International Magic: England

BRITAIN’S VOICE OF MAGIC………………………..Ian Adair

Hi there. The magic calendar over her in Britain is as busy as ever, with events and conventions every week.

The Magic Circle Young Magician of the year has come and gone, won by 18-year-old Dominic Woods. Eight finalists competed and he came out on `tops’ with a very nice manipulative style act. I feel sure we will be seeing more of Dominic in the future. It was really super seeing all those youngsters competing and it’s nice to know that there is fresh blood coming into the craft. The Collector’s Day at the Circle was a big success and numerous small conventions have been taking place, although in Britain, we don’t stage so many conventions during the summer months, as you DO IN THE U.S.

COPPERFIELD….COPPERFIELD…..COPPERFIELD Whenever we open a magazine or newspaper here, we see pictures of either David or his fiancee, Claudia, often together. But there seems to be speculation here over his marriage to the mega-model. It was reported that the marriage was one big publicity stunt so that David could obtain more publicity and coverage in Europe,likewise, Claudia in U.S. We shall have to see. A report in one of our newspapers told us that Copperfield bought one of the three Charlie MCCARTHY DUMMIES USED BY VENTRILOQUIST Edgar Bergen for $112,500 at Sotherby’s of New York.

SUMMER SORCERY Maggie Tucker (Wife of Stephen) has to be congratulated for organizing the British Ring (I.B.M.) Summer Sorcery day of magic. Several hundred attended and really enjoyed the shows, lectures, seminars, dealers and the chance to chat with everyone! The event took place in Malvern and the complex was superb.

ON STAGE It was super to return to the theatre and perform a routined act using doves and rabbits again. Dressed in Chinese costume, I presented Rice Bowls, Chinese Fan and silks and ended up with the production of several doves. This was at the Queen’s Theatre here in Barnstaple, a complex which has had a complete refurbishing treatment. Brought back many happy memories.

DEATH OF DR. DUNCAN FLETCHER My dear friend, Past President of the British Ring (I.B.M.) and past Presi- dent of S.A.M.S. Duncan Fletcher suddenly passed away recently. It was a great shock to us all. Although in his 70s he was a very active person and was annually, in charge of the British Ring banquet arrangements. He was based in Scotland, being responsible for building up the Scottish association of Magical Societies (S.A.M.S.) together with Prof. Eddie Dawes. Duncan will be sadly missed and as the mentions in ABRA show, he was liked by many.

BOOT SALE No, it’s not a sale of boots and shoes! I know that the back ends of your cars are called trunks, while here in Britain we call them boots. Every week, nearly everywhere, here, there is a boot sale. Bits and pieces, often, junk, sold from the boot (trunk) of cars. Well, Paul Daniels has organized the biggest magical boot sale over here, in his own grounds of his massive home. His place is fantastic and I’ve stayed there with both Paul and Debbie. He bought the house from James Bond (Roger Moore) at an estimated cost of two million pounds (so work that out in dollars). It’s all for charity and there will be an entrance charge for buyers and a bigger fee for those who are showing. Paul hopes to attract thousands of magicians from all parts of the country.

EDWIN THE SUPREME MAGICIAN More than twenty years ago, Edwin Hooper of Supreme Magic fame, and myself, made a recording for Martin Breese. This was to appear in cass- ette form but never did, only because the recordings were lost. Now after all that time, Martin has released the tapes with my help and assistance. To hear Edwin talk of his old firm, how he built it up and other stories, is wondrous. I’m on the tape too, and have also recorded an intro lasting approx. 20 minutes. The outfit consist of two tapes plus a little booklet by yours truly. Sad that the firm, lasting 40 years, ended in liquidation under the organization of the Laymond Family.

HERE’S TO SCARBOROUGH The British Ring Convention will attract some 2,000 magicians in Septem- ber. The Gala show looks as being one of the best, but then we say that every year. Organized by Jeff Atkins, Past International IBM President, he manages to cream in the best of magical talent for these events. Ali Bongo is by his side and assits him, together with others on the board, to ensure that the standard is always very high. I shall be attending and will be bringing you the full report of this superb convention

ONE YEAR ON It was one year ago that I started my magazine MAGICAL EXPRESS. It’s a sort of `newsy’ type publication with news, views and reports, plus tricks and routines from well known magicians such as Paul Daniels, Alan Shaxon, John Wade Maurice Day….plus two or three contributors from your country, Max Maven and Karrell Fox. There’s a crossword puzzle, a cartoon, a letter page, a close-up section by Tony Griffith and more. It’s amazing how we find time to do it all. Editing a magic magazine is a fun and a worthwhile project.

JOE’S A WINNER It must surely be congratulations to Joe Stevens in producing those superb merchandise catalogs (you see, I’ve spelt it `catalog’ instead of catalogue, as it should be!) Packed with so many wonderful products, from so many different magic firms throughout the world, these catalogs are truly interna- tional. It was nice to see an `Abracadair’ page included, with my own products. And it is always nice seeing Joe posing for the camera. Reminds me of the thousands of photographs I’ve had taken of myself for Supreme products over the years.

That’s all for this time. Will bring you more news and views from this side of the pond. There’s magic in the air From…. Ian Adair