My European Magical Tour – Week 5: London
Back in July I started my six week magical tour across seven European countries. My goal was to use magic as way of meeting as many interesting people as I can, explore every city that I visit, and to help cover expenses.
If you missed my previous blogs of my first four weeks in Prague, Berlin, Amsterdam, Brussels, and Paris be sure to check those out too.
Once I finished up in Paris I hopped on the Eurostar heading towards London. This is a high speed train with a record speed of 334.7 km/hr that travels under the British channel, making for an impressive travel time of just over two hours from Paris to London.
Once I arrived, the first thing I was reminded of was all traffic commutes on the opposite side of the road, from what I am used to. Constantly reminding myself of which way to look when crossing the street was a bit confusing at first. Eventually, I found my hostel and researched the city to help make for the best of my week there.
After doing some research, I learned that London welcomes street performing very much and has many great pitches to offer.
Covent Garden was one of the recommended spots so I decided to go there first. I was very excited to see that within Covent Garden, there is a pitch called the Magic Square that is solely dedicated to magic acts only. Upon my arrival, there were five other magicians waiting for their turn to perform. I introduced myself and was excited to meet them all. I stuck around for a little bit and watched some of their shows, then set up soon after.
On my third day, Jspades, the magician I met in Amsterdam (see Amsterdam blog), was kind enough to meet me at the Magic Square, at noon. I wasn’t exactly sure what he had planned for the day. Little did I know, I had an amazing day ahead of me, all thanks to him!
Jspades spent nine hours with me, showing me as much as London as possible. He literally made the entire day all about my visit to London and I couldn’t have been more grateful. He took me to an awesome magic store called Davenports Magic Shop, he showed me many of the famous landmarks within London, including Trafalgar Square, The Household Cavalry Museum, Big Ben, Westminster Bridge, and the London Eye. After the sightseeing, he recorded my performances at other great pitches that I wasn’t even aware of.
Before we parted, Jspades told me about the Magic Circle in London, which I was unfamiliar with. Apparently, it is a similar venue to the Magic Castel in Hollywood, California, being a venue that not just anyone can go to. You must either be a known magician or be invited by a magician from within the circle. Being completely unknown in London, I figured I would go check it out anyway, seeing as I had nothing to lose. It was a Monday night, the same night that well known magicians meet every week, so the timing was great.
I found the venue and stepped inside, where I introduced myself to the door man and gave him my story. Unfortunately, I learned that there was a dress code (I was wearing shorts at the time), and they also said that I had to contact them ahead of time, and not show up unannounced. Had I not learned about this venue only a few hours before, I’m sure I would have been more prepared. At the very least, I got a great picture of inside the entrance to show that I was there.
The rest of the week was spent doing more busking and a little more sightseeing on my own.
Below is a video of me performing a psychokinetic touch for three audiences in London, along the Southbank, close to the Westminster Bridge. Special thanks to Jspades for holding the camera. Enjoy!
The next city lined up was Edinburgh, Scotland, where I was arriving just in time to perform at the world’s largest arts festival, the Festival Fringe of Edinburgh. Artists from around the world travel to this event, making for over 10,000 shows in just 30 days! It was an overwhelming experience. I had an amazing time there as well, and will be sharing my story of this city very soon.
Thanks for reading!
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