I am just back in Mayo after a fantastic day at Card Capers in Belfast with the brilliant magician, lecturer, performer and teacher, Paul Gordon. I have been a fan of Paul’s since attending his lectures at Shenanigans in Dublin earlier this year. Rodd Hogg contacted me and suggested I should go as he felt I would really enjoy it. And boy was he right!
The fun started on Saturday evening when I was in the hotel room waiting to hear from Rodd when the bedroom phone rang. It was “Conor, at reception”. He told me there were two gentlemen waiting for me in the lobby that were going into town and did I want to share a taxi. I knew it wasn’t Rodd because he would have texted so I went down and was greeted by Nevin Cody and John Bowden. I knew who they were but I never met them before and they took it upon themselves to invite me along. Such a lovely welcoming gesture. That set the tone for the whole weekend.
After doing the rounds looking for somewhere to eat, we eventually found a restaurant that was not booked out and could take a table of seven. It was aptly named, Enigma. Paul, Rodd, Ger Godley and George McIntyre then joined us. That’s when the fun really got going. We had a beautiful meal and I really enjoyed the stories and banter going all around the table. After dinner, Paul showed us a few new tricks he is working on.
There was talk of going home but Nevin , Rodd and myself said we’d have a night cap before that. We ended up in a bar called Wine & Co. and soon the cards were produced. Nevin was showing me a few moves when the manageress, Tracey, approached us and warned us that no cards or gambling would be tolerated so I told her we were magicians. She didn’t believe me until Rodd amazed her with one of Paul’s tricks. In no time at all, Nevin was surrounded and had the crowd eating out of his hand with some spectacular close up stuff. Rodd took over and changed her £20 note into a £50 note and then gave her a £20 note out of his wallet. Classic!!! Her face hit the floor.
At the end of the night, the bouncers came to send us home and Tracey quickly intervened and said to them that we were alright and they could go home and she kept us there with all her staff and got a personal close up show till the wee hours. Fabulous night. Literally, an impromptu magic show.
We were all up early next morning for breakfast and off to Card Capers. There we were greeted enthusiastically by Nicola Cunningham and Caolan McBride and they had the same warm welcome for me as I received the night before. I was then introduced to all the others there; George Bleeks, Jim Harvey to name but a few.
Paul, the ultimate professional he is, started bang on time with a “Card Startler” and then explained in detail the moves and subtleties. From there on, it was full on. He taught us a lot of his tricks, explained about dealing with crowds, what NOT to do in certain circumstances, how to handle the business side of things and took no break until lunchtime. Once we were all fed and watered, he started again going from 0 to 60 in seconds and recalled many wonderful stories about the different things that happened at conferences, the different people he met along the way and funny situations he found himself in. He told us about his life in magic, both the highs and lows, leaving nothing out. Amazing stuff. He continued in full flight without letting the foot off accelerator until 5pm. He had us in stitches with his comparison of a magician cutting to the aces with a tight rope walker and his wonderful impression of the various stages of life using only a glass of water! He closed the day with his “Easy Ace Estimation” and defied anyone to come to the stage that did not believe they would be able to cut to an ace while under his instruction. One volunteer came up and without Paul touching deck, he gave instructions and bingo! Ace of Hearts. Game over. What a way to finish.
For me, it was a quick round of good-byes and into the car for the 4-hour drive home. My head was buzzing the whole way down the M1.
I want to thank all my new friends for such a spectacular weekend but especially to Paul, Rodd, John and Nevin for the special welcome they gave the “newbie” but most of all, the fantastic advice I got over the weekend. Here’s to the next one…..
Go raibh maith agat.
I wish to thank sincerely thank Michael for taking the time to compile this piece for us all. I welcome submissions like this from anyone of you who have attended events. And a supporting pic helps too.
Thursday, February 23, 2012 at 4:59PM 
The organisers of Magic Uncorked have announced that Paul Gordon has been added to the already astounding line up for what promises to be a wonderful weekend of magic Leeside. In addition they have also announced a junior registration rate for those 16 and younger of just €40. 
