Travel and General
ITALY
TUSCAN/UMBRIAN BORDER.
Hilltop house in 11 acres.
Looks amazing on the website.
Even better in real life.
Check it out:
http://www.myhomeinumbria.comUMBRIA. Spacious centuries old
farmhouse villa – our home. Etruscan/
Roman Site. Sleeps 11. Pool. Magical
Views. Therapeutic atmosphere.
Brilliant feedback. http://www.ladogana.co.ukVENICE CENTRAL.
Tranquil, sunny apartment. Wonderful
canalside location. Two bedrooms, two
bathrooms. Tel: 020 7701 7540 or
http://www.venicecanalsideapartment.co.ukAUSTRIA FRANCE TOURS
VIENNA CENTRE. Self catering apt:
writer's country style home in peaceful
Biedermeier cloister. Sleeps 2/3.
Tel 0043 1 712 5091;
[email protected]EXPERT-LED CULTURAL TOURS.
Peter Sommer Travels: archaeological
tours, food tours and walking tours in
Croatia, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Turkey
and the UK. The specialist for escorted
gulet cruises and gulet charters.
Tel. 01600 888220.
https://www.petersommer.comChÂteau de la MotteBurgundy/Champagne Border
Lovely moated château, sleeps
14 – 17. Hard tennis court, heated
pool and shing in 17 acres with
streams, a river and a lake.
Golf, watersports, ten minutes.
Calais four hours.
http://www.chateaudelamotte.co.uk
[email protected]
or call Karen on 07962 187141INTRODUCTIONS
SEEKING:
SINGLE ELIGIBLE GENTLEMEN
for introductions with successful,
attractive ladies of elite dating agency.
COMPLIMENTARY
MEMBERSHIP
to eligible gentlemen.
Call Caroline 01483 418958
or email contact details to
[email protected]Classified advertising: http://www.spectator.co.uk/classified
BOOKS
GREEN INK BOOKSELLERS
BOOKS BOUGHT
Academic and Antiquarian.
Fair prices paid, will travel within UK.
01497 822870
[email protected]OUT-OF-PRINT BOOKS FOUND.
Freesearch. No obligation to
purchase. Tel: 01376 562334
Email: [email protected]I WISH TO BEQUEATH MY
LIBRARY OF C.4,000 BOOKS
to an educational or charitable body;
contains Eng Lit classics, ancient &
modern history, biography, travel,
art, architecture, music (some first
editions & fine bindings).
Please direct enquiries to
[email protected]— you can even do it at someone’s house
with their own books, so they know there’s
no cheating (or at least none they can spot).
The joy comes in sharing the secret, rather
as you want to share any great joke you
hear. I’ve always disliked people who insist
on showing you a trick but then won’t reveal
how they did it. That’s when magic puts dis-
tance between people, rather than bringing
them together.
But of course I’d never reveal any secrets
in print. And I’ve no problem with people
wanting to be mystified. Even Bill has that
desire sometimes. ‘I went to see David Cop-
perfield, and he did his flying illusion. For
a minute or two I sat there trying to spot
the wires and couldn’t. Then I realised I’d
enjoy the experience much more if I simply
relaxed and took it on its own terms. That’s
what magic should be about.’
I once watched a ‘busking’ magician in a
London pub entertain the people at the table
next to mine. One woman loved a particu-
lar card trick so much she gave him a fiver.
After he’d left, and as they were still chat-
ting about the trick, I asked: ‘If I tell you how
he did it will you give me a fiver too?’ She
went mental. ‘Don’t you dare ruin it for me!’
It’s people like that who are going to
keep Davenports in business for a very long
time to come.I
t’s a very fitting place for a magic shop.
Hidden away in the maze of pedestrian
tunnels that lead from Covent Garden
to Charing Cross station, Davenports cer-
tainly takes some finding. But that’s to the
good — a complete absence of passing trade
means they no longer have to stock stink
bombs and novelties, as they did in their
old location opposite the British Museum.
These days Davenports concentrate solely
on the proper stuff. The shelves boast Sven-
gali decks and thumb tips, gimmicks like
the Raven (it’s a beauty), and instructional
DVDs and books by everyone from David
Devant to Roy Walton.
If those names are familiar to you, you’re
probably a pro. The business has been sup-
plying magicians with the tools of their trade
since Lewis Davenport first set up shop
in 1898. But if the names mean nothing,
don’t worry — you’re still very welcome
to come in and begin your journey of dis-
covery. You can turn up, have a trick or two
demonstrated to you by the staff, then pur-
chase the props (and secrets) to take home.
Remember the mantra: ‘Practise and prac-
tise until you are sore — then you are ready
to practise once more.’
Or you could attend one of the regu-
lar classes run for both adults and children.
The latter, says Bill Davenport (Lewis’sgreat-grandson), are ‘always the most dif-
ficult audience. You can show a trick to an
engineer with several PhDs and they’ll try
to work it out logically, and almost certain-
ly fail. But kids have that wonderful way of
thinking that breaks all the rules. They’re the
ones who’ll catch you out.’
Chatting to Bill, I nervously make a con-
fession: I love telling people the secrets
behind tricks. I know a dozen or so, using
everyday objects and requiring no great
sleight of hand. There’s an absolutely baf-
fling mindreading effect with a pair of booksTricks of the trade...NOTES ON ...
Davenports Magic
By Mark Mason
GETTY