My Magical Weekend

I've dated a magician now for nearly 3 years and had yet to experience a magic convention before this weekend. There are none in New York, and Josh has always pointed out that a magic convention would be terribly boring for a muggle, so I've never traveled to attend one with him.

So, every time he goes, I always just envision what it would be like : tons of wizards running about with packs of cards showing each other tricks all day.

Turns out, that was pretty spot on, except since this particular convention was in England - it was tons of wizards running about with packs of cards showing each other tricks all day and drinking beer.

I finally got to attend The Session - the convention that Josh co-organzies every year with his friend Andi. We went to Andi's wedding in the Cotswald two years ago in which the entire guest list was fellow magicians, so I actually knew a few of the English magicians already and it was nice to see some familiar faces amongst the vanishing coins, changing cards, and waving wands.

Of the 250 people attending, I counted a total of 7 women, myself included.

The others were the "magic wives"

The magic wives usually hate magic. They might have liked it at one time, but over the years they've seen too many tricks to be amazed anymore, they've been the assistant one too many times, and they're simply sick of picking cards. They can usually be found sitting behind their husband's booths looking bored.

I actually enjoyed girltalk with the magic wives. Being the girlfriend of a magician you usually can't vent your grievances to your girlfriends because they don't experience the same frustrations with their boyfriends as you do.

It was nice to know there are other girls who can't ever find change to do the laundry with because all the quarters in the house have been bent my their boyfriends minds. Or often come home to find things like this on the kitchen table...

The other 243 people are magicians ranging from young boys, amateurs, magic enthusiasts, up and comers, experts, and some of the most famous names in magic. It was a mix of all ages and capabilities. I was, of course, one of the more accomplished people there - having appeared in several of Josh's videos as an amazed spectator.

Throughout the weekend, from 11am to 11pm there are a series of shows, lectures, and workshops on all different subjects featuring a range of performers. There are also booths where people are selling their magic books, decks of cards, dvds, tricks, and broomsticks.They spend the day going to events, showing each other moves, teaching each other tricks and trading tips on where to buy cauldrons.

And - like I said, because we're in the UK - drinking. The drinking begins at 10am and goes on all day, so by the end of evening you have a totally smashed group of grown men running about making things disappear. They don't sleep, they don't eat - they just drink and do magic.

But only in designated areas.

Magic humor is even worse than British humor.

Being one of 7 women and non-magicians in the whole place, you're pretty much guaranteed to be asked to come up on stage and be the spectator in someone's act. So I was not surprised when I got pulled up during a performance. But I was surprised when it was by a man dressed in a ridiculous, green dragon suit who goes by Piff the Magic Dragon, and his accomplice, Mr. Piffles - a 3lb long-haired chihuahua in the same, dog-sized outfit.

He does a comedy magic act, in which he plays a very sarcastic and dry humored, magic dragon.

He starts off by saying, "Hi. My name's Piff the Magic Dragon. You may have heard of my brother...... Steve."

I know this sounds terrible, but he does really great magic and is totally hilarious.

He took my signed 20 pound note and made it disappear, and then reappear later inside a walnut, which he cracked open before my very eyes.

He also made Mr. Piffles moonwalk.

This is the kind of company my boyfriend keeps.

Also performing was Dani DaOrtiz, a spanish magician who can barely speak English, is largely overweight, balding, and absolutely amazing. I watched his show 3 times because I just couldn't get enough. He was doing things that fooled every magician in the room! His magic appeared totally unstructured and completely impossible and the language barrier made for a hilarious routine. Every time he did something utterly amazing he just said "I don't know why!"

When he says cards it sounds like cats because of his accent. So it's quite funny, when he says "name a cat, any cat will work, you have a cat a mind, it can be any cat - I don't care, it's your life."

It really liked being absorbed into the magic world for a weekend.

It was like having free tickets to tons of magic shows - and unlike most of the magic wives, I really do love magic. All of it! Comedy magic, stage magic, close up magic, and now I know of a few new magicians I really like.

But there is only one magician that I will ever love.

The one magician that is more amazing (and more handsome) than any other in the world.

The one magician that had my heart from the first time I laid eyes on him.

Just kidding.