The Modern Mystic League
DECEMBER 2023
Blackburn & District Society of Magicians
MAGIC @ CHRISTMAS !
For our December meeting it was wonderful to return to the pre-Covid days of our traditional, magical Christmas party for the whole family, with over fifty guests from the church – including a good smattering of children. Suffice to say that there was not one mince pie left at the end!
One of the undoubted ‘stars’ of the show was our new stage with curtains and proscenium, designed and constructed by Craig with help from Allan. John was in charge of the lighting and sound.
After a brief warm-up from yours truly, Paul Guy took to the stage. Beginning with some fun with letters and numbers, he launched into a ‘Where is Santa?’ routine with great response, then located the correctly coloured nose for Rudolph with the help of the audience and a young volunteer.
Marmalade the Monkey got up to his usual antics with balloons, as a prelude to a ‘Beauty and the Beast’ scenario using the Shadow Tent illusion. Francesca was Beauty, and Harry was . . . guess who? A spooky sound-track added to the atmosphere, and members of the audience were delighted to have photo opportunities with the splendidly costumed B and B during the interval.
One of the undoubted ‘stars’ of the show was our new stage with curtains and proscenium, designed and constructed by Craig with help from Allan. John was in charge of the lighting and sound.
After a brief warm-up from yours truly, Paul Guy took to the stage. Beginning with some fun with letters and numbers, he launched into a ‘Where is Santa?’ routine with great response, then located the correctly coloured nose for Rudolph with the help of the audience and a young volunteer.
Marmalade the Monkey got up to his usual antics with balloons, as a prelude to a ‘Beauty and the Beast’ scenario using the Shadow Tent illusion. Francesca was Beauty, and Harry was . . . guess who? A spooky sound-track added to the atmosphere, and members of the audience were delighted to have photo opportunities with the splendidly costumed B and B during the interval.
Part two was in the hands of former MML member and seasoned professional Bill Richardson – alias Ricardo. Having gathered the youngsters on the floor around him and established some magic words, he romped through equal/unequal spaghetti (?) Chinese sticks, Red Riding Hood and the Wolf and routines involving the animals on a farm and Postman Pat. Following a balloon modelling sequence, Bill concluded with a magic washing machine Which made funny noises and burst into flames before doing strange things to a pair of socks.
It was all great fun, but the party would not have been complete without a visit from Santa – produced by magic and with a sack of presents. Francesca assisted him as the magic elf, and town crier Rawden Kerr helped out, too.
Donald the Average was on hand with copies of his self-created magic book, and Roger and Joan were happy (?) in the kitchen.
Everyone went away in a jolly mood, ready for Christmas and promising to return next year with even more friends.
Brian Lead
It was all great fun, but the party would not have been complete without a visit from Santa – produced by magic and with a sack of presents. Francesca assisted him as the magic elf, and town crier Rawden Kerr helped out, too.
Donald the Average was on hand with copies of his self-created magic book, and Roger and Joan were happy (?) in the kitchen.
Everyone went away in a jolly mood, ready for Christmas and promising to return next year with even more friends.
Brian Lead