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Due to a last minute bit of luck and rearanging a few things, I'm able to get there this year so the cheque's in the post, honest Guv!

Can't wait to see Piff the magic dragon in person. And Michael Pearce again. And Max the Sorcerer !

Mandrake wrote:Due to a last minute bit of luck and rearanging a few things, I'm able to get there this year so the cheque's in the post, honest Guv!

Can't wait to see Piff the magic dragon in person. And Michael Pearce again. And Max the Sorcerer !

So we can carry on from our civilised and scintillating time at Blackpool

Indeed we can, let Ipswich quake in terrified anticipation....

Excellent news - I am dusting down the red carpet as we speak...

I have had a lot of emails from people telling me how good John van der Put is. I didn't realise he was such a big name

I guess these days if you don't have a book or dvd out you can be reletavely unknown which is shame. Remember how good Chris Power was last year?

When I spoke to Duncan Trillo (Magic Week), Mark Leveridge (Magic Seen) and Walt Lees (Abra) about publishing a letter explaining th elast minute change - they all said - that John van der Put is very respected in the community and a far better choice anyway - so why didn't I book him in the first place?

Well I wish I had now!

Just out of interest - some of the names that will be there on the day (not booked to do anything - but just because they love good magic)

David Penn, Matthew J. Dowden, Marc Paul, Doug Segal...and of course Mandrake

bananafish wrote:(not booked to do anything)

That's what I'm very good at...

We had the James Biss workshop last night - and in short it was amazing - three hours (actually nearer 4 and a half by the time we dispersed) of intense ideas, demonstrations and lots of freebies with great input from all the delegates. This is the way to do lectures.

Some truley wonderful ideas as well. Some that will never be marketed - but are so beautiful they make you laugh inside. (my insides are still laughing)

I don't have time to say more at the moment - as it's going to be a fairly busy day - but James Biss was incredible. He is one of these guys with oodles of charisma - that makes performance an art.

It was another great day for magic and Ipswich! Not so much a Review but ramblings as the day progressed:

Lectures:
John van der Put had the unenviable task of being first on and at 10.30am on a Sunday morning! His lecture was presented in a laid back very casual style which was spot on for that time of day and was fascinating.

James Biss was superb. His approach is at an angle to most but always with an eye for entertainment and humour. His routine where he padlocks himself to a nice young lady using the belt loops on his and her jeans is excellent. Mentalism with mirth works very well indeed, I'm off to buy the requisite hardware asap! He also showed an great cards across effect using manila luggage tags and envelopes which he also used in the evening show but with different patter and large sheets of paper. He didn't tell us how to do it but just told us it was straight from Corinda with a bit of thought about differing the presentation.

Max Somerset - wonderful in every respect, his rendition of cups and balls featuring dozens of balls, a selection of fresh produce from the greengrocer's plus a bottle, a hamster and rooster was, to say the least, uniquely gobsmacking. His watch smashing routine was great, zany and apparently out of control but all worked out well in the end - of course! He did the same routines in the evening show to much applause. Max also demoed a card routine where half a dozen members of the audience shuffled sections of a deck of cards, passed them al back to two specs and with only a few moment's memorising of one half, Max correctly identified which cards were held be each spec and called them out in perfect order until all cards were named and revealed. A superb memory feat which didn't rely in anything of the kind!

Close Up:
John van der Put showed why he was an excellent choice to replace Martin Cox - his routine of card through window using a lap top screen and video was excellent.
Will Houston did extremely well in presenting his class cards, coins, and Zippo lighters routine despite the problems initially with the close up camera and cuing his music. Even though the smooth flow was interrupted he still put on the kind of act which the rest of u can only dream about.
John B Born - great stuff from John, very much the street magish with black cap and bag across the shoulders but it's obvious he's not only talented but has practised and polished his routines to the ultimate level.

Evening Show
Richard Wymark - ever the consummate professional, Richard is a joy to watch - I just wish I'd written his jokes down for future use!
Piff the Magic Dragon - John van der Put's other incarnation, laid back, sardonic ('Please don't patronise me, I'm not Barney!') and immensely amusing. Just the thought of a guy dressed bizarrely as a green dragon is enough to cause a laugh or two, the kids in the audience really enjoyed it even though Piff was aiming at all the members of the audience. Clever and professional.
Ashley and Wilma - almost defy description! A mix of zany juggling, comedy, balancing, stuff going wrong, beer drinking contests and other utterly daft stuff. Very much the sort of act seen on the club circuits, I just wonder how these two get on at home trying rehearse all their stuff. Manic!
Scott Penrose - Mr. Professional Magician. Scott presented his classic act full of appearing and disappearing doves, cards, candles and canes, lots of flash paper and sparkle. And a rabbit right at the end. Choreographed to perfection.
Michael J.Fitch - manged to stitch together the reveal of a headline prediction made on Radio Suffolk last week with an act which really appealed to the kids, Mums and Dads in the audience, Full of cheek and humour, on one hand Michael puts himself at the same level of mischief as the kids but a the same time includes lots for the grown ups. Very difficult to achieve but Michael did it with apparent ease. More please!
James Biss -a great and expanded version of effects shown earlier in the day with lots of humour. Someone to see whenever he's back in the UK.
Michael Pearse - everyone's favourite granddad! Juggling with all sorts of stuff and cracking one-liners all the way through,. Again, I wish I'd written them down! Michael is 75 yet combined the daft with the witty and the lady sittying ext to me summed hias act up as he made his exit, 'Ah, Bless - he's lovely!' said it all!
Max Somerset closed the show with cups and balls, the watch smashing and a reveal of freely selected items which was rather unique. If I just say it involved 5 blokes in a band, all dressed as lady ballet dancers playing a jazz version of a nursery rhyme, you'll get the idea. Max joined them by ripping off his trademark frock coat and top hat showing that he too was wearing the same ballet costume of frilly tu-to and white tights. You had to be there!

Another great event and full marks to Simon an the team at IMS - here's to the next one!

On Saturday I asked James Biss how he got on in the UK and he was a trifle vague about it except to say that the British magicians use more vulgar and outrageous material than he does and he wished that he had been more raunchy to match them. Of course he may have been saying that to wind me up.

I think James is vulgar enough thank you. I do agree about his charisma and that sort of thing but I am not a fan of smut and he knows this full well. However I am of a very prudish nature.

I am just wondering if there are any comments on his work from people who were there?

James was superb, his style was exactly right and even when padlocked hip to hip with a nice young lady, he was the perfect gentleman. There was no coarse language at the show or the lectures so no cause for complaint at all.

He must have been on his best behaviour.