Magician & mentalist

I performed magic at David Lidgates 70th birthday party in Gerrads Cross right next to the The Bull Hotel. There was a fab Catering group who have an amazing barn in Burnham in Buckinghamshire where they hold many wedding ceremonies. They treated me to some lovley grub! All the magic, (and the grub) went down well but the guests particularly liked the mentalism.

Jo Lidgate, wife of David, Kindly sent this quote:

‘ Hi Ian, You were Great. Everyone enjoyed your performance. Still scratching their heads as to how you did all that Magic. Well done and many thanks.’

Mentalism or shadow puppetry?

I’m putting a couple of engagements up here from the past because I think they were worth mentioning and I guess I am also getting behind in the blogging department due to arrangements for the Edinburgh Festival. I am doing a performance there called Reality Vaccine, which is a mentalism show.

Sandmartins Golf Club

The first one was a repeat booking by the ‘Lovlies and the Wrinklies’ Golf group at Sandmartins Golf Club club in Wokingham. I usually do a cabaret for them and they are always such a fun and welcoming group. As you can see they were in a festive spirit.

Luvlies and Wrinklies

 The second one I wanted to mention was a 60th birthday party for Roger Jennings in Hindhead, Surrey. He has a lovely large house so there was plenty of room for a dsico which was provided my Make A Note mobile disco.

There were quite a number NLP (Neuro Linguistic Programming) practioners present at the party so they were fascinated my the mentalism. Roger very kindly sent me a message later:

‘ Thank you for helping to make a great evening amazing. Everyone was astounded by your ‘magic’ – I think that is too limited a word for it! and were talking about ‘their favourite trick’ for a long time after. (I am glad that you surprised my NLP friends, they usually think they are the practitioners). You were very professional yet mixed seamlessly with everyone – thank you for bringing a touch of magic to the party.

I am sure referrals will follow.’

Alfred Hitchcock would have been proud of Stephen Lane, CEO of the Propstore in London, which sells movie memorabilia.

He held his 40th birthday bash in the Hitchcock rooms at Pinewood Studios . I had performed magic at his beautiful home in Beaconsfield several years back (see ‘Alien invasion in Beaconsfield’) and he asked me to perform close up magic and mentalism for his guests a few weeks back.

..boo..

As you can see, a scary scene was created for his family and friends, including hideous screams and shouts from various speakers as they entered the function area.

one less guest..

The guests went to town with the appropriate outfits..

Is he wearing mascara?

..even the magician appeared mysteriously in his own box. This photo was taken by the charming  and talented Andrew Redpath of Redpathstudios. Also making some noise on the dance floor was Class Act Events who provide a range of entertainment for private and corporate events.

Quotes from the party:

‘How the f..k did you do that?’  Dizzy (guest)

‘Thanks so much for your hard work at the party. Loads of people have commented about your skils and tricks – all great stuff. I’m sure we’ll be back to you again in the future.’ Stephen Lane (birthday boy)

Annie Wilkes and her hubby held a double birhday bash in Buckingham on the sunniest day in April. She decided to have a marquee erected in the garden,  and provide delicious food food by Bon Viveur Catering and cracking magic by yours truly!

Designer marquee!

As it was such a lovely day, many of the guests chilled outside in the sun listening to the cool sounds of The Ariella Experience string quartet.

magic moments..

Annie sent a lovely quote:

‘Many people commented on your marvelous magic and how much they enjoyed and been intrigued by it all. You really added to the relaxed and happy ambiance of our party so thank you very very much’.

card conjouring

I want to tell you about a little gem of a place called St Katherine’s in Frieth. It’a beautiful historic house in the chilterns run by the Sue Ryder Fellowship. It is a superb venue for retreats, seminars, celebrations and accomodation in a tranquil and rural setting. Which is why a client of mine, Pat O’hara for whom I had worked before ( see blog: http://www.mentalmagicman.co.uk/blog/page/2/), decided to hold a business meeting at St Katherine’s. He asked me to perform table magic and a cabaret for his colleagues in the evening. The room was very spacious (I even had my own banquet hall to change!) so it was perfect for entertainment. What’s also handy is that it is a stones throw away from Maidenhead, Henley and my home town of Marlow.

Teikyo School - Wexham

The Teikyo  Japanese School is based in Wexham in Berkshire. For several years, the Director Mr Yoshio Inayama, has asked me to perform close up magic for his students at their graduation. Sadly Mr Inayama is heading back to Japan this year and I know his students will miss him.

The school and its grounds are  truly stunning and offer a wide range of subjects and activities for their students. What I love about performing there is that the students are always so enthusiastic about the magic.

Funnily enough I lived in Japan in 1992 where I taught english as a foreign language and I also studied Shiatsu and martial arts arts and of course, magic.

Magician re-mixed

 I thought i would give you an idea of some unusual venues and situations in which I have had to perform. The above pic is myself performing at the Remix venue in Hitchin. Once a month organisers put on a variety programme consisting of burlesque dancers, comedians and a magician. I did some mind reading on some very enthusiastic and far out folks there. One of the favourite events of the evening is for the compere and his assisstant to sing to one of the songs of Sting and down a beer throughout the duration. (see pic below).

Sing for Sting

The next venue was the Cauldron Club at the Sugar Lounge in London. It is an alternative cabaret run by the  the lovely Tracey Starrevald, who also recites poetry. As Tracey was just trying out the new venue, which happened to be a  Turkish restaurant as well, she struggled to attract an audience and all the performers, including the story teller Nell Phoenix, had to perform for eachother – not the best idea ever. However the show went on and as they say, ‘it’s all good experience’.

The Sugar Lounge

The Sugar Lounge - Look at the cards and not the strange backdrop

Most people may assume we have luxurious venues with ample change rooms – wrong! During the busy Xmas season I was asked to perform some table magic and a small cabaret at the Windmill Pub in Ewshot in Farnham in Surrey.

Windmill Pub

The Windmill Pub (above) is run by some very friendly owners, but how would they know a cabaret artist would need to change somewhere? They didn’t have anywhere so promptly placed me in there fridge where they keep the keg’s of beer! Now I am from South Africa and the cold does not impress me, and then to place me in a fridge (thank goodness with beer and not stuffed animals!), does not make me happy!

The final unusual performance area was Covent Garden where myself and a shed load of hypnotists practised and demonstrated hypnosis on unsuspecting, but very willing victims..umm..volunteers.

 Hypnosis is very safe and rather relaxing state to be in. We all go into states of hypnosis several times a day, certainly just before you go to sleep and the moments just before fully awaking. Most television commercials lull your mind into these states and that’s why we end up singing jingles as adults from our childhood!

Look - two at once!

Steve Regrave salutes magic

As I live in Marlow, its always a pleasure to promote and perform in Marlow. I was asked to do magic at Geoff Wood’s 60th birthday bash at Court Garden House . The Higginson room is a  beautiful room overlooking Higginson park and the Thames. As you can see, Sir Steve Redgrave is a famous Marlovian and is a permanent fixture in Higginson Park.

Marlow Rocks!

I performed magic at the tables as well as a cabaret. Also performing that night was Geoff Jolliffe and his band (see picture). Geoff owns a prestigious garment shop in marlow called  ’ Jolliffes‘.