talkmagic.co.uk

There's an effect in 'Scarne on Card Tricks' called 'Egg a la Card' (in my edition, it's on page 21). I thought this would be fun and quirky when I read it, ages ago, but was defeated because you need alum powder and, though I searched the Net and bothered chemists' shops, I couldn't find anywhere that sells it anymore. (My grandmother always had it in the house, for her teeth, but she died in 1982 and, with her it seemed, the country's last remaining store of alum.) Anyway, I was reading 'The Dangerous Book for Boys' just now and - for an entirely different reason - the authors bring up alum and give a source:
http://www.panspantry.co.uk
Including P&P, it costs £6 for enough, I'd imagine, to perfom 'Egg a la Card' weekly for the next two hundred years.

So, there you go, if you're interested. The trick, it goes without saying, is perfect for Easter, so the timing here is ideal.

Nice one!

I've always skipped it in favour of "It's a Natural" but if I can get some Alum powder, I'll give it a go.