talkmagic.co.uk

Hi all,

I've been asked to do a last-minute show for a friend's friend's kid's birthday party, and as I'm not really set up for kids' shows, I'm trying to get a load of stuff from Practical Magic.

Their website doesn't have any online ordering tools (not even PayPal, amazingly enough), and I've failed in all my attempts to get through to them by phone since Monday. All voicemail messages and emails are unanswered.

Does the shop still exist? Or am I looking at a ghost website?

Cheers,

Pete

At the very least, the crazed fury of putting together a kids' show in one week is keeping my mind off the terror of performing it!

I get the ansaphone as well so perhaps they're closed for a week or off at a convention or something like that?

If you get no response soon, you could try Albion Magic ( http://www.albionmagiccompany.co.uk/ ) as they do quite a range of children's items.

I can't find any news of conventions or events on this week, but it wouldn't surprise me, as I'm having similar trouble with kidshowmagic.co.uk.

I ordered a bunch of things from their website on Monday night, expecting them to arrive on Wednesday (they're normally good for next day delivery). Checking their website this morning, it seems that they're not even despatched yet. And the show is on Saturday morning!

So in a way this is much worse, as I've spent my money and been dropped in the mire at the last moment.

Do mentalism routines work well for six year olds? If not, I'm pretty much stuffed!

Got a phone call from Carlo at kidshowmagic promising that my order will arrive before 1pm tomorrow.

Baited breath mode on... Getting ready to panic...

Fingers being kept crossed for you......

I know practical magic were in Limerick in Ireland on wednsday, so that might have something to do with it.

If they were really magic (and practical), they could be in two places at the same time.

Am I right?

Got the order from kidshowmagic.co.uk, but one of the items - a sliding die box - is so bad as to be unusable. I'll probably post a full review explaining why once I've simmered down a bit.

Time to find an alternative routine - and fast!

Oh that kind of thing p****** me off!!!! I ordered a latex dragon puppet on November 9th for a corporate 'do' on December 17th (which i told them about). Im still waiting grrrrr When youve got bookings, poor customer service and shody products drive me up the wall!

Well, kidshowmagic has agreed to take back the die box and give me a refund, so that's a relief.

And I got a call from Practical Magic this afternoon, explaining why I couldn't get in touch with them - they were indeed in Ireland last week.

And the show itself went really well.

I was absolutely bricking it in advance, as I hadn't done a kids show in almost twenty years, and I had to put an act together in just a few days. I didn't feel even in the least bit prepared, but within the first few moments I realised that I could just forget about any of the patter I'd carefully prepared. I had a room full of six year olds who hadn't read my script.

So I improvised. The magic itself worked well, and I just improvised around the tricks and the kids - playing off their banter and finding silly jokes on the spot rather than clinging to the stuff I'd already prepared.

So all in all, it was noisy, chaotic and immensely silly - and we all had great fun. Feedback from the parents was also good, and most of them took my card at the end of the party. I've had a good weekend.

Well done, glad it worked out OK.

I realised that I could just forget about any of the patter I'd carefully prepared. I had a room full of six year olds who hadn't read my script.

That should be copied out and hung on the wall for all to read, mark, learn and inwardly digest!