Hello Wizards, I hope those of you who were at the last meeting found Amethyst interesting. They were booked at very short notice but I felt they did a superb job as was felt by many others I have spoken to. I’m sure we all wish them well with the lecture and look forward to seeing them again at the Dinner. Henry had a heap of problems with the Dinner list as his computer had crashed. Hopefully that has been resolved and his list has been redone. If you’re unsure and want to check Henry has your menu choice(s), give him a call or pass the information onto a committee member to relate to Henry. Shortly after the September meeting, I presented a talk to members of Leeds Magical Association. I say talk as it was more than a workshop but not enough to be a lecture, particularly as there were no lecture notes. It was tremendous fun for me seemed to be well received. My “fee” for the evening, agreed in advance, was that one of their members reciprocates and presents a lecture/workshop/talk or some other kind of presentation to Bradford Magic Circle. Do you think you could offer a neighbouring club an evening of your time in return for one of their members to pay the BMC back in kind? Trust me if you haven’t done such a thing before, it is very rewarding and a great way to further ones self as a performer as well as make new friends. Now recently we had the Roadshow over at Altofts and while there will no doubt be a report elsewhere in the Billet, I’d like to record thanks to some of those that do who were involved in the show. I compered and had the delight of introducing Lauren Stringwell (accompanied by Eric and Jean), Keith Pickles, Ross Risdon (accompanied by the Risdon Gang of Ian, Derek and Kath), Dennis Calvert (accompanied by Gemma), and Ray Roberts. Ernest Ainley and his colleagues from Brighouse handled back Stage. Melvyn Shalks handled sound. Peter Wright recorded the whole show and it’s hoped that in time a DVD of the show will be submitted to the Circle Library. Finally Ken Mitchell (who had worked hard promoting the show locally as his first job as Publicity Officer) was on hand to assist wherever. His wife Carol and their children were in the audience. Sincere thanks to all those helped raise not only money but also the profile of magic and in particular, Bradford Magic Circle. We have another show coming up soon for the Harrogate Society of Magicians where we will be entertaining their members and some of the people from Harlow Hill, where they meet. I have a small handful of names down already and am looking for Close-up and Stage performers. While I’ll certainly take on the same people time and again, it can’t be fair on them so how about jumping on board. Remember it’s also a benefit to such a show if there are also stagehands, sound assistants and a reporter. Now here’s a scoop for next year, Greg Wilson has been booked to lecture and stop over for the Hey Presto Show the following night where he’ll be closing the first half. It already has a strong line up and should be another tremendous show. Book early to avoid disappointment! The committee will be trying to give a more balanced programme for next year (you may remember a lot of superb lecturers seemed to be back to back). In trying to get a better balance of meetings across the whole year, it may mean we miss out on a lecturer touring. What are your thoughts on this? Finally, remember the next November and December meetings have both been pulled forward one week subject to availability of the Headquarters. Right that’s it for now, thanks for reading and till next time, TA-RAAA!!! | 
