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.

After the theatre show in January we went straight into the Showzam festival in Blackpool which was in it’s second year. It is a festival of Comedy, Circus, Variety and Magic around the seaside resort. With numerous events taking place in the town including sideshow attractions, variety shows, street theatre and international magic shows.

I was asked to perform at the VIP festival launch party which was held at Showzam central in Blackpool’s Olympia Hall which played host to Jon Marshall’s  amazing sideshow recreations such as ‘Girl in a fish bowl’ ‘The disembodied girl’ and numerous others. I have always loved these kind of carnival curiosities and is possibly one of the things that sparked my interest in magic as a child.

Myself and a whole team of fantastic close up magicians such as Marc Oberon, Harry Robson, Mike Shepherd, Andrew Dean and Danny Hunt performed close up table magic worked throughout the festival at various venues around the town to promote the Showzam programme of events. It is always to get together with a team such as this as there is always time for bit of social banter and sharing of a trick or two.

 Throughout the festival my mind was primarily focused on the end of February as I heavily involved with the orgainisation of Blackpool Magic Convention which is the largest magic convention in the world. It attracts 3500 magicians every year from across the globe and welcomes the biggest stars of magic, illusion and mentalism to perform at this amazing 3 day conference.

As Assistant Convention Organiser I work long and hard to help ensure that the operations side of the convention runs like clock work. With only a core team of about 6 people headed by Derek Lever it is a mammoth task that saw me barely survive a 60 hour schedule over the 3 days ) although a couple of those hours did include a drink or two with old friends).

This year we had some of the finest magicians in the world today including Joshua Jay, Daniel Garcia, Dan and Dave Buck, Rick Merrill, Jeff McBride, Eugene Burger, Dirk Losander and many more.

We had a surprise guest, top US Magician and showman David Blaine join us for the weekend, which was a fantastic coup for us. He was a great sport and welcomed all photos and autograph requests far from the elusive image he often portrays in the media.

It is great fun to be a part of this organisation as I have attended this annual convention every year since I was ten years old and is the place that inspired me to become a professional magician and enable me to travel the world and experience some amazing things. So now to be able to work on this record breaking convention from the ground up and hopefully allow other young budding magicians to be able to experience what I did all those years ago is very rewarding. 

In between the different events I managed to catch up with my fellow magic friends and make some new pals such as Daniel Garcia who is well on the way to becoming one of the leading magicians in the US and regularly works as an advisor for David Blaine’s TV shows. A great magical mind with an awesome sense of humour.
 

It was another amazing convention and for many it was the best they had ever attended. For me it was a great weekend of breathtaking close up magic and slight of hand wizardry, grand stage illusion at it’s best and whole bag of fun.

Onto next year which we hope will be even bigger and better!!!

For the past 5 years I have produced a theatre show at a local theatre and this year’s came at the end of January. Myself and my colleague Paul Roberts and my team of dancers put together a 2 hour magic variety show. It is a very time consuming project but always great fun to do. It gives me the opportunity to try new ideas and create scenes in a controlled environemnt which isnt always possible at corporate events where the environment is dictated by the client.

All in all it was a great show with once again a great audience.

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!!!

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!!

All the clients were happy and I even managed to fit in a family meal in between shows on Saturday for my brother’s 40^th birthday.

After Sunday’s second gig myself and Ria dashed over to King George’s Hall in Blackburn to see ‘ Mock The Week’ comedian Russell Howard http://www.russell-howard.co.uk/

 He was great even though he was suffering from flu. I now know that a Giraffe can lick the back of it’s head and that wearing a ladies swimsuit the wrong way round turns you into a wrestler… 

A NEW WEEK…
Into another week we go and already it has been interesting. Stacey joined me again on Tuesday for another show. It was a great audience and I nearly ended up doing an hour on stage as I got chatting. Another plus for the show was that Stacey didn’t end up with a bump on her head as she revealed had occurred the week earlier. The dangers of showbiz!!!

In the afternoon I headed over to our new clubroom for the Blackpool Magician’s club.(http://www.blackpoolmagic.com/)  I only caught the afternoon slot as I had to head off to the evening gig at 7pm. But I did manage to catch a lecture by my pal Danny Hunt.
He was demonstrating how to pick locks and escape from handcuffs, strait jackets etc. It was fascinating. Danny really does take it to the extreme and after rehearsing for the Water Torture Cell Escape I know how tough it can be.

   Wednesday and I headed over to see Mark Mason at JB Magic. Mark mainly operates from America now but heads back every now and then to check on the business. www.jbtv.co.uk 
  

I have been producing the artwork for all of the new JB Magic tricks for over 2 years now and I went in to discuss the two new effects being launched for Xmas. One of which I think is great. It is called ‘Blindspot’ and is by Bob Swadling. I won’t give it away as magicians have yet to see it before the release. But it is a cool thing!! 

  It is really great to be able to combine two hobbies into one. Magic and graphic design. I get to see all of the cool new tricks first and play around with making the overall look of it cool and appealing. I mainly do artwork for Mark Mason but I also do bits and pieces for Wayne Dobson, Phil Jay, Chris Dugdale, Paul Roberts, Martin Gold (Comedian) and whole host of entertainment companies and shows.  

              


Anyway back to the thread - Whilst in the JB Magic shop there was a visitor from Scotland who was bringing all of his latest electrical gadgets down to show Mark. There were remote control card shooters (fountains for magicians). Electronic lie detectors and a strange plant pot with micro cameras and transmitters built in!!! Toys for Boys!! It is a strange life we lead when all we do all day to make a buck is stick a plant pot on our head!!?
  

  Mark trying the contraption for size!! 

Thursday and I was invited down to the University of Central Lancashire for a video interview by a journalism student. I arrived at the lecture hall to find it completely blacked out apart from three high powered spotlights on a small area of a stage and a camera set up. Basically Jacelyn wanted to film some sleight of hand magic and visual effects on stage and then follow up with an interview, but it felt like an interrogation at first as all I could see were the bright lights and nothing else! The voice was coming out of the darkness beyond.

The group were really nice though and I hope I gave them an insight into the life of a magician. I didn’t know whether to feed her questions or let her do her own thing. I often have to do interviews and so I have had some of the best and the worst interviewers to compare from. I guess as it is for her Degree course I shouldn’t help her too much. I look forward seeing the finished project. 

On Friday Ria and myself were invited to Laura White’s (X Factor) Homecoming Concert at the Reebok Stadium nr Bolton. Our friends were promoting the gig and so asked us down. One of the support acts was Shaun Rogerson (X Factor 2006). We know Shaun from working on ‘The Stars Of The X Factor’ show last year and I did Shaun’s Album cover. It was good to see him again. He has certainly grown up a lot since his shaky days at Sharon Osbourne’s boot camp.  

    
 http://shaunofficial.info/ 

Laura White came on stage at about 9pm and I have to say she was fantastic. It was obvious she has been gigging for many years already as she did a 1 hour set and really hammered it. Having seen some of the acts remaining in the X Factor competition, something went wrong with the voting somewhere as she should be in the final few.  

We caught up with her after the show and she was absolutely lovely. I’m sure with all of the hype on the show it has turned some of the contestants into monsters, but Laura was truly genuine. As we were saying goodbye she kept hold of my hand to genuinely thank us for coming down and supporting her. I do hope she does well and doesnt disappear into the hoards of reality tv talent show finalists. She is talented and hopefully she will be able to showcase that. 

(Gossip - she did actually suggest that Louis Walsh had asked to sign her 2 weeks before she had been kicked off the show- maybe sour grapes on his part?!!!)

Anyway back to the grind!! The phone is nonstop at the moment with Xmas coming up. I have just booked my 40^th gig in for the three weeks leading up to Christmas! I think I need to go and lie down to build up my strength for the marathon of shows…

I have to say a huge thanks to all of the acts involved because they really pulled it out of the bag for me. Also a massive thank you to Danny Hunt & Annette from Amethyst who stepped in at the eleventh hour to fill my spot. True professionals, and I will be forever in their debt.

         
Brian Sefton -      Charlotte Hall             World’s Smallest Man       
Magic Circle                                   Slaughter House Live

     
Stephen Williams        Four Fat Folkers       ‘Norris’ - Malcolm Hebden
Junior World Magic     Slaughter House Live      Coronation Street
Champion

        
Beryl Haines                 Danny Hunt                 Syd Little
Slaughter House Live    Underwater Escapology

 Paul Roberts - Electric Chairs

Beryl Haine’s children’s story time brought the house down. As did the World’s Smallest Man’s houdini escape trick and fire eating display. To understand why you really need to see them live. www.slaughterhouse-live.com

The whole show was a massive hit and we had a great audience. Danny Hunt’s version of the Water Torture cell was a perfect replacement for my escape and he had the audience on the edge of their seats. Many thanks Danny!!

It was an exhausting few weeks of preparation, especially whilst I was suffering from concussion after the accident. But once the curtain came down it was well worth it.

But one thing that popped into my head (and to this day I don’t know how, even my girlfriend Ria can’t work it out) was to recreate Harry Houdini’s Chinese Water Torture Cell Escape. Somehow I ended up on a BBC news programme talking about it and so was then set on my journey to fulfill this challenge.
I went to see replicas of the original Houdini tank with the idea of hiring one for the stunt.
But in the end it was deemed safer to build a brand new tank due to the age and uncertainty of locks and strength of the materials that were over 20 years old.

So it took over a year to get the new tank ready, but the finished result was fantastic and took the stunt into the 21st Century.

 So all I needed was an event to showcase the stunt…

I got in touch with the local hospice and we decided to base a music hall theme show around the stunt.

  and after a lot of work getting acts, sponsors, a theatre venue and a lot of publicity we were ready to go.

The rehearsals of the water escape were going well and physically I was prepared for the strain that was endured during the escape.
    

Until Disaster strunk and on our final rehearsal (the week before the show) I fell hurting my ankle and cutting my head. With the clock ticking in the run up to the show, it was looking unlikely that I would make it to the show.

I had fulfilled the challenge that I set out to do and I personally had recreated the water escape created by Harry Houdini. But I never managed to showcase it at the performance I had put together for it.

I was disappointed but I do feel a sense of pride in the knowledge that I am amongst a handfull of people in the world to have ever attempted this escape.

And believe me after being locked inside the tank, I now know why!!!

(At some point I will post all of the videos of rehearsals etc on here to chart the journey that I made during the challenge)