What Happened at the Meeting on Friday 20th February

At this meeting, we were encouraged by having two visitors.  Eric, from England, had migrated to Australia only recently.  Denis, from the Sydney Geniis Magical Society, was paying us a visit, and hopes to return soon.  We say, “Come again !”

The theme for the evening was “Coins and Time Travel”.  Al Hirschel led off the performance with an excellent Seven Card Trick, one of his favourites, involving him spelling the name of any card stated by the spectator – the chosen card or any other card. – in other words, the spectator can lie or tell the truth about the card he chose.  Regardless, Al found the chosen card.   He continued with a Four Jack Assembly, taught to him by veteran Newcastle magician Peter Jones.

Andrew Pickard had a card chosen by each of three spectators, and all cards returned to the deck.  Then by simply looking through the spread of cards, he named all three cards.  Mysterious mentalism !

Joel Howlett said he was going to show us the classic trick “Any Card at Any Number”, but the chosen card did not turn up in the deck at the number chosen by the spectator.  Instead, Joel opened up a book at the page of that chosen number, and there was a copy of the chosen card tucked into the page  ….  a neat way of fooling us all.  

He next placed a coin very openly into a square of paper, folded it, had a spectator feel it was still there, folded the paper again, again had a spectator check it was there, then he cut up the paper and the coin had vanished completely.

Denis Norman, visiting us from Sydney, started with Ring on Chain.  He showed us that when he dropped the chain, it normally fell straight through the ring.  Then under his mystic control, when he dropped the chain again, it knotted itself around the ring.  Using cards (Juan Tamariz’s Rabbit Cards) with pictures of apples on them,  the pictures changed mysteriously into apple cores and then into rabbits with apple cores.

In keeping with the “Coins” theme, Denis then led into a nice Coin Matrix.

David Whitson performed Barry Mitchell’s “Coal to Diamonds” – his presentation recognizing the involvement of the Newcastle area with coal.  Pieces of coal placed in a vessel changed into brilliant diamonds.

John Ferguson did a card trick called “Rubber Bandit” in which the deck is enclosed in a rubber band, and then when the band is released, it springs the chosen card out of the deck.   In the “Drunken Shuffle” trick, a chosen card seems to be hopelessly lost in a deck so mixed up the card could never be found again, but with one cut the spread cards are all face up, except one card – which is the chosen card.

It occurs to your reporter that in this evening’s performances on the theme “Coins”, only two items in the whole night were actually Coin tricks.  Please do not be discouraged from doing Magic items because they do not fit with the theme – not everyone wants to do items from the month’s theme! – having a theme is only a means to an end – which is, to have a really enjoyable night’s magic.  This evening’s certainly was !