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Walking through Clapham Common late at night, a friend on either side of me, I see no-one in the middle distance. I point to them and say, "What are those guys doing?" Then stop walking, as my two friends continue on, trying to see who I'm talking about. I promptly turn ninety degrees and dart stealthy-like behind a bush, and thus vanish. Not clever, but effective.

So, tricks you've pulled just by seizing the moment. Anyone?

My favourite ever impromtu close-up trick was done by my son.

He was having dinner, and playing a game of 'where's it gone and there it is', where he'd cover a little toy with a cloth until I said 'Where's it gone?', then he'd whip the cloth away and I'd shout 'There it is!'.

On this occasion though, we went through five or ten rounds of where's it gone and there it is, when he covered the toy with the cloth again, and then grabbed it through the fabric before whipping them both away together - making the toy disappear!

He cracked up laughing, and I was stunned (even though the method was quite obvious)!

I should point out that he was about nine months old at the time!

Years ago at a barbecue, I saw a friend of mine bend over to get her ciggies out of her handbag, flashing her black thong in the process. So, later I asked her to think of something I couldn't possibly know about, like the colour of her knickers. It got a laugh, but then I named the colour and had a very freaked out lady on my hands. To this day she still doesn't know how I did it, but she's come up with a lot of theories including cameras in the toilet!

Q: Why are spec methods like conspiracy theories?
A: They both get more complex with time.