My blog of things and thoughts

I had a great end to the weekend on Sunday evening, as it was the Professional Magician's Christmas Party.  Granted, it was four or five weeks late, but most professional magicians are too busy working at Christmas parties, rather than visiting them as a guests.  January evenings are typically quite a quiet time for magicians as well, it's not exactly peak wedding season!

The party was held in a restaurant in London, and about 25 professional magicians managed to make it (a little down on last year, but still a good crowd.  You'd imagine that with 25 magicians in a room that we'd all be showing each other tricks, and to some extent, that was true.

However, it's also a good opportunity just to catch up with friends and colleagues.  Magicians tend to work by themselves (although occassionally some events are large and two or three can be booked) so it's nice to share experiences.  Often much communication done through-out the year by email, Facebook and Twitter, so being able to have a chat face to face is good.

By the time the meal was finished the decks of cards were out and we were showing each other our latest moves and techniques.  I find that when meeting with hobbyist and part time magicians the focus is on learning new tricks, but with professionals the focus is more on tweaking and improving the existing repertoire.

Thanks to the organisers of the evening, and looking forward to it again next year.