Max Maven in his introduction to the collected New Invocation (Volume 2) states ‘In this compilation of the first thirty-six issues you will find a wide range of material – Most of it is crap’… 

I was reminded of this statement when I decided on a magic sort-out last week.  My shelves had become just too unruly.  This was largely due to the silly amount of ‘lucky boxes’ and the like that I just can’t resist buying from magic auctions.

Yep most of it is crap.

The thing is, yep, there is a lot of crap there, but I love this kind of crap; the little inventions, the ideas, the rip-offs, the gadgets, the unworkable things, the badly mimeographed instructions, the lies, and the absolute zero resale value on most of it.

These things represent the highs and lows of buying magic; the initial excitement and the promise of a miracle, the wait for the post and the subsequent jiffy bag rage, the assigning of the latest miracle to the crap drawer, all ready for the circle to begin again.

Deep within these various boxes and shelves of crap, are the first tricks I ever owned.  From the plasticky Paul Daniels stuff, to my first grown-up stuff; Run Rabbit Run from Supreme and a Floating Zombie Ball from International.  These are all serve to remind me that magic has been a large part of my life.

There’s also a box for the future on my shelf, effects and ideas that I’ve promised myself I’m going to do some work on.  These are now sorted out with a purpose, and with a promise to practice and to explore.

I bloody love magic me.

(I also have too many, many sponge bananas)