talkmagic.co.uk

I am sure there will be a lot here who will recommend membership of a club, society or circle and I can see the obvious benefits of doing so but I have a few questions (which may appear a bit daft but someone has to ask; so may as well be me).

I have the impression of small groups, not being too welcoming of 'outsiders'. Just the impression gleaned whilst surfing through the web on my various forays with Google. Hopefully you can prove me wrong.

I know that many clubs have entry requirements and expect members to audition in order to gain membership etc. What sort of level do most expect? Do all expect you to be proficient re performing before allowing you into their midst?

I would expect them to be good places to meet like-minded folk and learn but is the consensus that they are good places to head for or are they best avoided at the outset?

Do all of the clubs run independently or is there a fair degree of cooperation? Any rival organisations vying for membership from the potential magi fold?

Are most of these groups populated by middle-aged & older men with pet rabbits or more diverse than the stereotype with a mix of ages and sexes? (I'm sure there will be many differences from place to place but thought I'd ask just in case).

As you can probably guess without much difficulty I am wondering whether or not to contact one of the clubs/circles I've discovered near where I live. (There is a choice of at least three according to Google). I'm open to hear all comments good or bad about the benefits or otherwise; value (as in what you gain as well as rough costs); places best avoided or particularly favoured etc etc etc.

I am currently in the Durham/Teesside/NE (UK) area so any specifics regarding that would be welcome but please use the thread to provide general info. too.

Hi Jae

This subject has been brought up quite a lot.

Have a read through these posts...

http://www.talkmagic.co.uk/ftopic11931. ... +societies
http://www.talkmagic.co.uk/ftopic11512. ... ht=society
http://www.talkmagic.co.uk/ftopic8278.p ... +societies
http://www.talkmagic.co.uk/ftopic7303.p ... +societies
http://www.talkmagic.co.uk/ftopic6373.p ... +societies
http://www.talkmagic.co.uk/ftopic3554.p ... +societies
http://www.talkmagic.co.uk/ftopic1804.p ... +societies

One of the best steps forward that I took with my magic was to join a magic society and I have never regretted it. A great bunch of people of ALL ages and VERy friendly too.

Wholeheartedly recommmended.

Thanks for the links, I must have been putting in the wrong search parameters as I could not find what I was after. Will go take a browse... thanks again.

TM's search function also has it's own threads, although they too will be difficult to find as it's not the best search function

However, it's the only negative thing about TM so it's well worth putting up with in my opinion.

Paul Daniels suggested in his interview with Magic Seen that the best advice he could give to anyone learning magic is NOT to join a magic club.

Im not saying Im of that opinion, but thats what he said.

Mind you, apparantly he is an honorary member of Nottingham Magic Society

I met a number of people from local magic clubs last week when I did a local show. I think they represented three different societies, but the ones that took the time to talk to me were far from friendly, and made it clear before the event that they weren't there to enjoy the show. Granted there were only four of them, and that's far from representative of the magic societies in question, but it hasn't inspired me to hunt them down and apply for membership.

I think I'd rather eat glass.

Well, condensing what has been said in the links above it appears that most clubs contain fairly normal people and are usually quite friendly. Basically, its a case of make contact, sound them out to see if you like them and what's on offer (and vice versa) and make a decision about returning from there.

The fact that most require an audition is a little daunting, especially for someone like me who does not do cardy things (though I have been known to do 'jumpers' ). I'm up for learning card & coin etc but with my initial/original interest being in other areas I think it would be difficult to perform something different each time if they expected a themed trick. I suppose i could handcuff them to a chair and hypnotise them into believing I was the the greatest thing but somehow suspect that would wear thin.

I suppose the only way to discover if a club is geared to my (or anyone else's) particular level or interest is to make the first move and find out. Exactly the same re finding out whether the members are the sort of people you want to associate with. For me, I'm just looking for a sociable evening and occasional special event based around a rather odd interest I possibly should have outgrown about 30 years back; learning some new skills would be great as would sharing my knowledge (even if not directly magical). It's obviously the personality, friendliness and overall quality of the other members which is the main factor. I can go down the pub if I just want to hang about with {Insert own ending].

Rest assured that if I walked into a room with a load of middle-aged men dressed in fezs, waving wands and with their right trouser leg rolled up I'd be off in a flash!!!

Thanks to all who've contributed.

Not the best form to respond to your own posts but I thought I'd just add that I have sent off emails to three of the four most local societies to me. Will see what happens from here.

well good luck and I hope thatit works out for you. out of interest, what area are you in?

Jae wrote:Rest assured that if I walked into a room with a load of middle-aged men dressed in fezs, waving wands and with their right trouser leg rolled up I'd be off in a flash!!!

Well so much for the Magic Circle !

LMAO

Somehow I don't think I'll be entering The Magic Circle anytime soon (or ever) unless they have a need for intensive counselling. You have left me with a rather vivid and also rather scary image though.


dat8962 - I am tucked away in the North East UK. County Durham/Teesside area. Not especially glamourous but I look on it more as a sort of missionary work; that or I did something totally evil in a past life!

dat8962 - I am tucked away in the North East UK. County Durham/Teesside area. Not especially glamourous but I look on it more as a sort of missionary work; that or I did something totally evil in a past life!

I like Durham and have spent many a good time there and in the surrounds. My mothers side of the family are from a little further up - Ryhope (a few miles past Hetton to be precise), so I know that area reasonably well althought it's been a few years since I was last there.

Although it's Tyne & Wear now, it used to be Co. Durham but I suppose that is what they call progress

dat8962 wrote:Although it's Tyne & Wear now, it used to be Co. Durham but I suppose that is what they call progress

beeno - just spotting you are located in Teesside (or do you prefer Cleveland? ). Do you have any info regarding any of the local clubs/societies? Any more/less sociable than others? Level of activity? PM if you prefer not to discuss publicly.