* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Magic New Zealand * www.watson.co.nz/ezine.html * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Issue Number: #474 Date: Sunday 28th January 2007 Editor: Alan Watson www.magicianz.com www.Alan-Watson.com e-mail: AW@Alan-Watson.com ================================ Hi here is the latest news ================================ 1. Editor's Message 2. Cesareo Pelaez - Grand David Magic Spectacular Shows 3. Broken Wand - Jules Lenier 4. Meetings With Remarkable Magicians # 45 - Nick Lewin 5. Pantomime: Communicating with your Audience - Kyle Peron 6. Las Vegas Magic - February, 2007 7. Atlanta Magician Of The Year Named 8. Tim Ellis' New Comedy Festival Show 'POKER In The Face' 9. 2007 Florida State-Daytona Beach Festival Convention 10. South African Magicians Convention 11. New Zealand Lecture Available For California 12. The Magic Pin Trading Frenzy Started In St Louis 13. "World's Friendliest Convention" 14. Anyone Know The Company That Made These Mini Doll Illusions? 15. Magic in the Rockies 2007 16. Wanted Information On Come-Together-Silks (Supreme) 17. The Amazing Orchante Saga 18. e-zine Archives 19. Privacy Policy And Copyright Notice -------------------------------------------- 1. Editor's Message -------------------------------------------- Caught up with internationally acclaimed mentalist/hypnotist Stuart Cumberland, brought out to New Zealand for a corporate gig. Stuart publishs a weekly mentalists and psychic entertainers e-zine and provides product for the mentalist. For more information go to: www.mental-list.com ----------------------- Remember if you have any magic news drop me a line: AW@Alan-Watson.com -------------------------------------------- 2. Cesareo Pelaez - Grand David Magic Spectacular Shows -------------------------------------------- Message from Henry Lewis (UK) You will, I am sure be pleased to know that Cesareo Pelaez MIMC is once again taking an active part after his illness in the Le Grand David Magic Spectacular Shows at the Cabot Street and Larcom theatres in Beverly MA and apart from the great amount of recognition he is attracting in the USA he was also appointed as Magical Consultant to the Boston Ballet Company for their production of the Nutcracker Suite, which has proved very successful. Just published, a best seller over here in the UK is John Fisher's latest book "'The Definitive Biography of a Comedy Legend' 'TOMMY COOPER Always Leave Them laughing'. Published by Harper Collins 2006. It is a wonderful 470pps of detailed research and interest and I was honoured to see that it was not only dedicated to Tommy's wife Gwen but also to my daughter Vicki and myself. John Fisher MIMC is the Executive Curator of The Magic Circle. I was appointed Curator Emeritus an honour never before granted by The Magic Circle on the acceptance of my proposal by council that John should become the Executive Curator in my place. He is a great asset to The Magic Circle and magic. -------------------------------------------- 3. Broken Wand - Jules Lenier -------------------------------------------- Message from Nick Lewin (US) It is with great sorrow that I have to share the news of the passing of Jules Lenier. Jules was a brilliant magician who influenced many with his writing and performances. There will be a celebration of his life and a chance to share our memories of Jules at his second home the Magic Castle at a future date. Jules was one of the greats and will be much missed by his many friends. -------------------------------------------- 4. Meetings With Remarkable Magicians # 45 - Nick Lewin -------------------------------------------- Message from Nick Lewin (US) Tommy Cooper: The funniest magician that ever waved a wand. Last week I wrote a piece about John Fisher the English writer/ producer who has added so much to the world of magic. I missed one bit of information that was of interest to all lovers of comedy magic. I want to thank the various readers who emailed me about my omission. John has recently written a biography of England's very own Tommy Cooper; in fact a West End stage show is in the works based on the book. The title of the book is 'Always Leave Them Laughing' I confess I haven't got my mitts on a copy of the book to read it yet but I am sure it is wonderful exploration of this iconic performer. When I was growing up in England there were only three magicians that I remember watching on television on a regular basis. They were David Nixon, Robert Harbin and Tommy Cooper. There must have been more but it was these three I remember the most vividly. My personal favorite was Tommy. In fact in England he was everyone's favorite funnyman. It is sometimes difficult to explain to non-Brits about what a beloved figure Tommy was to the British public. Only Frankie Howard, Tony Hancock and Morecombe & Wise were in the same league. Tommy was one of a handful of performers who could reduce an audience to a fit of laughter without saying a word. He was certainly a huge influence on my career. I only met Tommy once but it is a meeting that has a very special place in my heart. In my early years I spent as much time as I could in 'Ken Brooke's Magic Place' and was lucky enough to get personal tuition from Ken. He charged a guinea (21 shillings) for each half hour lesson. This was a great deal of money to me and I took my lessons very seriously. Arriving one day in Ken's studio ready to work on one phase of his Multiplying Martini routine, Ken surprised me by saying that he was working with someone else on the routine. He asked if it was OK to run our lessons together. I happily agreed and then went about my regular task of fetching tea from the café across the street. When I returned with my tray of milky teas I was shocked and delighted to discover Tommy Cooper standing in the studio talking with Ken. All thoughts of a lesson faded from my mind as I was introduced to Tommy. After chatting for a few minutes Ken said in his normal brisk manner, "Enough talking, let's set up the tables and get going." Finally the penny dropped and I realized that I was to share a lesson with a legend. For half an hour Ken barked out instructions to us in his normal manner. We followed his instructions as best we could and after thirty minutes Ken told us we were done. Tommy said goodbye and left the studio. I strongly suspect that Ken had deliberately arranged the event to give me a special treat. If this was the case then he certainly succeeded and to this day it remains one of the most special half hours of my life. Please send any bricks or bouquets to nicklewin@earthlink.net and check out my website at http://www.NickLewin.com -------------------------------------------- 5. Don't Forget Your Audience - Kyle Peron -------------------------------------------- Message from By Kyle Peron E-Mail: Magic4u02@aol.com This is an interesting topic to talk about and I hope one in which you will indulge me a little by continuing to read and allow me to explain myself in a bit more detail. Don't forget your audience? Seems like a silly question and probably looks silly when you're reading it now. How could anyone forget their audience? How could a magician forget the people he or she is performing right in front of? Seems rather silly doesn't it? But the point of the matter is, we all have at some point forgotten our audience and too many times I have seen it in the performances of other magic shows or acts I have watched. Allow me to dive in a little deeper. Let us be totally honest for a second if we can. How many of you reading this article can truthfully say yes to the following? How many times have you given a performance and you realized that your mind was just not in the show? Sure you were doing the moves and saying the patter, but your mind was somewhere else? You might have been thinking of anything besides the show itself. Perhaps you were thinking about lunch, your bills or how the heck you were going to pack up and get to the next gig. Now how many of you were really honest just now and replied yes? Well I can honestly say I said yes because I have done it too. This is just the start of a discussion I want to talk about in this article about not forgetting your audience. The above situation is just one instance where you can forget your audience is even there. We all have done it and may not even realize it is happening or how damaging it can really be. When the above happens, do you ever stop to think about whether or not your audience could sense your lack of attention or desire to be there with them? Chances are we do not even think that far ahead. But rest assured that the answer to that question is yes indeed. Audiences can and do sense whether or not you are there with them or off thinking about something else. It transcends through your movement, what you say and how you present yourself. So then why is the audience so important to me? Why should they be so important to you as a performer of magic? Well for starters what is a magician without an audience? The answer to that is a very lonely person. To a magician your audience should be everything. It is the audience that makes the magician. It is the audience that gives us the applause and acceptance that we are often after. It is the audience that really allows us to call ourselves magicians in the first place. Because the audience is just so critically important to me, I must and should show every bit of respect to them from the moment I step on stage to long after I have left it. This means staying in the moment with them and learning to focus ones attention to the show at hand. If this means that you spend a little extra time before the show to breathe, focus and find yourself, then that is what one must do. Why? because my audience deserves that much from me. Every show I do I try to remind myself that somewhere in that audience there is a child or an adult seeing a live magician for the very first time. I want to make sure that person, and the rest of the audience, walks away with a memory that lasts inside of them for a very long time. Forgetting your audience is just so easy to do and sometimes it even stems from how we learn magic and how we practice our art. As a magician we tend to fall in love with technique and the "moves" that make the magic happen in our craft. To us, the art of doing these moves fascinates us. We are so involved and so dedicated with the mechanics of how an effect works that we tend to stop realizing how the lay people see us in what we do. When you become so involved in the mechanics and the moves you learn, one can fall into a very bad trap. What tends to happen is that we get stuck in falling in love with the "how" and forget the "why"'. Let me explain if I may. How many card vanishes alone do you know? The answer to many of you is probably a lot. Probably you know so many and not only know them, but know what each one is called, where they originated from and possibly even variations on the move itself. Nothing wrong with this as there is appreciation for knowing our art and its history. But do we think about this from the perspective of the audience? We love the moves we learn and this often times leads us down a path I like to call "falling in love with ourselves". What happens is that these moves and variations become transfixed in our mind. We know that what we are doing is 50 different card vanishes. We know each of them have a unique difference and subtlety to them. But, does the audience care? If the moves of our art form are supposed to be invisible to the audience, then those 50 moves of vanishing a card look like what? Maybe you guessed it. They look like all the same thing. Just because one knows 50 ways to vanish a card does not mean the audience wants or needs to see all 50 ways to vanish it. In their mind the card vanishes it appears and now he or she is doing it again. Why? Why? because the magician has fallen in love with the mechanics of what he or she is doing and forgotten one very important rule. That rule is the sheer fact that the magician possibly forgot that the audience wants to be entertained more then anything else. To entertain an audience means that we must stop thinking just about ourselves when we are on stage. We must start thinking about them and their needs and their wants. It becomes much to easy to fall in love with something we have created or done that we feel is just amazing and technically wonderful. However, if that magic does not connect with the audience or entertain them, then we must be willing to take it out of the show or act no matter how much we may actually love doing it. It should never be just about us. If our audiences are that important to us, we cannot forget them. We should look at our act or our show and really study it from the minds of the audience we perform for. Is the show entertaining? Am I performing for myself or am I really there in the moment to bring this audience a magical experience they will remember for a while? Is what I am doing on there for them or for me? If it is for me then maybe it is time to reevaluate what it is I am doing. Not forgetting your audience even transcends past the show itself. It starts in the creation process or the process of coming up with those first creative ideas. So many of us dive inwards to create our magic and forget that maybe we should be looking outwards for creative ideas. Maybe when we create our magic we should be remembering our audience there too. Maybe we can ask ourselves what the audience wants to see and what would entertain them in the best way possible. Look outwards at life and find out what people are doing, seeing, enjoying and even watching. Maybe our magic and creative ideas can come directly from our audience itself? And what happens when the show is all done and the curtains close? Do we forget our audiences and leave them there in that place? To me the answer is always no. I always feel that I need to let my audience know how much they mean to me. It is because they came to that show that allows me to perform the magic I enjoy so much. For me simply going out to greet them and shake their hand is a way of letting them know that I have not forgotten them.. not for a second. As always, I encourage you the readers to let me know your thoughts. So if you have any thoughts on my articles or suggestions or comments, please feel free to e-mail me directly at magic4u02@aol.com. I would love to hear from you. Kyle Peron Magician and Illusionist Graphic Designer and Illustrator (Specializing in Logo creation) www.kyleandkellymagic.com -------------------------------------------- 6. Las Vegas Magic - February, 2007 -------------------------------------------- Compiled by David Neubauer (www.dnmagic.com) Production Shows: Amazing Johnathan 10 pm, (Dark Thurs.), Sahara. http://www.saharavegas.com/shows/amazingjohnathon.html Bite (Vampire Strip Revue) Antonio Restivo 10:30 pm (dark Thurs.) Stratosphere www.bitelasvegas.com David Copperfield 7:30 & 10 pm, 4:30 Sat. & some Sun. MGM Grand. Feb 5-18, March 22- April 19, http://mgm.admission.com/cgi/guide.cgi?l=EN Haunted Vegas Tour & Show Robert Allen, Jac Hayden & Zamora - Greek Isle. 9:00 pm tour and show (Dark Fri.) $10 off coupon: http://www.vegas4locals.com/couponhauntedvegas.html Jason Bird The Shops in Desert Passage - Aladdin. Main stage, near the "V" Theater, Thursday - Monday Various times from 1:15 pm. - 8:15 pm. - Free. La Femme Stephan Vanel 8 & 10:30 pm, (Dark Tues.), MGM Grand. http://www.mgmgrand.com/pages_html/entertainment_lafemme_lafemme.asp Lance Burton, Master Magician 7 pm Tues-Sat & 10 pm Tues. & Sat. Monte Carlo. http://www.montecarlo.com/entertainment/lance.aspx Mac King Comedy Magic Show 1 & 3 pm, (Dark Sun. & Mon.) Harrah's Clint Holmes Theater. www.mackingshow.com Nathan Burton Comedy Magic Show 2 pm, (Dark Fri. & Sun.) V Theater in the Desert Passage - Aladdin. Penn & Teller 9 pm, (Dark Tues.), Rio. http://www.harrahs.com/our_casinos/rlv/entertainment/entertainment_detail_00.html The Magic of Rick Thomas 2 & 4 pm, (Dark various days), Orleans. http://www.orleanscasino.com/entertainment/index.html The Ultimate Variety Showcase 8 pm - Midnight every Tuesday. Free. A different live show every week. Check the website for performance details. http://www.samstownlv.com/entertainment/event.cfm?EventID=332 Roxy's Live - Sam's Town V, The Ultimate Variety Show Jeff Hobson, Nathan & Sarah - www.vtheshow.com 7 & 9 pm, Aladdin. 2 for 1 coupon: http://www.vegas4locals.com/couponvshow.html World's Greatest Magic Show Kevin James, Kozak and guest stars. Billy Fergueson (pre-show). 6 pm Sat. - Thurs., 8:15 Fri., Greek Isle. www.greatestmagicshow.com Xtreme Magic Starring Dirk Arthur Tiffany Theatre, Tropicana 2 and 4 pm. (Dark Fri.) $10 off coupon: http://www.vegas4locals.com/Coupontropicana_dirk.html Jamie Porter's Radio Side Show Sat @ 5 am, KLAV FM 1230. Restaurants: Eric Allan Outback Steakhouse (Green Valley), Fri. & Sat. Jayden LaCross TGI Fridays, Wed. & Sun. Las Vegas Magic Organizations I.B.M. #257: 7 pm 1st Monday of each month. www.ring257.com Darwin's Magic Club meets every Wednesday. Both meet at: Boomers, 3200 Sirius Ave. February, 2007 February 15-17: The Ultimate Performers Workshop, Mac King, Jeff Hobson, Charlie Frye, Peter Reveen, Joanie Spina, Shep Hyken, Paul Stone. www.ultimateperformersopportunity.com February 18-21: The World Magic Seminar - 30th Anniversary Blowout. Orleans Hotel. www.worldmagicseminar.com February 23-25: Master Class. McBride's Magic & Mystery School with Jeff McBride, Eugene Burger. www.magicalwisdom.com March, 2007 March 20-22: Worker's Mid-Week Master Class. McBride's Magic & Mystery School with Jeff McBride, Eugene Burger. www.magicalwisdom.com April, 2007 April 23-29: Extended Master Class. McBride's Magic & Mystery School with Jeff McBride, Eugene Burger. www.magicalwisdom.com June, 2007 June 10-12: The Las Vegas Magic Invitational - Palace Station Lectures so far include: Jason England, Jon Armstrong, Jeff McBride, Wayne Dobson, Gaston Quieto and Gregory Wilson. www.LVMI.net July, 2007 July 16-22: Extended Master Class. McBride's Magic & Mystery School with Jeff McBride, Eugene Burger. www.magicalwisdom.com August, 2007 August 16-22: Extended Master Class. McBride's Magic & Mystery School with Jeff McBride, Eugene Burger. www.magicalwisdom.com August 19-22: MAGIC Live! - The Orleans. www.magicmagazine.com September, 2007 September 14-16: Master Class. McBride's Magic & Mystery School with Jeff McBride, Eugene Burger. www.magicalwisdom.com October, 2007 October 23-26: Magic & Meaning Conference; MAGIC AND THE ART OF STORYTELLING, McBride's Magic & Mystery School with Jeff McBride, Eugene Burger, George Parker, Special Guest: Robert Neale. www.magicalwisdom.com -------------------------------------------- 7. Atlanta Magician Of The Year Named -------------------------------------------- Message from Maria Ibáñez Society of American Magicians President Elect The Atlanta Magician of the Year for 2007-2008 has just been named. Long time IBM and SAM member Debbie Leifer is this year's recipient of the award. Receiving this award is a high honor as the recipient must go through a process, as must all other nominees, of elimination ultimately being voted in by members of both the IBM and SAM as the overall Magician of the Year. Debbie has a very impressive performance history. She has performed for President George Bush, has performed over 350 shows in Japan, is a highly respected corporate entertainer, and is a much sought after keynote speaker. A multi-talented lady, visit her website if you would like more information on this colleague at www.debbieleifer.com. I had the privilege of working with her at last year's S.A.M. convention on the Ladies of Magic panel and I was able to witness first hand her professionalism. She received rave reviews as a presenter of close-up as well. Kudos Debbie on your award. Respectfully, Maria Ibáñez Society of American Magicians President Elect -------------------------------------------- 8. Tim Ellis' New Comedy Festival Show 'POKER In The Face' -------------------------------------------- Message from Tim Ellis (Aust) This is an advance notice for those on the Magic Unlimited Emailing list that bookings for Tim Ellis' new Comedy Festival Show 'POKER in the face' are now open. The show will be playing through April on Tuesdays and Thursday at 7pm and 9pm. Tickets are only $22 each. For full details, and to book online, go to http://www.magicunlimited.com/pokerintheface.htm or call (03) 9486 4445 to reserve your seats. Remember, there are only 25 seats per show, so book in now before the Comedy Festival programme is released and tickets go on sale to the general public -------------------------------------------- 9. 2007 Florida State-Daytona Beach Festival Convention -------------------------------------------- Message from Harry Allen (US) The 2007 Florida State-Daytona Beach Festival Convention has a super line-up: Johnny Thompson Kevin James John Mendoza Harry Allen Ron Conley Tom Burgoon Dan Fleshman Lennart Green Dan Stapleton Scott Humston Josh Gair Much Much More........ 16 Dealers..... 11 Lectures Close- Up Show 2- Stage Shows 3- Teach Ins 4 Contests Friday Night Dinner Plan to attend as it sells out early. Thanks, Harry magi@daytonamagic.com -------------------------------------------- 10. South African Magicians Convention -------------------------------------------- Message from David J O'Connor (AMA) The South African Magical Society will be hosting this years National Magic Convention from Friday April 27 to Tuesday May 1st 2007. Excitement is mounting for what will be the major event on the S.A. Magical calendar this year. The venue is the beautiful Wild Coast Resort and Convention Centre on Kwazulu- Natal's tropical south coast.  Why not join us for SUN - And - Magic- Surprises. Highlight of this convention will be the first time appearance in Africa by one of America's foremost magical personalities David Ginn in person. Noted professional children's entertainer, author, lecturer, and one of the most experienced performers in his field, David will join delegates in what purports to be an exciting and memorable magical event, with lectures, prizes, workshops, public shows, banquet, and fellowship. The first 50 delegates to register with payment are eligible to receive a "free" copy of David Ginn's popular 'Crash Course on Kid's Shows' book, a definitive work on entertaining children. The same first 50 delegates will also be in the running for the lucky draw for a ladies and gent's gold wrist watch. In fact David Ginn has made available some wonderful books and effects at very realistic prices, and will demonstrate these effects at the convention. For that unique South African Magical Experience why not log onto the SAMS website and catch all the details for this most exciting fraternal get-to-gether at www.sams.org.za Come and experience the hospitality of South Africa's oldest and most respected magical society. Best regards. David J O'Connor (AMA) davidJ@absacos.com.au -------------------------------------------- 11. New Zealand Lecture Available For California -------------------------------------------- Message from Elgregoe - Greg Britt (NZ) Elgregoe - Greg Britt - Is a fulltime professional magician who has performed his Kool Kids Care Antibullying Shows to half a million students. With over 20 Magic Awards, 450 National TV appearances, 7 years of weekly performances at the Christchurch Casino and thousands of live shows, you can be assured of a first class lecture for your group. His lecture called MAGIC THAT WORKS will include many strong and tested routines with items you may already have, these routines can be adapted to your own shows not just schools but corporate, gospel, themed or family shows. There will be props available that are made in New Zealand and new to the USA. Elgregoes DVD is compeered by Duane Laflin featuring a 1 hour school show with lots of creative material, exotic parrots and even a modern art illusion. Available in the California area from 25th to 30th April 2007. Email Greg at elgregoe@inet.net.nz and he will email you a full flyer with details/photo. Also Greg is a guest lecturer at the Magic Show Conference, Branson 3rd to 5th of May, go to www.dazzlingmagic.com for more details. -------------------------------------------- 12. The Magic Pin Trading Frenzy Started In St Louis -------------------------------------------- Message from Maria Ibáñez Society of American Magicians President Elect The magic pin trading frenzy started in St Louis two years ago and it has continued to snowball.   This year will be no different, and judging from the proofs I've seen so far, this year will top the previous ones. There are special pins being produced by several of the committees, the officers, and one committee in particular will be producing two different and very special pins.   Assemblies too will be producing pins this year to trade at the convention. Is your assembly making a pin?   Are you having a pin made? Please send me an e-mail letting me know and if you already have a proof, e-mail me a copy of the graphic so that I can start on the check-list to be available at the convention so you can be sure you are not missing any as you wander around the "world's friendliest convention" this year in Dallas. Pins, pins....they're everywhere -- will yours be there? If you haven't yet registered for the convention, now is the time to do it.....www.magicsam.com or contact the Registrar at sam@appsmagic.com. See you there. ----------------- 13. "World's Friendliest Convention" ----------------- Message from Maria Ibáñez Society of American Magicians President Elect Greetings: Tempus Fugit!   Time flies and it is flying even faster now....the countdown has begun and time is running out for the best rate to the "World's Friendliest Convention" ....see e-mail below from Dean George Schindler..... -------------- Only 35 days left to receive the special $159 convention rate at the Dallas Convention, The price goers up March 1. You can save $40 by registering early. Just added for opening day, the special Five in One dealer show that was so popular last year. Plus a surprise act from Japan. See _www.magicsam.com_ (http://www.magicsam.com) - Click everywhere. George Schindler (da dean) ----------------- 14. Anyone Know The Company That Made These Mini Doll Illusions? ----------------- Message from Chun Anyone Know The Company That Made These Mini Doll Illusions? http://www2.hawaii.edu/%7Ekyschun/miniillusion/miniillusion.html I got this from an old time magician but don't know the company that made them and needed to confirm the original manufacture. The dolls are unique but in Hawaii's weather, the plastic doll is starting to crumble thru age.  It is interesting since I never saw them at dealer's booths or magic shops. ----------------- 15. Magic in the Rockies 2007 ----------------- Message from Tim Pendergast Mark your calendars! The Presto-Digitators, IBM Ring 250, Fort Collins, Colorado began producing a magic convention 13 years ago, called Magic in the Rockies.  This year will be the 14th annual convention and the dates are Thursday, September 6 through Sunday afternoon, September 9, 2007. We attract magicians from Colorado as well as many from other parts of the United States, and occasionally from Europe and the Middle East.  We usually attract between 250-300 people. Headliners over the years have run the gamut; Tommy Wonder, Jeff McBride, Eugene Burger, Johnny Thompson, Aldo Colombini, Patrick Page, Terry Seabrooke, Billy McComb, Mac King, Max Maven, Gary Kurtz, Jay Sankey, Kevin James, Gaetan Bloom, Bob Sheets, Bob Cassidy, Banachek, Richard Osterlind, Barrie Richardson, Jon Stetson, Steve Bargatze, Doc Eason, Eric Mead, John Carney, Shoot Ogawa, Mike Caveney, Tina Lennert, Lennart Green, David Williamson...etc., etc. Here's what Joe Stevens had to say about Magic in the Rockies on his website in an article titled, "Magic Conventions, Are They What They Should Be?" "I call your attention to the "Best Little Convention" in the USA!  "Magic In The Rockies" for two years in a row produced the best event that Martha, Mark & I have attended! Held in Ft. Collins, Colorado, each year the committee continues to pay attention to details, feed the attendees, bring in top professional acts for stage and close-up, limit the number of dealers, set regular dealer hours with NO scheduled competition during that time! It's a win-win situation for the attendees, performers, dealers and the sponsors.  It will be worth your time and money to consider attending this event next year-always held the second weekend of September.  You will not be disappointed, I assure you and other organizers of magic events would do well to attend to watch this professional fun event unfold!" Information is available at www.prestodigitators.com or by calling Tim Pendergast at (970) 226-3088. ----------------- 16. Wanted Information On Come-Together-Silks (Supreme) ----------------- Message from Gavan Duffy (South Africa) I would be grateful if anyone has a new or in new condition set of the above silks in 18" which they would like to sell. I need two sets.  Whether you are in New Zealand, Australia, United Kingdom., America or elsewhere in the world, I will be happy to hear from you. Please email me on gavanduffy@absamail.co.za ----------------- 17. The Amazing Orchante Saga ----------------- Message from Tommy Orchard (The Amazing Orchante)(UK ex-pat Kiwi) Page 139 New Zealand's One And Only Eddie Low As told by Maria Cowin (nee Low) Eddie Low never knew his birth mother. Her name was Rangi Ratana, and her brief, poverty-stricken life ended a little more than one month after she gave birth to Eddie - her second child. The then 18 year-old beautiful Maori maiden from Rotorua, New Zealand, had developed tuberculosis shortly before Eddie was conceived. In those days tuberculosis was generally fatal, but as if that wasn't enough, the young woman was dealt another blow when, during her pregnancy with Eddie, she contracted German measles (Rubella). The rubella infected her unborn child and so it was that the baby was born blind on 14th May, 1943. The tuberculosis claimed Rangi's life soon after, and on 19th June of that same year, Mrs Rangi Ratana McRoy quietly passed away. Just a few years earlier, towards the end of the 1930s, young Robert McRoy from Kilmarnock in Ayrshire, Scotland, sailed into New Zealand waters as a chef in the Scottish navy. He became enamoured with the country and the people of New Zealand, and it wasn't too long before he began a new profession as a soldier in the New Zealand Army. Robert was fond of country and western music, and from all accounts, he was a pretty good yodeller, trickster and storyteller as well. Robert McRoy was 28 when he fell in love with Rangi Ratana. Rangi, the youngest child in a large family, soon married this man with the 'funny' accent. She was barely 16 when, on the third of January 1942, she gave birth to her first child, a son named David Robert. After her death in 1943, the young father found it impossible to care for two little boys, and when it seemed that all hope was lost for this family, fate finally smiled and Mrs Maria Low came into their lives. Maria was already raising a family of her own, and even though baby Eddie was blind Maria adopted both boys - without hesitation - and David and Eddie grew up with a loving family and the only mother they ever knew. Several years later, after Eddie had achieved international success, he wrote two songs in Maria's memory: 'I Remember Mama' and 'Look at Me Now'. As a toddler Eddie loved music and was playing the ukulele at the age of 4. He was sent to Sunrise Home, a boarding kindergarten for blind children in Remuera, Auckland. When he reached school age, he moved to the New Zealand Foundation for the Blind (NZFB) in Parnell. Eddie was not an outstanding scholar - to say the least - but he performed well on the sporting field and he enjoyed learning and playing musical instruments. His older brother Bob Low recalls, "Each time Eddie came home for school holidays he could play another instrument, even though he didn't, and still can't, read a note of music". When he was 12 years old a series of three operations were performed on Eddie's left eye. His right eye was dead and could not be saved. Eddie did not expect the operations to be successful and prepared himself for a lifetime of darkness. However, fate smiled once again on Eddie and limited sight was gained in his left eye. I asked him once what it was like to suddenly be able to see and he simply said, "I just didn't bang into things anymore". He can see only partially and his eyesight is deteriorating, but every day he counts his blessings. On the 1st of April 1965, when Eddie was 21 years old, Maria Low passed away. Eddie was just carving out a career in Australia. In his music and in his life Eddie often wonders if Maria can see him now - or if Rangi and Robert somehow know that the little blind boy they brought into the world has surpassed all expectations against overwhelming odds. Eddie may never know the answer to his questions, but it is a dream he has long had, to bring together the music of the land of his father, and the land of his mother, into the compilation of songs that he has recorded on his recent CD. It is the best way he knows, to pay tribute to his father Robert, his birth mother Rangi, and his adopted mother Maria. I know Eddie's quest to fulfil this dream has been exciting for him, and at times a little frightening, how do I know this? Because I don't usually call him Eddie - I call him Dad. I am the eldest of three children. We never knew our grandparents Rangi or Robert, and Maria died two years before I was born; I am in no position too say they somehow know what Dad has done with his life, but one thing I am sure of - if they do know, they are most certainly very, very proud. CONTINUES NEXT WEEK -------------------------------------------- 18. Magic New Zealand e-zine Archives -------------------------------------------- Back issues of the Magic New Zealand e-zine go to: www.watson.co.nz/fezine.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) -------------------------------------------- 19. 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