Our December meeting was held at Number 8 where we were entertained by Bob King, the Magician with tricks old and new.

A wooden toy duck helped Bob with his first card trick. Cards were selected by three members of the audience and then placed in front of Daffy Duck who cleverly picked the chosen cards from the pack, even when blindfolded! A little bit of Derren Brown was Bob’s next offering. He asked a member of the audience to choose one of four books, another member chose a page number and Bob asked the first lady to read out the line on the bottom of the said page. He then showed us the words he had written on his pad and yes, you have guessed it, they were the same! ‘How did he do that?’ asked several members.

The story of 3 ropes received applause as, with a magic blow, Bob made ropes lengthen, shorten and transform into a circle. Coins found their way into a Russian champagne bottle even though they were too big to go through the neck.

Bob then brought out his guillotine, put carrots through the holes and chopped them in half. He asked for a ‘volunteer’ and then asked Richard to place his hand in the centre hole which he bravely did. Luckily the magic worked and Richard’s hand remained intact even though more carrots were dissected.

Next we had some bubble magic with Bob blowing smoky bubbles, bubbles inside bubbles and then Jill Wilson was transformed into the centrepiece of a mega bubble. Mike Ainsley joined Jill on stage and Bob blew a huge arch bubble over them.

Finally Bob produced a copy of The Daily Telegraph which he folded lengthwise and poured in a jug of water. He unfolded the paper to show it was not wet, then after folding it again, poured the water back into the jug! More mutterings of ‘How did he do that?’

Free tea and mince pies rounded off the afternoon and it certainly seemed that a good time was had by all.

The January meeting ‘Contented Exile’ by Eifed Jones encompasses 45 fascinating years as a Welsh exile and will be held on Tuesday 16 January at Number 8 at 2pm. New members will be very welcome.

JACKIE PEEK