Angela and I have recently returned from holiday in Ibiza where the hotel, food and weather were all excellent. We visited several hotels during the evenings to find the best entertainment. There was one full magic show which was not one of the best shows we watched. Unfortunately you can not win all the time. At the end of July I went to Manchester Magic Circle to watch the John Archer lecture. If you like comedy magic this is one of the best lectures you will see. It was based on parlour / stage magic and there was no breaking your fingers or spending months practicing difficult moves. What you got is a man who can take a classic of magic add his own patter and leave the audience astonished and entertained! John is a writer for television shows and this is notable when performing. There are no stock lines and the stories he tells are unique to him, full of emotion and / or humour and every word fits his personality. John won the audience over with his opening line "it is the rules of the Magic Circle that every magician should perform a card trick otherwise magic would become popular again and everyone would start doing it". His whole act is full of good, clean humour and although he has a script, he explained that he does not rigidly adhere to this but personalises it to his audience. I would recommend this lecture to any magician be it a beginner or experienced pro. On Monday 20th August I went again to Manchester this time to see Alan Shaxon but unfortunately he did not turn up. I believe he was at the Magic Circle in London, despite having confirmed in writing his booking a few days earlier. | 
