Our last meeting, on the 2nd March, saw 28 members turn up to discover the whys' and wherefores' about fake cards, fake packs, balls and thumb tips. Whilst I spent most of the evening sorting out the finances of the 'Hey Presto." tickets and collecting the subs from those at the meeting who had brought some money with them, I was able to watch some entertaining and effective pieces of magic being done in little groups at the three tables which were in operation. Ken Mitchell was showing a neat packet trick, that he had produced in more than one variation; a useful effect for those circumstances where you are asked to repeat a trick. Having the second version would certainly help throw people off the scent, particularly if you are able to switch the packets without anyone noticing. I saw Steve Naylor demonstrating his wizardry, right under the nose of Stevie B. Whilst Stevie himself was giving his thoughts on the use of nuts (quite where this fit in with balls I was left to puzzle!). Steve had been demonstrating his routine for the Brema Nut. This involved an extra part to the end of, what is often seen as, the end of the routine. This was most logical and, to my mind, very effective. Perhaps the fault of this sort of evening could be that it was not structured in any way. Now some may say that this is the idea of these sort of evenings, just to let people play with items that they have, and for others to demonstrate their usage of these items. However, one of the failings can be that some people just sit -back and don't take part, largely because there is no character at that table who is happy to lead the action for the evening. This could be something that the committee could look at in future meetings. Not that I am saying that the evening did not go well, even those who weren't taking much active part with the actual tricks and effects, were still talking magic to each other, and that is, perhaps partly, what these evenings are about. |
