I've always admired the dexterity required to perform magic and I thought it would be fun to give it a try, although with no intention of performing it in public. When I'd more or less finalised my proposed list of challenges, I emailed them to my friend Vivien, who was the inspiration for the 60 at 60 undertaking, to see what she thought of them. Her comment - echoed by her husband - was that simply learning how to do a magic trick wouldn't really cut it. I needed to post a video of it on YouTube too.
They were right, of course, but my heart sank. I've never even been able to shuffle a pack of cards properly, let alone do anything clever with them. I couldn't imagine any trick that I could perform without making it absolutely obvious what I was trying - and failing - to do. Public humiliation seemed inevitable. My only hope was that it would be so bad, it would be funny - for other people, if not for me.
Anyway, the suggestion had been made and I felt honour-bound to accept it. Peter tried to help by buying me a couple of books last Christmas about magic for beginners, and my friend Pauline similarly gave me a magic kit. I studied them all and began to get seriously worried when I found that even the simplest trick was way beyond me. Time went on and I was getting nowhere, when I happened to mention my quandary to Jackie, a friend and fellow fundraiser for the local children's hospice. She said that her younger son, Damian, was a member of the Magic Circle and she was sure he'd agree to help me. Amazing! He'd just been promoted to police inspector so was a bit busy for the next couple of months, but she'd ask him once he'd settled in to his new job.
Jackie's kindness didn't stop there. Having persuaded Damian to spare an evening coaching me, she also insisted on buying the props needed for two of the tricks he had in mind. (No rabbits or white mice required.) As promised, he came round with Jackie one evening in the late summer and announced he was going to teach me three tricks - one with cards, one with coins and the other with lights. It was the first time I'd met him and he was lovely - friendly, direct, a great sense of humour and remarkably patient.
He needed that patience, as the card trick, which was supposed to be really easy, took me ages to learn. Having finally got to grips with it, he insisted I try it out in front of him, Jackie and Peter, complete with patter. Not good, but not too bad. We moved on to the coins, which were a nightmare. There were effectively 6 tricks in one and I struggled to master any of them. I couldn't seem to grasp any of the key points and made one mistake after another. Again I had to try it out in front of the others, who were - quite reasonably - less than impressed. I think they couldn't quite believe just how incompetent I was.
When it came to the lights trick, Damian showed me how it worked and then wisely suggested I learn it in my own time, having left me with the instructions and a link to a demonstration video. He generously offered to come back once I'd learned them all and practised the patter, and watch me do a dry run. It was very kind of him but by that time I was so embarrassed I couldn't face the prospect of putting either of us through it again.
Over the next two months I spent some time on each of them. The card trick seemed a possibility and I liked the idea that I could add my own tweaks. The coins shouldn't have been too hard but I kept dropping them and couldn't come close to memorising the sequence of actions. The lights required spot-on timing and dexterity, neither of which I possessed. So, the cards it would have to be.
Having enjoyed myself adding extra features, eg increasing the number of packs from one to three, I practised solidly for an afternoon and decided I was ready to try it out on Peter. It was a total failure as I kept forgetting what I was meant to do next. It reminded me of having to perform in a play at school and failing miserably as my mind went blank. I'd been given the lead part - a major casting error - and the rest of the cast struggled to make sense of it as I lurched from scene 3 back to scene 1, followed by any random snippets I could remember. At least it meant I never had to do it again.
That evening we had a phone call from Zoe, the clever and talented older daughter of our friend Rowena (aka the domestic goddess - whose younger daughter is also remarkably accomplished). We're very fond of her and enjoy getting together. She has just finished renovating her flat and invited us round to dinner the next night to see the transformation. This seemed a perfect opportunity to nail the challenge, so while I spent another two hours or so on the trick, Peter worked out how to video it on my iPad.
After admiring the flat and fortified by a glass of prosecco, I asked Zoe and her delightful girlfriend Hannah if they would mind being participants. They readily agreed and I laid out my props:
They each had a go at cutting the cards, ensuring a random pack:
Hannah then opened the envelope and read out the card I'd identified in advance as the one I would make Zoe select - in this case, the ace of diamonds:
Zoe then turned over her card and she and Hannah stared in disbelief as it was indeed the ace:
And here is the whole trick on YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oDw7CWWtnwE
I was so pleased and relieved that it worked. The effort was amply repaid by the look of astonishment on their faces. This challenge also involved learning how to post a video on YouTube, so I now know how to do that if there's anything else I want to share in future. Whew!
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