Bruce Kalver's Magical Life

School History Lessons can be Magical!

ABRCADABRA is a new show that I am writing and assembling for schools, fraternal organizations, retirement homes. To write a show, you have to be passionate about the subject. In this case, I am.

The history of performance magic is a very interesting tale. Stories of running away from home, choosing a path not taken which turns out successful, inventions that eventually became common use in everyday life and using illusions to prevent and help wars. It's all there and I am excited about sharing the stories.

If you want to see a commercial about the new show, CLICK HERE

THE Magic Circle

So I finally visit The Magic Circle, London's premiere magic organization. The first visit was for J Day, a full day of magic set up for the Junior Magician of Great Britain. A special lecture was created for them and the results were gratifying.

All day, young magicians were tracking me down for help, advice and kind words. As a judge for the magic competitions, I must say that the quality of the performers were very high. Working on J Day gave me a chance to get used to The Magic Circle stage. I felt very comfortable there thanks to the tremendous tech crew who did a great job.

The next evening, I was honoured to give a lecture for Magic Circle members. It is hard to explain the emotional thrill I felt sharing and lecturing here in London. As my grandfather, Samuel Woolf was born here, it crosses my mind that if he never came to America, would I be a Brit?

When we arrived, I was treated to a tour of their museum and library. Lots of very rare, special magic memorabilia.

To start the lecture, a well known magician from Britain, Ali Bongo , was the compeer (MC) for the evening.

After a round of Happy Birthday for Rob Cox complete with a cake from Mandy Davis, I was introduced.

From my end, the lecture was a complete success. The place was filled with well known magicians.
The tech crew went out of their way to "push the limits" of technology to allow me to do a mind reading trick via Skype to Wendy back home.

She looked great on the big screen and I was a beaming proud father. She began her segment by ad libbing a joke. I asked her "Wendy, who is your favorite magician?" Her reply, " Alan Shaxon!" Alan is The Magic Circle's President. Then she said, " Dad, you owe me money for that one!" The audience loved her. I was so happy for my daughter that I lost my concentration and fumbled a trick which made Wendy (and the audience) laugh hysterically.

After the huge laugh, we recovered quickly and finish the trick with a 40 second applause ovation for her. The audience waved to her and shouted good bye. A gret moment in my magical career.

The lecture was a short one (one hour and 10 minutes) so some of the magic had to be cut or just demonstrated. The members of The Magic Circle were friendly and generous with their compliments. I was happy and proud to be there and appreciate their welcoming me.

Bath-taking in Great Britain

Rob Cox is a bright, educated, instantly likable person. His mind is always working on the next thing to say that will be to the point and usually humorous. As many of you know, I am known as a quick wit myself so it is a real challenge to keep up with Rob. Rob is having a birthday party on Tuesday but I will be out of town. Happy Birthday Rob! He has been very kind driving me around and he took me to the Train Station to start my Bath Journey.

Virgin is a big company here, owning trains, planes, record stores and health clubs to name a few. We passed one of their health clubs called VIRGIN ACTIVE. I turned to Rob and said, " Isn't that an oxymoron?" I made Rob laugh.

My trip to Bath began when I was let off at Paddington Station. Paddington is the birthplace of Paddington Bear. This was a great place to bring Bunny.

Of course they had many stands with Paddington Bear memorabilia.

The hour and a half train ride was pleasant and arriving in Bath I was treated royally by the local magicians who got me where I had to go. I met a lot of very nice magicians. After the lecture, Mandy (the other one) and Simon (the President of the Club) spent 10 minutes deciding who was going to take my luggage and work out details for my next day off to tour Bath. After deciding that Simon would take the luggage, he realized that his car was full with other things! Five more minutes of discussion and everything was sorted out.

The bed and breakfast was quaint with a room that you could walk four steps in all directions. I loved it. It had a bed.

The next day I was met by Simon and fellow balloon artist Dave who gave me a leisurely walking tour of Bath including the Roman Baths and hot springs.  It's a place that you really need 2 or three days to see and hopefully, I will bring Arlene back here someday. It is well worth the trip.

This building, built by the Masons has symbols with cryptic messages all along the top.

The cathedral.

Notice the climbing angels on the ladders. Some are fallen angels!

Can you find bunny in this photo at the Roman Baths?

Bunny at the river.

One of my favorite shops in Bath. The candy store straight out of Willy Wonka is filled with jars of "penny candy."  Unusual things such as coconut cakes, mushrooms and marshmallows, Jelly Babies, and bon bons.

The Roman Baths had reading material for sale. Anyone for Harry Potter IN LATIN!

Mandy (the other one) was a joy to be with. Charming, witty personality and a bright sense of humour. She owns a wedding/prom dress shop in Bath and took care of getting me where I had to go while I was in Bath. She is a close friend to Mandy (the other one) and she and her boyfriend Ged (pronounced Jedd) wanted to give me an authentic FISH AND CHIPS experience. The Fish shop was packed with people queuing up for the hour we were there. The meal was great and ended with batter dipped pineapple fritters. Dashing off to station for the ride home, I realized on the train that I HAVE LOST BUNNY! Is he at the Fish and Chips shop? Did he fall out of my pocket in Bath? Mandy (the other one) is on the case and hopefully he will be found and returned before I go to Beijing.

Arriving home to Rob and Mandy, we went for kebobs (really good) and fell asleep at 2AM.

English to a Tea

The proper way to drink tea in England is with milk and sugar.

The sugar in homes that I've been to is in cube form or sugar balls which we rarely see in the USA.

One of the highlights of my England trip back in 1983 was taking my wife for a cream tea. Mandy Davis was kind enough to take me up the road to a farm that served a wonderful cream tea. Devonshire cream butter, strawberry jam and hot freshly baked scones with  a pot of English breakfast tea that had to be strained. I was in heaven. I wonder how many points that is on my Weight Watchers diet!

The English are way ahead of us on another scientific breakthrough. Their teabags are drip-less. Yes I said drip-less. Two strings come out of the tea pod. The paper tab breaks in half and you pull on the strings. The bag gets "squeezed" and thus becomes drip-less. Ingenious!

Bunny has been getting around and was seen last night at the Zodiac Magic Club chumming with Peter - The librarian for The Magic Circle.

Bunny also got to meet Zodiac Club's President, Richard Pinner.

As I arrive to the lectures a few attendees are telling me that they have been watching the blog to see what I've been doing and my impressions of their country. Two have asked me if I brought Bunny to the lecture!

I am currently in Bath or as they say it here Baaath about to do a lecture tonight over the hill in Bristol. I am in a lovely Bed and Breakfast. The American accent is enchanting to everyone I speak to. Tomorrow is a day off to see the sights and I will share them with you tomorrow.

Train-ing in Great Britain

The railway service in London is clean and smooth. Taking a Virgin Rail train (hope Virgin goes all the way) is a delightful experience. Comfortable seats, smooth jet stream ride and beautiful views of rolling hills, sheep and cows.

The only thing I knew about Manchester was the song from Hair "Manchester England England. Across the Atlatic sea..." It is a thriving metropolis much like Boston. They are known for their rain although it was nice weather while I was there. The joke in the town is that you look at the mountains and if you see black clouds, it's going to rain. If you don't see black clouds, it's already raining.

Walking along the downtown area, I was just in time to see school children rushing the streets to go home. They all had school uniforms on and looked like something out of Harry Potter.

Marks and Sparks is a great store and I could spend a lot of pounds in clothes and such. It is a cross between Filenes and Macy's. I  bought a coat as it is getting chilly at night. I notice that people that work behind counters anywhere in England do not smile. They are very serious UNTIL I speak. I am finding out that the Brits love American accents much like we are fascinated by English accents  A male teen student in England would do very well for himself with the girls.

The lecture in the evening was well attended by over 120 people. This photo is when the first wave of people arrived early. A second rush of the same number of people arrive just before the lecture. They were standing along the back as there were not enough seats.

After the lecture we went over to someone's house for tea and biscuits. The talk was of American Politics and they really hate Bush and can't wait for his depature. They seem to favor Hillary Clinton and are very curious about Barak Obama.

The train stations are very clean except for the lack of trash bins. They have all been removed for fear of bomb threats so you will see sections of neatly piled trash.
My train was Platform 4 and once on the train, I fell asleep because of the relaxing ride. The conductor would come on the speakers and first apologize for disturbing you. Then he would make his announcement and apologize for disturbing you again. They are so polite!

Last nights lecture was in Watford and was attended by about 50 people. Reviews are now coming out on the internet and all are favorable. My humour (we're in England so I must use the extra "u") is translating well. After the lecture, we were off for Indian Food (YUCK!) What did I eat? Chips (french fries) as they are everywhere.

They all laugh at my pronunciation of banana. They say "banahnah" They also say "tomaahto."   We also have "Baaahth" and "traash".  They have a word for everything!

When in Rome?

The radio show went really well this morning thanks to Skype  and my Macbook calling the radio station. The sound was crisp and clear and we took many calls from the listeners. I hope to do another broadcast while I am away.

In 140 AD the Roman Empire set up a city in England which is now called St Albans. One of the first things they did was build a theatre.

Well after many years the Roman empire fell and the city was abandoned. England took it back and decided to build a cathedral, St Albans. They took the stone from the theatre and moved it up the hill to build a Cathedral.

In 1938 archaeologists uncovered what was left of the original theatre and here is what it looks like today:

Notice one of the arches is still standing.

For 2 pounds, you can walk around the ruins and see what it was like in 140 AD at the theatre. It is trul moving to know that shows were performed here. Of course so were public floggings and torture.

Wendy's bunny visited this area also.

St Albens Cathedral is straight out of the DaVinci Code with it's beautiful ceilings and architecture along with it's beautiful rose window.

After that we went to a restaurant/pub with a working mill with a water wheel for sausage sandwiches and such. VERY sleepy from the jet lag. I'm off to Virgin Rail for a trip up north. till then...

Eye See London

Parking the car across from The Magic Circle, we dashed into the Euston Station Tube and raced over to Davenport's Magic Shop, one of the oldest magic shops in England. Here I am with the head of Harry Potter:

The London Eye was built for the Millenium Celebration along the Thames River just before the House of Parliament and Big Ben. It's a giant wheel with pods that hold about 15 people. It takes 1/2 hour to go all the way around. You get to see a beautiful view of London. A must see. Some James Bond chase scenes in the river were filmed in this area.

As you come down to end your ride, the eye snaps a photo.

Lots of performance artists in the park around the Eye. Lots of statue imitators and guys like this:

After the eye we were off to a London comedy club in the West End. Comedians were very good and their comedy had some intelligence to it. Well read performers who honed their words carefully. We were in the front row so of course there was , "where are you from?...America?" Two minutes of jokes about America and Bush. Then, "what do you do for a living? " ... " I'm a magician."  You know what happened next.  I'm glad to offer fuel for their comedy.

Back on the tubes (subways) to the car only to find the driver window smashed. Nothing stolen but glass everywhere!  Off to bed for my radio show tomorrow.

London Day 1 - Learning English

Well I'm here in London...actually Borehamwood, Hertfordshire after having a terrible night of jet lag. I woke up this morning at 11:00AM. I guess that's not much different than home :o).

All of my cases arrived thankfully and I spent the night assembling everything.

Stopped at the local supermarket (Tesco's) which has some unusual (to me) products and brands. Many kinds of fish I've never seen (one has meat that is bright neon yellow) and lots of different names for things. Speaking of words, I am learning proper English. Words that are used quite frequently are:

quite
brilliant
jolly
kindly

Yield signs say "Give Way"

I am not getting car sick as the passenger sits on the left side of the car. It also makes me cringe when I see what looks like a driver in another car not paying attention to the road and for that matter doesn't have a steering wheel!

Wendy's stuffed animal is here and we haven't named it yet. Here is "bunny" with his new friends having tea.

We hope to go into London today...

Updates on my Travel

Keep watching this blog for a daily diary of what I am doing in Great Britain Thanks WBSM listeners for all your encouragement.
Click here to listen

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