talkmagic.co.uk

Thanks to my new job telling me to go to London and paying expenses for the journey, I'll be at Paddington Station at around 2:30pm on the 3rd of May. Since the event I'll be attending won't be open until 6pm, I have about 3 hours to play around with.

Any suggestions for what to do during that time?

Where abouts is your event? Covent Garden always makes for a fun afternoon. Or you could just do what I've often done in London, the city's full of some amazing, hidden gems, just pick an area and got for a wander with no real plan, just take in the sights and sounds. I've found some amazing little shops, bars, resturants, markets, quirky museums and even once felt like I'd stumbled back a couple of hundred years when I turned a corner and found myself in a fantastic Dickensian looking street. I love just seeing what I can find and everytime I go I always find something new, just a shame that I can never remember where half the places are.

Davenports is good to look around but expect to hear the phrase "Sorry that's out of stock" a few times. There's also International Magic in Farringdon which is a lot better.

International is dead friendly once they know you're not a 'Can I have that thing that Dynamo does' type of a guy. Didn't have a very friendly experience in Davenports, maybe just got an off day.

Heckler wrote:International is dead friendly once they know you're not a 'Can I have that thing that Dynamo does' type of a guy. Didn't have a very friendly experience in Davenports, maybe just got an off day.

This was also my experience - my boy and I popped into Davenports and bought a John Bannon DVD and some decks of cards and the staff seemed uninterested. The shop was not busy - there were no other customers. We left reasonably quickly having spent less than £20.

We called in at International later that afternoon and had a lengthy chat with the staff there about our interest in magic, some of the stuff that Adam was doing and their recommendations for some more decks of cards, sponge balls, etc. We were there for nearly an hour, spent around £50 (the final bill was rounded down slightly) and left with a few back issues of Genii (free) into the bargain.

Being used to Tam Shepherd's in Glasgow and the amount of time and interest Roy has for his magic customers (especially encouraging to the younger ones), and having had a similar experience with International in London and most of the dealers at Blackpool this year, we're unlikely to be back at Davenports next time we're in London. Their service wasn't bad, it's just that we felt much more welcome elsewhere.

Ian

Lady of Mystery is right to ask where you have to get to.

If you don't get to visit a "bricks and mortar" magic shop very often, then consider International Magic or Davenports. Both are relatively easy to reach from Paddington (along to Farringdon station, then a short walk, the other down the Bakerloo line to Charing Cross station), but you could try popping into a museum; it might inspire you more than the magic shop (especially if it's Davenports).

You might also want to take in a trip to Cecil Court (not a million miles away from Charing Cross station): http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cecil_Court It's allegedly the inspiration behind Diagon Alley in the Harry Potter books.

I will be arriving at Paddington and will be getting a Zone 1 day pass to go to Earl's Court for 6pm.

I'm certainly going to advocate International over Davenports... I've found it a much pleasanter place to hang around in!

Away from magic, but not a million miles away... is the Hunterian Museum, John Soanes house, The Welcome Institute (with an exibition on Brains at the moment) and the Natural History Museum has a Gunter Von Hagen exhibit showning for the summer... plus there's Jack the Ripper tours, the London Dungeon, The Clink Musuem...

If that's not enough, theres a good chance (although not yet arranged) we'll have a TM meet up in the Holborn area too! (which is conveniently 5-10 mins walk from International!)

Londons great

Chris

And I've always enjoyed Riley's believe it or not museum!

Nice choice Mr Beardy!

The added bonus with Ripleys Believe It Or Not (which is great fun!) is that it's also open pretty late, centrally located and often on a 2 for 1 on last minute!