KEY APRIL 2019

25

RD
CA
EA
TAK

SLATESlSOOlSPOTLIGHTlSUZY
plus the regular columns

www.britishring.org.uk
EASTBOURNE
THE INTERNATIONAL BROTHERHOOD OF MAGICIANS
British Ring No 25

20 19
83Annual Convention
RD

5-8 September 2019

Welcome Building and
Devonshire Park Theatre
EASTBOURNE
The new Welcome Building includes
two large conference spaces,
breakout and hospitality areas and
a coffee and wine bar with views
across the tennis lawns to the
International Tennis Centre

The Devonshire Park Theatre is

one of the best examples of small
Victorian theatre in the country
with beautiful ornate interior

Registration Officer at
ibmbritishring25reg@gmail.com
 RiNG contents
KEY

25
APRIL 2019
The Official Magazine of The British Ring No. 25 of
The International Brotherhood of Magicians for private circulation

PAGE 10

Features
6 Master Magicians: Suzy Who?
8 Collaborative Conjuring: Secret Spy.
10 Take a Card!: any card!
12 Moore Magic: a quick exit.
PAGE 18 14 Cadell: last in series.
16 Blessing or Curse: Ray's reasoning.
18 In the Spotlight: Ian Adair.
21 Chung Ling Soo: a Society lecture.
22 The Dark side of Magic: "I don't believe it!"
25 Your say: letters to the editor.
28 Ideas time: DVD, download or direct?
PAGE 21
OBC Convention corner: news of Eastbourne.
Tricks
26 Kids’ corner: "It's the way I spell 'em".
Regulars
3 The Editor’s View
4 Brian’s Bits and Bobs
PAGE OBC 4 From the Executive Secretary

THE EDITOR and council accept no responsibility for the opinions expressed in articles appearing in the KEY RING. Its contents are copyright and
must not be reproduced in part or whole without permission of the author/contributor and editor.
KEY RING REVIEWS POLICY: As the KEY RING is a members only magazine, and space is limited, only items that have been advertised in KEY RING
(excluding Smalls) or the current convention brochure will be reviewed. Reviews may be submitted from a satisfied customer, or send the item to the editor
with a stamped SAE for its return.
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wish to be returned please enclose a stamped SAE. Also, please try to email the editor your effect, article etc. for publication. This should not prevent
members without computers from getting involved, but do enclose a stamped SAE for the return of ANYTHING that you would like back.
IBM FACEBOOK PAGE: https://www.facebook.com/IBM.BritishRing25 BRITISH RING TWITTER PAGE: http://twitter.com/IBMBRITISHRING
 APRIL 2019

RiNG officers
KEY

25

President: Brian LEAD COUNCIL

55 Saunders Road, Blackburn, Lancs, BB2 6NP Clive MOORE
T. 01254 52070 E. b.lead@btinternet.com T. 01332 763 206
President Elect: Alan MASKELL M. 07711139479
40 Lanton Drive, Glasgow G52 2EW E. clivejeanmagic@gmail.com
T. 07999 537686 Carol TYNAN
E. alan.maskell@gmail.com T. 01704 533 768
Vice Presidents: Edwin DAWES, Neville JOHNSON, John PALFREYMAN E. ibmbritishring25reg@gmail.com
Immediate Past President: Richard CADELL Graham COLVAN
E. richardcadell@hotmail.com T. 0780 937 3746
Executive Secretary: Moira FLETCHER E. graham.colvan@gmail.com
40 Lanton Drive, Glasgow G52 2EW James HOBART
T. 07771 613894 E. moira1.fletcher@gmail.com T. 028 9185 2760
Assistant Secretary: Ajay VORA E. j.hobart@btinternet.com
27 St Barnabas Road, Barnetby, N Lincs DN32 6 JB Alan MASKELL
T. 07771752000 E. vora110@aol.com T.07999 537686
Treasurer: Rick TYNAN E. alan.maskell@gmail.com
12 Kempton Park Fold, Southport, Merseyside PR8 5PL John RUSSELL
T. 01704 533768 E. ibmbritishring25treasurer@gmail.com T. 0191 416 4152
Hon. Solicitor: Clive CULLUM E. john@kirsand.co.uk
48 South Grange Road, Ripon, North Yorkshire, HG4 2PA. Oliver TABOR
T. 01765 600145. E. magic.cullum@btinternet.com T. 01702 543242
Chaplain & Welfare Officer: Alan CLARKE E. otmagicfx@hotmail.com
Bear’s Den, 22 Blackcliffe Way, Bearpark, Co. Durham DH7 7TJ Aidan HERITAGE
T. 0191 659 9114 E. alanbearsden@gmail.com T. 07903 931967
Webmaster: Aidan HERITAGE E. aidanheritage@britishring.org.uk
T. 07903 931967 E. aidanheritage@britishring.org.uk Robert MOSS
PR & Key Ring Advertising Manager: Geoffrey NEWTON T. 01246 260276
6 Newcombe Court, Barkers Lane, Sale, Cheshire, M33 6RU. E. robertmosseng@gmail.com
T. 0161 969 8222. E. geoffreynewton@uwclub.net
Key Ring Editor: Geoffrey NEWTON
6 Newcombe Court, Barkers Lane, Sale, Cheshire, M33 6RU.
T. 0161 969 8222. E. geoffreynewton@uwclub.net IMPORTANT INFORMATION
Moira FLETCHER Membership applications,
Benevolent Fund Trustees: The British Ring changes of address and general British Ring
Eddie DAWES, John PYE, is proud to be a correspondence.
Alan J CLARKE and Keith COOPER. member of FISM Rick TYNAN Annual subscriptions, benevolent
fund donations and all financial enquiries.
Past Presidents *Donald Crombie. *Tony Shelley. John Palfreyman. Aidan HERITAGE Website contributions.
*J. Milton *Will Ayling. Mike Gancia. Alan J CLARKE News of members recovering,
*Oswald Rae. Woodward. *Hamilton Kaye. *Cynthia Neptune.
*Herbert Collings. *Paul Graham. Brian Miller. Don Beattie. ill, or deceased.
*John Ramsay. *Tommy Rowe. *Rovi. Mark Raffles. Geoffrey NEWTON Public relations, news,
*His Honour Ernest *Revd. Michael *Peter Scarlett. John Styles MBE. advertising enquiries, copy, payments,
Wethered OBE. Seacome. *Clem Bailey. *Derek McFaull.
*W. G. Stickland MBE. Key Ring articles/letters, Broken Wands,
*Geoffrey *Robert Sinclair. Trevor Lewis.
*Harry Kaye. Buckingham. *Ron MacMillan. Shirley Ray. and requests to switch over to
*John Gambling. *Harold Taylor. *Ken De Courcy. Keith Cooper. the e. key ring etc.
*Oscar Paulson. *Ron Bishop. *Alan Shaxon. Brian Miller. Contact details shown above
*Geoffrey *Alastair Oliphant. Geoff Ray. John ‘Sly’ Smith
Robinson OBE. Dr. Eddie Dawes. Terry Herbert. Neil Roberts
*Eddie Dexter. *Alfred Gabriel. *Les Nottle. Alan Astra
*Jeffery Atkins. *Ted Whebell. *Tom Owen. Paul Ray THE DIGITAL KEY RING
*Les Levante. *Duncan Fletcher. John Pye. Clive Moore For those members with iPads, computers etc.
*Archie Tear. David Berglas. *Bob Hayden. Richard Cadell
*Wilfred Tyler. *Edwin Hooper. Derek Lever. * DECEASED
It requires no password and instantly emailed to
*Francis Haxton. *Ali Bongo. *Richard Stupple. you. Lets you view text at any size in colour links
*Peter Warlock. *Cliff Townsend. *Louis Martelle. to websites, video, and demos

2 KEYRING APRIL 2019

 THE EDITOR’S VIEW

Fattracting
irst things first. Brian’s Presidential
Dinner was a huge success
over 100 members and
guests to Lancashire. A superb meal
excellent cabaret and first class
company, yours! There will be a full
report in the next available issue of
Key Ring.
The next social function on our
magic calendar is the newly revived
Picnic. After the success of the re-introduction
last year I am sure this event at The Little Theatre
in Leicester is going
to be something you
will not want to miss.
Please see the advert
is edition for details.
I know that some
of our members are
also members of the
Northern Magic Circle
who will be holding their 2019 Northern Magic
Summit in Harrogate later this month. I am
looking forward to joining them as I shall be
presenting The Key Ring Lecture. This is a
selection of items that have appeared in our
magazine over the past four years and is
designed as a promotion for The British Ring. I
have already visited some magic societies with
this collection. I shall also be presenting a
workshop called Paper Magic.
Easter is on the horizon
and being the first Bank
Holiday since the
Christmas period it
presents an ideal time for
families to go out and about
or away for a few days. Wherever
there are people there tends to be entertainment
so if you spot a magician or allied act do
drop me a line about what you see.
This edition brings to a close
the series Cadell on Illusions,
a wonderful
insight into the
ups and
downs of
presenting
illusions. Richard
has clearly been there,
found the problems
and turned them
into success. On
your behalf I
thank him very
much for
dedicating so much
time to us during his ongoing
very busy schedule.
Finally, it’s a case of now we are four as this is
the 48th edition of Key Ring. It does not seem four
years since myself, printer Steve Rynn and
graphic designer John Hawkins were appointed to
take on this new publication which has risen from
the ashes of The Budget. From the comments
received it seems you like what we present and
we will use our best endeavours to maintain this
standard for your continued enjoyment.
Geoffrey NEWTON editor
6 Newcombe Court, Sale M33 6RU.
T. 0161-969 8222 or 07769 884109
E. geoffreynewton@uwclub.net
When submitting articles send to the above
address. When writing to the editor, please
enclose a stamped SAE if you need a reply or if
you would like photos etc. returned. Thank you.

APRIL 2019 KEYRING 3

 BRIAN’S BITS AND BOBS
Fcoldebruary began with a wintry trip to
the Bradford Magic Circle, but the
weather was more than offset by
the warm welcome extended by
incoming President Simon Hannah and
the rest of the club. A review of the
evening by Ray Roberts appears
elsewhere in this edition, so I won’t
dwell on it here – suffice to say that it
was a pleasure to meet up with many
old friends and my visit persuaded at least one
former member to re-join the Ring, which was a
very positive outcome.
February, of course, also means Blackpool and
the largest magic convention in the world. The
Blackpool Convention was born in the same year
as I was, and we first met in 1968 when we were
both 16. In those days the registration fee for the
one-day event was 12/6, and this included a sit-
FROM THE EXECUTIVE SECRETARY
down meal. These days the convention extends
over four days, if you include the Thursday auction,
A s you will see from the list of new
members our stand at the
Blackpool Convention proved to be
extremely worthwhile. We are also
delighted to welcome back some
previous members who have rejoined.
It was great to meet with so many of
you who came up to say hello, and
especially lovely to chat with Mark
Raffles during the weekend, with his
enthusiasm still as passionate as ever. We offered
a special deal to anyone who signed up for the
convention during the weekend and we have
received an email stating “that sealed the deal for
me at Blackpool... as previously I was giving it
some thought!” Others went away with both
membership and registration forms so hopefully
we will receive these shortly. We have even had
4 KEYRING APRIL 2019
and attracts well over 4,000 registrants
with over 100 dealers and myriad
performers serving the conventioneers.
Appropriately, this year’s celebration of
magic was dedicated to Ken Dodd and
Johnny Hart, who appeared together in a
moving opening clip from 2006.
Once again we had a British Ring
stand, staffed by the Tynan /Fletcher/
Maskell dynasty and situated at the
entrance to the main dealers’ hall, so everyone had
to pass by. It was good to encounter so many old
friends and famous faces. Pictured with me here are
Past President Mark Raffles, still picking pockets at
the age of 97, and the incorrigible Chris Cross who
asked Hans Klok the most penetrating question of
the weekend: “What shampoo do you use?”
A few days later Richard Cadell brought Sooty’s
Magic Show to my home town of Blackburn, and it
was a joy to join the kids for ninety minutes of non-
stop fun as Sooty sawed Soo’s favourite doll in half,
entries for the competition. If you are
thinking about entering then perhaps now
is the time to submit your entry form.
To give you plenty of notice, it is a little
more than a year until the next FISM
European Championship in Manresa,
Spain. The deadline for entry for the
competition is 15 March 2020, so there is
a year to prepare but perhaps this is
something you are considering and you
could use our competition in Eastbourne as a
practice run. More information can be found on their
website www.fism2020.eu
We handed out a good number of leaflets for both
the Convention and the Picnic. Brian loved the
success of the swop shop last year so we will be
doing this again at Leicester and hope those
attending will bring along their no longer performed
 spots which depicted large fluorescent versions of
Sooty and Sweep catching a bee in a butterfly net
and swimming with sharks.
Richard is a wonderful ambassador for magic
and, by extension, The British Ring.
The next big event on the horizon is our British
Ring ‘Picnic’, which was so successfully restored
last year at the lovely Little Theatre in Leicester.
As you will see from the
advert in this issue, all
of your favourite
Mark Raffles -left- and Chris Cross join Brian at Blackpool features from last year
Sweep floated and vanished a string of sausages will be included, and for
and Richard, among other smaller items, levitated a a tenner (£5 for children)
young girl from the audience and created a you can’t go wrong.
snowstorm. Michael Jordan, with assistant Emma,
delighted everyone with a display of circus skills, Brian LEAD
incorporating plate spinning and juggling while 55 Saunders Road Richard, Sooty
riding a unicycle and including a couple of illusions Blackburn Lancs BB2 6NP and Brian in his
of his own. The charming Fantasie de la Nuit troupe T. 01254 52070 home town of
Blackburn
entranced the youngsters with two ‘black theatre’ E. b.lead@btinternet.com

effects to swop for something new. We will have Andrew Beach, Cornwall
some fun with spontaneous performances of these Roger Kelly, Dartford
on the day. To book a place at the Picnic just give Don Neufville, Luton
me a call or an email and we will put your name on Philip Phillips, Isle of Man
the list. Payment will be collected on the day. We do Jie Rao, Belfast
need to have an idea of numbers though to ensure Joanne Wells, Halifax
there is enough lunch available for everyone, so Neal Alexander Wells, Halifax
please do make sure to let us know if you are David Woolston, Essex
planning on coming along. If you would like to
perform or help out on the day, just let me know. “The most worthwhile thing is to try to put
Next month there will be the formal notice for happiness into the lives of others”
nominations for Council. Please give this some Robert Baden-Powell
thought as we are always looking for new faces with
fresh ideas to join us. If you want any information Moira FLETCHER
about what is involved please do get in touch. 40 Lanton Drive, Glasgow G52 2EW
We are delighted to welcome the following as T. 07771 613894
new members to The British Ring and we look E. moira1.fletcher@gmail.com
forward to seeing you at our events soon.

APRIL 2019 KEYRING 5

GALLERY OF MASTER MA
Imynissue
the February 2019
of ‘Key Ring’
‘Gallery of Master
Magicians’ column
profiled Suzy Wandas
from Belgium, the
celebrated ‘Lady with
the Fairy Fingers’. I
mentioned in passing
an intriguing piece of
film from the 1930s
which is worth further exploration.
If you look on You Tube you will
find the following. Ukulele Ike –
Cliff Edwards with a little magic.
1935. Cliff Edwards was a very
popular American performer of
songs with his ‘uke’ on radio and
feature films in the 1930s. He also
made a series of film ‘shorts’ –
sequences only a few minutes
Suzy Wandas with Ukulele Ike – Cliff Edwards
6 KEYRING APRIL 2019
long shown in
cinemas, often also
with a cartoon and
taken from a longer ’short’ called
Starlight Days at the Lido, 1935. It
is really a commercial for
newsreel, before the Hollywood’s Lido Lounge and
‘big picture’. Although MGM contract stars and would be
two strip colour films stars. There is a bar by a pool and
had been occasionally bathing beauties parade about
made in the early days whilst the stars and others sing
of film, in the 1930s songs or do turns. Ukulele Ike is
three strip Technicolor playing his ukulele and singing to
was being adopted by the right of the frame. To the left
major studios which gave vivid, of the frame is a striking platinum
lifelike colours. It was a costly blonde, smiling, smoking,
process for feature films, but discarding her cigarette then
shorts in ‘glorious Technicolor’ producing another lighted one at
proved a hit with cinema her fingertips. Although not
audiences and allowed credited, this is purported to be
technicians to get the colour Suzy Wandas. It has all the
balance right. hallmarks of the reported Suzy
The sequence involving Cliff performances. Suzy on stage
Edwards with some magic, is produced cards, cigarettes and
coins in sleeveless evening gowns
which made audiences wonder
where on earth they all came
from. Here the blonde wears a
sleeveless blouse and similarly
discards and produces lighted
cigarettes. It is clearly a real time
sequence and not a cinema trick,
so, in spite of lack of name credit,
why the doubt it is her?
In 1935 Suzy was with her
mother at the height of her
European fame working as The
Wandas Sisters. Her mother
retired in 1936 and Suzy’s fame
continued as a solo act. In 1935,
would she have interrupted her
final tours with her mother to
undertake the then lengthy trip to
GICIANS
Hollywood to make a Technicolor
short? Maybe, if the Hollywood
temptations had been great, but
she was aged 39 in 1935, old by
their standards for new stardom.
There is however no doubt that
the camera loved her. Amiable
though Cliff Edwards is, it is the
beautiful blonde with a wonderful
smile, never mind the
manipulations, that dominate the
screen.
Most magic reference books
say that Suzy Wandas gave her
United States debut only in 1953,
IS THIS SUZY? BY Roy FIELD
the sequence is of her. As hardly
any film of Suzy exists, if you
‘Google’ her name you get to this
‘little magic’ sequence in spite of
no name credit. Few are now
around who saw Suzy perform so
this short piece could be all that
we have. With her Jean Harlow
platinum blonde hair, ravishing
smile, and remarkable
manipulations, your eyes are
drawn to her.
In answer to the opening
question ‘Is this Suzy’, I would say
‘yes’ especially as she later
confirmed she had had a
lightening visit to Hollywood.
Whoever she is, she is worth
watching, do look.
and of course after marrying
Zina Bennett she became
an American citizen. Her
American debut however,
was likely 18 years
previously in Hollywood.
In the 1980s Suzy
herself in an interview
remembered that she
visited Hollywood to
‘make a film with a
ukulele player’ which
seems to confirm it,
but some magical
historians still deny that
APRIL 2019 KEYRING 7
 COLLABORATIVE CONJURING TOP SECRET BY Chris
JAMES: Chris and I have often
found great trick ideas in old
magazines and books. Many
current dealer items are based on
ideas that first did the rounds
years ago, sometimes more than a
century back. Our magical past is
a treasure-trove of long-forgotten
gems that can, and should, inspire
us today.
CHRIS: I agree. Take the following
effect, for example, which is
based on a trick, ‘Name, Please!’
by John Scarne, from his book,
Scarne’s Magic Tricks (John
Scarne, 1951; Dover Edition
2003), first published almost 70
years ago. The end
result is
nothing like
John Scarne’s
original effect,
but was inspired
by reading
something we liked
and asking
ourselves how we
might adapt the
central premise. We
hope you like it!
EFFECT:
You display a well-mixed
pack of playing cards which you
casually shuffle as you speak. Tell
your helper to imagine they are a
secret agent, charged with
uncovering a vital piece of
information embedded in a
8 KEYRING APRIL 2019
respectively. They should keep
totalling until they reach the
smallest possible number. This
will be the value of their card. If
they don’t like the number and
have one of the picture cards, they
can use that instead. Let’s say
they reply that they have totalled
‘Seven’ and have no picture
cards. Seven, you remind them, is
playing card. Their job is to find the value of their secret card. Now
out what that playing card is. they must ascertain its suit.
Fanning the deck, ask your Retrieving the cards, you
helper to remove any card they remove four cards, one of each
like and hand it to you without suit. You give these cards a mix
looking at it. This, you say, will be and lay them face-down on the
the Top Secret Card which it is table. Your helper chooses one –
their job to identify. You let’s say it’s the Ten of Hearts.
place it into your outside That determines the suit – so the
top pocket so that it is secret card must be the Seven of
visible throughout. Hearts.
Handing the cards to Remind your helper that they
your helper, have mixed the deck and, in their own
them cut off a hands, selected the card that was
portion of the placed in your top pocket, as well
deck and reverse as the cards that revealed both its
it, then cut off a suit and value. It’s time to see
deeper portion whether they have broken the
and reverse code and discovered the identity
that, too. of the Top Secret Card. Slowly
Now have remove the card from your pocket.
them spread It is the Seven of Hearts!
WORKING:
to the first face-down
card, remove the top four cards
and give them a mix. Ask them to Start with a Seven of Hearts
mix the rest of the deck, too. hidden in your top pocket. Though
Have them look at the four your helper has a free choice of
cards and add up the values, card, as you place it into your top
announcing that Jacks, Queens pocket behind the Seven of
and Kings count as 11, 12 and 13 Hearts, simply pull up the Seven
WARDLE AND James WARD

of Hearts as you push down on cards. If the Heart is untouched, FINAL NOTE:
the selection. It will look as if the discard the other two and turn In case, as in our example the 10
card was never out of sight. over the remaining card, the Ten H is actually chosen at the
On top of your deck place the of Hearts. If, however, the Ten of beginning of the trick; it would be
following four cards: AC, 3H, AD, Hearts is one of the cards chosen, wise to have an additional Heart
2S. Somewhere else in your deck, ask your helper to hand you one of card pencil dotted as a safeguard.
mark one of the remaining Hearts. the cards. Whichever card they
For our purposes, let’s assume it’s hand you, interpret the result so
the Ten. A pencil dot will be fine as that the Heart is chosen.
long as you can spot it later on.
Using the Cut Deeper Force
(described in ‘Effect’ above), your
helper will end up with the four
force cards which, when added up
(1+3+2+1) will total ‘Seven’ to
match the Top Secret Card’s
value. (The reference to picture
cards is just a smokescreen, as is
the shuffling done by the helper
which simply allows you to remind
them that they did mix the deck,
albeit after the cards were
chosen!)
As for forcing the suit, because
you have marked the Ten it’s easy
to keep track of it, even though
you mix the four suit cards. Set
out the suit cards in a row, with
the Hearts card second from the
right from your helper’s point of
view. (Though not certain, this
increases its chances of being
selected when you ask your
helper to push one forward.)
If they don’t choose the
Heart, go into the usual
Magician’s Choice procedure.
Discard the card pushed forward
and ask your helper to place their
hands on two of the remaining

APRIL 2019 KEYRING 9

Take A Card!
Tthatheavailable
Your editor takes a brief look at the magic of playing cards
longer an item has been
the more likely it is comments that playing cards in
a lot will have been written
about it and many different
opinions discussed. Nothing
seems to be truer than when I
started to look into the history of
playing cards and card magic
from the myriad pieces of
information available for me to sift which is I feel what you want to
through.
It seems the most popular
origin is that playing cards
came from China as early
as the 9th Century as paper
was invented there but they
did not arrive in Europe
until the 1300s. Although
rather cloudy, and
sometimes contradictory, it
is documented that they
first appeared in Spain
in 1371 and in
Switzerland there is
reference in 1377.
Donald Welsh, founder Nemo Rising Cards
Paul Daniels and Shirley Bassey
10 KEYRING APRIL 2019
of the English Playing Card Society few simple card tricks.
Do you remember the first one
England probably came about you learnt? My first was the one in
during the 15th Century. There is which you show a fan of three
apparently reference to them in Aces, effectively the Ace of Clubs
the Paston letters which were in and the Ace of Spades with the
circulation between 1422 and Ace of Diamonds sandwiched
1509. between them. These three Aces
When it comes to card magic, are put in separate parts of the
pack and the Ace of Diamonds
read about, although still subject returns to the top. The pack can
to opinion it seems to have then be inspected but there will be
commenced with an Italian only be the one AD. In case you
magician Giovani haven’t already twigged it is the
Giuseppe Pinetti in inverted Ace of Hearts that is
the 1800s. Due to his shown but masked in parts with
personality it is the other two Aces. What was your
recorded that he was first card trick? Do write in and
the first magician to let’s see if there is a common link
display his card tricks or if we all came from different
in a theatre, much to directions.
the delight of his Howard Thurston (1869 –
audience. Other 1936) looms up on the scene for
than a magic set, this type of magic. A world famous
most of us started magician from Columbus Ohio
in magic with a who had a very large travelling
show became equally famous for
his magic with cards. He was also
a prolific author on card magic,
with his books Howard Thurston’s
Card Tricks (1903) followed by 50
New Card Tricks (1905) being but
two of his great works on this
subject. His name is well
associated with the Rising Cards
but there are earlier references to
this effect by other performers. It
does though neatly bring me to
this aspect and some of the
various versions which have been
popular over the years. Martin, a

well-known name for magical
apparatus of the past, made one
with an ingenious clockwork
mechanism. This would make
three cards rise with a time gap
between, to allow the performer to
encourage the rise of the next
one. Fast forward to the late
1940s and we find the Harry
(Mitch) Devano Rising Cards. I
have not seen one of these packs
for a long time. It was entirely
self-contained and, if my memory
serves me correctly, used a simple
Cardini
but effective mechanism with a
counter weight principle. There
are many versions of this trick
using threads. One of the most
renowned is the Nemo Rising
Cards. Created by that great
performer Ken Brooke and using
a genuine pack of jumbo cards
and a straight forward Perspex
houlette. Three cards are freely
chosen; one is placed in an
envelope and this goes
somewhere in the pack, the other
two cards are also inserted in the
pack. During a comedy routine,
one by one the cards rise on
command. For the last one, the
houlette can be held by a member
of the audience. The envelope
rises, flap lifts and the card rises
out. No magnets, no timers, no
electronics; just clever thinking
and in the right hands a wonderful
Anverdi Rising Cards
piece of magic. If you want to see
more of this look on Youtube and
see Paul Daniels with Shirley
Bassey. Note Paul’s added
brilliance in adding the extra bits
to the published routine.
From mechanics to electronics
and the name (Tony) Anverdi
(1925- 1995) comes to mind.
Although a baker by trade he
turned his hand to electronic
magic, operating a mail order
business from his home in Leiden
in the Netherlands. His Rising
s
Cards were jumbo in size and
APRIL 2019 KEYRING 11

worked by radio control. He even
made a two way version so a
risen card could descend back
into the pack!
Some of my favourite
performers with cards include
Cardini (Richard Valentine
Pitchford 1895 – 1973) for his
excellent manipulation act
performing as someone who was
a bit tipsy and looking as
surprised where all the cards
were coming from as did the
audience. I admire Juan Tamariz
for his zany but very talented
cards skills. My all-time favourite
Juan Tamariz
though is the late René Lavand,
the one armed magician with the
catch phrase on the lines of “It
cannot be slower” but you still
could not see how he did
anything, pure genius.
There have been books galore
on the subject of card magic (and
many DVDs too these days) so
there is plenty on offer. I must
admit card magic has been only a
part on my general magic interest,
so sufficient for my needs have
been The Royal Road to Card
Magic (Hugard) and Encyclopaedia
of Card Magic (Gibson) but I
assure you the written work on
this particular aspect is almost
endless.
12 KEYRING APRIL 2019
I’ll finish on a card trick which
probably one of the oldest, using
the minimal amount of paste
board; the Three Card Trick, Find
the Lady or Three Card Monte.
This has over years been used as
a scam at racecourses and street
corners. It is where the punter has
to keep an eye on the Queen and
bet on it, but always loses. Bad
news for victims but a lot of fun at
entertainment venues such as
dinners or trade shows where the
spectators are provided with stage
money to bet with. In these
situations it is has a hidden
message as not to get involved in
this activity in real life.
Taking this small trick to the
biggest version, a full scale
illusion was invented by Bill
Amac (ca. 1890 – 1961, born
Robert William McFarlane) and
with his permission was
popularised by Cecil Lyle (1889 –
1955). Later, Faust (Granville
Taylor) took possession of the
Faust
effect. It was featured on the
television programme Four
Rooms.
I would like to take the
opportunity to thank most
sincerely Max Blake for his
valuable assistance in preparing
this material. If it has whet your
appetite for card magic then
there’s no time like the present to
start shuffling!
ABITMOOREM
O
ften when
we are on
the way to a
convention or
similar event
we play a game
of magician
spotting. It is
surprising how
many cars you see with rabbit
and top hat logos, the
occasional magic wand and
glowing references to their
ability as an entertainer.
It is not uncommon to bump
into some magicians in service
stations, where the odd card
trick is being performed or the
latest gossip being exchanged,
and where many a friendship
begins. On returning from a
convention you often see
dangling badges which are
always a giveaway.
On our recent trip to
Blackpool it was great to see
the one and only Dynamo just
about to make a burger
disappear, and it was
interesting to see how he was
recognised by the public. One
member of staff who seemed
unaware told me he regularly
had celebrities in the service
station and only a few days
prior Lee Evans had visited the
shop. You never know who or
what you are going to see on the
way back from a convention.
AGIC BY Clive MOORE
This brings me to an episode
that happened a few years ago
after visiting the car boot sale in
Birmingham. For those who have
never been, these are a great day
out and are basically a type of
sale, no frills just lots of magicians
selling equipment from a thumb
tip to an illusion. Although I have
never seen a car boot for sale,
there is pretty much everything
else. Like all magic gatherings,
they are enjoyable social events
and it is good to catch up with
your chums over a bacon
sandwich and a mug of tea.
It was on one of these
occasions that we took along our
good friend and British Ring
Member Doug Gregg. As we came
along the A38 heading back
towards Derby, it was decided to
stop at a Little Chef for a bite to
eat. Pulling into the car park we
were oblivious to
the
surroundings,
with our minds
full of what we
were about to
eat for lunch, and chattering about
what we had just purchased at the
car boot. As we entered the
double doors I commented to Jean
on how they had
brightened up this Little
Chef. Still oblivious to
the surroundings
as our minds were
still full of Double
lifts, Elmsley
counts and
Paddle moves.
We were
approached by
a gentleman in a suit
who enquired how he could help
us. Assuming the role of
spokesman I asked him for a
table and with a surprised look
on his face, he enquired what
sort of table I required and what we had never seen before.
was it to be used for. To eat off I We bid him goodbye and left,
said and do you have a menu, I realising that this once Little
asked. Chef had now been converted
Looking even more baffled, in to an adult shop!
he advised me to look at the Well, that was our excuse for
goods on offer, and to both being in there. Goodness knows
our amazement and what else was in that shop, but
astonishment we were they had even stranger looking
surrounded by gadgets, apparatus than what we have,
gizmos and apparatus all in the name of a great day
the likes of which out in magic.
(I checked with Clive to whether
this did actually happen or is it
just a good story. He confirms it
is the truth but it has made a
Dynamo good story ever since! Ed.)
APRIL 2019 KEYRING 13
CADELL ON ILLUSIONS
Ilarget’sI’veonlyillusions.
in the last two years that
returnerd to performing
I sold all my big
props some twenty years ago
once I took on Sooty. I got itchy
feet though and the opportunity of
integrating illusions into my recent
pantomime performances was too
good to miss. What did I do? I
started up again! However the
truth is my illusions were dormant
out of the Festive season. I missed
performing them so I wondered if
there was a large scale illusion
that would work all year round in
The Sooty Show. What illusion?
It had to be about Sooty, not me.
Then it hit me.
I recalled seeing a black and
white clip of Richiardi on The Ed
Sullivan Show performing a
floating pedal car with a child.
After a bit of research I found the
clip on YouTube (search “Richiardi
on Ed Sullivan”). I believe a
version of it was later performed
by Doug Henning, though I have
never seen this. Maybe this
illusion could be scaled down for
Sooty. Then I thought how
fabulous it would be to have a
child in the car with Sooty!
Last October I went to Las
Vegas to brainstorm this with Tim
Clothier. I wanted the car to be
free to drive around the stage with
the child in it before the levitation.
I also did not want the car to just
14 KEYRING APRIL 2019
The Ed Sullivan Show
do a straight up and down vertical
float as is often the case with the
standard Aga levitation. I always
thought this looked too
mechanical. I also wanted the
front of the car to initially tilt
upwards as if it were taking off
and once airborne float side to
side as well as up and down. Oh
and did I mention I wanted the car
to magically light up when it took
off? Plus it had to be angle proof
and self contained! I left that with
Tim to work out. He said he could
do it and that was good enough
for me.
Meanwhile I had to solve how I
would achieve Sooty in the car.
After all there was no place to
hide a puppeteer. I decided to
push the limits further than I’d
done before and fabricate a
stand-alone Sooty, yes including
legs! Then I could sit him in the
car in full view. However it would
be pretty awful if he was just
static, so I contacted Twins Fx.
Paul and Gary are ex-illusionists
and make so many wonderful
props for stage, film and
television. What they made for me
blew me away. Using the state of
the art animatronics they brought
Sooty to life. Now I can hold the
little fella and show his full body
moving without any help from
me, then set him in the car where
he can fly with the child. It’s like
real magic!
As I write this article the
floating car illusion is being
unpacked in my workshop in
Somerset. We will rehearse it
for a good few days then it will
be in the show. Exciting!
One thing I’m doing more
and more of these days is using
a musician to write original
music. There are so many acts
that go searching around for off
the shelf music when in fact it’s
surprisingly cheap just to have
original music created. Basically I
video the act on my phone and
send it over to the musician so he
then can create something that
fits the trick exactly in terms of
mood and time. I think this car
illusion will be a very emotional
and magical moment for the child
and the audience, and therefore
PART 8 BY Richard CADELL

the brief to him is to create

something that sounds like it’s
come from a fully orchestrated
Disney movie. I’d recommend any
acts that work to music to
consider doing this. You can obtain
exactly what you want and every
beat of your act is complimented
perfectly.
I’ll pass on a tip that has stood
me in good stead. When a prop
uses odd or unique components ;
springs ,catches, solenoids, fuses
etc I always ask for a spares box.
Often things that are available at
the time of manufacture become
obsolete and acquiring spares
down the line is hard. Plus it’s
always good to have a few extra
bolts and wing nuts of the right
size. It is far easier and cheaper
for the guy who’s building the
prop to create a little kit box. This
has saved my life a few times. The
spares always get used when it’s
time to refurbish the prop. For
example with the car illusion I
actually have two cars!
For those of you
intrigued about my car
illusion I hope to
perform it for you at
Eastbourne which
is another reason
to register.

APRIL 2019 KEYRING 15

CURSE?
BLESSING OR
by Ray ROBERTS
Isome
have attended quite a few lectures over my
magical career, a few were poor, most were good,
were excellent and a few were outstanding!
One of those outstanding lectures I attended, very
early in my magical career, was held at the then
Leeds Magical Society. I was not a member there
but I was a member of the Leeds Magic Circle,
who had an open invitation to attend that
particular lecture.
There were no tricks, sleights or the like
explained that night. It
was a lecture about
stage craft. To this
seventeen year old
working class lad, who
had been attending
theatres since the age
of six, performing
magic from the age of Neil Roberts
nine and who only saw my first television when I
was at the age of twelve, this lecture was like music
to my ears. For two hours I listened and learnt so
much about the world of stage techniques, custom,
practices and principals used within the theatrical
world of stage. The do’s and don’ts, the imaginary
fourth wall in a box set through which the audience
see the stage, and I also learned that some theatre
work requires this fourth wall to be metaphorically
broken down.
Magic often requires this when using audience
participation, Stage, Cabaret, stand up magicians
and children entertainers break this wall almost
every time they perform, or at least the ones who
require the audience to take part do, although we
16 KEYRING APRIL 2019
endeavour to keep the remaining
three walls of the box set in
place.
I have tried to apply most, if
not all of the information
gained on that night into my magic and because all
of my performances have been set in and around
stage stand up and cabaret. That lecture has been
an invaluable blessing. I have also tried to extend my
knowledge of stage craft continually, by attending
other lectures on the subject, given by the likes of
Neil Roberts and the late Joanie Spina to mention
just two.
That night may also have been a curse, because
not only have I tried to apply the stage craft
imparted to me on that night. I have also required
everyone else I see on stage to apply the same
techniques. Up to recent years for the most part they
have. However in current times less and less people
work in the stage,
stand up and cabaret
environment and
therefore the
techniques have not
always been learned
and applied!
I often struggle to
Joanie Spina hear dialogue because
performers have not learnt to project, or they talk to
the person assisting them in an almost private
conversation. In mitigation this may be that in their
normal performing environment they are only
performing to one or a few people. The problem
appears to be more wide spread than with just

magicians. When reading the stage newspaper
recently, I read performers were criticised for
mumbling and delivering dialogue up stage in much
the same way. Other bad theatrical customs are also think close up performers appearing in stand up and
slipping in. West end theatres apparently often go up or stage environment need to be aware of their
five and ten minutes late without explanation
something unheard of a few
years ago.
Much of the work for
magicians out there today is
close up or walk-about and it
would appear that there are no
rules to abide by. For example STAGE
some performers dress down,
4th Wall
donning tee-shirts, jeans,
street wear etc in accordance with age and
performing environments, others attempt to dress
smart casual with varying degrees from suit with
shirt and tie to open neck shirt which I fully
understand, after all they know their environment.
However we often see close up performers
lecturing, or performing on stage, at magic clubs
and conventions who have unwittingly been thrust
into a stand up situation! Now performing close up
in a box set, so what? you may ask but in this
situation the audience expectation changes and
what may have been acceptable in the performers
normal working environment, may not be the best
choice at other times.
Although the effects and modus operandi stay the
same I consider that applying some theatrical
convention is in order and should be applied
especially with regard to dress and diction. For
example we so often have lecturers choose to
appear in the clothes they have been travelling in
and or have been wearing all day and in some cases
looking as if they had slept in them! My point is I
practices and probably employ some stage
convention. Remembering that
even if they are going to wear the
same type of dress, they should
consider changing into fresh clean
well folded clothes.
With regard to diction I often find
lecturers hard to hear and
comprehend, this of course could
be an age thing with loss of
hearing. Looking around though at the age of the
other audience members at lectures I attend, it is
probably a problem for quite a few others there too.
Of course anyone who has good hearing may be
completely unaware that their pearls of wisdom are
falling on deaf ears, and, without the experience or
knowledge of stage craft including the need to
project at all times they are not likely to improve.
My conclusion therefore is because I am still
predominately performing magic my knowledge of
stage craft is indeed a blessing, but If that should
change and I was to became a spectator of magic in
the present climate, it would be a curse, that I am
not sure I could tolerate.
APRIL 2019 KEYRING 17

In the Spotlight
IAN ADAIR
By Geoffrey NEWTON
When I was thinking of my next
personality to write about in this
column, the name Ian Adair came
into my head. This thought was
quickly supplemented with three
facts that I know about him,
namely Supreme Magic Company,
Dove Magic and Children’s Magic.
There is lot more about him
though as I discovered when my
research commenced. This year
he is celebrating seventy years in
the world of magic starting with
that all too familiar Christmas
present of an Ernest Sewell
magic set (the household
name at the time) when
he was only six years old.
It was at
18 KEYRING APRIL 2019
this point he wanted to be a
professional magician or, better
still, a magic dealer. On leaving
school he created three
businesses; De Luxe Magic,
Diamond Magic and Adair’s
Magical Publications. Yes his
magic dealing career had
taken off.
A meeting with Edwin Hooper in
his late teens resulted in him
joining the Supreme Magic
Company in Bideford, Devon
where the address of 64 High
Street is printed on the minds of
so many of us for ever!
Supreme became the
biggest factory of its kind
producing this
type of material. His starting
salary was seven pounds ten
shillings a week (£7.50 today).
Eventually Ian became a partner
and was associated with the firm
for thirty four years. The company
continually expanded from a 12
room building extending into the
property next door when it came
up for sale. Add to this a further
building in the same street, a
former furniture shop, and you
soon realise just how big the
Supreme empire was.
Eventually Edwin Hooper, the
founder, wanted to retire but Ian
was not in a position to purchase
A Younger Ian
it. I believe it was sold for the best
part of a million pounds to two
muggles. Ian continued to work
there as the general manager and
was virtually running the
business. It still produced an
enormous amount of magical
material. Sadly the firm went into
liquidation, Ian was no longer
there, all the staff lost their jobs
and the firm “disappeared into
thin air.” Luckily Ian is equally at
home inventing, writing and
performing, so with the latter in
mind he managed to secure some
summer seasons at Butlin’s,
Pontin’s, Home Farm and holiday
complexes around the Devon
area. Later he opened a mail order
business in the Green Lanes
Shopping Centre in Barnstaple
where he traded for the next five
years. Ian says that he is lucky to
be alive having fought off cancer
some years ago and he has for
many years now been working
with Sam Dalal from India where
Sam’s firm has manufactured 150
of his ideas.
He has invented thousands of Ian with Edwin and Paul Daniels
tricks, many of which have been lecturer but looking back he props for Tommy Cooper.
marketed by magic dealers revealed lecturing at the Blackpool Ian tells me he thinks up a new
including Practical Magic. His Convention, The British Ring trick every day, sometimes two,
prolific brain always seems to be Convention, the main I.B.M. and feels this is how it will be until
working to capacity, indeed just as Convention in Chattanooga and the day he leaves this planet. I
I am writing this article for the the Supreme Super Days in wish him well.
April edition, Ian has kept Key Lewisham and Weston. Clearly he Indeed it seems a long time
Ring going on a monthly basis for seriously under estimates himself, since I received my first parcel
four years. That’s another forty as to hit sites like these you really from Supreme with the
eight tricks to add to his need something to offer and handwritten note Best Wishes
wonderful collection of clearly he has succeeded in doing Edwin and Ian.
entertaining and inventive this big time. I’ll leave the ending of this
material. He has just sent me At the tender age of sixteen he feature to Ian’s own words. “What
enough magic to keep his column had a daily appearance on STV would I do without magic? What
in this magazine going for another presenting his series ‘Magic.’ In other job or profession would I be
year. fact he has 200 good at? It’s amazing I turned my
He is very well-known as a national television hobby into my
magical author, starting at the age appearances under profession, and
of twelve with a trick in The his belt including got paid for it
Wizard and followed by more in Blue Peter, The all!”
Abra. To me his greatest work is David Nixon Show,
the Encyclopaedia of Dove Magic Paul Daniels Magic
which started as one volume but Show, and the Sooty
was subsequently followed by four Show. He also
more, all hard backed. To date he made
has written over three hundred
books on magic. It would be
impossible even to list these in an
article of this length but if you go
to Ian Adair’s Books on Magic on
the internet you will find plenty to
whet your appetite.
Ian never considered himself a

APRIL 2019 KEYRING 19

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20 KEYRING APRIL 2019
 A Deadly Way to
Make a Living:
The Lamentable

Ling
Chung
Fate of

SOO
Marvellous
Chinese Conjuror

by Ray ROBERTS

O n a cold February Friday night when the south of

the country was blanketed with snow, I made the
fifty mile round journey to Bradford, where the
reference and to keep. It was a very interesting,
entertaining and thought provoking lecture providing
much discussion among the members. If anyone
Bradford Magic Circle was holding its AGM. This reading this has not yet informed their Entertainment
being followed by the inauguration of our incoming Secretary about this unique opportunity, then I
President, professional entertainer Simon Hannah, strongly recommend you do so and book Brian for
who in turn introduced British Ring President Brian his talk as soon as possible.
Lead. Brian started with a short promotion of The
British Ring, before going on to the talk itself.
Brian’s talk was without doubt a work of love and
devotion, which he delivered at perfect pitch to an
audience listening to every word. It was an in- depth
insight about the facts, fiction and myths
surrounding Chung Ling Soo’s death. There was
factual evidence from the doctors’ post mortem
report, coroner’s conclusion, and tape recordings of
witnesses. It was like listening to an Edgar Lustgarten
Scotland Yard TV drama from the sixties describing
some Soho murder. Like any sudden unexpected
death, it posed more questions than answers.
Brian Lead with Simon Hannah
All present were given a colour brochure for

APRIL 2019 KEYRING 21

THE DARK SIDE
Iveryt’sis very
very dark in here, the music
loud, and this is a very,
small space and that is a
particularly sharp sword. What on
earth made me think that being a
magicians’ assistant was all
glamour and glitz? I certainly
wasn’t misled by other magicians’
assistants telling me fibs about
what it actually entailed or even,
I suppose, by him-indoors whom I
was actually assisting. Mmmm,
I pondered, deftly avoiding another
sharp point. He had just bought
me a new costume, three sequins
and a smile. I thought if he thinks
I am wearing that he can get
himself a one way ticket to The
Magic Castle as soon as he likes!
I was sticking to my purple outfit
and if he didn’t like it, tough!
Climactic music, a loud flourish,
then ‘ta da’, bright lights, applause
and then the aforementioned
glitter, glamour and fabulousness
of magic was revealed to an
adoring audience at my local
church hall.
My, it does look different tonight
with the stage lit up and sparkly
and the audience sitting
attentively in the darkness,
different from a Thursday night
Guide meeting, at any rate.
As any glamourous assistant
will tell you, your mind can
wander off, well, you have seen all
the illusions before lots and lots
and lots of times, hence the
automaticness of movement and
the smooth running of the act. We
22 KEYRING APRIL 2019
all know the places to stand and
at what time in the performance
to be at what point on the stage to
door is locked as I wave what I
hope will only be a temporary
goodbye. ‘Im indoors goes into the
make sure the illusion does it’s audience and hands out a pack of
illusionning on the right beat of cards asking for them to be
the music without me tripping shuffled. They are then passed
over the next prop or not moving round the audience for several
out of the way of a sharp point. It’s people to shuffle.
more of a dance routine than Whilst this is going on, himself
anything, carefully rehearsed to puts 18 swords through the box,
within an inch of one’s life. standard Radox Girl Illusion
One or two of the audience principle (I think she means
have now realised that it is their Radium Girl Ed). Once this is
Guide Leader on stage assisting complete the magician (that’s
and looking pretty fabulous, if I do him) asks for someone to take a
say so myself. It certainly is not card, any card (I think I’ve heard
my normal day wear but it that expression somewhere
coordinated with the box colour. before!) and one is shouted out.
Attention back to the job at
hand, and step out of the box, lift
the arms, twirl round, keep your
balance in these high heels and
smile.
Another performance
completed, no injuries or costume
malfunctions (my priorities), all the
illusion worked (him-indoors
priority) and audience entertained
(everyone else’s priority) All in all,
a job well done.
Well I’m sure you are chomping
at the bit to know what the illusion
that caused so much excitement
was all about. Now remember I’m
the magician’s assistant not the
magician so I might get some of
the terms wrong but here goes.
Basically it’s a sword cabinet
which I enter in my purple dress
fully intact and hoping it will still
be that way in a few minutes. The
OF MAGIC
Remember this is an ordinary
pack/deck/stack of playing cards
and there is no force. None of
those trick packs like Bengali,
Mini Tickle, or One Way Traffic
capers. This is genuine, well as far
as magic goes. The card is
named, the swords removed and I
exit but now my dress has the
value of the chosen card displayed
on the front. Brill eh!
How does it work? Well you
may not be aware that there is a
new material on the market called
by Nicky SHARPLES
Microfibrolyne. Look it up on
https://microfibrolyne.wixsite.com
/info and you will see that it
compresses to 1% of its natural
state and if kept in a storage
chamber called a Zinga Tube it
will remain there at that size quite
happily until released. Once the
catch on the container is released
it reforms to full size without a
crease in sight and you need 52
dresses in your size; yes you are
ahead of me now one for each
18 swords
through the box
Hinged floor storage
space for dresses
card. These are stored in a hinged
floor false bottom of the sword
box. You will need your own
system of indexing as remember
you will be in the dark and it can
be quite difficult wiggling round18
swords. That’s it apart from good
hearing to note the named card
over the loud music. I must admit
I’ve had more that the odd cut or
graze whilst rehearsing this
wonderful piece of magic. The
upside of performing this
madness is that I teach the first
aid badge to Guides so it’s a clear
case of practice what you preach!
Can you really believe this?
You shouldn’t it was meant
for 1st April!
Alternative
finales of the
illusion
APRIL 2019 KEYRING 23
24 KEYRING APRIL 2019
 YOUR SAY
John Dare writes:
I expect you have been or will
be told of this many times, but opening editorial about the David
just to say that there is a
somewhat blurry 45 second clip to have the honour for services to presented to anyone for their
of Suzy Wandas doing the
single card sequence
mentioned on page 6 of the
current ‘Key Ring (February
2019 edition Ed). The clip can
be found here:
http://midwestmagic.net/shop/it with the designation ‘for services
em.aspx?itemid=11600
There is possibly more if one is his involvement in magic and
prepared to spend around $35
The International
Brotherhood
of Magicians
Close-up
British Ring
Magician
Of The Year
2019
for a DVD. (See Roy’s further
article on Suzy Wandas in this
edition Ed.)
Excellent well produced magazine
and most enjoyable.
Roy Field Writes:
Another nice ‘Key Ring’ (February reliable Media release source.
2019 Ed) but a problem in your
Berglas MBE. David is not the first time the honour has been
magic, the first was The British
Ring’s long time secretary Bill
Stickland. Bill’s was awarded in
1978 with the designation ‘for
services to magic’. John Styles
was awarded an MBE in 2004
to the arts’ which neatly covered
Punch and Judy. These two,
together now with David, are
the ones to have been
honoured for magical
connections. All three served as
President of The British Ring.
(I took this information from
what I considered to be a
You will note my quote reads “It
is believed that this is the first
contribution to the art of
magic.” The source therefore
wrote what they believed to be
true. Perhaps it is a case of
caveat emptor! Ed)
From James Hobart:
Received my February Key Ring
today, congratulations again on
another quality issue.
Eastbourne
Convention
7 September 2019 at 1130 am
To Enter Contact -
Bill Simpson
T. 07710 533 188
E. w.e.simpson@btinternet.com
APRIL 2019 KEYRING 25
 KIDS’ CORNER BLEW IT BY Ian ADAIR
EFFECT:
The performer displays two
nested chalkboards. Parting
these, the bold chalked word
BLEW is seen on the face of
one of them. The word is chalked
in white. The performer tells the
children that he is very good at
spelling and that’s the way to
spell the colour blue (blew). The
children, knowing different,
laugh and shake their heads (no).
“Is this the wrong spelling?” the
performer asks. The children
respond by saying it is.
Kissing both slates together,
one on top of the other, the
performer suspiciously reverses
the set and says “OK, I’ll use
magic to correct my spelling.”
The children soon realise that
the chalkboards have been
reversed, so when they are
again parted the chalked word
BLEW is now showing as BLUE
(in white chalk.) The reverse
action is repeated, one or more
times, the word Blew and Blue
constantly changing.
The children demand to see
all sides of both chalkboards.
After discarding one of the
chalkboards having been
shown plain on both sides, the
26 KEYRING APRIL 2019
performer holds the other so the
word BLUE is seen (in white
chalk). “What, you want to see the
other side? You want me to turn
the chalkboard round, do you?” he
asks the children.
When the chalkboard is
reversed, there’s a big surprise.
The word BLUE is seen, but it is
now in blue chalk!
REQUIREMENTS:
A pair of flap slates. Most readers
will be familiar with the outfit
consisting of two chalkboards and
one flap which fits into the frames
of either. A set can easily be made
by purchasing inexpensive
chalkboards from Poundland or
similar outlets.
Chalkboard 1:
Plain on both sides.
Chalkboard 2:
Using blue Acrylic or emulsion
paint (not messy chalk) write the
bold word BLUE using blue paint.
The reverse side should be left
plain.
The flap: One side displays the
bold word BLEW, painted in white,
whilst the reverse side bears the
word BLUE, again in white paint.
Make sure these words appear as
if they have been written with a
piece of chalk
SET-UP:
The flap should be fitted onto the
plain chalkboard with the word
BLEW (in white) facing outwards.
The second chalkboard, with the
word BLUE (in white) should face
inwards so it is out of view and
should be placed against the other
slate. To keep them in this set
order, a large wide elastic band
wrapped around them is ideal for
this purpose. Alternatively, a bag
made of fabric material with a
draw-string on top will hold them
nicely which will keep them clean
during transit, as well as being
used during the actual
presentation.
WORKING AND PRESENTATION:
Remove both chalkboards (kissed
together) from inside the bag.
When the front chalkboard is
parted, the one behind it displays
the bold word BLEW (in white
‘chalk’. Attention must be paid,
not to reveal the word BLUE (in
blue ‘chalk’) on the face of the
other chalkboard throughout the
routine, until the climax.
 Both chalkboards are kissed
together and deliberately reversed
to arouse suspicion. When the
chalkboards are parted, the word
BLUE (in white) is now on display.
This procedure is repeated several
times until the children shout out
that they want to see the other
side.
When the chalkboard is finally
reversed, the flap has already
been taken away with the other
chalkboard so the bold word
BLUE is on view, now in bright
blue.

Chalkboard 1: (Plain on both sides)

Flap:
This side: The word BLUE written in white

Chalkboard 2: (The word BLUE in blue paint on this side,

the other side plain

Reverse side: The Word BLEW written in white

APRIL 2019 KEYRING 27

Ideas Time BY Brian BERRY THE

S ome of you
may
remember a
write or type the
prediction you intend
revealing at the end of the
slowly pulled apart. When fully
withdrawn, the audience sees that
both clips have mysteriously
contribution from planned effect. If it’s the linked together. The plain white
Lynn Thomas name of a chosen card, side of the strip faces the
late last year the wording could be audience at this stage. Then the
concerning the simply “THE 10 OF strip is reversed to disclose the
paper-clip trick SPADES.” The reverse side actual prediction. This always
where two clips is left plain. registered well with me, and
join together In performance a because my act wasn’t 100 %
after being fastened to a folded spectator selects a card (I use a mental, the linking of the clips
piece of paper. This prompted rough and smooth deck as you was an added attraction.”
Ian Adair to send a new way of need to force the predicted card), Thanks Ian. It just goes to show
using the same idea and adding say, the ten of spades, although how with a little thought creating
strength to a simple revelation. any method of forcing could be impetus can make all the
Ian writes: “Looking at your used. The pre-folded strip of card difference to an otherwise
column in Key Ring brought is displayed and you explain this is mundane finale. I don’t know
back memories of the paper your prediction, and rather than whether I’m gilding the lily here,
clips puzzle. I use it in a hide it away or secrete it in an but how about sticking two pieces
different way. Perhaps your envelope, you have secured it of card on each paper clip on the
readers would like my dressing. closed with the aid of two large side opposite to the linking – the
I use a piece of white card paper clips. You suit action for indices 10 and Spades separately
which is folded as per your words and push them over the on each one. Using the rubber
explanation. I also use the large appropriate sections on top. This band idea too and you have a
paper clips which are available secured prediction is on view prediction of their card hanging
from Pound shops and other throughout. Once the spectator for all to see as well as referring
stores. This I use as a has revealed the suit and value of to the prediction as per Ian’s idea.
“prediction”. On one side of the the card, the folded prediction is Several folk recently have
strip of thin card (or stiff paper) picked up and both ends are complained about this modern

f Spades
The 1 0o
28 KEYRING APRIL 2019
PRESTON PRESTIDIGITATOR
Let’s chat
practice of instructions for effects
having to be downloaded to the
detriment of proper “old-
fashioned” paper versions, or
even DVD. I know many prefer to
learn from a DVD but at least that
can be used on portable players
etc. which makes it easier to
playback/fast-forward etc. What
about those not computer literate
or with limited access?
Also, it’s frustrating when the
person explaining the trick you’ve
just purchased doesn’t do just that
– to YOU, the customer – but to
someone else in the studio and
you have to endure endless chats
about the trick and pick out the
explanation – which is all you
really want – from all the chatter.
No let’s get
on with the
trick
Some have said how annoying it
is to have to listen to all this talk if
you want to playback a certain
move or sequence which is
spread out in all the talk. Perhaps
a long-winded DVD/Download
justifies the prices being charged
but why can’t the “chatter” be a
separate file to be listened to at
leisure, and just have the Inventor
explaining the effect to YOU in his
own words.
A case in point is a friend of
mine whose son bought him two
magic effects for Christmas. As
he was going on holiday he
looked forward to taking
these with him and spending
some time working them
up. At the last minute he
discovered he had to download
the instructions so, of course,
couldn’t do as he had planned.
There, I’ve summarised some
people’s thoughts as presented to
me although I must admit that
I too have been annoyed on
several occasions at this
chatter/explanation when having
to replay a certain move. Again
clear explanation from the
inventor, please, chat separate to
be heard at leisure. Have you
experience difficulties or
frustrated moments like this? I
know that quite a few people at
Blackpool refused to buy a trick if
the instructions had to be
downloaded. . What do you think?
Do let me know.
brianberry@tiscali.co.uk or ring
01772 421816
Key M
agic
THE Pres
ents
FLOA A MA
T IN G ZIN G
V
ctions ASE
Instru
www
.floati go to
ngvas
e//ins
tru ctions

APRIL 2019 KEYRING 29

 CORNER
TI O N
EN
CO NV
Don’t forget if you have yet to register for Eastbourne that the mid-rate finishes at the
end of April. Save £20 this month as members’ rate for a full registration goes up to
£160 from 1st May.
Eastbourne is looking forward to the return of
our convention and to welcoming back the I.B.M.
British Ring. They have provided us with our own
link to gain preferential accommodation rates
for the Convention. Go to
www.conferenceeastbourne.com/magicians19
or ring the Accommodation Manager on
Appearing at Eastbourne:
01323 415435 to find out more.
Edward Hilsum
Edward has been voted
‘Stage Magician of the Year
2018’ by The Magic Circle,
‘British Champion of Magic’
by the International
Brotherhood of Magicians
and ‘International Rising
Star of Magic’ by the
renowned Magicana
organisation.
His debut one-man show
‘Edward Hilsum: Genie’ won
critical acclaim at the
Edinburgh International
Fringe Festival and for five
years he starred in the
record-breaking ‘Champions
of Magic’ spectacular, touring theatres throughout
the UK and North America.
Aside from performing, Edward is the founder of
production company Love Variety. He has co-written
and directed a number of productions including the
hit West End show ‘James Freedman: Man of Steal’
and ‘Sensation: The Greatest Variety Artists… Live!’
Chris Wardle
Chris is a teacher who
spends his spare time
devising magic effects.
He has invented
numerous tricks and
authored effects for a
wide range of
publications for the
best part of 20 years.
He contributed over
100 ideas to Goodliffe’s
‘Abracadabra’
magazine and won
‘Trick of the Year’ twice
for his contributions to ‘The Magician’ magazine.
He has a regular column of tricks and ideas in ‘The
Magic Circular’ and is a Member of the Inner Magic
Circle, with Gold Star. Chris is also co-author of
‘Collaborative Conjuring’ with James Ward in the
Key Ring.
Chris is the author of several publications
including ‘Maths Tricks and Number Magic’, a book
of magic tricks and number predictions designed for
children to explore the magic of mathematics. His
‘Zodiac Principle’ was released by Magical Wonders
and he has helped to devise effects for Sam Dalal
and contributed to Peter Duffie’s acclaimed
‘Mindblasters’ mentalism collection. Chris is the
inventor of a number of dual, reflected and
ambigramatic Magic Squares and has devised ideas
for top British magician Geoffrey Durham, which he
used during his appearances on Channel 4’s
Countdown.