8th September at the Masonic Hall, Edward Street, West Brom will be another of Alecs Beechmans Magic Car Boots. These are always interesting and well attended with the odd rarity to be found.

This time I understand CHAINS have submitted escape related gear in the form of Jonny Eagles Tapes and vids of him at Appleby Fair + an original vid of Houdini with Curtis and Janet Leigh + Devals stuff includes his Supreme vid Escapology Secrets plus much much more.I have a Spiderflex unit to shift going cheap and a lot of other ordinary magic as well. If you wanna phone bid on anything let me know with your best offers.

Also many of our best regular sites for escape shows have been terminated,,,,now we find this has extended to our paid busking pads as well. Stonehenge, Avebury Stones, the carpark at Silbury Hill have all now banned us from performing there, a great loss to the public and our pockets as well. The Stonehenge site has even flattened the approach road to it and are building a centre four miles away from the site stones as well (How stupid is that) They intend to bus the visitors back and fourth !!!!

More to follow.
Ken.

Ill try and get over to see you buddy!

Hope you're well (I mean physically you old fart....rather than in shape working ...I know your still plenty busy....I guess that comes from doing rather than BSing it!)

The bus thing sounds like a great idea to me. They are going to make money from car parking and then charge for a bus ride to get you there! Give it 5 years and there will be a 'vakyou-dome'* over the henge and you'll need to hire breathing apparatus + there will be a charge for the air you breathed of course and a massive charge for CO2 removal (I dread to think how much it would be if you farted!)! Give it 20 more years and you'll be old enough to be declared a heritage site then you can charge all you want in the name of conservation!

Take care buddy!

* Vakyou-dome is a patent pending item that seals a large environment and "protects" the area below with a complete vacuum, just a little idea I came up with. You (we know who that is) could do your shows in there to protect the public.

I'll try

You can stay over at mine! I have a great trick to show you its called "ultimate ring and string". Don't know if you have heard of it?

Correction,,,the Great Barn at Avebury have events from time to time and would consider useing entertainers who are registered.

Also tried out something different last week >>>> The Westbury White Horse (Said to be the best in the UK) Has many visitors all year around. An Ice Cream van appeared there a couple of months ago so got to talking with the gaffer and found out he was doing a blinder >>> sooo we tried the bottle over three days and were more than just suprised !!! 12 hrs done brought in just under £500 not bad eh!!!!

Also the new venue for the Pump Festival is a stones throw from there and Womad as well,,,,so yes we picked up both of these on payment from the WWHorse trials,,,great thinking Batman.

Ken.

Not a bad day at West Brom but only a small turnout. This however didn't diminish sales and made the day worth while.

We are at Stoke Steam Rally this weekend along with special guest Paddy Lock (Fresh from his LA bookings and jet lagged) We are trying to get him to do his Vaccuum escape but will have to wait and see. Just completed gigs at Longleat House and Highclere (Home of Downton Abbey)With returns planned for over Xmas.

We will be once more at Bridgewater Fair for the five days and Pack Monday in Sherborne. Retired but still busy enough,,,,,where oh where are all the youngsters to take over ????

Ken

Paddy comes out of LA and Todd Robbins goes in. Good for the unusual entertainment badge and escapology, odd that no entertainers of salt are based more local to the giggs.

Bit of personal news now,,,,,after a lifetime of trying to live within the oldest heritage site in the world (Avebury) It looks like our bidd on a property within the Stones has now been accepted. Goes to show that we can all fulfill our dreams in the end. Of course the shop and house in Westbury will go but our other venture of a let in Coney Island is still on track. Hell its taken all these years and all that work !!!!!

The Impossible Possible has applied for Equity standing (Should be cleared this month) So there will be another pro ea working the UK.

Ken

Make sure to put a Higley on a stone.... then run.

Hi Ken, Avebury looks great, whats the history of the large circle on the hill (google earth) Is that the 'Stones' ( as there are stones standing on two side of the circle.)

It's good when dreams come to pass.

Understand they are older than Stonehenge and both are Neolithic. A temple / Fortress / Village ringed with stones and moat mounds. An avenue of parralle stones from Silbury Hill (On the A4) Take you into the Stones Circles and most of the Stones still exist.

Hava always enjoyed the magic of Wiltshire and gained from living on the earths lines (Found it to be invigorating), Hence living right now beneath the Westbury White Horse with this move to the centre of magic (Avebury 2 miles from Silbury Hill, 3 miles from Long Barrow an ancient buriel ground,Just off the Ridgeway, 20 minets from Stonehenge and within 5 miles of Barbary and Marlborough Forts) Cant get deeper into it than that.
Also with enough dosh left to invest in my second home in the USA.

Yes Nipps the Higg has already been planted at Silbury and the Henge with unusual reaction (Ask Doug what happened as I think he has it all recorded) We do have a plan for a laugh with another Higg Zibb,,,,,but its a secret right now,,,,watch this space hahaha.

Ken

Sometimes I really envy you guys living close to each other. Well close enough to meet up in person. Meh, I wish I could see kodini or you guys perform. It must be really good.

*goes into a fit of anger *

Darren, I am still kicking myself for not getting out to meet Kondini when I visited the UK about 10 years ago. He even gave my wife and I an invite to come out to the countryside and tour the stones. very sad indeed. Our trip was short and time was sparse... I pray and wait for a nice UK gig again.

At Bridgwater Fair and what a massive event this is. A regular one for us with huge crowds from 10am to 11pm. So there we are all rides black and thirty feet from us a stabbing takes place !!!! Poor guy had a slash from a stanley knife from his neck to the base of his spine,,,blood everywhere. Yep they got the guy that did it and the victim should live.

Now the great British public never let you down as the following day the scene was mobbed by the masses,,everyone wanted to see where and what blood staines remained,,,, so we had to take their cash didn't we !!!!! Showmen to the end !!!

Ken

I hope you made lots. (any photo's?)

I looked up the white horse on google earth and found it. not the horse I was expecting though. I thought it was going to be the stylised long one but I found that is some where else.

Google Bridgwater Fair and dozens of pages pop up. The stabbing was kept on the quiet side but got a report in the local rag,,,seems to be a fair bit of trouble in this area and the Police (As witnessed by us at the time) Are sodding useless.

Also very odd, there are an awful lot of window lickers in the area,,,this has been put down to Hinkley Point Nuclear Power Station just down the road,,,I counted over 80 such peeps in the course of twenty minets and found it quite sad.

Ken

Kondini I love ready your stunts, you are a legend.

Always wanted to be a leg end as being a bell end aint fun. Another leg end in the making is Mr P Lock who has just been invited into CHAINS for his Charity works and fund raizing for CALM.

Congrats Paddy, you deserve it.

Ken.

Sherborne Pack Monday Fair was once more a blaster with everyone riding black.We were stood without a break from 10am till 10pm, then had the breakdown with an hours journey home,,,,it aint getting easier as you get older ! Also eating curry and chips with one hand as you serve with the other is multi tasking gone mad !!!!! Eating change and giving curry as change gave hoots to some speckies but annoyed others......WTF.

A triple escape offer is being made via CALM (Cancer Charity) For the Christmas run up at Bath. Paddy, The Impossible and myself will each be chained to a stone in the Avebury Circle, the challenge is a speed one, the same night all three of us will be spending it underground in the Tomb (Long Barrow by Silbury Hill)All sponsors if true will raise around £4370 for the Charity, all artists and staff will give of their time free !!!
The presentation will be made during the run of the Bath Christmas Market.

Ken

Well done Ken. Break a chain