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Back with a vengeance…

By IanKendall|November 18th, 2013|Magic musings|

Well, it’s been a while, hasn’t it? The site has been redesigned on a spiffy new WordPress theme, which means that I can talk about being a magician in Edinburgh with a tad more control over the pages. It wasn’t a particularly pleasant experience, trying to get my head around the sparsely documented software, especially when – even when following the example code to the letter – things didn’t work out right. Never mind, it’s up now and I hope you like it.

This section, the Musings, is the ‘blog’ area of old; there are the posts from the ‘Musings of […]

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Edinburgh Fringe time again

By IanKendall|July 26th, 2011|Uncategorized|

Hello all,

Well, after being locked out of the blog for a while, it’s time to let you know about the comings and goings of the next month, it being Fringe time and all.

This year, again, I’ll be performing on the High Street as one of the Alcove buskers outside St Giles’ Cathedral. I’ve been working in a new show this week, so it will be good to be doing something different (and not having to drag my table up on the bus every day!). Pop along to see a Scottish magician in the Fringe!

Added to this, I’m performing only two indoor […]

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Hacked

By IanKendall|July 21st, 2011|Uncategorized|

Well, the blog was hacked ae While ago, but the hackers failed to post their message; it was still in the pending queue…

Normal service will return shortly…

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The Edinburgh magician is back from Hollywood

By admin|February 1st, 2011|Magic musings|

Last week I got back from Hollywood, where I was performing at the world famous Magic Castle – much like the baseball league, the use of ‘world’ often means ‘in America’ but it’s still a big deal.

The Magic Castle is a private club for magicians that was founded in the early 60s by the Larsen brothers. For many years it was the home of Genii magazine, and perhaps more importantly, the home of Dai Vernon – the father of modern close up magic. It’s the magic epicentre of the world, and to be booked to perform there is a goal […]

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It’s Fringe time again

By admin|August 7th, 2010|Edinburgh Fringe, Magic musings|

So, where have I been?

After the usual trip to Spain to visit the in-laws (which is always fun) we are now back in Edinburgh doing the magic thing. The Fringe, which some would say is my raison-d’être, started yesterday in its unofficial capacity, and tomorrow officially.

This year I’m doing only one show, on the 21st, and the rest of the time I’m doing street magic shows on the High Street. This means I get time to spend watching the world on this frighteningly crowded road instead of manically flyering as I’ve done for the last fifteen years and more. And […]

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And now for something happier

By admin|June 27th, 2010|Uncategorized|

Last night was one of my favourite gigs of the year; the Dundee Graduation Ball. This was the fourth year I’ve performed walk around close up magic at the Ball, and it never fails to be an absolute joy. The weather was kind to us again (not as hot as last year, but not the movie set rain of 2008 either) which meant I could spend most of the time outside at the garden tables. I found myself being taken from table to table by enthusiatic audience members which does take the sting out of the cold opener at a […]

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Ah, the Sunday papers, again

By admin|June 27th, 2010|Uncategorized|

I got the Scotsman on Sunday this morning and turned to page 10 to read about the magic scene in Scotland. There’s an interesting section about Gordon and his love of books, and then two paragraphs about me (to be fair, the two paragraphs before them are from our conversation, but for all intents and purposes, I start later).

I think what was most interesting about it was how a two hour conversation about the skill and dedication required to excel in this job turned into a depiction of a bitter hack living on benefits. Oh well, there’s nothing I can […]

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Ah, the Sunday papers

By admin|June 25th, 2010|Magic musings|

At the start of the week I was interviewed by Peter Ross of Scotland on Sunday for an article about the magic scene in Scotland. After a while of getting the various photographs taken (which involved springing and then picking up about three hundred playing cards) we had a lovely chat about magic in Scotland, and how things are changing.

Peter was most interested about the various skill levels involved, and the teaching aspect (at least from my point of view). We talked about Gordon Bruce and Roy Walton (Gordon was another interviewee) and the current problems with performing shows for […]

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Time for a wedding magician in Scotland

By admin|June 23rd, 2010|Uncategorized|

This time of year tends to be more full of weddings here in Scotland. Performing magic at these special days is always rewarding, and for several reasons. First, everyone is there for a good time – it’s very rare that you come across any real animosity at a wedding, and if the guests are happy it makes the job of the wedding magician that much easier.

Secondly, I get to see some of the more spectacular venues in Scotland. Earleir this year I was performing magic at the wedding of Nick and Amanda at Dalhousie Castle which is a stunning […]

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The Lenny Henry incident

By admin|June 22nd, 2010|Edinburgh Fringe, Magic musings|

The year was 1997, and it was time to be a magician in the Edinburgh Fringe again. This would be my first year in the Southside without my friend Mitch Benn and to make things more interesting I was also planning to do a show in the Lab with another friend Stuart Potter called Science Made Easy. Things were not to go to plan…

The Lab was Southside maestro Lance Buckland’s idea to make the Edinburgh Fringe more accessable to ‘experimental’ shows. Based in a very small room in the new Southside ‘over the road’ it had twenty seats, basic […]

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