Now that's magic
Today brought the opportunity for a chat with one of my childhood heroes Paul Daniels.
It came about after a rumour sprung the master magician had sliced off two of his fingers with a chainsaw working in his shed.
A bit of digging revealed he had suffered a DIY accident on New Year’s Day which left him in excruciating pain and missing a small part of his ring finger.
But rapidly spreading stories “Paul Daniels loses two fingers in horror chainsaw bloodbath” - ok I made that one up – this morning were slightly overegged.
But never one to dismiss what is still a good yarn, I was straight on the phone to get the real story from the man himself:
I don’t often enjoy speaking to celebs I have to admit.
These days the only effort needed to earn the title, it seems, is to take your top off on a reality show, or eat squirming insects (cruel, vile and desperate) while caked in your own filth in the Australian outback.
I cringe at the prospect of groveling to the agent of ex-Big Brother housemate, can’t remember your name, from six years ago, who is about to re-launch her “career” on this year’s Strictly Got No Talent – Can I Get Them Out On Here?
But casting my mind back to my childhood when the highlight of my week was the Paul Daniels Magic Show on BBC1, I grabbed the story and the excuse to pick up the phone to a proper celebrity.
He has faced some vicious criticism in his time and on his blog he talks about being the butt of some media unpleasantness after his recent accident.
But I remember tearing the wrapping off a birthday present, I think when I was six, and bursting with excitement after discovering a Paul Daniels magic set, and a book telling me how to sneak an ace of clubs up my sleeve without anyone seeing.
I think I even wrote to him once but never got a reply – probably because I asked how to perform one of his tricks that wasn’t in the book.
Paul assured me his fingers, although bruised and battered, and one ever so slightly shorter than before, are in full working order and will not affect his Hair Today, Gone Tomorrow stage tour which kicks off next month.
He told me he planned to rename the show “Hair Today Fingers Gone Tomorrow”.
As I had him on the phone I decided to redress that unsettled score from my childhood.
I remember a brilliant trick he did years ago where he gets a member of the audience to predict what is printed on a card neither he nor the punter has seen.
There is a clip on YouTube (link below), I think the trick was called Psycho.
“So Paul,” I said, “Can you tell me how it was done?”
“So Paul,” I said, “Can you tell me how it was done?”
“Of course,” he replied as I bristled with excitement, “it was done beautifully.”
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