The Billet Article - The Editorial

This article is taken from The Billet Issue - 360 - Sep 2001, Authored by Keith Pickles

The Editorial

At our last meeting on the 3rd August, besides saying farewell to Morley Street Resource Centre and having a walk to our new meeting place at Carlton House, some 25 members also brought along some of their own items with which they have been struggling to decide how to use, and also what they could use them for. Personally I had brought along a prediction effect which was capable of forcing the number 9. Very good but I couldn't think how best to utilise it. It is actually a punchboard item, based upon the gambling effect which was pretty popular before the advent of the National Lottery, but which now seems to have been swept away by the Lottery and its numerous offshoots such as Thunderball, Lottery Extra and Lottery Instants. The big punchboards which used to be sold quite a lot before the Lottery took over involved a large board with a number of tickets sealed inside. The participant had a key and punched out one of the unseen tickets. Opening it up, the contestant found if he had won or not (usually not when I was involved!) by matching whatever was on the ticket against the list of winners on the punchboard. Now this punchboard I had for the magic only contained space for 24 numbers, but worked on the same principle. However, what could I do when I had forced the number "9"?

Now the members around the table turned their collective heads to this problem and came up with numerous ideas - some feasible, some risible. However, that is the point of this. What happened was that a bunch of magicians sat down to think about what could be done with a magical prop. Not in itself a particularly sparkling magical prop. But they tossed ideas amongst themselves, not being afraid to come up with, what appeared initially, an absurd idea. One thought led to another, and between us we came up with several quite practical ideas. Because we were sat chatting and joking together, we did not let the confines of what could be practical get in the way. Amazingly some of the more bizarre ideas became good ideas when they were discussed amongst a group. Perhaps we should all remember that when we are dreaming up how to utilise an effect we have. Don't let realism get in the way. Remember, magic is the art of making the impossible, possible, so don't be afraid to start with the implausible on your way to this goal.

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