Number 126 - 23rd November 2002

 

Japan's Shoot Ogawa is just one of the international stars lined up for this year's International Magic Convention which is now just days away. This year sees a change in venue and a change in focus... the entire convention will take place in just one venue The Holiday Inn, Bloomsbury/Kings Cross, London, telephone: 020 7833 3900 and the focus of the convention is on close-up magic, starring: Chris Korn (USA), The Buck Twins (USA), Nathan Kranzo (USA), Shoot Ogawa (Japan), Jeff Sheridan (USA), Chris Power (UK), and the Corinda interview with Andy Nyman. All artistes will both lecture and perform. This is a really excellent line up, that's new to the UK - expect to see some world class close-up magic. Another feature of the weekend is the Close-up Competition, with a £1,000 winner's prize. The competition takes place on the Saturday. Past winners include: Lennart Green, Gary Kurtz, Bob Sheets, Gazzo, Michael Vincent and more... Here are the booking details: Saturday November 30th and Sunday December 1st, Tickets £35 per day or £55 for both days, ticket credit card booking line: 020 7405 7324, Email: admin@internationalmagic.com Website: InternationalMagic.com online registration: Click Here Not to be missed! 23.11.02

 

Graham P Jolley, the brilliant quick-witted master-of-the-mind, appears live on stage for one night only on Wednesday, January 22nd, in his own one-man show, Out of Your Mind, at the Thameside Theatre, Thurrock. Tickets are £8.50 and the Box Office number is 01375 383961. 23.11.02

 

David Blaine - Magic Man is repeated tonight on Channel Four at 10pm. One hour from the man. Then later on at 1.35am (Sunday morning) you can see a repeat of his appearance on Friday Night with Jonathan Ross where he sends a few cards spinning across the studio and penetrates the palm of his hand with a surgical needle (I think I prefer the cards). David pops up again next week in a classic South Park "The Super Best Friends" on Wednesday 4th December on Sky One. "Kenny, Cartman and Kyle decide to join his cult-like following, leaving Stan and Jesus to save them..." Great stuff! If you haven't bought the book yet (Blaine, not South Park!) Click Here 23.11.02

 

Magic Box have just launched a new range of coin boxes: a Boston, an Okito, and a set of Sucker Coin Boxes made to fit English 10p coins. Their Boston Box is being supplied with a routine by Wayne Dobson, along with their own routine. They've also just released another exclusive effect, Seven Card Monte, which is an updated version of Peter Kane's Gypsy Curse made in Bicycle Cards. Here are the links: Boston Box Okito Box Sucker Boxes Full Set of Boxes and Seven Card Monte 23.11.02

 

Alistair Cook has just finished a short film entitled Bus Stop as part of MTV's "live for the day" 9/11 project. This is currently airing on MTV Europe. It was directed by respected animator Mario Cavalli for Colony Media. Alistair can also be seen in the upcoming series Monkey Magic. 23.11.02

 

Paul Gordon is planning a new informal free to entry magic gathering for card magicians, both amateur and professional. Details can be found at www.natzler.com/cmoe And for fans of Roger Crosthwaite a number of his items are available online, including the legendary Inner Sanctum Videos and Roger's Real Gone Aces Click Here. 23.11.02

 

Tim Saiet has just finished presenting and performing magic for the Arsenal Squad at Arsenal Football Club. Tim was asked to present and produce an hour's entertainment for members of the Junior Gunners as well. 23.11.02

 

With Christmas looming, the perfect present for many might well be a new magic course by Paul Daniels and Andrew Lock of The Magic Store. They have spent the last three years producing a complete course about the business of magic. It's entitled, 'How to Make Money By Magic' and you can obtain a free preview CD-ROM from www.magic-course.com or email: info@magic-course.com 23.11.02

 

John Derris presents his new lecture - KISS (Keep it simple stupid) at the following clubs: 26th November - Kent Magician's Guild, Dunton Green telephone 0208644 1983, 4th December - Bexleyheath Society of Magicians telephone 01322 521454, 10th December - Peterborough Society of Magicians telephone 01775 840103, 9th January - Surrey Society of Magicians, Leatherhead telephone 01306 88398, 3rd April - Mid-Essex Magic Society, Chelmsford telephone 01376 550339, 24th April - Blackpool Magician's Club telephone 01253 810113. To book the lecture contact John Derris on 020 8467 7856. 23.11.02

 

Manchester Circle of Magician's membership now totals an incredible 250! Last week's Cabaret Competition attracted an audience of 200, who were thoroughly entertained by: Hayley Anna, Phil Tilston, Philip Partridge, James Anthony and Marie, Freddie Wilkinson, David Lancaster, and Barrington Powell. The entire audience judged the competition and the winners were: James Anthony & Marie (photo) in first place (£100 cup which they keep for life), Barington Powell in second place, and Freddie Wilkinson and Philip Partridge in joint third. James Anthony and Marie and Barrington Powell gain automatic entry into the British Magical Championships at Blackpool on February 22nd 2003. Membership costs just £10.00 per year for 12 meetings and their excellent magazine, published bi-monthly. Membership details from www.taurusmagic.net 23.11.02

 

Joe Pasquale is Live on Stage tonight! At The Stardust, Leicestershire: Tickets: £19.50 to £27.50 (upper price includes dinner and show) Stardust Club, Bardon, Leicestershire LE67 1TB. Telephone 01530 510 5552. 23.11.02

 

Mentalist's e-forum group Mentalists Asylum presented Escape from the Asylum - a full day of mental magic, last Sunday November 17th. The day was organised and hosted by Spyros Melaris and took place at the Waterfall Studios, London - the perfect venue for an excellent day. There's a review this week from Kevin Gallagher, Click Here 23.11.02

 

International Illusionist Andrew Green will be appearing in Shazzam at the Ramside Hall Hotel, Co. Durham over the Christmas period from November 29th to December 31st (minus the 24th, 25th and 26th). The show stars Leah Bell with choreography by Anton Windmill. For more information call 0191 3865282 23.11.02

 

The following presentations and awards were made at The Magic Circle's Annual Dinner last Saturday. 'The Cecil Lyle Award' to Marc Paul, 'The J.N. Maskelyne Award for Literature' to Len Belcher, 'The Maskelyne' to Geoffrey Durham, 'The Carlton' to John Archer (together with promotion to MIMC), 'The Gold and Silver Wand' to Chris Pratt, 'The Stage Magician of the Year' to Loki, 'The Close-up Magician of the Year' to Nicholas Einhorn, and 'The David Devant' to Dr. Edwin Dawes. Many congratulations to them all. 23.11.02

 

Robbie Williams's new album is called Escapology, and features the singer, bound by his ankles, in a striking pose above a sun-drenched city skyline - it's a great image • Internet News: Britain goes broadband... after a slow initial take-up, and reports of confused installations and frustrated customers a year or so ago things now seem to be going smoothly. The latest figures from BT, NTL and Telewest show that broadband is one of the internet success stories of 2002 with the number of new users doubling in the last 12 months • Gary Sumpter is organising a lecture/workshop event featuring Jay Scott Berry in Kent in January. If anyone is interested in attending please contact Gary as soon as possible garywsumpter@hotmail.com so that he can get an idea of numbers • Alakazam.co.uk are now running an affiliate programme - for more information visit their website • Last Sunday's special Tommy Wonder lecture at The Magic Circle was superb, as was Wayne Dobson's on Monday - it's a shame that the same can't be said of Friday's 'Metroland' documentary on ITV (shown in the London region) which failed to capture the real magic of The Magic Circle and instead presented a rather tired image. The documentary, perhaps unfairly, followed two magicians in their quest to become members of the society... only coach, Martin "cockney card sharp" Cox, managed to brighten up the proceedings of an otherwise unrepresentative and disappointing programme • Thanks to everyone who sends in news - it is always welcomed! That's it for this week, see you next week, Duncan. 23.11.02

 

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