talkmagic.co.uk

Just to annoy Mark Lewis, here is a clip of me eating a balloon at a show last year.
http://youtu.be/zUyETU13FMI

Yes indeed. Quite disgraceful. Of course in Ireland you can get away with anything. Over here and I dare say Britain too, the politically correct police would huff and puff mightily over it. Quite right too. A child can choke on a broken or uninflated balloon. And kids copy. In the name of God at least tell them not to try it at home themselves. Read this:
http://www.marshallbrain.com/cp/balloons.htm

Even if the kids do not choke themselves the perception of such is a bit iffy. I don't know why you can't do the routine as normal with all the bits of business and end by doing another trick with the balloon. I have no idea what. Perhaps needle through balloon or something. I do a similar routine with all the silliness but in the end make a balloon animal for the birthday child.

But let me put that aside for the moment. The routine is good apart from the swallowing bit but I do think it needs tightening up a bit. For example the first two minutes is just talking without much in the way of action. Even when the action happens I think there is too much chattering in between. I may well be wrong of course. I don't know what the rest of this august forum thinks.

"I'll throw tomatoes at you!", "she doesn't have tomatoes."

Brilliant.

Tony, your bits of business with the snake, snake eating a cucumber etc got me through years of working in a toy shop and trying to keep kids amused while their parents abandoned them to shop. Blowing up the other end and the middle, then breaking it in two is a brilliantly magical moment for kids. I didn't do the swallowing at work, for the reason's Mark mentioned, but it's one of my favourite things to do with a balloon.