Following Keith's recent request for articles for the Billet, I thought I'd do my part by recounting my adventures at this years Blackpool Magicians Club convention. It was my first time at the Blackpool convention and, boy, was I not prepared for what was in store for me that weekend! Talk about a mind-blowing experience! Paul Sunderland and I decided to share (however wisely or unwisely) a twin room in order to keep down the costs and to allow for more spending money in the dealers arenas. Judging by my past insane spending sprees at the annual Leeds convention, I reckoned it was going to be an altogether expensive weekend! (Unfortunately, however, my first expense was a set of foam earplugs, necessary to cut out the deep rumbling coming from the other bed and for me to get the required beauty sleep for a man of my tender years) Our hotel was directly across the road from the Ruskin Hotel, the so-called 'HQ' of the convention. This is the hotel where all the stars of magic stay and where all the 'would-be' stars hang out until the early hours talking about magic and showing each other their skills. Anyway, have you ever visited the Winter Gardens in Blackpool? Built in 1878, they are a grand example of Victorian seaside architecture, something I love. Inside is a maze of beautifully sculptured and themed rooms, reminders of an era long gone. The 3000 seater Opera House, so I'm told, boasts the largest stage in the country – and I'm sure the highest balcony in the world! More about that later. The first afternoon was spent wandering around the dealers mart – a mini version compared to the Saturday and Sunday dealers stalls – where about 20 of the 100 or so dealers had a small sample of their wares on show. This was still more magic goodies than I had ever seen in one place before, but nothing compared to what I was going to see over the next two days! We were spoilt for choice for lectures that evening, I decided to see what Mahka Tendo from Japan had to say, while Paul, Henry and Anthony disappeared in the direction of the European Magical Close-Up Championships. Mahka Tendo's card and cane manipulations were awe-inspiring. Later, after having listened to Doc Eason from the USA in his star lecture, we retired to the Ruskin to catch up on the magical gossip. Expecting a long day on the Saturday and deciding we needed an early night, we eventually drifted back to our hotel at about 4am on Saturday morning! I was wide-awake and would have stayed later but the other 'oldies' had had enough by then and couldn't keep up the pace. Something to be said for only drinking coke all night! Saturday was to be my first real experience of what over 100 magic dealers in one place looked like. I'm sure my jaw dropped when I walked into the Empress Hall – colourful props as far as the eye could see, from cards to canes, kids show tricks to illusions. Ahhhh, bliss... I could feel the money burning in my pocket. But I was determined to hold out, discipline was the order of the day! I spent the morning watching the UK Children's Entertainer of the Year competition in the Pavilion Theatre, which was eventually won by one 'Magic Malky' from Scotland. All the acts were of real quality and I gained a few useful tips to hopefully add to my own children's show. The afternoon brought a couple of great Kids Entertainers lectures as well as more time drooling over the dealer's stalls. Saturday evening was the British Magical Stage Championships, held in the magnificent Opera House. I had real difficulty finding my booked seat in the rear stalls as someone had decided to remove that row of seats to make way for wheelchair users. Still, after 15 minutes of panicky wandering around, one of the ushers brought me a folding chair to sit on and very kindly placed me right next to Joe Pasquale and Wayne Dobson! Hobnobbing with the famous! The show was fabulous, made even better by the appearance of Bernie Clifton (yes, I remember him!) and a superb act by special guest artiste Mr Blub. Of course, the highlight of the evening was Darren McDonald (notice I dropped the 'Dazzling'!) winning the trophy in the General Category – well done Darren! After the exhilaration of the show, it was time for another early night. I think we made it to bed for 3.30am this time – not bad for an old timer. Sunday morning, bright and early, we crawled back into the Winter Gardens for the final day of the convention. While the guys disappeared off to hear Jay Sankey's lecture, I decided to do some more window-shopping in the dealer's arenas. Bear in mind I had been there for two days already and I still hadn't bought anything! I also had the opportunity to go and try my hand at the newly introduced 'Las Vegas Casino' in the Olympia rooms. We were given some free 'monopoly' money when we bought the convention tickets, the idea being that the person having made the most money over the weekend would win a free trip to Las Vegas, USA. Well, I had £10,000 worth of fake money and with the dream of a holiday in my eyes off I went. How boring is gambling?! I got fed up after 10 minutes, put all my money down on one number, lost it and left all my dreams of Vegas behind. There must be a moral there somewhere. That afternoon, Paul and I thought we'd watch the British Street Entertainer Championships. The acts were really good – except one. I can't write about it here, my hands won't stop shaking in laughter. But, bless 'em; you can't knock them for having a go. Braver folk than I. Go and make a point of asking Paul about it – he'll tell you exactly what I mean! The final event of the evening, and indeed the whole weekend, was the International Gala Show, again held in the Opera House. This time Paul and I were up in the balcony. I think the only time I have ever been higher from the ground was on my honeymoon flight to Crete! My legs still go wobbly just thinking about it. (The balcony I mean, not the honeymoon – well, yes, the honeymoon as well, just in case my wife reads this article) Anyway, the view was great, only interrupted occasionally when the International Space Station passed by on its orbit round earth. The show was absolutely amazing; the quality of the acts was superb. To see magic performed to that standard left me in awe – dreams of what I could become. The finale of the show was a performance by Rick Thomas, an American Illusionist with his own show in Las Vegas. At the end of his act Rick performed a levitation on his assistant, levitating her about 40 feet high – then surprised us all by floating up to meet her before making her disappear! Fantastic! And that was it – my first Blackpool Convention was over! Wow! So, you may ask, what was the highlight of the weekend for me? Was it the magic shows? Was it the lectures? Was it the dealers stalls? Was it getting my photo taken with the Stars of Magic like Wayne Dobson, Joe Pasquale, Paul Zenon and Jay Sankey? No, it was this - Paul Sunderland and I had the real privilege of going backstage after the Gala Show to help Rick Thomas and his crew dismantle his illusions, pack them and help load them into a container for shipping back to the States. For me, to be involved with someone of that magical stature and ability on a one to one basis was more than I could ever have expected from a magic convention. To feel part of what was going on, to see how things really are behind the scenes, has left me more inspired than anything else I had seen over the whole weekend. Rick and his crew are really nice people to know and they are human, just like us! Amongst all the glitz and glamour, these are hard working folk that show us what can be achieved with motivation and a desire to perform the art we all love so much. Can't wait till next year! Jon Harris p.s. so, did I spend very much money on magic tricks at Blackpool? The answer is yes, but don't tell the wife... |
