* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
* Magic New Zealand e-zine
* www.watson.co.nz/ezine.html
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Issue Number: #141
Date: Sunday 6th October 2002
Editor: Alan Watson
www.magician.co.nz
www.alan-watson.com
e-mail: AW@Alan-Watson.com
================================
Hi here is the latest news
================================

1. Editor’s Message
2. The Society Of American Magicians Hall Of Fame & Magic Museum,
Inc.
3. Scott Hollingsworth In From Magic Island In Texas
4. Pre-Register For The Flicking Fingers Now!!!!!!!!!!
5. Melbourne Magic Night
6. Trip To Branson
7. Petrick & Mia's - 2002 World Tour
8. News From Ottawa, Canada’s Capital
9. Steve Dacri - Magic Across America Tour
10. William Perron Who Knocks Randi
11. "Art And Soul Of Magic"
12. Hosted Terminally Ill Children From Israel
13. The Amazing ‘Orchante’ Saga - Page 127
14. Magic New Zealand e-zine archives
15. Subscription Management

------------------------------------
1. Editor's Message
-------------------------------------
Message from Alan Watson - The Magic One

The last two weeks the Watson Family Magic & Illusion Show have been
performing daily at Rainbows End Leisure Park on the main stage two
shows daily.

Next week we leave for Vanuatu (a tropical paradise in the South
Pacific) where we will be performing nightly at the Waterfront Bar &
Grill Restaurant at Port Vila and also the family will also perform
two school shows - accompanying us will be Ken Bates from Wanganui
who will be performing comedy and close-up magic - hence there will
be NO MAGIC NEW ZEALAND E-ZINE published UNTIL SUNDAY 27TH OCTOBER
2002.

-------------------------------------
We were invited to Guy and Cynthia Cater’s wedding last Sunday which
was attended by approximately 200 invited guests. The New Zealand
entertainment industry was well represented by professionals
entertainers - Tom Sharplin, Brendon Dougan, Jodi Vaughan, Suzanne
Lynch, Debbie Dorday, Johnny Bond, Dave Sheridan, Jim Joll, Chris
Prowley and many other New Zealand celebrities. Magicians: Richard
and Margaret Webster, Wayne Rogers, Jon Zealando, and Michele and I.

-----------------------------------------------
Remember if you have any magic news drop me a line:
AW@Alan-Watson.com

----------------------------------
2. The Society Of American Magicians Hall Of Fame & Magic Museum,
Inc.
----------------------------------
Message from Ed Thomas (USA) - National President S.A.M.

If your travels take you to the Los Angeles area, in addition to the
world-renowned Magic Castle, there is another attraction for magic
enthusiasts that is not well-known outside the community of magic
historians . . . The Society of American Magicians Hall of Fame &
Magic Museum, Inc.

The facility, located in Hollywood, California, features several
attractions including docent-led tours of the museum galleries,
performances, lectures on the history of magic, and a
non-circulating research library. The museum illustrates the history
of magic, from ancient Egypt to the 21st Century. Life-sized figures
of magicians are displayed performing effects for which they became
famous. You can see a photo of one exhibit on the S.A.M. website,
www.magicsam.com. Click on “Member Benefits” and scroll down to the
middle of the page to read about the museum and see the photo.

The Hall of Fame Gallery contains pictures of the approximately 200
men and women elected to the Hall of Fame. Among the other galleries
in the Museum are: The Ronald and Ruth Haines Memorial Gallery,
housing one of the most extensive collections of playing cards in
the United States; the Edward A. Schneider, P.N.P., Memorial History
Gallery, featuring lifelike tableaus of important magicians of the
past and present; and the Chamber of Illusions, featuring great
showmen such as Kellar, Thurston, Blackstone Sr., and Dante. Posters
and photographs of magicians past and present decorate walls
throughout the museum. (Look sharp and you’ll see Michele and Alan
Watson’s photo gracing the DRAGON Award Wall)

One of the museum's main features is the Herbert Downs Memorial
Library, a non-circulating research library that houses an
ever-growing collection of magic books, magazines, and other
historical materials. This institution publishes a quarterly
scholarly journal, the Magic Museum Messenger, featuring historical
articles on magic and magicians, and recording the activities of the
men and women associated with the Museum.

A regular “Program Night” is offered, which includes performances of
magic on the J. Gary Bontjes, M.H.F., P.N.P., Memorial Stage, as
well as gallery tours and light refreshments. If you are in town
when a Program Night is scheduled you are welcome to attend.
Lectures and special events are held at other times, and are by
invitation only.

The S.A.M. Hall of Fame & Magic Museum, Inc. is a nonprofit
educational California corporation, founded in 1967. It has been
built and staffed from the beginning entirely by volunteer labor,
and is open to visitors by appointment only. There is no charge for
visiting the facility, however, arrangements must be made in advance
by contacting Mr. John Engman, Vice President, Post Office Box
80577, San Marino, CA 91118, USA. Please let him know of your visit
well in advance so that our volunteer docents can be scheduled to
guide you through the collections.

We welcome your visit, and enjoy sharing the treasures from our
magical past that have been entrusted to our keeping.

------------------------------------
3. Scott Hollingsworth In From Magic Island In Texas
-------------------------------------
Message from Jeff Ezell (US)

Back to work with 3 awesome days of magic in October. Starting on
Monday, Oct 28th @ 7pm. We have Scott Hollingsworth in from Magic
Island in Texas. He is a great performer as well as a thorough
teacher of close up and stand up magic. Scott Hollingsworth will be
performing at the Magic Castle the week previous to the lecture so
if you would like a sneak peek...please go see him work his magic.
Scott Hollingsworth comes highly recommended from Allen Hayden and
Paul Green. As a kicker, there will be absolutely no admission
charge for this lecture...yes, I do mean FREE Admission. So everyone
should definitely sign up for this one.

Next, on Tuesday, October 29th @ 7pm we have Jeff McBride giving his
lecture on magic with almost anything you can imagine. Most people
may know Jeff McBride for his card manipulation and his Mask act,
but there is so much more that he can teach each and everyone one of
us. Jeff McBride is a long time professional magician and teacher of
magic. Jeff McBride does not make it out to these parts very often
so, of course, I highly recommend this lecture to all. The lecture
cost is $40 per person and can be paid by cash or check at the door.

Finally, on Wednesday, October 30th @ 2pm Jeff McBride is offering a
1 day only Master Class that will last about 5 hours and will get
really in depth with your personal act and style. I have attached a
flyer from Jeff McBride that will explain the class in more detail.
It is a Word Document so it should be easy to open. The cost for the
Master Class is $125 per person and must be paid by the 20th of
October to qualify. Also, there must be a minimum of 10 paid in full
students by the 20th of October or the class will be cancelled.

All of the lectures and classes will be held @ the Ramada
INN-Burbank. You can call them @ 818 843 5955 for directions.

Call me @ 818 562 1921 to reserve your seats or simply reply to this
e-mail.

---------------------------------
4. Pre-Register For The Flicking Fingers Now!!!!!!!!!!
----------------------------------
Message from Tim & Sue-Anne Ellis (Aust)

Yes The Rumours Are True!!!!!!!!!!

THE FLICKING FINGERS are coming to Melbourne and Sydney next year,
and they have agreed to present a full weekend of Magic in both
cities. Melbourne, April 12-13, 2003, Sydney, April 19-20, 2003.

In order to make this dream a reality, we need 50 people to put
their names down and say "YES, I'M COMING" by Christmas, otherwise
the Fingers will still come to Australia, but they won't lecture. So
far 10 people have committed in Melbourne, we need 40 more to make
this event a goer! The average National Magic Convention has 3
overseas guests, this event will have 8!!!!

For more info: www4.tpgi.com.au/users/katzkin/FingersDownunder.htm

You can pre-register for Melbourne by emailing me RIGHT NOW!!!

Or Pre-register for Sydney by emailing Sean Taylor at:
taylorsmagicshop@aol.com

----------------------------------
5. Melbourne Magic Night
----------------------------------
Message from Tim & Sue-Anne Ellis (Aust)

HI GUYS!!!!

Well, if you missed out on last night's MELBOURNE MAGIC NIGHT hosted
by Mark Mayer, you really missed out on some good stuff!

After some great close-up magic downstairs performed by Tim, Tammii,
Mark, Michal, Sue-Anne, David Wright and some of the Melbourne Uni
Magic Group we all headed upstairs for some serious magic action.
(By the way, many people came to Coopers especially to see the
magic. One couple were there to find a magician for their wedding
reception, another gave one of the magicians a $20 tip!)

Upstairs we split into two groups for close up and watched: CHRIS
SHING performing some amazing coin magic. TIM ELLIS tipping some
real work on sleeving techniques. MICHAL performing a new "in
development" piece to be critiqued.

Then we all moved into the "theatre" where Sue-Anne introduced our
host MARK MAYER who began the Halloween themed night by swallowing
needles! Mark then introduced: PAUL BOWEN who taught some Halloween
themed balloon modelling. PAUL MILLER, the graphic designer who did
Tim & Sue-Anne's poster and brochure, who spoke about the importance
of good design work for magicians in the corporate market. (Paul
Miller (03 9486 2555). MICHAL spoke about the importance of
selecting the right music for your act, especially when creating a
spooky Halloween mood. TIM, from the Telex Hearing Centre in
Melbourne (03 9844 3511) spoke about electronic listening devices
and micro cameras his company can create for magicians. SUE-ANNE
WEBSTER gave some Fantasio candle tips. MARK read the Magic News.
TIM ELLIS presented MagicSports, recapping Drunk Tech and
introducing everyone to Instant Trade Show. TAMMII spoke about
'Balloons Around  The World' and how this fund raiser for balloon
artists will become an annual event. Finally, Mark wrapped the night
up and people broke off into groups, chatting, networking, and
buying stuff from Tammii's magic shop.

One of the most important things mentioned was the fact that the
FLICKING FINGERS are coming to Melbourne and Sydney next year.

In order to make this dream a reality, we need 50 people to put
their names down and say "YES, I'M COMING" by Christmas, otherwise
the Fingers will still come, but they won't lecture in Melbourne. So
far 10 people have committed, we need 40 more to make this event a
goer! The average National Magic Convention has 3 overseas guests,
this event will have 8!!!!

For more info:
www4.tpgi.com.au/users/katzkin/FingersDownunder.htm

You can pre-register by emailing me RIGHT NOW!!!

FINALLY - The Lyndsay Reitschel auction will take place at THE SWISS
CLUB in Melbourne on Wednesday night, Oct 16. Contact Graham
Etherington for more information. mrtricks@ozemail.com.au

See you at the next MELBOURNE MAGIC NIGHT (November 6 at Coopers,
hosted by Tim Ellis)

----------------------------------
6. Trip To Branson
----------------------------------
Message from Bev Bergeron (US)

TRIP TO BRANSON, MO

Most of our trips are for business reasons, so it was a pleasure to
tell the children of friends that we would be happy to attend their
parent's 50th wedding anniversary in Birmingham, Alabama and it
would be a pleasure trip - no tax write-off.

The more we planned the trip the more it became a major journey. The
50th wedding anniversary was a huge success for Charlie and Edna
Buckner. Charlie does a very good mental act and one of the best
Thumb Ties in the business. John and Tammy Calvert, Cuz Cliff
Holman, Kevin King and several other show biz people were also there
to greet the couple, but they also messed up my non-business trip by
talking about booking shows.

My wife did not clobber me over the hours of business conversations
when I pointed out that we were headed to Tunica, Mississippi where
there would be a dozen casinos for us to relax in. After fighting to
get into the Gold Strike Casino and Resort I was told that Bret
Daniels large illusion show was gone - no more. I didn't bother to
tell my wife that news since she did not know that Bret was there to
start with. In the middle of the night the message light began to
flash on our phone. Since I knew that no one knew where we were
staying, I figured it was a mistake and would answer it in the
morning. At 8:00 A.M. I learn that the show manager of the casino
had recognized me as I walked across the lobby and called the room
to offer me breakfast. Hey, I figure that the house would pay for
it, so I accepted. Come to find out the manager was a RB and B&B
Clown College graduate who remembered when I gave a lecture to them.
We talked business for the next two hours.

I assured my wife that I did not know that there would be a show
manager in the casino who would know me and now we were heading to
Branson where all would be just relax pleasure - no business.

The map showed several roads leading into Branson. I picked the one
that showed a freeway (63) going to towards Springfield and then a
quick short cut (160) through some hills into Branson. The trip up
the long freeway took one hour - the short trip through the hills
took four hours. Don't go that way!!!

Branson is a mystery in itself. While doing some writing, producing
and directing for Six Flags in St. Louis in 1988, I was offered the
opportunity to visit the city to evaluate it's potential as a show
town. I regrettably turned down the offer - I believe I had a
children's show to do or something important like that. Branson grew
from a cave with a country western comedy show into the biggest
collection of theatres filled with paid viewers from 9:30 A.M. (yes,
they start shows in the morning), 10:00 A.M., 2:30 P.M., 5:00 P.M.
7:00 P.M. 8:00 P.M. and some late shows are in unknown lounges -
pick your time there will be a show starting somewhere.

Over thirty theatres all with some form of entertainment - it is
like one big vaudeville show spread out over the hills. There is
truly something for everyone.

We checked into a beautiful hotel with a balcony view of the lovely
hills (they called them mountains). The room was a lot cheaper than
the broken down motel rooms on the Interstate Highways. My first
choice show was Jim Stafford whom I have always admired for his
performances and special writings on the Smothers Brothers TV show
in 1969. Jim is a master of parodies, which is a lost art in music.
His show was like a modern Olson & Johnson Hell's A Pop'n from the
1930's. There was magic all through it, but no master magician. A
bit with a flashlight floating over the audience was right out of
the old John Calvert show and was followed with 'Flying Ghost" about
the theatre. I was on the floor with this one since I was raised
with a "ghost stick" in my hands from working with Wyman and Jack
Baker the Dr. Silkini Ghost Shows of the 1940s. Wyman and I were
still trouping the ghost around the theatres from 1983 to 1991. We
showed David Copperfield how to do it and David use d the material
on his 1995 TV special.

There were a half dozen more magic effects that the audience loved
and a 3-D movie better then Disney's. The next day we had lunch with
Mike Wilson, his wife and son. Mike is Mark Wilson's son and is the
child who is seen on the old tapes of "The Magic Land of Allakazam"
TV show that we all appeared on. Mike is now VP of a company who
brings into the States the Chinese Acrobats. He arranged for Alouise
and I to see the show the next night. We could not go that night
since we were booked to see the Andy Williams with Glenn Campbell
show. I sent a note back to Andy whom I'd worked with many times and
was invited back after the show for a visit. It was nice.

The entire city of Branson is nice. The clerks, parking attendances,
ticket sellers, ushers, you name it - all greet you with a smile.
Not like Vegas where a hand is put out for any show or Broadway
where intimidation is the norm. Branson is a community of real
people. Some come from other countries. There are Japanese violin
players, a Russian comic (Yakov Smirnoff - FUNNY!!! - great juggler,
Slim Chance, on the show too) and Chinese performers. We made the
show as Mike Wilson's guest and were surprised to be introduced to
the audience as the President of the International Brotherhood of
Magicians. So they didn't put in the "past" word. A great show and
with a lady magician. Afterward, we were guest of the director who
could not speak English, but through an interpreter let me know that
he was a member of the IBM too. We posed for pictures with the
entire cast and were given gifts. In Yakov words: "What a
country!!!"

On the way back we spent more time in over priced, broken down
motels that tarnish our traveled highways. We stopped in Vicksburg,
Mississippi to check out the Harrah's Casino. No entertainment -
just sad looking people. Branson has them beat.

See you down the road,
Bev

P.S. Ran into an old friend in Branson who asked me about working in
a show - Wow! Now I can write off the entire trip as business.

----------------------------------
7. Petrick & Mia's - 2002 World Tour
----------------------------------
Message from Petrick & Mia (US)

A short time ago, Petrick & Mia announced they were going on a NEW
lecture tour. The response has been overwhelming. The following
cities have already been booked:

JAPAN
October:10 - Tsu City, 11 - 12 Osaka, 13 - 15 Tokyo, 16 - Nagoya,
17 - Tokyo - TAMC, 18 - Tokyo AMC, 19 - Kanazawa, 20 - Tokyo - Magic
Cirke Day of Japan - Show from 1 - 4P.M. and a Special Lecture in
the evening.

EUROPE: Austria - Belgium - Denmark - France - Germany - Italy -
Switzerland
October: 26-27 Zurich Switzerland, 28 - Reserved for Geneva
Switzerland, 29 - Mindelheim Germany,

November: 1 -3 Nancy Fance, 4 - reserved for Grenoble France, 5 -
Milano Italy, 8 -9 -10 Torino Italy, 12- Nurnberg Germany, 13 -
Braunsweig Germany Lecture, 14 - Braunsweig Germany Show, 15 - Essen
Germany, 16 - Innsbrug Austria, 19 - Reserved for Salsburg Austria,
20 - Linz Austria, 21 - Graz Austria, 22 - Reserved fro Vienna
Austria, 23 - Vienna Austria, 24 - Vienna Austria, 29 - Nice
France - 2 public Shows and a Lecture, 30 - Toulouse France,
December: 5 - Reserved fro Denmark, 6 - Lubock Germany, 8 - Oelde
Germany, 9 - Hannover Germany, 10 - Hatten-Streekemor (Oldenburg)
Germany, 11 - Bonn-Hersell Germany, 14 - Mephisto - Belgium,

New dates are booked every week, please check our web page regularly
for up dates.

If your magic club is interested in hosting Petrick & Mia's New
lecture for your members, please contact us as soon as possible.
Dates are going fast and clubs who waited too long missed the
opportunity to see these magnificent performers and their lecture.
We still have a few dates available.

E-mail: pmmagic@pmmagic.com
www.pmmagic.com

----------------------------------
8. News From Ottawa, Canadas Capital
----------------------------------
Message from Joe Legari (Canada)

Joe Legari just returned from Rochester, New York where he opened
the 29th Upstate NY MagicFest. After closing NYCAN six times in a
row, he accepted the invitation from Curt Higgins to open the Fest
as a single. He and Gigi embark on a lecture/tour of Italy and
Malta. They will be lecturing in Rome on 6 November, 2002 for
information contact Franco Silvi, mrtrick@tin.it . Lecture in Malta
will be on 10 November, 2002 for information contact Vanni Pule,
pulevan@vol.net.mt . Legari will feature two lectures "My First" and
"The Christmas Magic Show" which has been considered as one of the
best commercial acts for the season.

----------------------------------
9. Steve Dacri - Magic Across America Tour
----------------------------------
Message from Steve Dacri (US)

After logging 8,200 miles on the car in the past 22 days, presenting
17 lectures in 15 states, I open at The Magic Castle in Hollywood
tonight (Monday) for a 7 night engagement. Shows are 10:30, 11:30
and 12 Midnight each night. Call our office for complimentary show
seats during this engagement. I then return to the Catskills,
performing at the Swan Lake Resort for the Tannen's Magic Jubilee
(Oct 11-13) that kicks off a 2-month tour - the final leg of the
2002 Magic Across America Tour.

Highlights of this leg of the tour include East Coast lectures in
Rochester, Baltimore, Virginia and other cities, plus two lectures
in Canada (Toronto and Montreal). The tour consists of two types of
programs:
(1) Magic Lectures presented for magic organizations and
(2) Close-Up Magic Shows presented to the general public.
A complete updated itinerary is always available on stevedacri.com

THE CLOSE-UP MAGIC SHOWS - these special performances consist of a
re-creation of my Caesars Palace (Caesars Magical Empire) Vegas act
presented in a specially-constructed "Close-up theater" which is set
up in the function room of a restaurant. Only 40 seats are available
for these rare shows, which are presented up to 5 times at each
location. Many locations offer dinner/show combination tickets.
Tickets may be purchased in advance at the location or at the door,
if any seats remain.

These public shows will be presented in Boston ("Good Times
Emporium" Oct 24), in Westboro, MA ("Chen Du" Oct. 25), in
Worcester, MA (TBA) and in Baltimore (TBA), as well as at the famed
"Cow Palace" in Tubac, Arizona (Dec. 4). Additional dates will be
announced shortly.

We look forward to seeing many of you at The Magic Castle this week,
or somewhere along the tour route.

---------------------------------
10. William Perron Who Knocks Randi
----------------------------------
Message from Don Drake (US)

I notice there's no e-mail address for this William Perron who
knocks Randi. I also notice that this so called association of
"remote viewers" want to set their own test conditions.

How come they won't accept Randi's conditions? Too tough for them?
They also seem to want to pick the judges. Hmmm, very strange. I
wonder why?

----------------------------------
11. "Art And Soul Of Magic"
----------------------------------
Message from Carl Andrews

The "Art and Soul of Magic" is the title of a television documentary
that will chronicle the story of "Black American Magicians."
Produced and conceived by Glenn Farrington the major part of the
shoot will take place on Monday Sep. 23 in New York City.
Scheduled to appear are Goldfinger & Dove, Ice, Chris Capeheart,
Carl Andrews, Randy Shines, Puck, Presto and Bill McQueen. Frank
Brents and Hiawatha have previously taped segments for the show. The
special is tentatively scheduled to air in February 2003 during
Black History Month.(9/23)

----------------------------------
12. Hosted Terminally Ill Children From Israel
----------------------------------
Message from Wayne Bernath, Director of Publicity for Lance Burton

Lance Burton along with the Monte Carlo Resort & Casino hosted
terminally ill children from Israel who were attending a
neurological conference in Las Vegas along with their doctors and
nurses. Lance greeted them all in the theatre lobby after his
"Master Magician" show at the resort.

"Lance Burton: Master Magician" runs from Tuesday thru Saturday at 7
and 10 p.m. Call 730-7160 for info.


---------------------------------
13. The Amazing ‘Orchante’ Saga – Page 127
----------------------------------
Message from Tommy Orchard (The Amazing Orchante)(UK ex-pat Kiwi)

Amusing Incidents and, Some That Weren’t!

Scattered throughout the Saga, are many incidents, and I thought
that it would be a good idea to put them into one chapter, plus a
few others that haven’t been included yet. They will be in no
particular order, I’ll simply write them as they come to mind. So,
sit back and enjoy these various, sometimes funny, sometimes
bizarre, episodes that invaded my Show Biz’ life!

Like the show in the Kawerau Hotel lounge room, with no dressing or
changing room facilities. We borrowed some screens from the local
hospital and voila – we had a makeshift dressing room. At one point
when we were changing, a female voice loudly inquired: “HEY, YOU
FELLA’S IN THERE, IS IT A BOY OR GIRL?” The crowd roared! The
screens had come from the - MATERNITY WARD!
---------
Then there was the night of the party, way back in the early
sixties, when the party host who, on hearing that I could swallow
swords, roared “Bullshit” and produced a large butchers sheath full
of knives. He worked at the Westfield freezing works. “Lets see you
swallow this,” he said, brandishing a very large, very lethal knife.
I declined, explaining that it wasn’t possible to swallow an object
with razor sharp edges. “How about this then” he snarled, as he
pulled out a very long sharpening steel. “No worries” I said, taking
it from him, and gulping it down. That was no problem, but pulling
it out again was – the damn thing nearly turned my oesophagus inside
out! I had forgotten about the raised spiral edging, which is sharp.
Mind you, I was pretty drunk at the time. Never again!
----------
During the hypnotism show one night, a beautifully attired young
lady toppled out of her chair when she ‘went to sleep’, landing on
the floor with her legs facing the audience. Unfortunately, her
dress had ridden up and, for all to see, were her panties - sporting
a very large hole in the most inappropriate position!
----------
Or the young lad who, dressed in his Scout uniform, ‘surreptitiously
’ went around, under his own volition - picking the other ‘subjects’
pockets after they had (by hypnotic suggestion), apparently ‘won a
bundle’ at the races! His mother and father (the Scout Captain) were
very red faced!
--------
The things one does to prove a point! Like the time in a coffee
lounge one night, following a show at the Rotorua Sound Shell. I
swallowed a long handled teaspoon – because a sceptic, who had been
to the show, recognised me and said that my swords folded up. The
handle of the spoon went down alright, but I didn’t figure on the
whole thing disappearing down my gullet! The bowl of the spoon shot
out of my fingers like a pip; It was covered in cream. I had nearly
pulled it out again when some good ‘Samaritan’ decided to help? - By
giving me a hefty slap on the back! The spoon shot back down again!
I was most fortunate in that I didn’t choke to death!
---------
What is not such a good idea, utterly stupid in fact, is spending
the whole day sunbathing on a beach and, finishing up looking like a
freshly cooked lobster - as I did in Gisborne, way back in the ‘Dark
Ages’; Then having to do a show later that night, which entailed
among other things, laying on a bed of nails. It was okay during my
performance – I was using self - hypnosis, but afterwards? OUCH!
--------
Vanishing a lit, full length king size cigarette (You know - by the
usual method) in a ladies rather expensive evening gown, which has a
metallic thread running thro’ it is, most definitely, not a good
idea. The heat tends to make ‘things’ melt somewhat. Most
embarrassing, even if there is No Evidence, as to where the ‘body’
is buried!

Page 128

Doing a show for the ‘Homai Institute For The Blind’ was
interesting. Everything was visual, performed to music – no patter,
and you couldn’t cheat, as every single move was being described to
the letter so, no mistakes allowed either! Glad I didn’t pass wind.
How would they have described that? Then again, they wouldn’t really
have needed to, would they! I’ve just heard the ‘Seekers’ on the
radio singing ‘Blowing in The Wind’, and the thought just kinda
popped into my head!
--------
Many years ago, I came up with the bright idea of getting a member
of the audience to pull the sword out after I had swallowed it – to
dispel any ideas that it folded up. Standing on a chair beside me,
they would be instructed to pull the sword straight up and out, at a
given signal. Well that was the plan. HA! To be fair, it worked
great for a couple of shows then ‘Murphy’ stuck his oar in! We were
performing at a Hotel that catered for an international clientele,
and a Japanese tourist volunteered!

We will never know if he simply misunderstood the instructions, or
whether he actually thought that Sword Swallowing was faked, and
therefore would not cause me any harm. When Veronica gave him the
OKAY, to pull the sword OUT, he instead whacked the top of it,
HARD – which drove it even further down my throat! Luckily, because
I my head was bent back, I saw his hand go up and instinctively
‘knew’ what was about to happen and bent my knees to lower my
height. When you’ve got 22 inches of SOLID STEEL inside of you,
which has actually entered your stomach, you cannot bend over or
twist, well you can, if you want to die! It was fortunate that my
eyes were open - otherwise several inches of the sword would have
protruded from my rear end! I could then have been employed to pick
up papers and rubbish in Parks, with my ‘built-in - rubbish
stick/spike’! What a bum job that would be!
---------
When working on a cruise ship, it’s not a bad idea to check out the
weather before starting a Close – Up magic session, especially if
you intend to perform the ‘Cups and Balls’! All was well when I
started my afternoon session to a packed lounge bar audience. I was
part way through my cups and balls routine when the ship started
rolling in a heavy swell, even with the stabilisers out.

An intricate cups and balls routine is difficult enough under normal
circumstances, but when the balls are rolling all over the place –
it sure does test your skills somewhat! The crowd kindly applauded
the magician at the finish. I applauded the juggler! It just so
happens that on that fateful day, Veronica decided to video the
proceedings, so I have a permanent record of that rather difficult
cups and balls magic/juggling session – I almost get seasick,
whenever I watch it!
-------------
Walking along a street in Madang, Papua New Guinea, we came across
a long line of natives, all with red teeth, including the kids –
from the beetle nuts they constantly chewed. They were seated along
the footpath, plying their wares for the tourists. It was the usual
sort of stuff: shell necklaces, bangles, colourful skirts and
trousers, sharks teeth and various carved wooden objects like
dolphins etc. One chap was selling wooden salt and peppershakers of
various sizes and lengths BUT, they were all in the unmistakable
shape of a man’s penis! Now me being me, I just couldn’t help
myself. Squatting down in front of the vendor, I reached down to the
base of the biggest set that he had on display and said: “Very nice,
but there’s something missing”, and produced two, red sponge balls!
His eyes nearly fell out of his head, especially when I apparently
pocketed them and then ‘produced’ two more, from another set of
those rather rude objects. He asked if he could look at one, and
gingerly examined it.

When I started doing some vanishes and transpositions with them, all
the other natives within the vicinity began yelling with excitement
at this ‘MAGIC’! To them, what they were witnessing was the REAL
THING! The chap with the shakers made it quite plain that he wished
to bargain with me. He wanted my sponge balls. It was they, not me,
that had the ‘MAGIC POWER’! Of course I wouldn’t part with them so,
he reached into a large bag and pulled out what was, quite
obviously, the pride and joy of his collection - I mean - they were
two of the biggest salt and pepper shakers I’ve ever seen, again in
the shape of a Male…! It would have taken ‘kilograms’, to have
filled those massive beasts up. He almost cried when I said NO and,
to add insult to injury, we didn’t buy anything from him! Well C’
mon, he and his nearby stallholder friends had, after all, been
right royally entertained, FOR FREE!

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14. Magic New Zealand e-zine archives
-------------------------------------
Back issues of the Magic New Zealand e-zine go to:
www.watson.co.nz/ezine.html

Both the User Name and Password MUST be entered in lower case to
gain access.
User Name: magic
Password: kiwi

When you enter the archive the e-zines are in issue order and are
coded. Eg 001 Nov06 1999.txt first three numbers (001) denote issue
number, then the date (Nov06) and the last figures the year (1999)
Both the User Name and Password MUST be entered in lower case to
gain access.

-------------------------------------
15. Subscription Management
-------------------------------------
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© Copyright 2002 Alan Watson