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Monday 25 June 2012

A Happy, Quality Birthday to me.

Just a short blog post this morning as today is my birthday and I am due out for a meal at lunchtime. I'm not one for boasting, but I am now in my 60th year! Happy birthday to me! Sixty years old, with forty of those years spent performing QUALITY professional magic! Who would have believed that? I looked up the word 'quality' in my thesaurus and it gave several synonyms for it, all of which could apply to my magic - here are just some: advantage; betterment; enhancement; enrichment; excellence; extravagance; genius; luxury; merit; peculiarity; virtue. That's enough for now, there were plenty more that I could run off, but you get the general idea. I particularly like the 'genius' one, which I think sums my magical abilities up rather well.

My kitchen is almost finished, just in time for my special celebration (I know what the Queen felt like recently when celebrating her Diamond Jubilee). Just need Paul to finish a bit of tiling, and to obtain and fit another drawer handle to one of the cupboards.

My wife kindly bought me a book from a charity shop that she thought would suit me. The book is called 'Card Tricks without Skill' by a chap called Paul Clive. Not quite sure what he was thinking with the title though, as I have already tried out thirteen of the tricks and found eleven of those just far too difficult to perform.

That's all for now. I've got to go and prepare for my family meal.

Sunday 17 June 2012

Clean carpets, a new kitchen and golden opportunities

It's been a little while since my last blog post. That's because I have been very busy of late, so I thought it would be nice to bring you up to speed with what's been going on in my hectic life.


The last Saturday in May, just before the Diamond Jubilee celebrations were about to take place, I was booked to perform at the Mowsley Village FĂȘte and Craft Fair. Disappointingly, I only had seven people turn up for the show (and two of those were setting chairs out). I can't blame it on the weather, as it was glorious, so I can only assume that because of poor management, the word did not get out, although I was assured that adverts were placed in several local newspapers and fliers were sent out to neighbouring towns and villages. I must confess that it did seem to be very well supported, so I'm not quite sure why I had such a small crowd. Perhaps the location at the event was poor, or perhaps my show clashed with the gymkhana?

I was appalled that the car park wasn't cleared of large rocks, as I stumbled and strained my leg while walking to the car, causing me to drop a box of props on the ground, but fortunately none were broken. I have written to the management stressing my concerns and, to get this problem sorted out a little more quickly than a usual common complaint, I mentioned that I would not perform at any future events of theirs until I am satisfied that the car park has been cleared of dangerous debris. I have yet to hear back from them.

I also performed the following Saturday evening at a very special Diamond Jubilee celebration event, which was held at Fenlands Church. Apparently I was specially requested (I've yet to find out who made the request but, whoever you are, thank you). The 3 trick show (originally planned to be a 4 trick show) went well and without a hitch... well, almost without a hitch, but that's another story! Suffice to say, that my opening card trick was spoilt a little by my card prediction going a little awry, followed by an embarrassing mishap with a 40 foot length of rope (and my underwear), and my final showpiece flag trick (which was meant to be the central highlight and focus of the evening) had incorrect colours showing on the flag on the first attempt - and the second attempt for that matter!


As well as this special celebration, I was asked to stay over and perform once more at Fenlands Church at their family service, which of course I was happy to do - I had nothing else in my diary. I actually must confess that this extra booking caught me a little off guard and therefore unprepared, but I cunningly cut one of the tricks from the Saturday evening performance and used that on Sunday morning instead. I don't think they noticed!



I have also been approached by a very influential man who has kindly offered to be my manager. This really is something that I am thinking about, as I believe that Paul Daniels has a manager and if it's good enough for Paul, it's good enough for me too. He has already offered me a 10 minute slot at the opening of the 2012 London Olympic Games, so this man has some clout, although I've never heard of him. The Olympic Games opening ceremony is is a golden opportunity for some much deserved exposure, so I am seriously considering this man's offer.

I have recently been having a new kitchen fitted in my kitchen by my son, Paul. It was a little treat I gave myself (and my wife) for my birthday, which is fast approaching (25 June). I also hired a Rug-Doctor to spruce up my living room carpet. It's amazing! I couldn't believe how much dirt and grime it got up - and we are already accustomed to using Vanish PowerPowder on our carpets! I can wholeheartedly recommend Rug-Doctor to anyone and everyone (except my brother - he has wooden floors throughout his house so that wouldn't work). If any employees from Rug-Doctor are reading this blog, I'm really impressed. I'd be happy to become the face of Rug-Doctor, for the usual contractual fees. Imagine attaching my face to a Rug-Doctor advertising campaign, perhaps with the slogan, "I use Rug-Doctor and, just like me, it works like magic and performs wonders!" Just an idea for your consideration.


Anyway, that's all for now.