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An Evening of Magic and
Mystery
Reported by
James Willoughby
The annual Evening of Magic and Mystery, mounted in aid of the Friends of the
Five Parishes, appeared once again at Great Easton Village Hall in a puff of
glitter and stage smoke. Previous evenings have become so famous that this year,
for the first time, one evening became two – it was, of course, sold out on both
nights. The theme was Hallowe’en, so the hall came decked with pumpkins and
festive rubber ghouls, transformed into whatever the Hallowe’en equivalent might
be of Santa’s Grotto.
Michael Goulding, dapper in his tails as Jack Buchanan, struck a cordial note of
welcome. Thereafter, the stage belonged to our compère without compare, Brian
Miller, who in the spirit of the evening was apparently channelling the ghost of
Jack Benny. A splendid dinner was conjured up by the tireless Fran Woodrow and
her team of willing helpers, and diners were entertained by some dazzling table
magic, provided by Alan Shaxon, Dennis Patten, Michael Alderman, and Brian
himself. The tombola was a great success, with nearly two hundred prizes to be
won each night. Dinner was followed by the Hallowe’en fancy-dress parade. Some
of the costumes seen on Friday night were still being talked about on Saturday,
and had perhaps even fuelled a few nightmares. Saturday’s costumes were rather
more home-spun, but no one could deny it was all done in great spirit.
Then it was time for Brian to don his famous sparkly jacket and introduce the
main event. First on to the stage was Mandy Fletcher, a newcomer from north of
the Border, with some patriotic prop magic, conjuring the Scottish flag out of
scarves, torn-up newspaper, or indeed thin air. She was followed by Terry
Herbert, back in town having recently performed before the court of Monaco. We
watched him conjure with an invisible deck of cards and magically restore the
smashed wristwatch of a hapless volunteer, all the while bringing down the house
with his hilarious banter. Oh yes, and the other half of a torn-up twenty pound
note turned up in a sausage. The final act of the evening was Martyn James, in
Brian’s opinion one of the slickest showmen at work today. It was a genuinely
spell-binding act, in which his lovely assistant Jenny was variously boxed and
sliced and transmitted through solid walls, and somehow emerged still smiling
gamely at the end. By Sunday evening Martyn and Jenny were in Egypt, back
performing on the international circuit.
In its triumphant ninth year, who could argue that Great Easton hasn’t now taken
its place on that circuit, alongside Monaco and Las Vegas? Truly, all the credit
belongs to the dynamic duo of Brian and Audrey, who, like all the best
illusionists, make an astonishing result look effortless, consistently able,
year after year, to pull this amazing rabbit out of the hat.
© James Willoughby, November 2011