I just thought I would give a quick shout out to a really cool band I saw a few months back. The White Keys are a 9-piece group of former Leeds University students who have got together to play a mix of “funk, soul and a bit of pop”. I thought they were really good and certainly worth a look if you need a decent band.

“The band formed whilst studying and playing together for three years on the Pop and Jazz degree courses at the prestigious Leeds College of Music and have recently graduated with first class degrees and exceptional marks for music performance. Although the band have only been working professionally since early 2008, they have swiftly gained an outstanding reputation and have packed as much experience into that time that may take others years.” Check them out: http://www.thewhitekeys.co.uk/


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

So, here comes some new blog posts. I have had a request to make them slightly more about random things I get up to, and slightly less about the gigs I go to, and so here goes. Maybe I could mix things up with some sort of Podcast (I think the kids on the street call them poddycasts?)

Talking of gigs though, I was performing at a couple of weddings a few weeks ago in the very nice golf resorts of De Vere Belton Woods and Donnington Valley Hotel & Golf club. These venues are very pretty if you are having drinks etc on the pleasant terrace, but since my newfound interest in playing golf it is definitely the very nice looking golf course that is the best view.

The majority of the people reading this, all three of you, probably don’t play golf, but I really recommend you pick it up. As long as you stay away from the ‘stuffy exclusive’ clubs of yesteryear they are all very welcoming and very open to new, rather rubbish players such as myself. One thing I can recommend is some decent lessons to get you started. I had some tuition recently from Kevin Harrison at A1 Golf who is a top bloke a really good teacher.

One of these days I am going to arrive at these nice venues really early and get a round of golf in before performing. Golf-tastic!


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

As I now live in London I don’t get up to my native Yorkshire as much. However, I was recently invited along to a wedding of some family friends where they asked me to do some magic, of course I was more than happy to oblige and it was great to perform to the native Yorkshire folk again. It was quite unusual as I knew lots of people at the wedding as most of them had never seen me perform before, but it was great fun.

The next day I went even further North and was performing in Sunderland at the Seaham Hall hotel and Spa. If you haven’t been here before I highly recommend it. It’s a great venue with a Michelin starred Chef (Kenny Atkinson) who is currently in the final of the BBC’s Great British Menu. The wedding was great and the most amusing thing about the wedding was the football results that day. Many of the guests were from Sunderland and with it being the last day of the season there was a lot pressure with local rivals Newcastle & Middlesborough trying to avoid relegation with Sunderland. Needless to say when it was confirm that Newcastle & Middlesborough were going down, while Sunderland stayed up, there were jubilant celebrations! The rivalry up there is unbelievable.


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

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

If you wanted proof that Tom is one of the top magicians in the country, just look at what a couple of recent clients have said...

"What can I say? We had the most truly magical wedding day.
You exceeded my expectations. I knew that you would be fantastic, the guests were bowled over by you and you were truly a hit with both the children and adults alike.
Tony was particularly impressed, and only wishes that I had  asked you to entertain the evening guests also. If my daughters have a party to celebrate their 18th (all be-it in 4 years time ) I would hope you could be  top of the bill, they havnt stopped talking about the day and your magic, and as for my family, now they ARE hard to impress, yet we have had nothing but praise about your talents they were truly in awe of you. My brother is still trying to work out how his wedding ring which was on his hand ended up in your wallet on a key fob in your back pocket!!!!!( & had not noticed his ring was missing)."
-Fiona & Tony- Informal Magic at Wedding


"The magic went down brilliantly on the day - thank you so much. Loads of people have commented to us how much they enjoyed it and one of our friends who is particularly cynical and hard to please was pretty blown away when you made a card appear in his top pocket! ...We were thrilled to have you there and I would certainly recommend you to any of my friends."
Megan & Mike - Magic at wedding in Northumberland


"I just wanted to say a huge thank you for entertaining our guests at the Rose Launch on Monday. The event was a huge success and all of us at ABCC are delighted you were part of it... everyone I have spoken to since has said how fantastic you are your tricks were... thanks again and I really hope we are able to work with you again in the future"
Kaite - ABCC

I got two really nice thank you letters the other day from a couple of weddings I worked at recently. I really love the fact that my close up magic at weddings really does make a big difference to their big day.

"Our official thanks for providing such entertainment on our wedding day. I think the combination of cider and your expertise led to much bafflement! The smiling faces in our wedding photos are certainly down to you. Thank you so much for helping to make our guests relax and have fun- you were a real hit.
-Suzy & Martin


"Just wanted to say thanks Tom, you were amazing, it was lovely to know our guests had something to keep them occupied whilst we were having our photo's taken, we've had loads of people talking about you, and I think most of the local shops sold out of kiwi fruit the next day, as people tryed to work out how on earth you go £20 notes out of them!
I would have no hesitations about recommending you in the future, I think half of our guests are counting on us renewing our vows in the near future, just so they get to see you again! And thanks for the card with the message on, these little touches are so important on such a special day
Thanks again!"
-Michelle & David.

It's mid way through wedding season and I'm featured in a wedding magazine again! Wahoo. I have to be honest; I really do seem to be the leading wedding magician in the UK at the moment. The wedding press keep getting in touch and I'm being invited to some really great weddings. The latest press coverage is a feature in national magazine 'Wedding'. The article is about the best forms of entertainment you can get at the wedding; they picked the top suppliers (about 6 of us) from a vast range of markets to bring togeter the best in the business. I was featured as the magician. You can see some photos of the magazine and article here.

Here are some photos of me performing at a recent wedding in Cirencester, I think you'll agree that everyone seems to be enjoying the magic!

Notice how in photo one I am 'mid-trick' with everyone watching very closely. Then as I finish the trick (in photo two) the entire table bursts into cheers and applause... Sounds like you should get me along to your wedding, party or any event really doesn't it?!

The chap on the left looks rather impressed doesn't he...a great example of some contemporary table magic

It's a rare day when I do a public show- 99% of my close up magic work is private parties, VIP events, weddings and corporate events. However, this month I was asked to go along to 'The Late Shows' which was an event hosted by the museums in Newcastle http://www.thelateshows.org.uk. Basically I performed walkaround magic while people looked around the Discovery Museum in Newcastle late at night; keeping in theme with the evening they also screened the film 'A Night at the Museum' with Ben Stiller, not a classic but certainly a fairly decent family comedy. So that was fun.

A few days later it was back to London for table magic at a corporate dinner in Kensington. The evening was a great success and the client was especially happy to be involved in a trick which they was able to show to their whole table; very much interactive magic. In fact, the client was so pleased that the directors of the company and I went out for drinks late into the night in Soho; a definite perk of the job I think.

Later in the week I was over in Cirencester for a wedding. The venue was not exactly easy to find, but it was a cracker. Very quaint. This was the first true 'summer' wedding of the season and I am now running all over the country performing at weddings from London to Leeds in the next few weeks.

The week was topped off by a wedding in scorching heat in York and then a university graduation ball in Newcastle. The student gigs are always fun, the venue in this occasion was left pretty tidy though as Gordon Brown was giving a speech the next day. I wonder if there were any drunk students still lingering around the next morning to witness GB's speech on terror laws? Hummm...

P.S This month I also got to go and watch the England cricket test match at Headingly in Leeds, great fun and a win for England. Even if you don't like cricket you should go and check out a match for the fantastic atmosphere.

At the end of March I did a massive amount of miles with magic gigs all over the UK. A good example of where my travels have taken me is performing table magic in the Lake District followed by magic at a corporate event in London and then back up north for walk around magic at 50th birthday party in Sunderland, all in the space of a weekend. So, with the massive amount of miles I did that weekend, and back by popular demand (you know who you are) its the return of 'Rate the Service Station' feature.

This weeks choice is Corley Welcome Break (photo above left).
+Plus points Based on the M6 these services are a great British 'wee stop'. Outside there were two old gents collecting for the local Round Table and there was a good selection of motorway eats (KFC, Welcome Break Cafe and even a half decent Starbucks). Unlike the last service station review, there were no crazy people which is always a plus point.
-Down points However, there was evidence of the favourite past time of kids these days, theft and vandalism. I found it mildly amusing that the police signs asking motorists to keep their valuables safe and secure was placed next to the large service station sign which had clearly been stolen by the local yobs (hard to see, but the photo is below right). Also, if you ever go to these services watch out for the huge metal bollards at the entrance to the car park. When you are flying off the motorway at 70mph its not ideal to have a tiny narrow entrance with bollards in which you must perform a Jenson Button style maneuver to avoid. Apparently a few motorists haven't heard to Jenson Button and so have driven straight into them. Great stuff.

It's been released! That's right you can now see my smiling face sprawlled across 3 pages of the UK's leading wedding magazine "For The Bride". Wowza. This is the second time in a year a major national magazine has picked up on my status as the UK's leading wedding magician; very few if any magicians have actually been interviewed by a major national magazine, so to have this twice in a year is a real achivement. By the way, there are a few shrewd magicians who pay for adverts in magazines, but hey, mine was free! They just wanted to interview me. Marvellous.

More news next week...

Front page of "For the Bride" wedding magazine and the 3-page interview feature with Tom Rose.

It has been a while hasn't it? Well, I've travelled to some really cool places all the UK over since my last post. OK, I haven't been to the Middle East for example, but I'm working out in New York at the end of February- how exciting- surely thats more impressive?

So, its been the usual array of corporate gigs and weddings since December, here are some photos of where I have been:

Here's the list: 1. Table magician at a wedding in London (Drapers Hall). 2. Drinks mix and mingle magic then table magic at corporate event with a James Bond 007 theme in Birmingham (Crown Plaza Hotel)

3. Close-up magic in Chelsea at a corporate after show party (The Kensington Bar) 4. Then I was a Wedding Magician in Yorkshire during the reception (at very classy Rudding Park hotel and country club)

5. Magician in London as above (Drapers Hall 2) 6. I was also performing as a wedding magician in Cumbria (Linthwaite House Hotel)

7...and finally I was doing some more wedding magic, this time in County Durham (Bannatyne Hotel)

So there are just a few places I have been. The most exciting news I have at the moment is my forthcoming interview in a national wedding magazine. In fact, here is a sneak preview of the story in this months issue (first bullet point- main story for next month). I am also going out to perform close up magic in New York at the end of the month, although more of this in the next blog post. I wouldn't want to get all you 'magic bunnies' too excited just yet.

As a final note, I often get asked why I recently moved to London. Well the answer is simple- its not the exciting and varied work I now get, its not for the trendy night life or London attractions either. The answer is for the kind of experience I had today. I met a world class, A-list top of the shop celebrity couple. That's right, I sat next to Chantelle and Preston at lunch in Selfridges on Oxford Street- it was special.

So, some jet-set news. This weekend I was flown out by a client to perform at a wedding in snazzy Swiss ski resort Vebier. All very nice. I don't think I would ever visit a ski resort in the summer had it not been for this gig, and I'm very glad I did. The scenery was stunning, the Alps in summer are well worth a visit.

The wedding was a very nice affair indeed- reception in a little Restaurant perched on the top of a mountain, fondu for main course and lashings of local Swiss wine. All very nice. All the guests loved the magic and I'm looking forward to visiting Verbier again- a great town. Here are some photos (excuse the dodgy quality- they were taken on my phone)

Above is my all conquering VW Fox hire car! (not very cool, but a great little car!)

Well, along with the hottest July on record in the UK, its been my record busiest month! Shows all over the UK- wedding magic in Wakefield, mix-and-mingle magic in Manchester, corporate magic in Cheshire and lively magic in Leeds! Basically, I've been really busy which has been really great, apart from the red hot heat which is never helpful in a suit!

One of the interesting jobs this month was over in Salford working at the BG International Triathlon Union World Cup- I was performing mix and mingle and close-up magic to the elite athletes, how anyone can do a 1500m swim, 40km cycle and 10km run in under 2 hours is almost untrue, but Brad Kahlefeldt from Australia did just that to win the race. Crazy. But he liked the magic trick I performed for him! Some of the athletes were great fun, big shout out to Lucie Zelenkova and Anna from the Czech Republic, Terenzo Bozzone from New Zealand, Marko Albert from Estonia and the guys from Hungary to name but a few.

On another note, I found an interesting photo (on the left) from a wedding I performed at a couple of weeks ago...Looks like I had some happy spectators that night? Magic with cards and cash... sounds good to me.
(Triathlon photo from http://www.triathlon.org/- check out the great sport!)

This week I have been mostly performing, wedding magic. Just for a change.

I was over at Headlam Hall in North Yorkshire for a wedding which was full of southerners, which was a tad surprising, I also worked out some maths at this wedding: 120 nice people + 1 nice venue x lots of booze ÷ 1 ace magician = 1 flipping good wedding!

I was over at Newsham, near Barnhard Castle in County Durham for a charity do for the Children's Society, check them out and make a donation! Another good night was had by all despite the misery of England going out of the Wold Cup on the same day. The less said about that the better. Penalties...again.

Since then I've performed on a Steam Boat in the lake district for a wedding with 60 Geordies (photo on the left of me beside lake before show), always great fun! Gone over to the Yorkshire Dales for a wedding near Hawes at a great private venue called Simonside Hall, well worth a visit, and performed at a wedding at Solberge Hall, again. Very popular with my bookings at the moment there.

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!

So, its hot hot hot and the weddings are coming thick and fast. I was performing at a Premiership Footballer's wedding last Sunday, a very classy event at a great venue (Crathorn Hall- see right), and a nice guy too!. Then it was off to Doncaster for the second wedding of the day, some great guests and I give the BBQ top marks, very nice burgers!

Friday I was in York for a wedding at the 14th Century Merchant Tailors Hall, very nice- traffic in York was less nice. Saturday I decided to have a marathon drive, performing near Shrewsbury at a wedding and then on to Epsom, Surrey for a Civil Ceremony- altogether a 630 mile round trip for me. Radio 2 was my saviour.


Have you ever wondered what a magician does before he gets his cards out? Well, here is a picture of me chilling out in the sun before performing in Shrewsbury, very nice day indeed!

Other news this week, interesting negotiations on gigs in Dubai, Scotland and London, with a side-helping of sunbathing and BBQs in the garden. Oh yeah, and I've been watching something called the World Cup, although I did miss the England game due to work. Gutted.

Now that the paparazzi hunt my every move, (or maybe not) I have uploaded a couple of my many(!) recent interviews... Now don't get too excited at all my 'local-paper' fame. I'm sure you will be able to cope with my celebrity status when you meet me! Just Kidding.

oh, and not forgetting my interview in the National Bridal Magazine, "Bliss for Brides"...(More news soon.)

So, where have I been this week? I performed Close up Magic in Cheshire at The Belle Epoque Restaurant, described as "Knutsford's flagship restaurant". What a great venue. Wasn't sure if I was going to make it on the evening though as the snow was really coming down and there was the usual array of cars doing stupid things on the M62!

I've also been over to Derby County FCs stadium for the East Midlands Development Agency "Oscars Night for Business Champions". It was the usual Corporate Table Magic show, but it was a really great night with some fun guests and a great initiative with local businesses supporting the regeneration of the Derbyshire and Nottingham areas. If any of the guests are reading, who stole my kiwi knife that night?!!? Oh, and it rained all the way to Derby, driving in the rain is never fun.

I've got a really, really busy week next week, but keep looking back for some exciting news about me performing some 'international magic' in April. More news soon.

Not really keeping very up to date, but I had a truly crazy week last week. Back in North Yorkshire for a formal black-tie function on the Friday evening, then down to London for my first performance at a civil ceremony on Saturday morning, which was great fun, before flying to Edinburgh on Saturday night for a 21st Birthday party. On Sunday I had chance to sit down. On Tuesday I was interviewed by the Northern Echo Newspaper for an article on my magic career, which is being published on Monday 20th February (Click here to read the article). Last night (Thursday) I performed at York Racecourse at another Black Tie dinner with three other great magicians, Alan Hudson, John Danbury and James Ashford.
Next week I'll be exhibiting at the Harrogate Yorkshire Brides Wedding Fair, Saturday 25th and Sunday 26th of February.
I'll post again when I can muster the energy. More news soon.

Tom has had a crazy summer performing at the usual array of weddings, garden parties and corporate functions. Some of the many highlights include performing for all the 'top-dogs' at the recent Virgin Holidays Dubai Bash, performing (again) at the Newcastle University Medical Society Ball- which is always great fun! Being featured in the February/March 06 issue of National Bridal Magazine 'Bliss for Brides', being asked to perform on New Years Eve at Newcastle's Exclusive Restaurant The Fishermans Lodge for the second year running and performing at the world famous Belfry Golf Club. Just a snap-shot of yet another crazy year of a top UK magician. More news soon.