What Happened at the Meeting on Friday 20th November

The theme was “Packet Tricks’ (and card tricks in general), hosted by John Ferguson.

David Whitson, our President, did a story-telling trick in which each card in the pack was an item in the story.  This “Sam-the Bellhop” type of effect was, David said, derived from a routine devised by Eugene Berger.  A very amusing story.

Denis Norman from Sydney, joined the club at this meeting, and we congratulated him.  He did a nice little packet trick with pictures of apples that turned into top hats, and a rabbit came out of one, and so on, ending up with a picture of an apple core.  Funny, and challenging  card work, too.   He followed that with the classical Wild Card plot, done very neatly and persuasively. 

Steve Irwin apparently has been teaching the colour changing silk to Noel Clair, and Noel did this for us.  It is a very visual effect, with the silk colour changing to a brilliant scarlet.  Following this with the Cut- No-Cut Scissors, Noel did a nice rope trick to finish.

Colour changing and flipping cards was the first item from Joel Howlett.  Next, he did a packet trick along the lines of the Three Card Monte.   Next, he had a spectator choose a card, and then showed it matched an embroidered blank.    Things became even more incredible with his final item – the Poker Deal.   With $50 at risk on the table, he dealt poker cards for himself and a volunteer in the fairest fashion  - and Joel won.

But then, he dealt again, and this time he gave the cards to the volunteer, asking him to choose which cards he, Joel, would have.  Joel still won.  Joel repeated this “give the cards to the spectator” twice, and he won both times.  Amazing !

John Ferguson did a packet trick (“Entourage”) in which the spectator named one of the queens, and that queen was the only one in his hand, the other three becoming jokers.  He did the classic “Card Silks” trick, in which a blank silk is shown and vanished, then the chosen card appears on the silk at the end. 

Then, having had a card chosen, John showed a watch.  As the spectators looked at it, the chosen card faded in to the background of the watch.  A chosen card was not the same as a Jumbo card held in a card frame, but when this card was taken out of the frame (the frame shown empty), the card was the same as the chosen card.

A very nice evening of entertaining magic.