After a few weeks holiday to recover from the Convention it was back into the thick of it with my many corporate magic shows and events. I was invited to lecture for Bradford Circle Of Magicians and also appear in their Theatre show at the theatre in Bingley. I love doing these kind of shows as they are always light hearted and great fun to be a part of. The line up of acts were a mixture of semi professional and amateur performers with myself topping the bill as the professional magic act.

I had a my assistant/ dancer Stacey join me again and we had a great show.

With the success of the Blackpool Magic Convention 2009 in the bag I received the exciting news that Derek Lever on behalf of the  Blackpool Magicians’ Club was planning to bid to become the 2012 host for the FISM World Championships of Magic.

These championships held every three years in a different host city/ country each time, this years being in Beijing, China. It brings together the finest magicians across the world who compete in different categories of magic to win the title of World Champion of Magic’

The many areas of magic included are:

Stage/ General Magic

Illusion

Close Up Table Magic

Parlour Magic

Micro Magic

Mentalism

Comedy Magic

Manipulation Magic

So a small delegation including myself was put together to head to Beijing to present the bid for Blackpool at the end of July. We headed over to the Asian capital via numerous long flights and finally reached the amazing hotel close by to the enormous convention centre.

The championships kicked off with some amazing 2000 delegate social banquets and exotic Chinese acrobatic displays Watch Here along with the impressive opening stage and close up magic competition rounds.

We had our exhibition stand and after numerous calls to UPS in Beijing in order to clear our display materials through customs we were able to create our trade show area.

We did plenty of networking and meeting of the many international delegates throughout the week along with catching the numerous competitions in order to spot the quality acts worth bringing to Blackpool in the coming years.

Every year I take some time off around my birthday to relax with my girlie. My Birthday is on the 7th of January and so it lands at a nice time when I need the break. This last weekend we took ourselves off up to the Lake District in Cumbria. We stayed in a great hotel in Keswick and had some shopping time in the village.

It is so nice to see the different kinds of shops there, unlike our same old M&S and HMV in the cities and town.
We had a great time and stumbled across the Puzzle Palace late in the afternoon. We thought it was going to be a cheap, tacky exhibition but it was fantastic and played on my love of things unusual. It was full of physical and optical illusions.

(Ok so this one I photoshopped a bit but the
actual size appearances were real!!)
         
A reflection of Ria’s hand            The room was built on a slant so
almostlook 3D. It scared            I could lean. Water ran uphill etc.
me a little…                                    Weird!! 
           
Work it out for yourself!!It may look a bit silly but it was really great fun in there.
Here is a link to their webshop http://www.puzzlepalace.co.uk
We had a great time away and managed to get down to the lake to get some fantastic photos. The weather was perfect and with no wind the lake turned into a perfect mirror. Quite breathtaking!
 So wish me Happy Birthday for tomorrow!!!

Well a big Happy New Year to everyone!!! 2009 is upon us after a chilly Xmas. I hope everyone had a good holiday season.

For myself it was a manic month and I am so glad to have some time off now to recover. December is generally the busiest time of the year for us magic folk. Every year I promise myself I am not going to over book myself and by January I am cursing myself for stretching my schedule to the limit!

This year has been manic leading up to December with the charity show and work in general and then the big ‘F’ hit me!!! Yes our humble abode became ‘Flu Central’.

Now don’t get me wrong I have had my fair share of Man Flu in my time, but my God was this horriffic!!! Us entertainers just soldier on normally ‘ The show must go on’ etc. But this nearly killed me for a week.

So the start of December was a battle and then the number of gigs built up and up. I think my peak Xmas period saw 47 gigs in 2 1/2 weeks!!! It seriously becomes a blur!!

It is a great time to try new material for me as I am constantly performing day and night to all different kinds of audiences. By the last gig I am flying with it and can usually do it with my eyes closed (sometimes I have to as I’m that tired)

But on the whole Xmas was very successful with rebookings for 09 already. Unfortunately my Christmas cheer is limited at times as I am so busy with shows that my family and girlfriend hardly see me which can be a pain. But I am very lucky to do what I love everyday so I guess I can’t complain too much.

One thing I did notice this year were a lot of the companies effected by the credit crunch and economic struggle were changing their approach to Xmas parties. Several of my good clients changed their festive plans and went back to the old office parties (David Brent Style) and kept everything in house to save expenses. I was invited to their premises instead this year to perform which made an unusual change. Although it is always interesting to see people at their workplace and the politics and hierachy that exists from an outsiders point of view.

Unfortunately one of my regular clients were forced into administration recently which is a sign of the times. A company that seems to be thriving is brought crashing down by the banks again! We shall see what 2009 brings…

But enough of the doom and gloom.  2009 is looking to be another exciting year. I am looking forward to the Blackpool Magic Convention in February for which I am assistant organiser. It attracts 3500 of the worlds finest magicians and runs for three days. It features shows, competitions, lectures and dealer demonstrations. It has been a highlight of the year for me since I was 10 years old and to be invited to help organise it was a dream come true. I have been involved with it for the past 2 years and it really is an exhausting week but fantastic to meet up with friends from around the world and talk about our passion for Magic. I will keep you posted on the latest developments in the next few weeks.

Prior to that we have the Showzam festival in Blackpool which is a 2 week festival of Variety, Magic and Circus. Last year was the first one and although the publicity and marketing for it were poor, it was a great festival. Hopefully this years will attract more interest and get the recognition it deserves. 2008 saw some fantastic shows and attractions and this years should be even better.

I will be invloved around the town at different venues and events promoting the festival and performing. I will post the details when I know more. But for now check out the website at http://www.showzam.co.uk/

So there is quite a lot to look forward to already this year. My own schedule on top of that is building up and I am also returning to lecturing for magic clubs this year with my first lecture in March in Bradford.

ONE QUICK ANNOUNCEMENT!!!!

With all of the excitement of Xmas I forgot to post that the MUSIC HALL show that I put on for charity last October managed to raise an amazing £2763.00 for St Catherine’s Hospice in Preston. So again a massive thanks for everyone involved!!