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Extract from the January edition 2009
Editorial
I am an avid reader of all kinds of books. This Christmas I came across
the following piece that I would like to share with you.
[ Wizards don't have to work. They wave their hands and the magic happens.
But conjurors, now . . . work very hard. They spend a lot of time in their
youth watching, very carefully, the best conjurors of their day. They seek
out old books of trickery and, being natural conjurors, read everything else
as well, because history itself is just a magic show. They observe the way
people think, and the many ways in which they don't. They learn the subtle
use of springs, and how to open mighty temple doors at a touch, and how to
make trumpets sound. And they take centre stage and amaze you with flags of
all nations and smoke and mirrors, and you cry: 'Amazing! How does he do it?
What happened to the elephant? Where's the rabbit? Did he really smash my
watch?' And in the back row we, the other conjurors say quietly: 'Well done.
Isn't that a variant of the Prague Levitating Sock? Wasn't that Pasqual's
Spirit Mirror, where the girl isn't really there? But where the hell did that
flaming sword come from?' And we wonder if there may be such a thing as wizardry,
after all ….] Terry Pratchett - "Good Omens".
December meeting
Members gathered for a fun
evening. There was no shortage of chat and effects were wide ranging. Indeed,
I was surprised how well it all went with no pre-arranged format. We are achieving
excellent content by discussion with all the members present. Coralie brought
along plenty of chocolate roll and with mince pies there was no shortage of
food. Thanks Coralie, we are well set for Christmas.
January 2009
We start the year with the President's Command Performance. You are commanded
by our president to attend and perform a couple of your best effects. (Never
mind if we have seen them before) The whole idea is to put on a show. You
may bring along non-magician friends to help swell the audience.
Making the most of what you
have
You need an effect for a new audience. Perhaps you perform for children and
now you are seeking an effect for adults or vice-versa. Take an existing effect
from your cupboard and rewrite the patter for a different audience. This will
be easiest for a mental effect. If the props are cards then you may have to
substitute new cards with pictures rather than suits for children or suits
rather than pictures for adults. Just think about the alternatives. I am sure
that you can come up with a new presentation for a new audience and will not
need to 'buy a new trick'. When a choice has to be made you can say, 'Life
is a gamble - take a chance' or 'Life is mysterious. A hidden power seems
to guide our choices' or even 'As a magician I have the power to guide your
choice without your knowledge.' One effect, three approaches, three tricks
to an audience.
Extract from the February edition 2009
Editorial
What a marvelous start to the year. We had a packed clubroom with twenty people;
ten guests and ten members and quite a show for the President's Command Performance.
A big thank you to members who brought along friends and family. I think it
is always for the best that supporters in our families should see our meeting
place, meet members and see what goes on.
January meeting
Our President Lenny D. welcomed everyone and explained the purpose and proceedings
for the evening.
Mike started with a rope and ring routine followed by a colour changing cat. Then he presented the locked twenty pound note in a 'Deal or no deal' presentation with numbered boxes containing the shuffled set of keys.
Lyndon followed and had a card selected. It was the only one printed in a blank pack. He followed up with a colouring book routine.
Mikki showed us some card effects predicting the chosen card, but not the six of spades!
Dennis also showed some cards that became marked for the selected card and the six of spades was chosen again.
Stephen had two helpers - they were black kings and they located the chosen cards which turned out to be the black jacks.
Rob Woods showed us another fastest card trick in the world with the red and black aces changing place.
We had a tea break and those with more elaborate effects had time to set up for the second half.
David coaxed our President to volunteer a ten pound note, but something happened to it so he continued by presenting us to Crispy Duck the blindfold card selecting duck. There was a great to do which involved cards, selected condiments and a menu that successfully predicted the final outcome. Then there was the cup and balls, and an orange, before a lemon was cut open to reveal an egg, which was broken open to discover a walnut, which was broken with a nut cracker by Lenny. In the nut was his signed ten pound note.
Next Lenny performed for us. First a card in wallet, then unequal ropes (from a sailing boat!) was followed by a card effect. He finished with a young helper who was amazed as copper and silver coins changed places in a hankie.
Andrew performed for his first time at a club night and did very well by amazing the audience with the appearance of the four aces in turn in a glass goblet. Mark showed his paces as a children's performer by giving us 'baking a cake' in a hat together with all the funny business that highlights this classic effect.
Mike finished the evening with the classic Chinese Linking Rings with six rings. Apologies to anyone whose effects were missed from my list. I was probably too diverted by your trick to make a note of it.
February Meeting
Lenny will present an evening themed on Wands. He will talk and demonstrate
until the interval and after that members will be encouraged to make their
own contributions - so bring along your wand effects next month.
Extract from the March Newsletter 2009
Editorial
After our excellent start
to 2009 in January we had the biggest turnout of members, about 90% for our
February meeting. With such an active membership I am looking forward to our
membership numbers increasing during the year.
February meeting
Wands:
An old English unit of length was called a 'wand', and although the 'yard'
was created to replace the wand, the wand was still used for some centuries
because of its convenience.
'Wands' is also another name for the suit of Batons or Rods, a suit of the minor arcana of the Tarot. It is normally associated with the element of fire.
Magic wands commonly feature in works of fantasy fiction as spell-casting tools. Few other common denominators exist, so the capabilities of wands vary wildly. Note that wands fill basically the same role as wizards' staffs, though staffs generally convey a more 'serious' image; a fairy godmother would often use a wand, possibly with a star or some form of decoration on the end, while Gandalf in The Hobbit, is seen using a wand to fight the goblins of the Misty Mountains and their Wargs. In dramatic fiction, wands can serve as weapons in magical duels. Though traditionally made of wood, they can also consist of metal or crystal.
Practitioners usually prune a branch from an Oak, Hazel, or other tree, or may even buy wood from a store, and then carve it and add decorations to personalize it; however, one can also purchase ready-made wands from your dealer.
Our President Lenny D. took the lead for our evening of wands. Whatever the size of your wand, black wand with white tips, there was a welcome on this night. The biggest of the evening was a full two metres in length and the way it was waved suggested that it was extremely heavy.
Wands can be used to gain attention, like the firing wand, caps or streamers, or to distract. Lenny's wand factory was very useful in changing the colour of the wand. Small wands can be used close up and have the advantage of concealing the fact that the hand is also holding something else. After the refreshment break, we saw more demonstrations of wand power with contributions all round.
In fact, there are many kinds of sticks that can be used as wands. Audiences accept their magical powers as they are clearly shown by the magician.
March Meeting
Mike Beer will present 'Mentally Bizarre'. He does not require any special
articles of magic from members so just bring along the odd item that you wish
to discuss with others during the breaks. You may want to pop a small unusual
item in your pocket for mentally bizarre, a dragon's tooth or even a lizard's
tongue!
Extract from the April Newsletter 2009
Editorial
Another excellent turnout. Members
should be on the look out to recruit more members if the opportunity presents
itself.
March meeting
Bizarre Magic
Mike Beer presented an evening of bizarre magic. He showed us how a story
can be created around an effect. Even with a simple effect a story can create
atmosphere. The magic illustrates the story. It is worth doing some research
so that you can present some historical background. The truth of the history
gives more credence to the effect. He also left some books on display for
members to look at. Although bizarre effects can easily amplify occult ideas
it is not necessary to go that far. The performer must recognise the belief
systems of the audience and avoid offence. After the interval Lyndon presented
a few effects to back up Mike's points. In particular he emphasized the need
to involve the emotions of the audience. He also explained how getting a prediction
slightly wrong often enhanced an effect and created a sympathetic response
from the audience.
Subscriptions
The annual subscription becomes due from 1st April. Cheques should be presented
to me made out for £26.00 to FAME. Alternatively cheques can be sent to my
home address.
April Meeting
Have you ever been caught out away from home without your bag of tricks and
been asked 'Show us a trick'. At this meeting come prepared to tell us how
you get out of this predicament.
May Meeting
This will be our AGM and will be followed by the theme - problem effects.
Minutes of the previous AGM and the elections made then were published in
last June's Famulus. The business of the meeting is to adopt the previous
minutes, receive reports and annual balance sheet, elect the committee and
discuss any items raised by members. The theme is for members to bring effects
that they have been unable to perform, through unsatisfactory or lost instructions
or just unable to find a suitable presentation idea. By discussion we hope
to be able to put things right.
August get-together
Lenny would like to hear from members who would like to take part in a get-together
at a restaurant or a pub in August when we have no official meeting. More
about this in the next Famulus. Classic Magic Performance Lenny would like
members to volunteer the performance of a Classic Effect for our July meeting.
The whole meeting would be a performance of Classics only. Let Lenny know
which one you wish to do before someone else chooses it. Phone him on : 01
344 777 564
Extract from the May Newsletter 2009
Editorial
As Spring turns into Summer we also find FAME doing well in full bloom.
April Meeting
Lenny brought in a number of items that could be used in an impromptu fashion.
He demonstrated several ideas and then everyone joined in with their ideas.
There were rather a lot of mentalist items perhaps because they lend themselves
to the no props genre. Several members take the odd close up item with them
at all times. Peter showed how a whole show could be carried in a large purse
or wallet. There was a lot of useful discussion.
Subscriptions
A few members have still to pay the annual subscription due from 1st April.
Cheques should be presented to me made out for £26.00 to FAME. Alternatively
cheques can be sent to my home address - see bottom of the page.
May Meeting
This will be our AGM and will be followed by the theme - problem effects.
Papers for the AGM will be circulated separately.
New members
We were pleased to welcome new members; Martyn Cooper and Collin Richardson.
We also welcomed back Alec Mousley.
Classic Magic Performance
Lenny would like members to volunteer the performance of a Classic Effect
for our July meeting. The whole meeting would be a performance of Classics
only. Let Lenny know which one you wish to do before someone else chooses
it. Phone him on : 01 344 777 564
Club History
Since we have lately acquired a number of new members and it is a large number
of years since I last wrote about this subject I thought I might tell you
a little about FAME. Once upon a time (1970s/1980s) a group of magicians from
all over the South of England came together monthly to Cove Green, Farnborough
to the sports pavilion. There under the guidance of Tug Wilson and Les Hinsley
we performed acts through the evening to an invited lay audience. Money was
raised at each meeting to finance the meeting. It was not a club in the formal
sense, just a gathering of magicians. Mac Macdonald (who worked at the RAE
- Royal Aircraft Establishment ) held an inaugural meeting in the RAE Sports
Club to set up the Three Counties Magic Society with a proper constitution.
Most of the early members were drawn from that group at Cove who ceased to
meet there. Mac was tireless in the pursuit of excellence. Two trophies were
donated by members. One by John Weller and the other by Les Hinsley. Les now
lives in Devizes and is an honorary member. I am the only other Cove Green
person still in the club although we have other very long standing members.
In the next Famulus I will tell how the club changed its name and a little
more of our history.
Extract from the June Newsletter 2009
Editorial
Peter has given me an account of the May meeting as I was otherwise occupied
at Hilton Head, South Carolina, USA. Details of the AGM and the new committee
will be in the next edition of Famulus.
May Meeting
Lenny presided over the AGM and the subsequent event at that meeting which
dealt with solutions to problems brought by members. I trust that members
managed to find some useful information. It was a subject that had been put
on by popular demand. June Meeting Lyndon will be giving a lecture on the
theme of mentalism. I am sure there will be lots to think about and magical
too.
New members
We welcome Tom Atkins and
Jason Bartlett as a new paid up members.
Classic Magic Performance
Lenny
would like members to volunteer the performance of a Classic Effect for our
July meeting. The whole meeting will be a performance of Classics only. Let
Lenny know which one you wish to do before someone else chooses it. Phone
him on : 01 344 777 564 This item has appeared before. As we near the date
it is important to make sure you have been in touch with Lenny. If you are
not sure what to do then talk to him and he will have some suggestions that
you can discuss.
Club History
The
club founded in 1980 prospered in the eighties, but found that the name -'The
Three Counties Magical Society'- was getting confused with the society in
Reading called the 'Home Counties Magical Society'. After much discussion
and very reluctantly we abandoned our old name and became 'FAME' at the AGM
of 7th March 1988. The first newsletter headed 'Farnborough Association of
Magical Entertainers' was issue number 76. The newsletter became 'FAME News'
from August 1996 to December 1999. I took over as editor from David Hawkins
in June 1998. To launch us into the new millennium I changed the format and
renamed the newsletter 'Famulus' (Famulus means close attendant or in magical
terms a magician's assistant.) Mac MacDonald was the first President until
he retired to Scotland. (1980 - 1989) Then Len Ball took over that office
(1989 - 1996) until he retired through ill health. Lenny D succeeded as President.
(1996 - present) The club has been quite closely linked to two other clubs.
The Zodiac in Ealing, London and the MOB in Basingstoke. We supported the
early foundation of the Basingstoke club with most members holding dual membership.
When the MOB was up and running with its own constitution and Paul Daniels
as its honorary president we left it to get on with its own thing. The Zodiac
and FAME held an annual show at each other's venues taking turns each year.
It is more than ten years since the Zodiac visited us.
Extract from the July Newsletter 2009
Editorial
From
time to time I receive information from other societies or people in the magic
business that I would like to pass on to members. Often I am given too short
notice to get the info out. Try this before 3rd July - www. merlinmagicalsociety.co.uk/boot_sale.html
June Meeting
Lyndon opened his lecture with his own presentation of Al Koran's medallion.
A three figure number had been arrived at by audience selection. This number
later appeared inscribed on the reverse of large medallion.
He then went on to present a divination of a selected card from a jumbo ESP pack. An experiment was carried out with a pendulum over the back of a face down card.
Another prediction followed when a column of a newspaper was cut. The place of the cut having been predicted.
An 'Out of this World' effect was shown with a brand new pack and where a chosen card appeared amongst the opposite coloured cards.
A full card deck was taken. A quarter cut from the top was reversed (Spring), next a half was treated in the same way (Summer), three quarters was cut and reversed (Autumn) and finally (Winter) the pack was reversed and returned to the performer. The deck was turned over and the top card was found to match a card taken from the pack before the effect started. (Both black aces)
To end the first half Lyndon drew four small pictures and a helper did the same. All eight pictures were tossed in the air and the set of face down cards was removed. This was repeated until one remained. This last card matched the prediction.
After the interval Lyndon started by talking about how a mentalist gets information. He showed us several that could be used with zip or fold or could be easily loaded or unloaded. He distributed a pack of cards amongst five helpers who each shuffled their section. The cards were gathered up and distributed one each to the helpers from the shuffled deck. Lyndon then correctly named the card held by each helper.
Three of four sealed envelopes were chosen by helpers. On opening each envelope the helpers discovered a lucky dip coupon within. The performer was left with the envelope with a £20 note. A thumb tip effect.
Lyndon passed a bag with black and white stones around. Helpers secretly took a stone. Those with white stones were told to tell the truth and those with black to lie. Each helper made one statement. The performer was able to tell who lied and who told the truth.
A random double digit number was arrived at by some helpers. A magic square was then produced with each row and column etc adding up to the selected double digit number.
Lyndon did a discovery of a selected wax crayon from a box of crayons.
A three digit number was arrived at and at the performer's instructions some arithmetical operations carried out. A number of predictions about the final number were found to be true.
Congratulations and thanks to Lyndon for a lively and informative lecture.
Extract from August Newsletter 2009 - no August Meeting
There is no newsletter this month so July and August activities are reported in the September Newsletter.
Extract from the September Newsletter 2009
Editorial
As a new service to members, I am including a 'Stop Press' feature on the
calendar page of the FAME web site. When I receive information from other
magicians, clubs or dealers I will include this information under 'Stop Press'.
I will also include urgent club notices.
July Meeting
We had a good turn-out for our evening
of classic magic. Mikki started off with the classic egg bag which he performed
with much enthusiasm. The egg was not under his arm, but back in the empty
bag! Tom followed with three variations on finding a chosen card. The first
was from a shuffled deck which had been cut into packets, the second was at
a chosen number and the third was the named card.
Lenny performed a black and white handkerchiefs effect. After changing the
white to black and the black to white, he went on to putting dots on the handkerchiefs,
black on black and white on white. While we were still wondering when the
magic would arrive suddenly there were the white dots on the black and black
dots on the white handkerchiefs. After much fun with a woodpecker on a pole,
a chosen card was revealed when the woodpecker reached the bottom of its pole.
Lenny finished off with a card stab where a chosen card was found when a helper
stabbed a knife into a pack of cards to the very card.
Stephen performed a very classy card discovery where the card was discovered
reversed when the pack was ribbon spread on the table.
Mike performed the sympathetic silks using the variation described in Vol.
3 of Rice's Encyclopaedia of Silk Magic.
This was followed by Dai Vernon's routine for the cups and balls performed
by David in his own way. He finished with three oranges. Mike then performed
the diminishing cards (Chapender method). David then showed his 'Gypsy Thread'.
He used a candle flame to break the thread each time. I like this little touch
as it is showier than just snapping the thread between the fingers. There
was a little bit of fun with some matches and Ravi's lighter before he started.
Mike completed the evening of classics with Dai Vernon's Symphony of the Rings.
Extract from the October Newsletter 2009
Editorial
While on holiday
this year I watched a team of Chinese acrobats put on a splendid display of
juggling. They used clubs, knives, balls, hoops, straw hats and boxes. Although
the hat routine was terrific I always particularly enjoy the boxes. They also
did a set of balancing acts and diabolo manipulations. Juggling is often associated
with magic acts although it is some years since we last had an accomplished
juggler as a member - that is until someone proves me wrong!
September meeting
I hope we had a good turnout for David's lecture. I'll hear all about it at
the next meeting in October.
October Meeting
Time for a competition. Hinsley Hand Competition Rules
1. The Hinsley Hand Trophy shall be awarded for the most entertaining card
trick.
2. The judging shall be by ballot. All members present shall be eligible to
vote.
3. Entry is open to any fully paid-up member.
4. The card trick shall last no longer than five minutes.
5. A card trick is deemed, for the purposes of the competition, to include
playing cards of all sizes from miniature to jumbo.
6. The order of the entrants shall be decided by ballot just prior to the
competition.
I hope as many members as possible will contribute an effect to this competition. If you wish to perform several effects then only one must be named for the competition. There is a splendid trophy donated by Les Hinsley which the winner may take home for one year.
November
Cards is the theme of Steve's lecture. Bring your own pack/s so that you can
join in. I am sure there will be plenty to learn.
Playing Cards
The history of playing cards is very interesting. You can look up a very detailed
history by using Wikipedia on the Internet. As with many entries in Wikipedia
one cannot be certain that the information is 100% correct. Nevertheless it
is a good starting point. Recently I was asked why the ace of spades had special
decoration on it. On this point I agree with Wikipedia. 'The fanciful design
and manufacturer's logo commonly displayed on the Ace of Spades began under
the reign of James I of England, who passed a law requiring an insignia on
that card as proof of payment of a tax on local manufacture of cards. Until
August 4, 1960, decks of playing cards printed and sold in the U.K. were liable
for taxable duty and the Ace of Spades carried an indication of the name of
the printer and the fact that taxation had been paid on the cards. The packs
were also sealed with a government duty wrapper.'
Extract from the November Newsletter 2009
Editorial
I am writing this having returned from the newsagent for today's paper. The
streets are copper coloured from fallen leaves. In places the wind has drifted
the leaves into huge piles and out of the wind the leaves cover everything
except the lines left by passing tyres. I wonder if you have come across a
magic trick which celebrates Autumn. If you have, let me know as I can't think
of one.
October Meeting
The Hinsley Hand Competition It is many years since we last had as many entrants
for this competition. With ten performers we were treated to a feast of magic.
Also for the first time nobody performed a variant of 'Out of this world'.
We had all the ingredients of good magic including mystery, surprise and comedy.
With some lay members attending in the audience of this open event we looked
forward to the voting at the end. Once again we had a tie between two worthy
winners. David O'Connor whose effect involved mistaking a loaf of bread for
a deck of cards (he was blindfolded) tied with Steve Kinnear who gave an impeccable
performance which sets us up well for his lecture next month. Congratulations
to Steve and Dave.
November Meeting
Cards is the theme of Steve's lecture. This is a teach-in, so bring your own
pack/s and you will be able to join in. I am sure there will be plenty to
learn.
Christmas Social
As we have many new members I need to explain this evening. There is no set
theme for the evening. It is not an open evening as members will want to bring
along effects to discuss with other members, perhaps to demonstrate, teach
or learn from each other. Perhaps a seasonal effect perhaps an allied art,
a song, a dance, a musical instrument, some juggling - who knows. Just bring
along something. Refreshment will be free and there will be mince pies.
Playing Card decks
Many effects are carried out with complete decks rather than packets. Those
listed below are whole decks with a special feature that might be size or
shape or special fronts or backs. Others are of special construction.
Bicycle, Blank, Brainwave,
Crooked, ESP, Fanning, Jumbo, Lexicon, Miniature, Poker, Reader, Rough & Smooth,
Round, Standard, Stripper, Svengali, Trilby.
I wonder how many of these packs you are familiar with or even own. Also available
to the magician are sets of cards that are not playing cards (I've included
three above) like tarot cards, games cards (Happy families) and many others
too numerous to mention.
Extract from the December Newsletter 2009
Editorial
Most of the leaves are down
and the first frost is upon us. At St Mark's Church Hall we are all snug and
warm. The under-floor heating works well. Gone are the days of waiting for
the room to warm up. It is a great advantage to have such a congenial club
room.
November Meeting
We had two rows of tables arranged down the room so that each person could
have their own table space to lay down a mat. As Steve promised, this teach-in
enabled every one of us to try it out as we went. He was able to pass up and
down the rows and help individuals as needed. He started by showing us how
to hold a deck of cards. Basic it may seem, but it provides the starting point
for so much else. Then he went on to the swing cut and we persevered until
we all got the hang of it. This was followed by a variety of ways of controlling
a locator card, whether from the top or bottom of the pack or somewhere in
between held by a break. It was only natural that these skills were emphasized
in the use of a force card. With the single card either used as a locator
or force card it was natural that we moved on to controlling a shuffle with
the use of jogged cards. We also tried a throw jog. All the above took until
our refreshment break. After the break we learnt about various counts: Elmsley,
Frustration and Biddle. Steve showed us his pass, but we didn't see much until
it was explained. Included with different passes was a false cut and the evening
finished on Steve's handling of a double lift. There was something for everyone
whether card expert or not. Now comes the hard part - practice. As we all
know practice makes perfect.
Christmas Social
I explained this last month. It is a closed evening where the magic topic
is free. Bring along whatever you wish.
January
The President commands all members to attend and give a presentation of an
effect or two that is a favourite of yours that you perform well. The evening
is therefore a show of well tried effects. It may be that we have all seen
it before, but we will enjoy seeing it all again. This is not an evening for
trying something new. The emphasis is on quality. Do what you do well. As
it is a President's Command members are encouraged to see this as a 'Three
line Whip' and make every effort to be present. Membership list As usual,
a full membership list with contact details is published to members with the
December Famulus. My apologies to members whose details have not been previously
published in Famulus. Everyone should be in the list sent out with this edition.
If there have been any changes please let me know so corrected details can
be sent in due course.
.