Christmas party

18 December 2025: Christmas Party

Twenty-four members and guests gathered for today’s Christmas Party at the Ivy Hill Hotel. Unfortunately a number of members were unable to attend because of ill-health. Our rarely-seen Christmas banner came out for occasion. We’re not sure whether the banner’s crazy angle in the photograph is due to the photographers or those who erected the banner.

The meal was as excellent as usual and was accompanied by the now traditional Christmas crackers - and the gentle murmur of conversation

After the lunch, entertainment was provided by Paul Clancy of Prestige Conjuring. He started by telling us something about the history of magic. Stage magicians date back a long time. The premier organisation of magicians is The Magic Circle, which was founded in this country in the 19th century. The founders were two amateur magicians. The first meeting they called was attended by 32 magicians. A famous professional magician of the time agreed to become the first Chairman. He stepped down after a year. The next Chairman was another professional magician, who held office for 15 years.

Some people believe that you must invent a new trick in order to become a member of The Magic Circile but this is not true. Hoever, there is a three-stage pathway to membership. The first step is to submit an application supported by three existing members. The last step requires the applicant to put on a magic performance lasting eight minutes before a small audience, three of whom will be making notes. All three must give the applicant a mark of at least 65% in order for him or her to pass. Only two attempts are allowed.

Paul became interested in performing magic as a child. As a young man he applied for membership and passed all three stages of the selection process at the first attempt. He performed magic on a purely amateur basis until he retired from the police, when he turned professional. He has now retired as a professional magician as well but still puts on performances for family and friends. (He knows President Graham as they were both in the police.)

He followed his talk with a live performance. He had everyone completely mystified, even though some of us were sitting less than a metre from him. He had told us before he started that part of the art was misleading the audience so that they didn’t pay close attention to what he was actually doing. Even with that hint, we failed to work out how he performed the tricks he did. [My wife reckoned he was the best magician she has seen. Webmaster.]