The other day I was thinking about performing at London’s O2 Arena for the Michael McIntyre and Eddie Izzard gigs earlier in the year, they are always great events. At one of the Michael McIntyre events I actually had a group of guys miss the second half of the show to stay and watch my magic. A compliment indeed!

Here are a few photos just to spice up the old blog post. I often think that performing at The O2, the worlds most successful entertainment venue, is a great CV point to back up my claim to being the on of the top London Magicians at the moment.



More soon...Tom Rose / London Magician Blog:
http://www.trmagic.com/tom_rose_blog.php

So, BGT was back on our screens recently – dancing dogs, bad singers and lots of very weird people. I’ve often been asked why I don’t go on the programme, the answer is really simple – generally, magic does not come across well on television. You need a large budget and a strong creative team behind you to produce magic which translates into peoples homes. David Blaine did it well with his team and Derren Brown has achieved great shows with Channel 4, but there are many others which have failed. This includes magic on BGT which never gives magicians much sympathy on the show – although most magicians who appear on the show are truly terrible performers. In truth, my opinion is that a quality (magic) performer can achieve better work, more success and potentially fame (if that is what you want - which incidentally is not why I - or indeed many magicians - do magic at all) without appearing on such shows. In fact, I would go further and say that the show would significantly damage your professional reputation, which is exactly why I do not have any desire at all to go on the show.

However, on the other side of the coin are the true variety acts – the acrobats, the crazy beep-bopping dancers, the 30-piece dance troupe and of course, the odd-ball performers. This is what BGT is all about and it provides a great stage for them, and to be honest, I think it’s great entertainment.

This bring me nicely on to Stavros Flatley. These guys were a massive hit on the show last year and when I was performing at a ‘multi-man’ magic show with fellow close up magicians Alan Hudson, Brendan Patricks and Dave Willmott, Stavros Flatley were also booked to perform. They put on a great show and they are really nice blokes, living their dream – they freely admit they never thought it would still be going strong a year later. Well played. As Stavros says, an act which is “3 & ½ minutes long couldn't be any more perfect”!



More soon...Tom Rose / London Magician Blog:
http://www.trmagic.com/tom_rose_blog.php

Not content with being the leading London Magician in the UK(!), I was recently whisked out to Dubai again for the Gitex Trade Show / Conference on behalf of Etisaliat. The Gitex conference is the largest technology exhibition in the Middle East and is a major event for all the technology type companies in the Middle East and UAE. Etisalat is a UAE-based telecommunications services provider, currently operating in 18 countries across Asia, the Middle East and Africa (you can always rely on Wikipedia). At the event I performed to 250 Etisalat VIPs and also performed a phone themed trick, on stage, which involved the company chairman calling one of his colleagues from another country live, with a real-time ‘international magician’ card prediction. The trick was fantastic even if I say so myself. I really do love performing as a magician in Dubai; the people are always great, the service in the venues and hotels is just exceptional and the buildings and general ‘offer’ in Dubai is mind-boggling, although it is all a bit artificial, as long as you take it at face value, you can’t do anything other than love the place.


More soon...Tom Rose / London Magician Blog:
http://www.trmagic.com/tom_rose_blog.php

In other news, have you seen the attached shoe? I was in a top London pub the other day and there was a poster advertising “Have you seen this shoe? – Lost on Saturday 27th June around midday on the Victoria line or South West trains between Canonbury and Clapham Junction… I am desperate to find this beautiful shoe… did you hand it in somewhere?”

I have to say that the area where the said shoe may be lost does seem rather significant given that Canonbury is over in North East London and Clapham Junction is in South West London. You never know, one of my many, many readers may have found the beautiful shoe? Ladies is this shoe really beautiful? I’m not so sure, but any ideas feel free to contact the person on the poster!


More soon...Tom Rose / London Magician Blog:
http://www.trmagic.com/tom_rose_blog.php

I’m Back – with Harry Potter at his World-wide Premiere!

So, its been a long, long time since my last post. This is not for a lack of things to say, but more a lack of time up up-load the draft blog posts. In the next few weeks you are all in for a huge treat – a veritable delude of blog posts from the top London magician that you all know and love.

First port of call is a quick review of my attendance with the king of magic himself, Harry Potter, at the world premiere of the latest Harry Potter film in Leicester Square (this actually seem like years ago now!). A client invited me to the premiere and it was a fantastic experience to walk down the red carpet with all the actors, celebs and VIPs. I was sat directly behind Gordon Ramsey and family and found it quite annoying that they all left halfway through – that said, the film wasn’t that good so maybe no surprise there? It was amusing to pose for the paparazzi on the red carpet, all very cool!


More soon...Tom Rose / London Magician Blog:
http://www.trmagic.com/tom_rose_blog.php

I was recently over performing at my residency at The O2 VIP lounge when Russell Brand was performing. Every time I work there it's really interesting to see the difference type of guests that come and watch the acts. I can honestly say the people who came to see Katie Melua were very difference to Russell Brand’s fans and even Steve Coogan’s were completely difference to Lee Evan’s.

It was very amusing at the Russell Brand event when someone walked into the bar who looked just like Russell; the ludicrous big hair, thigh clenching skin-tight jeans and full designer stubble. It was great to see the room buzz with excitement as he marched to the bar and ordered his drinks, but just as the ladies were preparing their chests for an autograph from their god, it was unfortunately revealed that alas, he was just a darn good look-a-like and clearly a rather die hard fan. Priceless. I have attached a photo of the arena just before Russell was due to go on stage, I think you can actually just about make him out sound-checking on the stage. As a comedian you really have to be a great performer to play to such a large and vast venue as The O2; from all the reviews I heard he was excellent apparently.


More soon...Tom Rose / London Magician Blog:
http://www.trmagic.com/tom_rose_blog.php

As with much of the population who used to play with Lego I am a huge fan of the TV show Grand Designs, so when I was asked to perform as a “trade show magician” for First Direct Bank on their stand I was more than happy to go along. The show was great and highlighted just about every single thing you could possibly do with your house. From ECO-pods to “Eglus” to the very cool Huf-Haus there was just about everything. You can see Kevin McCloud playing with the rather clever touch-sceen Microsoft computers on our stand on the left.

As part of my magic I incorporated the First Direct marketing messages into the show and highlighted some of their recent successes. I was at the show for a few days and my good pal and top magician buddy Sav did the other dates during the show. Obviously we make a top team and if you are looking for a trade show, or exhibition magician, drop me or Sav a line or take a look at my trade show magic page on the website.









More soon...Tom Rose / London Magician Blog:
http://www.trmagic.com/tom_rose_blog.php

There was a mini-heat wave a couple of weeks ago in London and it was hot hot hot. I even had the chance to get out into the good weather for one of my more ‘random’ jobs. I was asked to be part of a treasure hunt as part of an international trip for a group of tourists. I was located in the home of live performance, London's Covent Garden, and waited for groups of people to find me. When they met me I had to perform a simple magic trick which they had to try and work out - if they come up with a reasonable theory I could give them the next clue to carry on the hunt. It was great to spend the afternoon in Covent Garden in the blazing sun and meet such a great group of people. Top stuff.

Following that I was over at a wedding in Essex and to be honest it was less enjoyable. It was so hot that I think I actually melted during the show, its great to have nice weather for a wedding, but it was just too hot that day....


More soon...Tom Rose / London Magician Blog:
http://www.trmagic.com/tom_rose_blog.php

Just a quick note about something that is really great about being a ‘roving magician’ covering the UK. The other night I was working at a PR company’s re-branding launch down at a trendy West End bar called Vanilla. It was all very cool and it had possibly the cleanest, smoothest white floor I’ve ever seen – not sure if that makes a good bar, but surely it helps? Maybe not. Interestingly, or maybe not so interestingly, this is where Ashley Cole took Cheryl Cole for her surprise birthday the other day. Either way, they gave me some membership - I wonder what I get for that. Anyway, a few days later I was performing on a boat down on the River Thames at Windsor. I think it is fair to say that the boat was fully transformed into a ‘party ship’ and everyone had a great time.

The point of the rather pointless drivel I am writing about is that I get to go to some cool venues which are all very different and places I would probably never go; the river cruise in Windsor being a great example of this; although saying that, I have done quite a few river cruises now, including my rather nice performance on the private yacht in Dubai. Aye Aye Captain, or the time I performed for Simon Cowell on a private boat on the River Thames.


More soon...Tom Rose / London Magician Blog:
http://www.trmagic.com/tom_rose_blog.php

I've decided its been way too long so here is a quick post before I do a decent update over the next week..

Here are some quick photos from a recent gig in The City of London...

Photos thanks to: Jan at http://www.yankophoto.co.uk/



More soon...Tom Rose / London Magician Blog:
http://www.trmagic.com/tom_rose_blog.php

Christmas this year started early. At the end of November there was a magic convention where the who's who of magic met up to discuss all things 'Harry Potter'. On the left is a photo of a group of us discussing the finer points of magic (L-R: Noel Qualter, Dave Bonsall, Tom Rose, Rob James, John Archer).

In other magic Christmas party news, I was again performing magic down at The O2 in London for the Steve Coogan show (the people I spoke to said the show was good, but the press reviews were not so good for Steve, as this review in The Telegraph shows). I was then down at The O2 again for a very fun staff Christmas party for a modeling agency which was nice!

The first week of December was finished with corporate magic gigs; management consultants, city traders and solicitors over three nights was an interesting contrast to the models and comedy punters before. Each of the three corporate jobs had an interesting fact though, the first, for Accenture, was good as I was working with two other magicians I had arranged for the 500 guests, Don Moses and Noel Qualter (see photo right) and I also saw an old friend from my university days, Jen, nice to see you again.

At the city traders and brokers event over at exclusive private members club Maya in Mayfair I was performing with a group of ladies called "The Fuel Girls". These ladies performed a kind of burlesque fire dance which was pretty impressive in the small club. Hot stuff indeed. Photo of the Fuel Girls is shown on the left. Interestingly the girls all had a 'hardcore' stage persona but were really nice when I caught up with them in the green room after. Interestingly they were flying off to Verbier in Geneva the next day for a gig over there which reminded me of the wedding I did out in Verbier a year back.

The end of the week was completed with a gig for a solicitors firm specialising in marine law, I wonder if all the Somali pirates are keeping them busy with litigation at the moment? The magic gig was in central London overlooking Tower Bridge and The Tower of London. Did you know... "In 1952, a number 78 double-decker bus was on the bridge when it opened. Back then, the lights would change to red, the gateman would ring bells to encourage the pedestrians to move off the bridge quickly and close the gates, and the head watchman would order the bridge to lift when it was clear. On this day in December, there was a relief watchman, and something went wrong. Albert Gunton, the driver, saw that the road ahead appeared to be sinking. In fact, his bus was perched on the end of an opening bascule, which was giving the illusion of a sinking road ahead. He realised that he would not be able to stop in time to prevent going into the water, and making a split second decision, decided he would go for it. He accelerated and jumped the three feet gap, landing on the north bascule, which had not started to rise. None of his dozen passengers were seriously hurt, and he received £10 for his bravery". The wonders of Wikipedia...


More soon...Tom Rose / London Magician Blog:
http://www.trmagic.com/tom_rose_blog.php

Several people have mentioned the lack of blog action from me recently so here I am back again. The reason for the lack of blogs is that the only time I have the time to do a post or two is during a long train journey; the current Newcastle back to London trip does indeed tick that box so here I am.

Since my last post about doing magic in Dubai I have been all over the place. For example, I performed close-up magic at the drinks reception of a really nice wedding in Westminster, London where the wedding cake was actually from Star Wars, a bit different but it looked great. I have added a few photos from that wedding to my photo gallery page. Make sure you check out Tom Gold's website if you need a photographer (http://www.tomgold.co.uk/).

In other magic news, I was down at The O2 Arena in East London a lot in October, November and early December. I am the resident magician at The O2 for all the comedy events and can be seen doing my magic thing in the O2 Lounge and O2 BlueRoom bar which are exclusively for O2 customers. If you are ever down at The O2 you should take a look in these bars as there is always something going on. I have attached a very exciting photo of me outside The O2 before performing at the 5 Lee Evans events in October.


More soon...Tom Rose / London Magician Blog:
http://www.trmagic.com/tom_rose_blog.php

I think the amount of time since my last post shows how busy I have been? Writing this blog takes a surprisingly large amount of effort so apologies for the slow posts, I know my fans will be eagerly waiting the next installment so here you go Mum(!).

So, a quick summary of what I have been up to; a few interesting jobs spring to mind, for example I've performed at two Michelin starred restaurants recently, The Hinds Head Hotel in Bray run by Heston Blumenthal and also The Mallory Court Hotel in Leamington Spa which provided just the most amazing food. On a side note, it's worth mentioning the fantastic couple I worked for at Mallory Court, they had a really great intimate wedding; its always really nice to work at those kind of events, here is what they later e-mailed about my magic:

"Dennis and I both wanted to say a million thanks for a truly marvellous performance on Friday night.  You were FANTASTIC and it was an enormous pleasure to meet you. Everyone so enjoyed your tricks (and your humour) and you made a great contribution to our wonderful day. Dennis and I have heaps of fabulous memories and you can rest assured that your performance will always be part of those. Once again our sincere thanks for entertaining us in such a "magical" fashion." 
-Christine and Dennis.

Nice.

Ok, so other highlights I hear you ask? Well there was working at a fantastic birthday party for Caria Watt with a Marylin Monroe theme. Caria is not only a stunning model (see right) but also a great personality. It was a great party with some really cool guests and an even cooler ice sculpture vodka luge!

Another interesting job was at One Whitehall Place (aka The Royal Horse Guards) in London. This great old building is directly opposite the London Eye on the other side of the Thames. As a former politics student (seems a long time ago now) I didn't realise that One Whitehall Place is home to the Liberal Club. It was interesting to see the odd 'old boy' liberal wandering the corridors after (presumably) one too many rather tasty G&Ts that afternoon. Classic British history- I can only assume Charles Kennedy was trying to keep up the tradition?!

Finally, another couple of swanky venues I have been to recently are Pembroke Lodge in Richmond Park (very nice setting in the Royal Park) and also the Four Seasons just off Park Lane in London, rather classy indeed.
 


More soon...Tom Rose / London Magician Blog:
http://www.trmagic.com/tom_rose_blog.php

The other week I took a night off and joined a selection of the world’s top magicians for London magician Noel Qualter’s birthday, how exciting.

It was good to meet up with a few fellow magicians to celebrate Noel turning… (does anyone know how old he was?). Anyway, the night started just off Oxford Street before moving onto Soho. The cool crew included world famous D-to-the-Y-to-the-M-n-o (in more normal circles, Dynamo), Sav, Andi Galdwin, Ben Earl and Brendan Patricks. It was great fun and the evening finished with a (very) late night pizza where we were treated to a crazy camp Italian magician doing magic at the tables. It was a great coincidence and we could barely contain ourselves as he didn’t have a clue that he was performing for some, sorry, all of the best magicians in the UK.

It was funny a few days later I found out that someone had actually reported that we had been out together on a magic news website, kind of the magic world equivalent of OK! magazine. How cool is that?!

Here is a photo of the group after one too many beers.



More soon...Tom Rose / London Magician Blog:
http://www.trmagic.com/tom_rose_blog.php

Its been a long old time since my last update so I am intending to backtrack a bit and fill in the gap since my last post about Dubai all that time ago in December… watch out the blog entries are going to come thick and fast over the next couple of days. I bet you can hardly contain yourself.

Ok, I won’t bore you with all my Christmas party news suffice to say I was going all over the UK performing at the usual array of corporate parties and Christmas weddings. However, there was one job that stood out from the rest in terms of sheer randomness (is that a word? who knows).

When I was performing for accenture at their Christmas bash I was lucky enough to work with, or should I say scared by, Bruce AirHead. Having never worked with Bruce before it was interesting to see his act, described on his website as: “The metamorphosis of a man and a six-foot balloon”, I agree, it sounds dodgy doesn’t it. The general premise is that Bruce blows up an enormous balloon and then goes inside it somehow and then ends with a great magical finale. It’s a brilliant street style act and got a really good reaction from the punters. As a side note I have never seen anyone lube themselves up* as much as Bruce in his act, but you should definitely check out his video on YouTube here.

Bruce is also seen in the photo here to the left.

*Now that does sound dodgy.

Don't go away, I'll be back soon. The Tom Rose Magic Blog: http://www.trmagic.com/tom_rose_blog.php

I’ve had so many calls recently from clients booking Christmas parties, office parties and general end of year celebrations asking how to book a top magician. In every case the answer is the same; corporate Christmas office parties are all about relaxing after a tough year and having fun, although my office party (just me!) is never all that exciting. Therefore, you need a magician who is entertaining, fun, informal and relaxed. The last thing you want is some old chap in top hat and tails pulling a rabbit out of his rather less-than-magical hat.

I perform magic that is informal and engaging; I get the guests laughing while also thoroughly baffling them; which is exactly what you need at an office party, I have regularly been described as a magician who is contemporary, modern and based in London (those Christmas events & parties in the West End & Soho are always fun).

Interestingly I do still have a couple of dates left in the diary for the Christmas season, so do get in touch and get me along to your party. If I am already booked I can suggest one of my colleagues who will be available therefore ensuring you have a quality and professional magician at your Christmas party rather than someone who you cannot trust or are unsure of their quality.

More news from Tom ‘Santa’ Rose next time….

p.s. The Christmas season takes me back to last year when I saw hundreds of roller skating Santas in Soho. Very strange. You can see a video here...

www.trmagic.com

In terms of magic news I have been doing some serious gallivanting recently. The other week I was down in London doing magic at an exhibition where my job was to impress delegates to get them to my stand, I even had a board with my name on it; I felt so special I got a photo (see left).

Following on from this I was whizzed up to Edinburgh for a rather nice trip to the Rugby World Cup, as part of the trip I got to see Scotland Vs New Zealand at Murrayfield which was really good. Traveling in stages back to London I had a couple of jobs in the North, doing some magic at a wedding in Matfen Hall (which has a great golf course) and also a repeat booking in Sunderland for some really nice people I worked for back in March.

Incidentally, for any southerners, especially Londoners reading this, you should really check out Northumberland for a weekend away, the North isn’t all smog you know. Just ask Jeff Stelling of Sky Sports News (this rant was in reply to the TV Show "Location Location Location" which said Middlesbrough was the worst place to live in the UK. Click here to see the clip on YouTube -Brilliant stuff).

In other magic news I was doing the usual table magic and mix and mingle magic at events in Birmingham, Leeds and Manchester all in the same week and I ended all the traveling on Saturday with a mega day of work; firstly performing magic at a wedding Darlington and then flying down to London to perform at a leaving party in Wapping all in the space of a few hours. It just goes to show that close up magic is so versatile; one day a corporate event, the next a wedding, the next minute a leaving party.

In between all this work I found time to shoot to Germany for a weekend at the rather large and semi-famous Freimarket in Bremen (http://www.freimarkt.de/index.php?CHANGElang=en&PHPSESSID=6b4f7cdd71c49f271ac308984a7850a4), and also to have a drink with my good pal, and top magician, Sav in North London.

More news next time...

www.trmagic.com

The other night I was down to the River Thames to perform at an event with a sprinkling of famous people. Well, the usual Big Brother contingent was there, but along with them was A-lister and uber-rich Simon Cowell and B(?)-Lister Danielle Lloyd.

I was actually really surprised with Simon, I have always had respect for him as he speaks his mind and doesn’t mess people around, which can only be a good thing. At the event he seemed really very nice indeed. Unfortunately for him it was basically a photo shoot with everyone wanting a picture with the big man* so I thought it would be almost rude not to get involved (see photo). In these circumstances I have sometimes thought a max-work of the celebrity would be just as good as they really only ever do seem to have a succession of photos taken of them. Hummm.. maybe a business idea. Or is this the reason for look-a-likes- I think so.

Also at the event was a very beautiful Danielle Lloyd. Again I was surprised by how nice she was and it kind of confirmed my view that most of the things you hear in the media about these people is just complete fabrication. She seemed very sharp when it came to the magic and you can see a photo of ‘her card’ below (to be added soon as I have lost the card somewhere!). I enjoyed the evening and talking to Simon and Danielle was really interesting.

*I say big man but I actually mean little man as in real life he is really quite short.

I was chatting to an old friend the other day, actually someone I used to work with when I was a bar man back in North Yorkshire (see my biography page for details). We got chatting about our respective jobs and sometimes I forget how cool being a magician is- no need to get up every morning to do the daily commute if I didn’t want to, getting to go to interesting parties & events and generally getting to have a rather nice lifestyle.

However, my fried is a pilot and I thought how brilliant is that?! Getting to travel all over the world everyday (this is slightly more than me- just) and getting to eat ‘plane food’ for every meal. Wowza the life of a pilot. Being a pilot is something I would love to have done and I am actually going to start flying lessons soon. I think its always important to test yourself and push your limits in terms of learning. I recently finished my ‘day skipper’ (see link) course in sailing and I am now starting Chinese lessons (they love magic over there).

There are so many interesting things that people do I always think it is crazy that we, as in society, don’t do that much anymore. Maybe this is why the kids on the street are bored? Oh dear, this blog is getting very serious all of a sudden. I must start talking more about celebrity gossip type things… which leads me on to…. (see above blog post).

Hello to all the regular readers. What’s new I hear you say? Well, the last couple of weeks have seen more corporate work and a light sprinkling of private parties.

At the start of the week I was working as what the client called a “corporate entertainer”- sounds posh doesn’t it. It was another ‘team magic’ affair with myself, and magicians Noel Qualter and Sav. The event was held at an exclusive London private members club in the West End. Not only was it a private members bar, but we were also performing in the VIP area towards the back of the venue. Snazzy. Apart from the dark lighting; I think Sav mentioned people would need a torch to see the magic at one point! the event was great fun and all the clients left with a smile on their face.

Another evening of corporate entertainment was seen at the Waldorf Hilton in the theatre district of London. I was working for Pricewaterhouse Coopers at a partnership event they were holding with Unilever (check out the wikipedia link as I was performing for the top man Rudy Markham as seen on the company information page). The event was a great success, which brings me to the question; as a client how do you book a professional corporate entertainer ?

Many performers state they are the top corporate entertainer, but you need to be sure the magician will provide an excellent service; after all, your clients deserve the best. The most important thing is to speak to the entertainer, make sure they have a long client list and strong positive feedback from other companies. I am proud to say I have a huge list of satisfied customers and I even have a snazzy brochure (wowza). If I can’t make an event because I am already booked, I am always happy to recommend another top magician. There is nothing worse than a poor performer at a crucial client hospitality event.

Until next time….

Its been an interesting time in the corporate entertainment world. I recently had a call from a snazzy banking client who wanted a handful of magicians to perform table magic at an event in London, and then events across the UK and Ireland. Unfortunately I was already booked up, but being the nice man I am I managed to book a veritable A-list of close-up magicians for the events (clearly it wasn't perfect because I wasn't there, but hey). The team consisted of Jon Allen, James Brown, Don Moses and Brendan Patricks. You could almost call it Team Magic. Because we did such a great job, I have been asked to get another team of magicians together for the next event.... So, if you ever have a large event where you need more than one magician, give me a call and I will be happy to help.

So, its Christmas time, mistletoe and wine...etc etc etc.

I have been super super busy over the last few weeks, the usual corporate christmas parties and even a few winter weddings. Highlights include performing at the Sony Ericsson Christmas bash over in Newbury- this was the party for the big boys and what an event. Set in a massive teepee I was part of very impressive entertainment list; including a platinum record selling band, two famous DJ's and did I mention me?

The very next evening I was back in London, performing table top magic at a huge dinner on Park Lane. A rather rubbish photo is to the right. A great night was had by all and my magic was complemented by a comedy performance supplied by Jongleurs, Stephen K Amos was very funny indeed.

Then, the next night I was in Chiddingford in Surrey, performing at a fantastic wedding. The bride and groom really were a fantastic couple and I know there are some great photos from the wedding I'll be adding soon. How exciting?!

Well, then the next night... OK OK, if I go on like this I'll just be regurgitating my diary, which isn't terribly exciting so I best be off for now...

Where is the mistletoe?

So, last week I was at the International Magic Convention, basically this is an event for magicians to hang out and talk about magic. How cool is that? No?- OK, its not cool, but its great to get together with other magicians and it was nice to see some pals again. A few you may have spotted my pals on such sites as corporatemagicians.com and your favourite search engine, some name dropping...Noel Qualter, Alan Hudson, Rob James, Don Moses and Pete Firman to name but a few.

The magic was great and there was lots of socialising too, which is all the more difficult when you are suffering from extreme man flu- man flu I hear some of you say? Yes it really does exist according to a new poll for Nuts magazine. If the readers of that magazine says it exists, well, heck they must be right.

I also popped down to the Comedy Store in Central London, not only were there a load of magicians there, (the magicians in London do seem to get around a lot!) but there was some great comedy on offer- Andrew Maxwell was simply superb, so so funny. Pure genius, you must go and see him.

So, its been a while and my fans have been e-mailing in their droves to ask when the next blog is online (you know who you are), so here is issue 1 of a few posts this week. The biggest and most exciting news of last month was being asked to be a major part of the launch of the new Mini. I was asked to go along to the official launch of the new model of the BMW Mini which was heavily advertised in the press. It was a great evening with a select invitation list of VIPs, Mini enthusiasts and the Press. The magic went down well and I even managed to get a few Mini related tricks into the show. So, I guess that I am truly one of the very few magicians in the UK to be part of a major car launch. "Table magician", "Close-up Magician" and "London magician" have all been used to describe me in the past, but I suppose I can add "Mini Magician" now!

The next day I had to rush up North to a wedding in Durham, once again the magic went down a storm and some of the guests actually recorded a video on their mobiles- not something I really like as no doubt it will be on YouTube in the future, but what a great party it was. Here is what the bride and groom thought:

"What can I say I knew I was right to book you. What a night, truly amazing then you turn up with your magic kiwi fruit! We have had nothing but praise and astonishment at your excellent performance at our wedding. We have had comments ranging from 'He's absolutely mint!' (Katie 8) to 'F@"k me somethings not right with him' (Bert 28 3/4). We still have the card which you produced for us and will treasure it as a fabulous momento of the best day of our lives.
Would we recommend you? No! We would insist that people must book you for their event be it wedding, divorce or bar mitzvah (one vanish I'm sure even you can't do!)
To finish from both of us do we get a discount for a second booking as can't wait to see some more of you skill"

I guess that's a happy customer then!?! Here is an amusing photo of me (the magician!), the chocolate fountain chap and the DJ- us entertainers do like to stick together!!

This week has seen a selection of super-duper snazzy gigs. Some of the highlights included some table magic at a fantastic 20th wedding aniversary all the way up in Perthshire, Scotland. Set on a stunning Scotish estate, the marquee was one of the best decorated I have seen, so well done Alex and Simon. Desipte the Scotish winds trying to blow the marqueee away, the magic went down a storm (see what I did there?!- oh dear). Notes have to go to the band, "Crazy Ape", who were great and are well worth a look if you are arranging a party, and the fantasic B&B which is well worth a visit! See photo (right) for the great view.

Later in the week I was back performing magic in central London working at en exclusive party for Universal Pictures, (the film company you know). It was a great bash in the centre of theatre land- maybe I'll get a staring role in a magic film now? Maybe not. Another classy party was the Six Senses Resorts & Spas corporate evening. They used magic to get all the guests chatting and create a really informal atmosphere for everyone to let their hair down. These nice people provide the most amazing holidays, more than a holiday they are described as 'retreats'. Fantastic.

The week was rounded up by an exlcusive birthday party at a private house in Chelsea; stunning location, beatiful wine, great entertainment, and of course, fantastic guests meant the party was a huge sucess. Hello to the two Giles' and Luke and of couse Lorna, Lucy and the rest of the hens. Happy birthday Hannah! Now they have all had a mention on the webiste I bet they feel really special.

Thats it for this week. Don't forget: Don't play with fireworks kids, and remember to hold the sparklers the right way or you won't be able to pick any more cards from the magician.

So, I now officially live in the big smoke, I'm truely a real London Magician. After being a northern boy all my years, I am now based in the international hub that is North East London, or to be more precise, uber trendy Hoxton. Moving house is just strees stress stress so I took some time off to help the move, but I've still squeezed in plenty of magic:

I was performing at a civil ceremony in Brighton early in the month; while I was there I spotted this snazzy looking boat for sale (see photo)- a few (thousand) more magic shows and I might be able to buy one! Unless anyone fancies buying me one?! The civil partnership was great fun and I seem to be one of the leading London magicians for this type of event. Other magic news consists of a wedding magic show at The Bleeding Heart Restaurant in the City of London where I performed table magic during the wedding breakfast. What a fantastic venue and the food was sublime, after some research it seems to be one of the top ten restaurants in London. Tasty.

As a note, although I now live in London, I still perform all over the UK (and internationally), for example I have events coming up in Carlisle, Scotland, Leeds, York, Newcastle and Surrey to name a few places, so feel free to get in touch where ever you need a magician! Don't forget to stay tuned to read about the exciting goings on of a top UK magician (the only people who read this seem to be other magicians, my mum and the computer spellchecker mind!)

So, the last couple of weeks I've mostly been performing table top magic and mix and mingle magic at weddings, and civil ceremonies, here are just a few snaps from the events I have been to...

First up...a Civil ceremony in Surrey....
This was a really great event with some really cool guests, and I must say thanks for the Hog Roast sandwich, very nice indeed! Photos by a great, great photographer, Ralph Hodgson, http://www.ralphhodgson.co.uk/ --Check out his website for his work, really impressive stuff.











Here a snap from a wedding in Shropshire,
I'm certainly no kids magician, but even I have to say that the young boy looks excited! Check out the 6 of Spades, good timing on the photo!




















Finally, here are some photos from wedding magic I performed in York

These photos were taken by the husband and wife team at Studio 25, http://www.studio-25.co.uk/- so thanks to Debbie & Gareth!