 2010. Further plans were laid in anticipation of our centenary as we head for 2014. |
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Photography:
Joe Gilmour |
Review: Brian Lead |
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December brings a Christmas Party and the atmosphere of pantomime to the MML.
‘Oh no it doesn’t!’
‘Oh yes it does!’
Your scribe kicked off the proceeding by baking a magic cake, using plenty of puns. No; not currant puns.
Ben Proos, our award- winning Junior, then provided some real magic in the form of an amusing rope routine and an immaculate cups-and-balls with four final loads.
Uncle Ron Baron rounded off the first half with a tale of Bob the Builder, a magical game of snap and the appearance of the ever-popular Willie the Wellington Boot with loads of audience participation.
Paul Guy hit the stage for the second half of the programme introducing, among many other things, his amazing mind-reading canine companion and a magical, empty sleigh which then produced all sorts of gifts. Paul kept being interrupted by phone calls from Father Christmas who was trying to navigate his way to the venue and finally arrived to the great excitement of the youngsters, bearing presents for everyone.
All were agreed that it was another splendid MML Christmas Party
‘Oh yes it was!’
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Photography:
Joe Gilmour |
Review: Brian Lead |
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November always brings President’s Day to the Modern Mystic League, and this year current Pres Allan Clarke chose to organise a stage competition for his special event, using the Mills Challenge Cup which was presented to the League way back in 1947.
Opening the magical batting was immediate Past President David Snell, who bumbled his way, intentionally, through a medley of effects in which the linking rings with an unsuspecting assistant played a significant part.
President Elect Donald Monk followed up with an equally hilarious act which culminated in the production of a rabbit, after many false starts.
Relative newcomer Joe Gilmour then entertained with his loyal ‘cleaning lady’ assistant who helped him to mess up (again intentionally) the six-card repeat. Feathers literally flew with the production of a dove from a dove pan (rarely actually used for this purpose these days despite its name!) and the act was peppered with Tim Vine-style puns and sight gags.
All of these acts had been quite similar in tone; but then came a complete contrast in the form of an immaculate silent act by League Junior Ben Proos, employing silks, linking rings and parasol productions.
At the end of the day Ben walked off with the prize, to add to the three trophies already won from the Northern Magic Circle Junior Section. This was the first time in the long history of the Cup that the trophy has been won by a Junior member, pitted on this occasion against three seasoned ‘veterans’.
Guest performer Steve Gore rounded off the afternoon with his own brand of magic, featuring a truly bewildering identified-and-vanished card embedded in a block of ice! Steve is a really original thinker, and his skills were greatly appreciated.
Steve also acted as a judge, along with Bradford colleague Steven Bellerby and two lay judges under the chairmanship of Steve Eastham. Your writer was the compere of what turned out to be a highly entertaining afternoon, enjoyed by a capacity audience of families and friends.
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Photography: Hana Jo Gilmour
& Allan Clarke |
Review: Brian Lead |
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October sees the MML’s annual magical banquet, set in the perfect surroundings of the Mytton Fold Hotel, nestling beneath the witching hill of Pendle.
This year’s guest of honour was Su Jayne, President of the Northern Magic Circle, and her daughters, Leah Mae and Sara Jade, opened the cabaret with their delightful Spanish-themed act. Incidentally, Su Jayne was a performer herself at the same event exactly 20 years ago when her father, Don Beattie, was the NMC President; and so things had come in a full magic circle.
Brian Sefton compéred, proving he can be just as entertaining with patter as manipulation, and the manic act of Mark Shortland hit the stage as top of the bill. Just having returned from the States and driven up from London he was heavily jet-lagged, but this had no adverse effect upon his skilful comedy, which ranged from scissors-through-jacket (his version of walking through the Great Wall of China) catching a ‘bullet’ and smashing up pairs of glasses – but, fortunately not the watch of his valiant volunteer.
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Photography: Joe Gilmour |
Review: Brian Lead |
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Mark lectured for the League the following afternoon, showing the depth of thought and psychology put into his apparently random close-up act and presenting some additional items such as his Cartoon Svengali using Simpsons characters, a terrifying rat trap to locate a card and a convincing bill-switch using the names of assistants on plain paper.
There was also a hilarious stage item, in which helpers caught balls on their head, played human hoop-la with balloons and threw invisible darts in order to arrive at a one-ahead prediction.
All very simple, but commercial and highly entertaining. The only thing you can’t buy, of course, is the personality of Mark himself – one of the most generous and genuinely nice guys in the business. If you haven’t had him at your Society yet don’t hesitate to put that right.
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Photography: Joe Gilmour |
Review: Brian Lead |
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For our September meeting, The Magical Claudine (daughter of the highly respected Claude Chandler, who was Vice President of the Magic Circle for a quarter of a century) paid us a return visit . . . after 28 years!
Claudine represents a real link with magic’s past, and her talk, to a larger than average audience supplemented by ‘real’ people in the form of wives of members, held us all enthralled with the nearest you will get to real magic.
Beginning with are-run of a David Nixon Show from 1958 in which she appeared, and a colour film of her performance at the Magic Circle in the same year, Claudine talked about her act and reminisced with a multitude of fascinating anecdotes.
We heard about a verbal faux pas in Italy when she inadvertently told a male spectator not to shake it around or it would fall off (you had to be there!), having to wear two pairs of tights in Saudi Arabia to comply with the strict moral laws and the production of goldfish and a Pekinese dog to a bewildered audience who had never seen either of these creatures before.
Claudine toured the world in the late ‘50sand ‘60s, widely known as ‘the lady magician’ or, on occasions, The White Witch of the West who could apparently perform real magic!
The talk was enhanced by a number of large photographs capturing the flavour of those bygone days, and could have gone on for much longer. Indeed, Claudine has promised to return with details of her unique barrel production and candle routine and more about Claude . . . but not, we hope, after the space of another 28 years! |
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Photography: Joe Gilmour |
Review: Brian Lead |
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The MML meets on the second Sunday of each month, complemented by a more practical workshop meeting on the final Thursday. For our August meeting we held a sort of ‘Sunday workshop’ at our Headquarters, with our technical expert David Snell explaining all of our equipment (lighting, sound etc.) so that it could theoretically be used in his absence!
The second half of the session saw four members in performance. First up was Donald Monk with a ‘hiding the elephant’ routine in which the elephant inadvertently remained hidden – much to the consternation of Donald and the amusement of his audience! The said elephant did finally make a magical appearance from the other side of a folded sheet of paper. Donald had constructed a cleverly-designed raked close-up table, which was admired by all before it was employed by Paul Guy for an effect which he is currently using in libraries. Based on an original concept by Steve Gore, it also included an amusing book-worm sequence based upon the ‘magic road-sign’ principle. Anne Walmsley was next up with a card effect with a surprise ending which I won’t divulge (but it concerned a red nose!), and finally Norman Greenhalgh treated us to four card-revelation effects using, among other things, a plastic flashing duck and a Halloween mask. It was all a lot of fun for a Sunday afternoon. |
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Photography: Allan Clarke |
Review: Brian Lead |
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It looked as though our guest Steve Gore, immediate Past President of the Northern Magic Circle, had the dice stacked against him at our July meeting. It was American Independence Day, the weather looked as though it was going to be warm and sunny and it was the men’s final at Wimbledon. Fortunately we don’t have any American members and Steve quipped that, although the weather trick had been relatively simple (it stated raining just as he arrived) it had cost him a lot to bribe Andy Murray to lose the semi-final!
Anyway, a goodly crowd was assembled for what turned out to be an afternoon full of original ideas, lateral magical thinking and, on occasions, the clever blending of known effects to create a whole new impact. The first, for example, combined a Lance Burton four-ace card effect with a David Penn double bottle production, but with the innovation of using a bra worn backwards as part of the holder. Perfectly ingenious – but I guess you had to be there! ‘On the Case’ involved a pair of mind-reading glasses in a Himber-style spectacle case. Steve is an optician by trade and had specially adapted these novelty cases, which were available for purchase. ‘Perfect Partners’ matched up pairs of cards in a startling fashion, while ‘Transport’ had moving knots on differently coloured ropes. For younger audiences, ‘Time Travel’ employed the Professor’s Nightmare principle in a routine bringing together the past, the present and the future, while all of the Harry Potter characters made an appearance in an elimination contest with a lot of audience participation. Three paintings could be coloured at once with a thoughtful amendment to the standard apparatus, a ghost tube produced a vivid array of silks (one colour-changing) and a zig-zag can elicited a very positive reaction.
In part two, Steve introduced some ingenious technical wizardry using his phone (or a spectator’s) caused a chosen card to appear in a snow-storm globe and produced an 8-ball out of an impossibly slim miniature brief-case. There were lots of other bits and pieces along the way, all making for a fun-packed session delivered with charm and warmth. All the props were immaculate, and Steve had obviously put in a great deal of thought to iron out potential problems. We were surprised to learn that this was Steve’s first venture into lecturing, and we would certainly recommend him unreservedly to any Society looking for an entertaining and totally original session. |
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Photography: Joe Gilmour |
Review: Brian Lead |
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By tradition, June sees Chairman’s Day at the MML, and this year was the 10th such event presided over by Roger Woods assisted by his good lady Joan on refreshments We welcomed our seaside neighbours, the Fylde Mystics, paying a reciprocal visit.
Allan Clarke opened with a touch of mentalism, incorporating mathematical and ‘déjà vu’ effects. Compere Steve Eastham then introduced Paul Joyce for the close-up part of his performance, which included a topical World Cup theme, a detective sequence in which a murder was solved and the appearance (or non-appearance) of Sean the invisible leprechaun.
Alan Mylecraine followed with a lovely line in throw-away gags accompanying a card prediction, severed finger and Chinese coins.
Joe Gilmour rounded off part one with a diary effect, a chase the ace/find the lady routine and a prediction scroll in an ancient box with some nice original touches.
The gang took to the stage in the second half of the afternoon, with Joe presenting a hilarious ‘rat trap’ effect before George Jennings entertained us with his droll observational humour while predicting a tin of pineapples. Paul and Alan also made a return to the boards, the latter with a beaker vanish accompanied by more sight gags.
A jolly time was had by all, and the capacity crowd of family and friends had got their money’s worth – or they would have done if they had paid! |
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Photography: Hana Jo Gilmour |
Review: Brian Lead |
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In May the MML played host to the longest-serving magic dealer in the UK, Cliff Lount, who established the Bradford Magic Studio in 1949. This was a delightful afternoon, full of amusing anecdotes which appealed to both ends of our age range. Cliff’s exclusives were all there, and trading was brisk. |
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Photography: Joe Gilmour |
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Review: Brian Lead |
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In April, John Palfreyman presented his double lecture on Illusions of Grandeur/Aspects of Magic, the latter being for the final time. An attractive booklet of notes and a DVD containing excerpts from the David Nixon Shows proved to be a popular bargain. |
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Photography: Joe Gilmour |
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Review: Brian Lead |
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In March, the MML welcomed Stephen Bellerby (Stevie B), who enlightened the membership on his signature knife-through-jacket routine and presented a new take on the hydrostatic glass, among other things. |
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Photography: Joe Gilmour |
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Review: Brian Lead |
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