Paul Daniels 1938-2016

[johncorrigan]

A fair number of years back when the kids still got pocket money, we had a family outing to Glasgow. The 10 year-old Master C was keen to buy a magic trick with his pocket money and on arrival we headed down Queen St to Tam Shepherd's trick shop. We were standing in the queue and who is there behind the counter but Paul Daniels, who it would seem had some stake in this well-known shop. Master C was impressed - I had taped a programme a year or so earlier of The Fifty Greatest Magic Tricks introduced by Joe Cornish and Adam Buxton. Every few days he would request it and he loved Daniels' trick with the cups and balls. PD walked down the queue and landed at the then 6 year-old Miss C with her long black hair - she was shocked when he held her hair and said 'Have you been buying one of our wigs?' - cue hilarity in the shop, though not Miss C. But she liked him and it became a family joke down the years and we were all sad to see his death announced today. Also the Cups and Balls trick is really terrific, in my opinion.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HuxT4kY38Tk

[Pabmusic]

His last vanishing trick.

[Lat-Literal]

A fair number of years back when the kids still got pocket money, we had a family outing to Glasgow. The 10 year-old Master C was keen to buy a magic trick with his pocket money and on arrival we headed down Queen St to Tam Shepherd's trick shop. We were standing in the queue and who is there behind the counter but Paul Daniels, who it would seem had some stake in this well-known shop. Master C was impressed - I had taped a programme a year or so earlier of The Fifty Greatest Magic Tricks introduced by Joe Cornish and Adam Buxton. Every few days he would request it and he loved Daniels' trick with the cups and balls. PD walked down the queue and landed at the then 6 year-old Miss C with her long black hair - she was shocked when he held her hair and said 'Have you been buying one of our wigs?' - cue hilarity in the shop, though not Miss C. But she liked him and it became a family joke down the years and we were all sad to see his death announced today. Also the Cups and Balls trick is really terrific, in my opinion.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HuxT4kY38Tk

There was a fascinating item on the World Service recently about the the philosophy in magic. It was not only informative but seemed at least to the uninitiated (me) to strike all the right chords. For example, the woman who is sawn in half and then put back again addresses the fears around injuries acquired in the world wars apparently. I didn't know it worked on so many levels and will see if I can locate a link to it on the I-P. I love your memories of Paul Daniels, JC, and cannot match them although we did go in a family group to the Fairfield Halls to see him around 1980. A friend was there too, somewhat belatedly going through a Daevid Allen and Planet Gong phase. The support on that night? The Nolan Sisters!!! Also, in the days before my father used to bump into Richard Stilgoe in local shops and ask him questions that only lead to a miserable look and heavy sighing, he did the same mostly in paint shops with the equally local late David Nixon. Anyway, Paul Daniels gave a lot of people pleasure and it is very sad that he should have now passed away.

Paul Daniels RIP