MeMeL April 2015 by MML

The

L e M e M

Alan Shaxon April 2015

MAY MEETING Star Lecture from the Netherlands’ Peter Eggink

eter's name is well known in the field of magic, being synonymous with both the performance and the creation of some of the most amazing magical effects. Many established magicians will have already heard of Peter's name through his involvement in the creation of some of the most creative and imaginative magical effects on the market. "Peter Eggink's "EXIT" is the perfect effect for the latchkey kid!" - Nathan Kranzo

With over 20 years of experience working as a professional magician, he knows the real secrets, and he's going to reveal them to you. In addition to performing and explaining some of his marketed effects, he'll also focus on his handling of some essential basics. "There have been many versions of borrowedobject-to-impossiblelocation, but Peter's 'Exit ' has the most cunning, direct and elegant method imaginable. The result is an effect with the feel of pure, undiluted magic." - David Regal

Don’t miss it!

forget Don’t is that th is g meetin rd the 3 f yo Sunda th! n the Mo

Change of Date!

Sunday 17th May

Welcome to the MeMeL In this Issue:Editorial Presidential Secretarial

See, Hear, Speak ....

Welcome to the third issue of the new-look MeMeL. It's always a pleasure to welcome new faces to the writing team, and it's especially encouraging to see Associate Members getting involved. This month we have the second instalment of Brian Berry's amusing mishaps and a layperson's view of the Blackpool Convention by Lorraine.

Chairman’s Chatter The Session three. ‘The Monk Sez’ Workshop Junior MeMeL News & Views Lots of other great features: step inside and have a look.

Mo's Moan began in 1950, so this year it will be drawing its old age pension . . . but now it's back and as fresh as ever. As they say these days '... Enjoy!'

We would of course always welcome your ideas, comments and contributions.

Let us know what you think. mailto:b.lead@btinternet.com

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From the Editor’s desk... Last time we were considering the functions of an editor. I suppose they are a bit like those of a compere or MC - the skill is to make the rest of the 'acts' look their best, by tweaking as necessary but without affecting the overall style of each piece. Trevor will also tell you that any editor worth his or her salt can't just sit back and wait for contributions to roll in, although more people do tend to want to become involved if they see that the venture is successful. Like the hunter/gatherers of old, however, editors have to go in search of material. In this first year I am inviting contributions from the top performers in the USA, and so far we have had items from Jeff McBride and Eugene Burger. In this issue you will find something from Larry Hass, who is the Associate Dean of the Magic and Mystery School (www.magicalwisdom.com). Members of the School will be over in Blackpool next February. They make a great contribution to the art of magic in all respects, and certainly did a great deal to develop the act of our own Matt Wright, who has gone on to great things.

Jeff McBride first came to prominence over here as a result of his appearance, along with a young David Williamson, in John Fisher's Best of Magic show. I used a recording of his mime/mask act for many years in drama lessons at school, and it always inspired pupils. Apart from the structure of the whole thing, one item which particularly struck me was his walk-down at the end for applause. When you thought it

‘you won’t find a better example of calculated showmanship’ was all over he threw out a handful of streamers and reeled them back in, drawing the camera (and viewer) towards him, then as a 'kicker' took a fan from the side of his boot and performed the confetti/snowstorm effect while the audience was still clapping . . . which of course encouraged them further. You won't find a better example of calculated showmanship and audience management. Jeff, of course, is adept in all branches of magic.

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When I was researching my Hoffmann lecture he pointed me in the direction of Thomas Ady's publication of 1656 entitled A Candle InThe Dark, which spoke of the itinerant magician performing with a 'familiar': He carrieth about him the skin of a mouse stuffed with feathers, and in the hind part thereof sticketh a small springing wire. When he begins to act his part in a fair before vulgar people he bringeth forth his imp and make it spring from him once or twice, and then catcheth it up. He maketh the imp spring up three or four times to his shoulder, and pull it down again. What better description could you have of Rocky Raccoon? Also this month we have a comment from Teller: " _________________________" I guess you could call that an audiovisual gag. Ah, well. Maybe next time . . .

ear Friends at the Modern Mystic League, As many of you know, my main interest in magic is that of performing, and two years ago I stopped going out as an entertainer. Since then, my enthusiasm has declined to a point where I now feel that my interest in magic has finally run its course; and solely for that

reason I wish to end my membership of the League. I wish the club and its members all the very best, and hope the MML continues to go from strength to strength for another hundred years, and more. AND IT'S GOODBYE FROM HIM . . . We were sorry to receive this letter from David, who joined the League just after me and has been a staunch supporter for almost thirty-five years. I recall his early award-winning 'bar' act with cocktail shakers and silks, and his development in all aspects of our craft, being an early and loyal supporter of the workshop and a most adept maker of props. David and his technical expertise will undoubtedly be missed at the control desk, although fortunately we now have another couple of members at least who have proved themselves more than capable of following in his exemplary footsteps. This also brings to mind Valerie, who has endeared herself to MML members over the years and suffered so frequently, and yet uncomplainingly, as a 'volunteer' from the audience! We wish her a speedy return to full health, and look forward to having both of them with us again as visitors for special events.

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Presidential Patter I hope you all enjoyed the lecture from Cody Fisher at the last meeting. Mo and I had a splendid time at the South Tyneside International Magic Festival which I will report in full elsewhere. At our next meeting Steve Short will be lecturing about Alan Shaxon â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;The Sophisticated Sorcererâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;. I purchased this book when it came out as it is beautifully produced and contains Alan Shaxon's biography together with details about most of his signature tricks. We had the pleasure of meeting Alan Shaxon several times, including at The Magic Circle Centenary Celebrations in 2005 and at our own Magical Banquet in that year, and the description 'The Sophisticated Sorcerer' certainly fits him well as he was always immaculately smartly dressed and his magic was so well presented. I am sure it will be an interesting lecture. I rather liked the format used at the S.T.I.M.F. where Gordon Bruce was interviewed by Mark Elsdon. Rather than just a straight lecture this led to many interesting stories about some of the 'greats' of magic along with some fine card magic. Something to think about for future meetings?

Paul Gordon is hoping to present one of his excellent Card Capers Days in our area but it will only happen if there is sufficient interest. I offered to help him find out and so far we have been underwhelmed by the response! I can thoroughly recommend the day so do let me know if you are interested. I still haven't been able to study the books I bought at Blackpool. Don't let anyone tell you that you will have all the time in the world when you are retired from the day job! So many things seem to fill the day without too much effort. The hardest thing I have found is finding time to watch magic DVDs; I have so many I want to watch. It is easier finding time to read books or magazines or even practise tricks. I have several 'to do' lists which I am tackling ever so slowly! At the time of writing the Northern Magic Circle Convention is due to be held at Harrogate on 11th & 12th April. It is worth going for the day even if you are not planning to stay the whole weekend. Harrogate is a good venue with a lovely theatre and plenty of things to do for nonmagicians who might be along for the ride. Best regards to you all

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Roger Page 4

espite competing attractions (such as the South Tyneside Festival and Mothering Sunday) a goodly number of supporters turned out to welcome Cody Fisher, from Texas. From the outset, Cody assured us that he was not a knucklebusting or finger-flinging merchant. Why risk the classic force, he argued, when a one-way forcing deck would do the job just as well and have exactly the same effect on the audience? Here was a man after my own heart!

utting this theory into practice, Cody began with Marked Momma, in which a three of diamonds marked '3D' on the back turned into an eight when the back marking was changed to '8D' with the stroke of a pen - apparently at the suggestion of the audience! This included a very neat psychological 'convincer' that the reiterating deck was composed of different cards. Twisting Vernon took a 'twisting the kings' idea and morphed it with Vernon's Aces to produce a new effect, while the 'card to box', with a nod to Jay Sankey, used a cheeky technique (and a very large hole) to achieve maximum impact. There was also a gambling routine involving a deck switch, and Cody had for sale the Unshuffled Deck as part of this, along with an attractive, silver-tipped wand incorporating a Sharpie pen.

â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;used a cheeky technique (and a very large hole) to achieve maximum impactâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;

The Impossible Switch which came about when Cody saw an 'Omnideck' lying in a drawer with an 'all on one' card underneath. This led to the concept of an ambitious card, with all the members of the audience shouting out a card - which thus became the 52-on-one with the 'vanished' deck beneath. A neat bit of thinking. Cody concluded with a commercial book test involving a joke book and a misunderstanding over the predicted word. So, there was no fancy stuff but all of the pros present (and there were several) seemed unanimous in their praise of some very workable and entertaining routines.

Part two brought a new slant on the Cornelius prop called Pen Through Counterfeit Money (or Bill for our American cousins) and Volume 78 Issue 4

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'm sure you won't want to miss this Sunday's lecture by Steve Short on the subject of Alan Shaxon and his magic, as outlined in last month's edition. Most will recall Alan's visit to us to perform in our dinner cabaret and to lecture. Sheila certainly recalls delving into her handbag to produce a miniscrewdriver to mend his aerial fishing gear (well, what else?) and I remember all of the Harbin apparatus which he brought up, no doubt at a lot of personal inconvenience but determined to do the job properly. On the afternoon of the lecture a gang of lads was bouncing balls noisily off the wall, and Alan strolled out to have a chat. Within minutes he was showing them a cigarette routine, and won them over in no time. There were no more disruptions after that. Steve will be speaking about Alan's book, which he and Scott Penrose have completed and brought to fruition. I'm sure it will be an enthralling and rewarding afternoon.

inally, we have scored another scoop in that Trevor Duffy from South Africa will be treating us to a lecture on his UK tour, on Tuesday 22nd September . . . which just happens to be our workshop session! Although this is a bonus event, additional to the Sunday programme, it will be free to all members. We plan to finance it directly from the proceeds from the show which Roger is organising on July 4th.

ooking further into next month, please do support our visit to the Barrow Boys on May 13th if you can. I know it is an evening mid-week session and quite a few miles away, but the lads did cover the same distance to perform for us at our centenary, so it behoves us to do the same for them. We'll be collecting names, anyway, on Sunday. Volume 78 Issue 4

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From America.

n my early years as a performer I would focus on these kinds of things before a show: ● Are my props set? ● Are my pockets loaded? ● How full is the house? ● Are my hands and voice warmed up? ● Is the 'mic' going to work? ● What can I do about these 'butterflies'? Obviously, these are all important, but somewhere along the line I woke up to the fact that there was something much better to focus on backstage: The fundamental business of every magic sow is relationship building. Here are the kinds of questions I now ask myself before a show: How will I greet the audience? Will I remember to look people in the eyes? Will I include the entire audience with my gaze? Will I smile and convey that I am delighted to be with them? What will be the quality of my contact when it happens?Will I really see and engage individuals in the audience or only perceive a wall of faces? Am I trapped in stock lines of patter that feel inauthentic? Will I let others shine or will it be about me all the time? Do I think of the encounter as a contest, or battle of wits for applause and control?

Larry Hass Will the members of the audience leave feeling inspired, touched and astonished, or will they be relatively bored, disaffected and underwhelmed? Will I be hired again? Will people in the audience feel like they want to share me with their families and friends? What is the heart of my show? So much magic focuses on intellect: "Give me a number", "Think of a card", but lay-people go to art because it activates deep feelings. In short, what I realised years ago was that there won't be much of a magic show at all unless I work consciously before the show, and once I take the stage, to create and build a relationship with the people who are there. That's the bedrock condition - the fundamental business that allows everything else to flow; applause, astonishment, delight . . . and further performing opportunities!

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(No – not the Uther Side of Accrington!) Page 7

Chairmanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Chatter I

tend not to see many lectures at Blackpool these days. I seem to spend most of my time catching up with old friends and networking to fill up the following year's MML calendar - but this year I did get to three lectures; all different and all good. You can normally tell a good lecture by how many people leave in the first ten minutes. Perversely at Blackpool, it seems that the more people who leave the better the lecture will be. There is no ruder audience than a Blackpool one, and if they don't think there's anything in it for them, delegates will make for the exits like lemmings rushing to dive over a cliff, preferably pushing in font of as many people as possible. What classes as a 'good' lecture in the minds of many attendees is one with lots of tricks in it, regardless of whether they will ever actually do them. As I see it, there are already enough tricks in the world. When he heard people complaining about the dearth of new tricks, Reg Parkinson would wisely remark "Why - have you mastered all of the old ones?"

What you really want to hear is something about these tricks, to add to your appreciation of them and how to present them. That is the last thing in the minds of many of the conventioneers, though. Ironically, the folk who flee from 'theory' lectures are the ones who probably need them most. The first one I saw this year was on the history of children's magic by Terry Herbert, whose career began sixty-five years ago at the age of fourteen when he performed a cake-baking routine using an evaporating milk jug, for an audience made up of children not much younger than himself. Foreseeing the inevitable reaction, Terry did himself no favours by apologising in advance if his talk was rather dry. Terry, of course couldn't be dry if he fell into a Dyson heater, but the hordes were already making for the doors. If this wasn't going to be a loud, garishly-dressed clown using rude humour to 'get down with the kids' they didn't want to know. It was, of course, their loss. The Victorians viewed children as small adults, and although Devant involved them in items such as his egg routine children's magic per se is less than a century old.

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n 1928, De Vega produced the first manuscripts on the subject of entertaining children specifically (Conjuring for Children and More Conjuring for Children), following these up with Tricks with Toys in 1929. These publications contained eight tricks each, along with advice such as 'let your effects be clear' and 'have a storyline'- ideas which still hold true today. The next book, Entertaining Children with Magic by Eddie Clever did not appear until 1939. It was the first text to touch upon child psychology, in the year in which Harry Leat introduced Run Rabbit Run, which is still a staple prop in children's shows with later versions including a dog and a ghost. Silly Billy (David Kaye) now employs the same principle using a rabbit on a hat. In 1944 came Eric P. Wilson's The Art of Conjuring TO Children, with the emphasis on the preposition. This was the first hardback for the children's entertainer, and pointed out that an accidental bit of comedy should be kept in if it gets a laugh, that the performer needs to get into the mind of the child . . . and that one should genuinely like children in order to entertain them! Eric, who

at the time was the editor of the Budget, introduced the idea of dressing children up, notably with a Cinderella theme and with the 'black hand towel' gag. Then there was Open Sesame, produced by Eric Lewis in conjunction with Wilfred Tyler either in 1946 (according to Terry Herbert) 1947 (David Kaye) or 1948 (the Goodliffe catalogue). Whatever the case, it was just after the war and proved to be a landmark in this genre. It was the first book I ever came across on this topic, but these days certain elements would fall foul of the PC brigade. A child assistant is encouraged to behave like a Chinaman, adopting a shuffling walk with his hands up his sleeves, talking in pidgin English and pretending to smoke an opium pipe! Other delights mentioned by Terry in the course of his talk included a Clarksonesque ditty to accompany Twentieth-Century Silks which rhymed 'darkie' with 'black, white and khaki' (don't ask!) a girl being tied up ('don't grab her around the waist' was the wise advice) Topsy (a caricatured black girl with coloured ribbons for her hair) tricks with guns and a child holding an imitation stick of dynamite which eventually exploded with a bang and produced a string of 'bangers'.

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The late '40s saw the emergence of several children's tricks which have stood the test of time, such as Harry Stanley's Elusive Rabbits and Forgetful Freddie, then in 1953 Tyler produced Playing With Magic which pointed out that separate props didn't need to be bought or made for the young audience. Many standard utility props could be adapted - such as the dove pan for a cake-baking routine. The biggest revolution in this field came in 1954, when Edwin Hooper heralded in the golden age of children's magic, along with Ian Adair, at Supreme. This company produced over 200 effects for the children's entertainer, including classics such as the Chinese Washing Machine, Instant art, Farmyard Frolics and ABC Stung.

oving into the next decade we saw Ron Bishop's Laughter All The Way, David Hallett's Profit At The Party and Fred Barton's Land of Make Believe, which made much of the dressing up idea first promoted by Wilson. We then heard of Billy Day's creations (Klowning Kats, Lovey Duck, Silly Sentry, Giddy Guardsman et al) and the work currently being carried on by specialist dealers such as Practical Magic. Terry also touched upon the changes he had witnessed over the years, such as the lessening of respect (in both directions) and the trend towards complementary skills such as balloon modelling and face painting. Terry concluded his splendid talk with some long-forgotten favourites such as the Balloon Fish. It had been a pleasurable canter around the history of children's magic, reinforcing L.P. Hartley's assertion that 'the past is a foreign country; they do things differently there'.

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Secretarial

have now submitted the updated membership information, with amendments as received, to Allan who will be producing an up-to-date membership booklet - and as Allan has said previously, now is a good time to update your pictures. I must thank the new editorial team for another superb MeMeL this month and a bumper issue at that. To re-iterate, the content is only as good as the articles the team receives, so set pen to paper or fingers to keyboard and get writing/typing. must mention the resignation of David Snell from the Society. David joined in January 1981 and was President in 1998 and 2009. He also spent two years as Librarian in the mid-1980s. I thank David for his contribution; he will certainly be missed. David has been an active member, taking part in close-up and stage shows, and was also our resident 'sound and lighting' man. It does now, however, create an opportunity for some other members to learn about this area and I would encourage our junior members to show an interest and learn expertise in these areas. There is a team of us, including myself, who can offer support and guidance.

You can never have too much knowledge! Sunday saw an excellent lecture from Cody Fisher, although he unintentionally received a cold reception to our headquarters as the heating hadn't been turned on! Apparently it was lovely and warm the previous week. This was soon rectified, with the heating being turned on just to warm us up as we were leaving. Roll on summer! Cody covered mainly close-up with cards, and had some interesting ideas. He had put a lot of thought into re-working classic routines. His book test in the second half was particularly funny, leading the audience down the wrong hilarious path.

ast month we had our first committee meeting of the New Year with many items on the agenda for discussion. In future I will be imposing a deadline of seven days before the meeting to submit items for the agenda. Ricky, Allan and I recently went to see Luke Jermay at King George's Hall. The show was priced at ÂŁ15, which I thought was reasonable for the entertainment we received.

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I did feel sorry for him as there were only approaching 50 people in the audience. Having said this however, the show was excellent. The first half commenced with Chris Rawlins, who gave a performance of memory skills. Then Mr Jermay delivered a first half performance in a similar style to a Derren Brown experience, in which six members of the audience were invited onto the stage to take part in various mentalism pieces.

“ My head hurt when I came away…” The second half was more on a psychic reading kind of theme, which was very well constructed and had the audience gasping with disbelief. My head hurt when I came away and I wish I had just watched the show for the entertainment value as was intended, rather than trying to figure some of the inexplicable things out. What I would say is that if you get a chance to see this show then go; you won't be disappointed.

ur friend Granville Taylor, aka 'Faust', appeared on the television show Four Rooms. Unfortunately I didn't see the programme myself but will be trying to find it on catch-up. Subsequent to this, on Thursday 19th March, the Lancashire Telegraph ran a full two-page spread on Granville, which was a great piece to read. If you get the chance then try to catch both of these. Until next time,

id anyone catch the new show on ITV in which hypnotist Keith Barry assisted in hypnotising 5 or 6 people who took part in a game show hosted by Phillip Schofield? I can't remember the last time I laughed so much; it was great Saturday night TV for a change.

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"The inventor of throat lozenges has died. There will be no coffin at his funeral."

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Page 13 - Stories to make your toes curl…. I

was standing behind the Peter Diamond stand at the last Great Yarmouth Convention, tidying up all the goodies after the stampede of buyers (and watching the pigs fly by) when a lady dashed up and said "Can you do the cups and balls?" Anticipating a sale, I replied "Of course I can. I've got one set of cups left, but without the balls." I turned around to get them off the shelf, as she added "But can you do them?"

ones in my pocket for the final load. I didn't really have time to be apprehensive, or think that the lightness of the sponge balls would not be conducive to a good cups and balls routine as you can't really feel them. They are just as likely to fall on the floor as into the cups! Anyway, with the camera rolling I ‘My moment of fame started. There was a good reaction from my new friend and the was over almost assembled throng, and genuine before it had begun!’ amazement at the final production of "Yes, if I had some balls to go with the large balls. them," I said. Then, anxious not to "Thanks," she said, "and don't forget miss a sale, I added "I'll do them with to watch tonight." sponge balls so that you get the With that, she and her entourage idea." disappeared as quickly as they had "Right," she said, and promptly appeared, and I felt rather chuffed disappeared. that the routine had gone well Less than a minute later, she despite using the unfamiliar sponges. returned with a contingent of other She was true to her word. It was on folk; one with a large camera perched at 6 p.m. . . . for two or three on his shoulder. seconds. I was a pair of hands, "Okay," the dear lady continued. operating three cups and some red "You'll be on Anglia Television tonight sponge balls. at 6 o'clock. Just do the trick for us." My moment of fame was over almost By this time I had borrowed some before it had begun! small sponge balls which I needed for the routine, and stuffed four large Volume 78 Issue 4

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Hey, it's stopped raining!

he roof's fixed, but our book cupboard is still wet through and I'm afraid there are a lot of our books unfixable. But I'm still trying. However, Bryce Lea has donated umpteen books to our library. More news on what there is later watch this space. Some of these books will be duplicates of ones we already have and we already have some other duplicates so I'm thinking we might offer these copies to our members. We could either quote a price, or have a special auction. What do you reckon? Any thoughts? I've also received the rare book from David Snell (sorry to see you go) 'Device & Illusion' by Jim Steinmeyer. This is the book from which I got the instructions for the illusion I performed at our Christmas party in 2012 You can see it here:- http://youtu.be/MCRFQSEh3nU Another rare book we have in our ever-growing collection is 'Magic of Robert Harbin'. A talk by Mike Caveney is very enlightening and shows that we do in fact have an original. You can watch this by clicking here www.magicmonksolutions.com/top-secret.html (Scroll right to the bottom till you arrive at Etc.etc.etc.). All the best - D the L PS Don't forget, our library books (those that aren't wet through that is) are still 50p per month (plus 50p each for any month overdue) and a DVD is ÂŁ1 per month (plus 50p each for any month overdue) and with every DVD you also get an extra DVD for free (the 'entertainment' kind, rather than the 'instructional' kind).

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any thanks to those members who have already sent me their subscriptions. A good number of members have yet to forward them to me and I would appreciate it if you could attend to this by the end of the month. You will appreciate that cash flow is important to keep our programme running smoothly so please don’t wait until you get a note demanding money with menaces, pop a cheque in the post now! OR if you are so inclined, you can make a bank transfer using the details below. If you plan to pay in this way, let me have your Email address so that I can send out a receipt for you. Lloyds Bank Sort Code 77-76-01 Acct No. 21662660 Please reference any payment with your Name and Payment type: e.g. Ian Brown:Subs. Roger Woods: Banquet. All payments will generate a receipt which I will hand to you at the following meeting. I look forward to hearing from you. Regards Hon Treasurer.

ou will see I have made some small but significant changes to the content on the website. Reviews, with photos, can be now be found by clicking the appropriate link next to the sidebar news item. I have updated the members page with the new photos I have collected. I’m sure more of you would benefit from something a bit more up to date so please catch me at the meeting, it won’t take long to get something a bit more appealing. I am currently building the new content in another web design package. As I have said before it will take some time to create and de-bug, so please be patient. Meanwhile I will continue to ‘tweak’ the current design to keep you up to date with news and views. You can now find a link to the Digital MeMeL on the front page. This will open or save (depending on your browser) a PDF version of the current MeMeL. I’m sure you will have figured out that the password is Demaline. Until next month, keep surfing.. Centenary Book info HERE

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MAGIC BY THE SEA: A BIRDâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S EYE VIEW OF BLACKPOOL

n numerical terms, the 63rd Annual Magic Festival (known affectionately to all who attend as 'The Blackpool Convention') was held over three days and included, amongst other things, eighteen star lectures, three fabulous Gala Shows, 130 dealers - and was enjoyed by a staggering 3,600 registrants. In an article of only a few paragraphs I simply cannot do justice to the whole event, which even now leaves me with a sense of awe and wonder, so I shall simply mention the events which I, as a lay person, found to be particularly entertaining or, in fact, downright outstanding. The adjective 'outstanding' is one that could certainly be applied to Matthew Wright's performance in the British Magical Close-Up Championships; a competition in which he was, in my humble opinion, the most worthy winner. Matthew appeared totally laid back and comfortable in front of his audience. His act was timed to perfection, was delivered with enthusiasm and humour, and was so slick and polished that I, for one, could see his performance over and over again and never tire of watching. He truly was outstanding. Moving on to the gala shows; whilst this was a magic convention the shows showcased not only magical performances but we were also spoiled by a huge diversity of talents ranging from the magic of hand shadows from 2 Minds Combined and the breath-taking balancing act of Lara Jacobs Rigolo to the beautiful sand animations drawn by Katrin Weissensee, whose act was totally refreshing and heart-warming. On the magical front, we were bombarded with act after act which did their art proud. There is an old saying that 'beauty is in the eye of the beholder'; well I think that the saying could be applied to the art of magic. Whilst some members of the audience would prefer to watch the elegant manipulation masterpieces so very well displayed by the Korean artists, others may prefer the excitement and glamour which the illusionists provided, whilst others may enjoy the artistry and glamour of the quick change acts. But whatever genre of magic you prefer, the gala shows were filled with such an array of talent that none could be disappointed. If there were an award for the best compere of the three gala shows, my vote would be for Mick Miller who did a marvellous job. Volume 78 Issue 4

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From the minute he walked onto the stage he had the audience eating out of his hand. A truly fabulous compere. And talking of 'walking onto the stage', Rob Zabreky's entrance onto the stage was captivating and original, as was his whole performance. He walked into the theatre auditorium via the side entrance door, carrying a small wooden box, and stood for a moment looking at the audience, then he took a short while to saunter down towards the stage steps, stopping every now and then to have a good look at the audience, in what can be possibly described as a creepy manner. He then went onto the stage and continued to stare out into the audience â&#x20AC;Ś. before throwing the box he was carrying to a member of the audience, asking them to "look after it for him" and then in a very confident and self-assured manner he began his well-timed and very original act. And talking of timing â&#x20AC;Ś. Well Charlie Frye and Company were exceptional. True masters of their art with yet another outstanding performance. And so on to Sunday night's Gala Finale â&#x20AC;Ś. And what a finale it was. Truly awe-inspiring and captivating. The Prince of Illusion's Nightmare regaled us with breath-taking choreography, wonderful costumes, a fabulous storyline and truly wondrous magic.

Words simply cannot express how talented and slick this performance was; it was so well thought-out and put together and was a very fitting end to the final Gala Show.

'Charlie Fry & Co. were exceptional'

ll this magic and I have not even mentioned the many lectures that can be attended, or the happiness that can be gained from mooching around the Dealers' Halls, or the wonderful feeling of catching up with friends, and making new ones, and the general sense of camaraderie that is so much in evidence. The Blackpool Magic Festival may be a huge affair, but it is most certainly a very friendly and happy event. In fact Luke Jermay at the end of his lecture mentioned something very similar, remarking on the sense of fellowship and friendship that can be found at the Blackpool Convention. And so, sadly, the 63rd Magic Convention has come to a close and already I am counting down to next year's, the dates for which I can confirm as being the 19th-21st February 2016. If you get the chance to go, don't hesitate. Book your tickets early. I am certain you won't be disappointed.

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South Tyneside Magic Festival

o and I were pleased to represent the MML at this year's S.T.I.M.F. held at the Customs House, South Shields on 13th - 15th March. Organised by the South Tyneside Council and sponsored by Magicbox this was the twelfth such event and very good it was too. Delegates are limited to a total of 150 and it is a friendly convention. The Friday morning children's show was presented by Russ Brown from Blackpool, who has lectured to the Society, and he then gave a lecture after John Russell, President of the Northern Magic Circle, formally opened the proceedings. Russ presented entertaining magic and balloon modelling and I particularly liked his presentation of the snowstorm using a child as volunteer, getting away from the usual way this is done. There followed lectures from Satori, a mentalist from Berlin, and John Carey, card magician. The cinema area was a good venue for the latter as it has raked seating so everyone had a clear view. John showed some effects from his excellent recent book Crafted With Carey.

he Friday night International Gala Show featured High Jinx with juggling and illusions, Dave Andrews's manipulation act, which is even better now he includes cane productions, Satori with blindfold mind reading, John Archer, as funny as ever, Luke Jermay, with a

blindfold medium act (what a pity there were two blindfold acts on the same bill) and Diamond and Jade Illusion with more illusions. The show was ably compered by Michael Finney. The late night anarchic quiz show to follow was not to my taste so we abandoned ship and did not stay on till 3 in the morning!

aturday morning brought lectures from Kieron Lefever, a zany close-up magician. His material is quite good but it was a rambling lecture. Atlas, a mentalist from Canada, spoke about branching anagrams but I felt he should have had handouts or a PowerPoint presentation rather than writing things out during a lecture. After lunch there was a dealer dem which was quite good and then a lecture from Paul Nardini with some interesting ideas. If you have ever seen Luke Jermay lecture you will realise what came next, as he has an intense approach with presentations to match.

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he Saturday night International Gala Show was even better than Friday's show with performances from High Jinx with more illusions, Atlas and Looch, a two person mind reading act that lost impact due to poor lighting, Dave Andrews again but this time with a superb ventriloquism act, The Great Nardini, a very funny comedy act, Michael Finney, a seasoned professional magician who is a delight to watch and then High Jinx returning with a new illusion (to me) with a clear sword box with a double substitution ending with Michael up in the 'gods'. This show was compered by John Archer. Both shows are very well supported by local people so it was good to see so many 'muggles' making up the majority of the audience enjoying live magic shows.

n Sunday morning Gordon Bruce gave a talk assisted by Mark Elsdon which was a highlight of the weekend. Lots of stories flowed about Dai Vernon, Ed Marlo, Ricky Jay, Francis Carlyle, Percy Diaconis and many more, and Gordon showed some very fine card magic too. He had produced a special set of lecture notes for the event which are very good. Finally, Michael Finney lectured and again this was an excellent lecture based on many years of practical experience.

he dealers who were present over the weekend were Magicbox, Illusioncraft, Magic World, Andi Gladwin, Merlin's of Wakefield, Card Shark and Steve Short with the Alan Shaxon book and other items. So, there were plenty of items to look at and have demonstrated.

‘It was good to see so many ‘Muggles’ making up the audience’ The convention was well organised with everything pretty much running to time and sufficient breaks between events. We stayed at the excellent Little Haven Hotel again, just a short taxi ride away from the venue. So, some good lectures, a variety of dealers, two excellent gala shows and a nice hotel and the company of good friends - what more could you want?

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The Session Convention

â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;With Harry ay two of the Session Convention started with an early morning visit to the dealers. Robson there you There's never a lot, but with Harry Robson there, donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t need many you don't need many more! Completely against dealersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; tradition, I didn't buy anything; not because there wasn't lots of interesting stuff to buy, but because I still have stuff I bought last year that remains unopened and unexplored so I decided on a bit of financial discipline. he opening in it! How hard could it be when lecture was you look at it like that? Indeed, as from Asi Wind if to prove his point everyone in and, given his the room had learnt 4 cards from brilliant the Tamariz stack by the end of his performance lecture. Only 48 more to learn! the previous he 'Surprise Event' turned out evening, I was to be the dynamic duo really looking themselves. Andy and Josh had forward to it. put together a talk featuring two Judging by the streams of thought: one entitled lack of seats, 'Presentation as Method' where so were all the other attendees. His the presentation drove (and if one hour slot was filled with clever done properly, hid) the method, concepts and ideas, from his 'Bill and the contrary view 'Method as fold' routine 'Time is Money', Presentation' where the method is through ACAAN with a difference the presentation. Both of them and a brilliantly conceived book test illustrated the thinking with a that cuts through some of the range of effects, from cutting the limitations of the normal approach. Aces, Card in Box and Josh's But it was his take on learning a 'Butterfly Effect'. The general rule stacked deck that made me sit up is to avoid method- driven effects and think. His premise was that it's but as long as the weaknesses are not unlike learning a language, justified, the two proved they except that there are only 52 words could work just fine.

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When I said I didn't buy anything from the dealers, it's true but not entirely factual. I did buy an effect after seeing Andi Gladwin perform it during this session. Knowing my interest in mathematical effects, Andi predicted I would buy it and he was right. It's new, it's very clever and I'm not going to tell you about it… I'll wait for the right workshop!

One thing that did strike a chord was his view that magic should be a 'live' experience, and he went on to describe his approach to presenting effects. Charlie Miller talked about this style in his book 'The Value of a Secret Kept' but Weber expanded on this to explain that you should keep the secret FOR the audience not FROM them. This was an interesting concept and he went on to illustrate how he used this approach in his mentalism. He exploits that human trait where we all strive to make connections.

‘Create a situation where the spectator fools themselves’

uke Jermay introduced the next, and for me the most interesting, lecturer. Michael Weber. As one of a limited number of Consulting Magicians, Weber is director of 'Deceptive Practices', a company devoted to helping to solve production problems in the Film and TV industry. He talked about his problem solving approach and how to take the lid off thinking to allow free rein to creative solutions.

It's part of the way our species has survived from spotting eyes in the shadows to applying observation to help anticipate the future. 'False methods', excluding possible 'real' methods all create a situation where the spectator will 'fool' themselves and, in the process, strengthen the impossibility of what he does. This was an intriguing lecture which he closed with several effects from his 'known act': The 'vanishing rubber band', Mene Tekel deck, Jackpot coins and an interesting card effect based on the Fibonacci series.

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Given my predilection for mathematical effects you can imagine I'll be working with this one.

great day of lectures closed with a very special guest, Derren Brown. The session was set up as an 'interview' style discussion hosted by his good friend Peter Clifford. Here Derren talked about his early career and about how ambitious he was. He touched on the several 'strokes' of luck which thrust him onto the homes of thousands with his TV programmes. He started out his professional career as a hypnotist but quickly moved into the area of psychology and mind reading we now know him for. His big break was having Michael Vine as a manager and the now famous (or infamous depending on your point of view) National Lottery Prediction which highlighted the gullibility of the BBC and the general viewing public.

Suffice to say that there were two possible endings to that show and the one broadcast was not the strongest! Like most of us he did start out with close-up shows but in his words, 'I was never very good at it'. He told the audience how he had been humbled over the weekend as he marvelled at the technical skills he had seen people display. He encouraged the room to strive for that 'break' and that his philosophy had always been that with talent, energy and 'attitude' everyone could succeed. He was given a spontaneous ovation when Josh and Andi presented him with the Lifetime Achievement award for his outstanding contribution to magic

he closing Gala show was 'Tamariz in Concert' and what a joy it was.

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Resplendent in his purple top hat, he fooled the pants off everyone in the room. Several times. He opened his set by handing out money to people; of course they didn't keep it long as this was just a ruse to have them come and gamble it away on the turn of a few (stacked) cards. This was a brilliant multi-phase piece that was an amalgamation of card to box, card to wallet and card under glass, all done with increasing pace and impossibility. His next piece involved a phone call to Russia ostensibly to get a 'thought of' card. It was entertaining on a number of levels and showed the power of Mnemonica. He performed a number of beautifully choreographed effects but closed with another multi-phase 'coincidence' routine that had all the hallmarks of 'oil and water' and 'out of this world' rolled into one with a climax where a complete 'shuffled' deck separated into red and black in matching order of value. It was truly outstanding.

Above all he's very playful, and funny, and technically gifted. If he wasn't so likeable it would be easy to hate him... Of course you see his influence everywhere. I cannot think of a single performer during the whole weekend that did not use at least one of his presentational devices.

hile the Gala show marked the end of the convention, there was one last event. I have to admit that this was only for the hardiest of conventioneers - a final session with Tamariz. It was already 11:30 and I was suffering the effects of sleep deprivation so I only managed about 40 minutes. I figured that as I couldn't concentrate enough to make it through the further hour or so I would retire grateful and satisfied but beaten by the intensity and volume of the skills he was trying to transfer. (Top) hats off to a wonderful performer and a genuinely nice guy.

o that was it. Another Session Convention had bitten the dust, but what a great ride. How on earth will they beat that next year? I'm not sure, but I will be there to find out!

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‘ ‘ Hurray!

If any of our members would like a copy and didn't get one at the workshop, just ask and I'll send it to you. I've made this available somewhat as a protest over the exorbitant cost of these useful, but fragile, items. Nine quid for just five c'mon!.....end of rant.

y computer now works. My car now works. I nearly (!) work. Good news for the library. I might even win the lottery at this rate…..Perhaps it'd help if I played though, I guess.

PS Oh dear - catasstroffi.

I recently did a gig for our MML's illustrious Webmaster Allan's 'Rocking Chair & Slipper Party' (he's just retired, you know) and at one point I was doing the old rabbit/duck gag. "Name me any animal you like providing it's either a rabbit or a duck," I said. She replied "Giraffe!" You couldn't write this. Oh, I just did.

The reason being that the thread just kept breaking. I don't know if it was me, or the methods I used (I tried two). Probably me.

Then I asked a lady's name (that I secretly had to write down) and, after some confusion, she told me it was 'Shala' ? ….What? It all added to the fun and certainly makes you think on your feet. I've just this minute completed a pdf that demonstrates 'How To Tie Yer Own Loops' in time for our workshop because 'I.T.' is the theme. No, not 'information technology' (that would tie me in knots).

This is just a short epistle this month, but I hope to get my act together for next time. See y'all soon I did something I shouldn't. I made the pdf BEFORE trying out the system. Two and a half hours later I've ended up with just four loops! Yes that's right - just four.

I also made another mistake…..I have loads of thread on umpteen cards that I have never used. The problem is that I never wrote down which thread was which . . . so even if I was successful, I wouldn't know which was the best thread. Doh! I'll still offer the pdf to whoever wants it, 'cause you might have more luck than me. If anyone has any suggestions (keep 'em nice) to end my frustration I would appreciate 'em.

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t seems like only yesterday……hang on a minute, it was only yesterday! Yes, it was yesterday, when I was slowly recovering from a prolonged period of practising finger flinging card magic taken from the Dan and Dave Buck (The Buck Twins) DVD: The New System, moreorlesslikethelastlot. And I recall that I had been experiencing difficulties with one of Dan's (or was it Dave's?) card flourishes. It could have been Dan, thinking about it, but I'm not altogether sure; they both look alike to me. Anyway be that as it may. No, it was Dan after all, I'm sure of it, and the flourish in question was called: Molecule 45, a return to a new dimension. Within the concept of this particular flourish are a series of troublesome finger positions that seem impossible to achieve, unless you are double jointed or have an extra finger like Anne Boleyn. However, I digress from the true purpose of this essay. As I slumbered sleekly and silently on my soft settee, weary from the aforementioned efforts, I was aroused by a rattling of the letter box, as a selection of letters cascaded to the floor. It was a satisfying sound which acted as a restorative, for it was Thursday, the day when The Memel magazine was due to be delivered. I must admit that I had difficulty containing my feeling of excitement, which was reminiscent of the day when I got my first pair of long trousers, or when I suddenly realised one day that I could whistle. And I wasn't disappointed, because in amongst the many manila missives was a white envelope, which I sensed contained a copy of the newly revamped periodical. Now there are plenty of things in life that can't be improved upon. I can bring to mind the 1965 Ferrari 275GTB Twin Cam roadster; then another difficult to better would be the experience of imbibing champagne on the balcony of the Diamante du Monte Hotel, whilst overlooking the deep blue sea of the cote azure as the sun slips stylishly below the horizon; or the pièce de résistance of winning a fortune at the roulette wheel in the Cheapaschips Casino at Cannes. I'm sure you could dream up many examples yourselves.

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Now, although I wouldn't necessarily place The Memel magazine into the category of a thing that can't be improved upon, it is the best magic magazine produced in Blackburn, if not the area covered by south Lancashire, and it has held its own against stiff opposition throughout the decades of its evolution.

‘a

cornucopia of colours, tantalizing text and illustrious illustrations’

After all that excitement I must have started to slumber, due to the extent and depth of the vibrancy and invigoration I had experienced, and as my eyelids began to close, the following nursery rhyme permeated into my subconscious, lulling me to sleep: 'Was it Dave or was it Dan performed Molecule 45, just then? Which of those two magic men…………………Was it Dave or was it Dan?……………………………………..It was Dan, it was Dan!…………………Or was it?'

Tony Hodgson.

But, I have to tell you that I was appropriately relieved to have returned to my default position of lying back on my settee when I removed The MeMeL magazine from its modest wrappings, because the front cover was so vibrant that if I had been standing I would have been knocked off my feet with the onslaught of vibrancy; whilst inside the front cover there was an orchestration of visual stimulation, designed to surprise and delight, with a cornucopia of colours, tantalizing text and illustrious illustrations. Indeed, the Disney Studios would have been hard pressed to match this level of creative industry!

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Luke Jermay's Sixth Sense. King George's Hall Blackburn.

here wasn't a big audience which surprised me, but then I know what Luke is capable of and I'm guessing that the publicity would be difficult to target as it's neither mainstream 'magic' nor 'Psychic Sally' stuff. However, I joined Ricky and Dave Moss for the evening and watched with interest as what was likely to be some pre-show work was being carried out; at least by Chris Rawlings who was sharing the bill with Luke. I first met Chris a couple of years ago at the Session Convention. His lecture contained some interesting ideas on mentalism and he had just released a prop which was so clever I bought one. I did wonder how his presentation would fit with Luke's 'mind-reader' style but it became clear as the show opened and he was introduced as 'The Memory Man'. Part of me wanted to shout out "Where are the 39 steps?" but I avoided the temptation. Chris had ostensibly asked a number of random people in the bar to create a 'drawing'. These turned out to be a completed game of noughts and crosses, a long number and a random word from a Collins dictionary. His presentation was to have the spectator show the piece of paper very briefly to him (less than a couple of seconds) and he used his 'special power' of photo-recall to reproduce the glimpsed sign, number and word. It was very well presented and there was a nice kicker on the word divination where his prediction was the page and word number from the dictionary rather than the word itself. It was a nice opening section, clearly designed not to interfere with what was about to take place in Luke's show. Having watched the whole show, it's now obvious that the scripting from the opening routine through to the impressive 'mind-reading' climax was incredibly well thought through. Luke opened by talking about natural scepticism and how he was going to 'interfere' (not the word he actually used) with our minds. And so he did. The opener was the ubiquitous 'tossed out deck' but with an interesting and powerful twist, but very little else used in his act was recognisable as an established effect. Volume 78 Issue 4

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This left the magicians in the audience feeling more than a little puzzled, and quite how the audience perceived it is a mystery. There was an uncomfortable silence after each revelation which normally magicians would avoid, but Luke used this space and filled it with some clever wordplay, asking people to remember how they felt at particular points in the show. At each stage he would go back and remind people about his 'prediction'. Luke selected six members of the audience to help with the next part of the show and for the next 40 minutes he ran through a miscellany of mind-play, giving different members tasks and correctly obtaining the outcomes using 'mind reading' techniques. A couple had some basis in known effects, such as a variation of a book test where he would determine the context of a random page by 'tuning in' to the spectator's feelings. This undoubtedly had its roots in MOAB but it wasn't obvious where. There were some perceptive examples of 'cold reading' techniques and Barnum statements and it was interesting to see how he dealt with some of the less than positive answers. There was a segment with what looked to me like a stacked deck, albeit a Tarot deck, in play but it did seem to kind of peter out, maybe because he made a stronger connection with another spectator. This seemed to me to be a theme and it felt like there was some free flow in the structure of the show in which Luke could follow up good leads and leave behind less productive ones, but I may be reading too much into it. There was a lovely moment when Luke had an audience member think about the name of a childhood friend only to 'discover' that the name he was 'receiving' was from another audience member who had not yet taken an active part in the show.

â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;brilliant examples of 'cold reading' techniques and Barnum statementsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;

he second half of the show was for me the more interesting. During the opening sequence members of the audience were invited to ask questions about the future, adding their date of birth at the foot of the note. These were collected by another audience member and put into a large paper carrier bag on stage. Luke was then fully 'blindfolded' - i.e. coins over the eyes secured with gaffer tape and wrapped in two layers of bandage. Luke then proceeded to pull slips out of the bag, (immediately crumpling them up!) and announced the star sign, birth date and gender.

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He invited the writer (in some cases) to identify themselves and confirm that the slip was indeed theirs before giving (apparently) a quite detailed answer to the question. It's clear he wasn't reading the slips so we did have a debate as to how he might have achieved this. The close of the show was also intriguing in that he alluded to the correct prediction he had publicly made regarding some recent world events. He went on to predict some more, and no doubt many people will be watching the headlines to check if he really is the mind reader he appears to be. This wasn't the 'run of the mill' magic show, far from it, and I know the style of presentation would not appeal to everyone, especially some magicians, but nonetheless it was worth spending a few quid to be part of what was a very strange but entertaining experience. As Luke states in his publicity 'Something Strange Happened Here'. And so it did.

Jermay doing what he does best… Click on the images to see preview videos.

An unexpected connection…

“Jermay is the Devil, pure and simple…he is spookily accurate, which left us wondering whether to applaud or run screaming in terror…anyone interested in mind reading, mysticism or simply a bloody fun bit of theatre should see Sixth Sense right now.” - The Void Volume 78 Issue 4

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ur thanks to all who have complimented the Team on the new-look magazine. Your encouraging comments are greatly appreciated.

In fact, we have been very reassured by the number of people who have said they would be willing to pay a bit extra to ensure the continuation of the printed version. As made clear at the AGM, it would not be financially viable to continue to produce a magazine of this size and quality at the current rate, and so we have two avenues to propose. These were discussed at our last committee meeting and met with unanimous agreement: ● Those who wish to do so can benefit from all the work put into the new magazine at no additional cost if they take the on line ‘Digital MeMeL’, with the option of printing it out for themselves. ● Those who would still like to have a printed copy posted to them each month can pay an additional £1 per month for this service on top of the current subscription. Thus, in future there will be two annual subscription rates; the basic rate and one £12 more to cover printing and postage. Both versions of the MeMeL will come out early in the week of each meeting, and so will still serve as a reminder of the coming event.

e don't want this to be retrospective, but after these first three issues it will be necessary to implement the additional payment. Putting it simply, those who have not yet paid their subscriptions for this year should pay either £35 or £47, while those who have already paid should forward an additional £8 to Ian to cover the remaining 8 months of 2015. As you will appreciate, things could get a bit messy in the short term until everything is sorted out, and so as a default position we are going to assume that you will wish to receive the printed version. If not, please inform Allan straight away so that you can be removed from the posting list and you will not be pursued for payment.

The Editorial Team Volume 78 Issue 4

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A monthly round up of goings on with our less grey haired members

The Junior MeMeL

nce again we were a bit thin on the ground but keen to run through a few items. Harry, Adam and Lorenzo were all eager to see Cody Fisher but before this we talked about how the 'Old un's vs Young un's' event in July might work. Brian filled us in on his thoughts which were to be a kind of mix of over 50s and under 50s trick session for nothing more than presentation practice. There may be some ad-hoc 'voting' but it might not amount to much. Dave Snell interrupted to give some advice on maybe taking up the soon-tobe-vacant position of 'Sound & Light' man at our events. He outlined the opportunity and gave some advice about how these skills are always useful. Hopefully some of you will consider it.

arry was the only one who came prepared to perform and was anxious to get some advice about the use of a prop he bought at the Blackpool Convention. He had bought VAPR by Will Tsai which allows the performer to produce continuous smoke from their hands. It was an ingenious setup with a tiny pump, a remote and a delivery system which was refilled using smoke cartridges similar to the ones used in eCigarettes. The device could be charged by USB port and refills fitted in a few seconds. Harry had taken a leaf out of Ricky's book and set the remote up in his sock so that a small press of his heels would trigger the device. It was very effective and Harry demonstrated an 'Omni Deck' routine to see how it looked. Smoke (vapour really) was emitted and gave a nice, almost surreal, feel to the presentation. The tube from the pump was rigged to a wristband with a Velcro fastener and was unobtrusive enough even with sleeves partially rolled up. Volume 78 Issue 4

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The whole thing was simple to fit, and although the tube wasn't too long it didn't cause a problem when the micro pump was placed in a back pocket. See more here: https://store.theory11.com/product s/vapr-by-will-tsai

ext Harry tried an ITR routine called 'Oblivion' from Tom Wright. This is similar to 'Tarantula', an effect that was used a lot by Dynamo. A coin is 'signed' and the coin is then 'charged' with static electricity form the audience and is seen to be freely spinning in mid-air thanks to a clever reel and hook-up. It played very well and although it could be problematic if the lighting wasn't just right, it certainly looked effective.

‘Spinning a £1.00’

More here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v =IF6pYClO4cc

ive some thought to helping out at the visit to the 'Barrow Boys' on the 13th May and to the MML show at Barley on the 4th July. Bring something along next month when we hope to give you some pointers on 'Stacked Decks' courtesy of Roger Woods.

Dave Snell offers some timely advice.

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s â&#x20AC;&#x2122; c i Mag

Doug Henning

oug Henning, 1947-2000: Canadian magician, illusionist, escape artist and politician. With the intention of Doug Henning was "He began born in Manitoba. He performing as returning magic to its 'glory days', Henning worked to was six years old The Great perfect his craft. Garnering when he first became Hendoo" financial support, he interested in magic, developed a live theatrical after watching a magician on The Ed Sullivan Show. As show, Spellbound, directed by Ivan Reitman, with music by Howard a teenager, he studied magic and Shore and co-starring actress began performing as The Great Jennifer Dale; a musical that Hendoo. combined a dramatic story and In 1969 Doug was living in a Henning's magic tricks. The show unimposing third-floor apartment. opened in Toronto, where it broke He had just finished his box-office records. Henning undergraduate education and was reworked the show after catching deciding whether or not to become a the attention of New York surgeon. Later he applied for, and producers, and took it to Broadway successfully received, a Canada as The Magic Show, with songs Council grant to study magicâ&#x20AC;Ś and composed by Stephen Schwartz. the rest is history. During his studies, Debuting in 1974, the show ran for he travelled to view first-hand the four and a half years, and earned talents of such magic greats as Slydini Henning a Tony Award nomination. and Dai Vernon. He studied under Have a look at the Tony Slydini and considered him his following clip: primary teacher of magic. Volume 78 Issue 4

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n the 1970s and 1980s he created and starred in several magic musicals on Broadway, including The Magic Show, Merlin, and Doug Henning's World of Magic. He created Houdini's legendary 'Water Torture Escape' before a live audience. The ratings for the World of Magic show were so high that NBC made the show an annual event. The show won an Emmy award and seven Emmy nominations, and made Henning one of the world's best known magicians. In 1977, Henning co-wrote a biography of Houdini, Houdini: His Legend and His Magic. It’s quite a difficult book to find and first editions can trade for some £50 or so. He created illusions for an Earth, Wind and Fire tour in 1979 and for two of singer Michael Jackson's concerts, including his 1984 Victory Tour.

fter his death there was a huge outpouring of grief. One person wrote of his absolutely genuine, sparkling, wonderful personality, on and off stage. He viewed all of life through the window of wonder and amazement. Doug Henning brought out the childlike innocence in us all when we watched his magic. Here's something you might not know about Doug Henning: In 1992 he was a Natural Law Party candidate in the United Kingdom's general election, contesting the Parliamentary constituency of Blackpool South. As a Canadian citizen, Henning qualified as a candidate under British electoral law, which allows candidates from Commonwealth nations. He finished fourth of four candidates, polling 173 votes. A Lancashire Lad after all…

At the end of each World of Magic performance, Henning addressed the audience with the same monologue: "Anything the mind can conceive is possible. Nothing is impossible. All you have to do is look within, and you can realize your fondest dreams. I would like to wish each one of you all of life's wonders and a joyful age of enlightenment." Volume 78 Issue 4

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Moâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Moan MO'S MOAN RIDES AGAIN

any moons ago, Mo's Monthly Moan was a regular feature in the MeMeL, and at a recent workshop people were asking me how it all started, and where the title originated. Well, it all began when my old pal Greeny (Ken Green) was the editor of the magazine, somewhere between 1950 and 1952. He asked me to write a column of general magical interest, commenting upon topics of the day. He thought it would be fun to use as many M words as possible, and so it became known as Mo's Moan and then Mo's Monthly Moan, just for the sound of the alliteration. I didn't really moan about anything, but sometimes started with a light-hearted grumble about a topical issue. The nick-name 'Mo', derived from Maurice, goes back to the days when I was performing regularly in clubs in the Manchester area. The full name Maurice Howarth didn't read well on the bills, so I thought I needed something a bit more snappy to catch the attention. As my mother's maiden name was Langley I took the first part of that and became known as Mo Lang. So, that's how Mo's Monthly Moan was born. I always used to end with a couple of gags, such as: I hear they've put a clock on the Tower of Pisa. They've always had the inclination - now they have the time! Or: This is my encore item, but I haven't had the chance to work it in yet. Next time I'll tell you a bit more about my mate Greeny.

Maurice Volume 78 Issue 4

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Workshop 24th March 2015

he magic number of seven members attended the 'invisible thread' workshop. Several stalwarts were missing. Roger was ill, Paul was standing in for him at an event and Allan was preparing to fly off on holiday. The session began with an informal discussion of the Magic and Variety Show which had taken place at the Thwaites Theatre the previous week, with Andrew Green, Mark James, Michael Jordan, Doctor Diablo and young singer Leoni Kennedy. It had, by all accounts, been a bit of a curate's egg, with some good moments of magic but a few dodgy bits. Praise was balanced with reservation. Mo mentioned his personal highlights of the South Tyneside Festival of Magic; the appearance of Gordon Bruce in particular and a ventriloquial sequence from Dave Andrews involving a disembodied voice from a bottle. Before the topic of the night was tackled there was a demonstration and discussion concerning a trick put out by Adrian Suillivan on Dan Harlan's original Cardtoon principle but using a flying fairy.

It was agreed that Harlan's crudelydrawn stick man was the superior version.

etting on to the proposed theme, Ricky Reidy (who has a most impressive fund of knowledge and experience in virtually every aspect of magic) showed how thread can be used for a single-handed coin vanish and reappearance when such a method would never be suspected. He went on to show how threads could animate/cut a pack of cards, then explored Wayne Dobson's use of thread joining two coins in a sort of matrix move, under cards. He also treated us to a performance of his slick dancing/floating cigarette routine which has to be seen to be disbelieved. There was even an anecdote worthy of Page 13, about a waiter removing a glass which had been rigged up for an 'impromptu' effect. Trevor G had brought along the animated pencil in bottle, and showed a folding ten pound note created by Bert Grant, along the lines of the Marauder's Map designed by Paul Kieve for a Harry Potter film - to the consternation of the computer gurus.

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Ricky pointed out the advantages of attaching the money to a wallet for natural ease of access and leaving the performer clean at the end.

ention of Harry P brought Donald to life, with tales of setting up threads in hospital to create entertainment for his fellow patients and confusion for the nurses. He also presented a handout to everyone, entitled How To Tie Yer Own Loops. This led to a debate about where to obtain the best elastic thread and magician's wax - Boots the Chemist coming out on top with their orthodontic wax. The resulting gimmick was seen to be most efficacious in the animation of light objects such as a pair of spectacles. Among the many uses of thread for unconventional purposes, Mo recalled a Gaetan Bloom idea for forcing a card from a number of folded cards tipped from a bottle. As usual, this was a lively and productive evening. The subject for the April workshop will be flash products, as requested by Harrison.

We have just heard that Scott Penrose will also be joining us on Sunday for the lecture on Alan Shaxon with Steve Short. Scott is the co-author of the book, ‘The sophisticated Sorcerer’. Don’t miss it! Volume 78 Issue 4

Page 37

t was an Englishman, William J. Hilliar (1876-1936) who founded the American magazine The Sphinx in 1900.

The Sphinx reflects upon the fact that the artist has caught in this otherwise relatively crude image the method of holding the wand to disguise the fact that anything is finger-palmed, and has also caught the hand-on-hip posture which many magicians apparently used to adopt in order to conceal their palming technique.

From July, 1941 (vol. XL, no. 5) the magazine began to reprint on its front cover, at regular intervals, woodcuts from an earlier era.

The gentleman to the rear seems to be rather more enthralled by card tricks than his impassive lady companion. It was ever thus!

The original caption of the image reproduced here, translated from the French, was "Sir, take care - you have a knave in your pocket!" Indeed, the surprised spectator suddenly realises that he has; although a Jack would be a more common name for this card nowadays. The term 'knave' was made popular in the nursery rhyme about the Knave of Hearts stealing the tarts, and was certainly still being used by Lewis Carroll at the time of Alice in Wonderland (1865). In medieval times the Knave was the lowest in the aristocratic ranking to have a bird allocated to him. The list began with an eagle for an emperor and ended with a kestrel for a knave - the original title of the book and film now more commonly known as Kes. Volume 78 Issue 4

Page 38

And finally…

f you were rather puzzled by introduction last month’s ‘From the Archive’ item it’s because the picture gremlins got in there when we weren’t looking and slipped in the wrong illustration. It should have been this one, from the brochure of the first Northern Magic Circle Easter Parade in 1959.

The 2015 convention took place last weekend, and we’ll be reporting on it in the next edition.

Volume 78 Issue 4

Page 39

Officers of the MML PRESIDENT:

Roger Woods

woods.roger1953@gmail.com

CHAIRMAN:

Brian Lead

b.lead@btinternet.com

Hon Secretary:

Dave Moss

dwmoss@hotmail.com

Hon Treasurer:

Ian Brown

ianbrownmagic@aol.com

Hon Librarian:

Donald Monk

magicmonk@hotmail.co.uk

MeMeL Editor

Brian Lead

b.lead@btinternet.com

Concert Secretary: Brian Lead

b.lead@btinternet.com

President Elect:

To Be Appointed

Webmaster:

Allan Clarke

allan.clarke@tiscali.co.uk

Committee Members:

Trevor Greenwood

tgmagic@btinternet.com

Ricky Reidy

rickyreidy@yahoo.co.uk

Paul Guy

p6uys@yahoo.com

Hon Vice Presidents:

John Tattersall

Paul Daniels Volume 78 Issue 4

Maurice Howarth Page 40

CONJURER’S CALENDAR

JUNIORS - 1:00PM MEETINGS - 2:00PM

Special BONUS Lecture from TREVOR DUFFY. TUES 22nd Sept. MAR

APR

Cody Fisher. USA

15th Ron Baron

Northern Magic Circle Covention - Harrogate

11th 12th

The Magic of Alan Shaxon 19th Ian Brown with Steve Short. Visit to the Barrow Boys. 13th

MAY

JUN

AUG

OCT

28th

Volunteers wanted. Contact Brian Lead if you can help.

17th Trevor Dawson COMMITTEE

26th

Chairman’s Day with Brian Lead

14th

23rd

Young ‘Uns vs. Oldies Battle of the Ages...

WORKSHOP WORKSHOP

Volunteers wanted. Contact Roger Woods if you can help.

12th Allan Clarke

David Hemingway vs 9th Donald Monk the Audience. Ref:Brian Lead

Dealer’s Day with Mission Magic SEP

WORKSHOP

24th

Peter Eggink (Netherlands)

MML Fundraising Show 4th Barley Village Hall JUL

COMMITTEE WORKSHOP

28th

WORKSHOP

25th

13th Bert Slater

Trevor Duffy - South Africa 22nd Preceded by a COMMITTEE Meeting at 6:30PM. Special bonus lecture. Annual Banquet at Mytton Fold.

10th

Oliver Tabor Lecture.

11th Martin Seed

NOV

President’s Day with Roger Woods.

8th

DEC

Christmas Party.

6th

NOTE* - Name = Refreshments COMMITTEE - 7:00PM

Volunteer for Sound & Light wanted. Contact Brian Lead.

Denotes OPEN MEETING

WORKSHOP

27th

COMMITTEE WORKSHOP

24th

Change of usual Date

WORKSHOP - 8:00PM

This is a real magic book. Not only does it contain detailed workings of the tricks that Alan used throughout half a century of performing magic professionally, but it also reveals Alan's constant sense of wonder at his world. In my experience of him, he never tired of travelling and never tired of being with magicians. He enjoyed the practical things of life and was as adept tinkering under the bonnet of a car as he was on the internet when trying to locate a source of Edwardian gas mantles or old Polaroid cameras and films, both items which he used regularly when performing. Excerpt from the Foreword by John Wade

http://www.alanshaxonbook.com

The MeMeL is the Journal of The Modern Mystic League.