And so as we head quickly towards Xmas and the all of the festive parties it is often easy to think that the wedding season is over. Far from it!! It is more and more common for couples to tie the knot during the winter period and create a magical winter wonderland for their big day. Just this weekend I was invited over to the Grassington House Hotel in Yorkshire to perform my amazing wedding entertainment as a part of a fabulous wedding celebration. www.grassingtonhousehotel.co.uk As a wedding magician in Yorkshire I am lucky enough to visit some amazing venues in the region. These incredible stately homes or exclusive hotels are tucked away within the incredible scenery of the area.

My close up magic, as a part of  wedding entertainment in Yorkshire is appealing to people of all ages and so I was able to enthrall the guests from the moment I arrived at this recent event. Such a lovely venue and great people. On this occasion it seemed as though everyone at the wedding breakfast was aquainted but often is the case at these kinds of affairs that people have travelled some distance and are not familiar with the other guests. It is my job as a Yorkshire wedding magician to break the ice and give guests a magical talking point once I have moved on to the next group. It really works a treat everytime and is probably one of the biggest joys of the job to see a group of people come alive at a party or wedding celebration.

The magic I performed in Yorkshire at the weekend was as always totally interactive and so happened often in their own hands. This always leaves a lasting impact they experience the magic under their noses.

As one of the leading Yorkshire wedding magicians it is always a joy to visit wonderful picturesque areas, meet warm welcoming families and perform some incredible close up magic. I am a lucky guy and long may it continue.

If you would like to inquire about having a top Yorkshire wedding magician at your big day then please feel free to drop me a line at andrew@modernmysteries.co.uk or visit www.modernmysteries.co.uk for more information. If you would like to download a wedding information flyer then please click here

Well the magical UK summer heat wave has hit again (well for at least 1 afternoon) but that hasn’t stopped people enjoying their summer balls, extravagant weddings and garden parties. Which means my close up magic has been out in force around all areas of Lancashire, Cheshire and Yorkshire.

It has given me the chance to challenge myself as a close up magician to learn some amazing new effects to try out on the unsuspecting public. But what has been different this year is the public’s new found fascination with magic and magicians. This is due in no small part to the fantastic magician Dynamo that has hit our TV screens with his new TV show ‘Magician Impossible ’. His magic is very much in the style of David Blaine but is very much rooted in the UK. His close up magic is very slick and very, very magical which has sparked intrigue in the general public young or old. He a Yorkshire magician that originates from Bradford but hit the London MTV party scene gate crashing to show celebrities his magic. This got him noticed and the rest is history.

Magicians in general are very competitive by nature and like to get one over each other with bigger netter tricks but I can’t help but admire Dynamo for his drive to step away from the norm and do something different to rest of the magicians in the UK. It has certainly paid of and I hope the reaps the rewards for his work so far.

On the whole his magical credibility only helps promote magic and magicians in popular culture and the media and allows for more close up street magicians to break into the mainstream. So congratulations to all the team involved.

As one of the leading Wedding Magicians in Lancashire I have been approached by the local major radio station Rock FM to take part in a competition called Bride Wars. No this isn’t a cage fight where brides to be attack each other with confetti and floral displays!! It’s a fundraising competition for a local children’s charity where one lucky couple receive a 5 star wedding as a prize. The winner of the competition will be the couple who has the most creative and successful fundraising strategies, so whoever raises the most money for the charity, wins their wedding! The brides will be put through their paces to see who is the most serious about their fundraising by being invited to a boot camp where they will take on a whole host of challenges.

The winning couple will be rewarded with a vast array of attractions and luxuries from local wedding suppliers creating them a complete wedding experience for their efforts.

I will be providing some of my amazing close up wedding magic where I will me mix and mingling around the crowds of excited guests and baffling them with my sleight of hand trickery. This kind of wedding magic is increasingly popular as it appeals to people of all ages and helps act as a fantastic icebreaker for wedding parties across Lancashire and beyond.

It is set to be a fantastic competition which I look forward to being a part of and if you live in the Lancashire area please try and get involved and help us raise as much money as possible for this fantastic children’s charity.

The prize wedding is set to be on the 2^nd September this year and will be held at the Dunkenhalgh Hotel and Spa in Clayton-le-Moors but the build up and fundraising week will take place before along with many fantastic events starting from July.

If you are getting married and would like a top class wedding magician at your big day along with plenty of other amazing wedding attractions then get involved.

The Bride Wars campaign is set to be launched on air at the end of June but keep checking http://www.rockfm.co.uk/charity/ for more details.

It always amazes me the ways in which people find me to discuss booking me to perform close up magic at their parties. Obviously a lot of people can find me on the internet via Google. But I would say that the majority of people who call me have seen me at another party or I have been recommended to them by someone who has.

People often say to me that they have had my business card in their purse or wallet for years ready for that time when they are organising a special event. This to me is the best kind of compliment. It means that the close up magic that I do has had a lasting impression on the people who see it.

Obviously as a wedding magician in Lancashire many people see me perform the mix and mingle magic as wedding reception entertainment. At these kinds of events people are often a little shy when it comes to joining in at first as they might not know everyone else but once they join in with the magic they soon relax and enjoy the party. This is probably the best kind of advert I could wish for because people can see how special this type of wedding entertainment is and how it can really help build a party atmosphere.

I am lucky enough to perform at weddings across Lancashire, Cheshire, Yorkshire and much further afield. As a wedding magician I often see some amazing weddings and parties, but also see some of the mishaps. It is this experience that I often pass onto potential customers so that they can ensure their special event is perfect. I am sure that this is why many of my clients rebook me time and again to entertain their special guest with my amazing close up magic.

With all the recent talk of weddings in the air I thought I would put a few words together about my work as a wedding entertainer. Now not everyone can afford Westminster Abbey or expect several billion people to watch their wedding around the world but when it comes to organising a wedding you want to ensure that it is truly a special day.Obviously all the guests you invite are friends or family but it is often overlooked that many people won’t know anyone else at the wedding except for the happy couple.

This is where your entertainment can play a massive role. Wedding magic can break the ice and fill those gaps during the day that are periods of waiting for the next stage of the wedding party to get underway. It is an interactive form of wedding entertainment that brings groups of people together and engages them in a special moment of magic that creates a talking point long afterwards.

Through my experience as a wedding magician in Lancashire I have seen how my magic can create a real buzz around a drinks reception and also produce some fantastic photo opportunities.

This style of wedding entertainment is non intrusive and is flexible to almost any environment. It is one of my favourite types of events to perform at as everyone is always happy and in a receptive mood.

I always ensure that I get to perform some special magic for the happy couple and always leave them with some small souvenir of the magical moment.

My job as a wedding entertainer in Lancashire and surrounding areas is quite a privileged one as I get to see people on the happiest day of their lives and I try to ensure that I add a little bit more magic to it…! (Sounds cheesy but very true!!)

If you are planning a wedding please get in touch on 07702 153290.

 I always try to take time away from the hustle bustle of my working life to appreciate how unique it is at times. I am so lucky to travel to some amazing places and meet people that some people can only dream of.This weekend I was lucky enough to be invited to perform at a party organised by Sir Alex Ferguson in Manchester. Every year he brings a big group of people down from Scotland who he went to school with and has kept in touch with over the years and throws a big party for them.

I was asked to perform close up magic during the drinks reception and then again during the meal. It was one long table of lively people who were so warm and friendly that it made my job an absolute pleasure.

Prior to the guests arrival Sir Alex came into the room whilst I was the only person there. We chatted for about 10 minutes about the day’s games and about his horse that had run in that days Grand National. It made me think of some of my football mad friends would have given their right arm to have a private chat with him about his daily goings on.

It was my second time of meeting him and I have to say that he is one of the warmest, friendliest guys you could wish to meet. The total opposite of his professional persona.

He absolutely loves magic and introduced me to his friends as his ‘Personal Magician’ and I jokingly introduced him as my ‘Personal Football Manager’.

My job as a close up magician is truly one that enables me to have such wonderful experiences. I can only hope that the people who experience my magic at different parties and events enjoy it as much as I enjoy performing it.

But once I get to chat with a new client I have learnt how to quickly put their minds a rest by explaining how the close up magic will act as an icebreaker for their guests, warm up the crowd into a party mood and create a talking point for everyone in the room. The magic bridges the age gap between young children right up to the more distinguished (older…) guests in attendance.

Now if you are reading this you have either already found me and we have had this discussion already or you just like to have a nosey at what I ramble on about! But it has occurred to me to write about the important points to consider when booking a close up magician or wedding magician.

• 1. How much experience does he/she have at performing at professional engagements and for different types of people. Nationalities, cultures etc and how that would have an effect on your event.
• 2. Is the magician a full time professional? Anyone can learn a few tricks and call themselves a magician but you wouldn’t want to book them and take a chance of them being lousy and ruin your party. Always ensure that their main profession is as a magician. It is their professional reputation at stake then and not yours as a party host.
• 3. Keep in mind that the cheapest and best price offer will not always be the best choice. A professional magician charges a respectable fee. You wouldn’t buy beef and expect it to taste like steak now would you?! So don’t let your guests down and take the chance on a special offer!!!
• 4. Look at the credentials. If your magician has worked for some top organisations and prestigious clients with a full list of quality testimonials then you can’t go far wrong. Also if they have been invited to perform at events around the world at the expense of some top corporations then you must be onto a winner!
• 5. Ultimately when booking a magician for an event you want to make sure that they will entertain your guests, not only with their magic but with their personality. It is as much about hospitality as it is about the magic.

I could go on… and probably will at a later date but for now suffice to say that if you are still considering a magician in Manchester or a wedding magician in Lancashire then please give me a call and if I can help then I will.

Byeeee for now!!!!

And so my blogging continues. Thank you for some kind recent feedback folks!!

It seems as though Magic is the current Buzz word with new magic shows springing up TV recently and giving magic a real spring clean. It is bizarre how the trends come around in cycles. The last time it was really popular I feel is when the TV magician Wayne Dobson had a run of TV magic shows on ITV in the 90’s. That was a great inspiration to me at the time to develop my skills as a magician in the hope of one day turning professional.

His magic was a break away from the more traditional style of Paul Daniels thats had begun to appear jaded in the public’s eyes. He had all of the latest cool illusions and his quick fire wit was just the right angle to capture the audiences attention. I still have fond memories of watching those shows and I still feel they impact the way I creat my magic routines today.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qii9sMpnaOA   or http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CPX37l1vNWM

In recent years I have been lucky enough to become good friends with Wayne and now help him produce his new books for the magic fraternity.

His wicked sense of humour always manages to shock me in a Skype call and his creativity in his books always astounds me as is second to none. www.waynedobson.co.uk

Who knows what direction magic will take in the next 10 years. We can only hope that it is boosted in the publics opinion and not cheapened by any celebrity reality shows.

It always seems crazy to me to hear people complain about their jobs on a daily basis. They have dreams and aspirations of having an exotic future but make no paths towards it.

I am probably the luckiest person in the world in the fact that I do what I have loveed to do since I was a child every day and my working life is unusual and unique every day. Magic was my obsession as a child and performing magic tricks and mini illusions on my friends and family was my day to day fix. I used to save every last pence of my pocket money to buy my next trick from a magic company of the time called Supreme Magic in Devon and would spend hours trying to work it all out and perfect it.

When I was 9 or 10 (I can’t quite remember) I found out about the local Magic Club (the Preston Magic Circle) it had around 40 members that consisted of children’s entertainers, professional close up magicians, comedy magic performers and even illusionists. With the club I learned the art of performance and developed my confidence as a magician.

As I child I was really shy so it helped me overcome many fears and learn to be a bigger bolder person. We performed magic shows across Lancashire in different venues in Preston, Blackpool, Manchester, Warrington, Bolton and many more. It was an amazing experience and one that has held me in good stead for my work over the years as a professional close up table magician , wedding magician and even illusionist.

My job has taken me to almost 40 countries all expenses paid. I have eaten at the best restaurants and worked with some of the country’s top celebrities. But most importantly it has made me some amazing friends all over the world.

For me to hear someone say that they hate their job saddens me. A job in my mind should be something you are passionate about spending your days doing. My advice to anyone in a job dilemma is to follow your dreams and be passionate about every day.

As cheesy as it may sound, my life is truly magical!

It is a question often asked between magicians whether concentrating on one area of magic or developing skills in all areas of the art makes you a better magician. For some magicians card magic is their love and they focus their attention on it for many years without the need to look elsewhere. It is true that some of the finest magicians in the UK have developed this art and moved it forward as a result.

However it is my feeling that to be a true magician you should be able to perform magic anywhere, anytime and in any arena. If you were to ask a group of people what they pictured when they were asked to think of a magician. Some would say David Blaine with his cool street magic, some would think of Paul Daniels with his colourful box of tricks, others would picture David Copperfield making people disappear and a number of people would think of Derren Brown and his tricks of the mind.

So it seems that in our culture there are many perceptions of magic that appeal to many different tastes and even demographics.

I love the art of magic and have tried to develop skills in all areas of this field. Mainly to satisfy my desire to experiment with all the different types of trickery but also more recently to deliver my clients the performances that they picture in their mind but then take it beyond their expectations.

When somebody is looking to book a magician they already have an idea of what they want for their event/ party. Whether it be a close up magician or a full scale illusion show, a mind reader or comedy magician. So when they are looking for a magician they are looking for somebody to develop their vision. A Magician who has the experience to advise them as to the best type of performance for their event not try and sell them on the individual type of magic that  they do and try and make them settle for it.

The client wants their guests to experience something special and unique that is perfect for their event. It is the job of a true magician to deliver that wonder. To present magic that not only fits the arena but also takes it beyond all expectations and raise the profile of this new generation of magician.

Advice Time!!!! If you are looking for a magician in Manchester or a close up magcian in London , a mind readers in Birmingham or Illusionist in Bristol make sure you speak to someone directly who can give you professional advice and creative ideas towards making your corporate event or party truly memorable!!! Nuff Said!