Members News

The Minutes were read and agreed upon from the previous A.G.M. Along with the Secretary and Treasurers Report. The accounts were presented to the members. A fantastic year of profit. Well done to all the members for their hard work throughout the year. We've had a great year with various gigs, from parties to corporate events. Not forgetting SPELLBOUND! 

The Joining Fee remained at £30 and the same for the annual membership £40. 

The election of Officers was as follows.

• President - Neil Armstrong

• Vice President - Steven Lewis

• Secretary - Gary Bainbridge

• Treasurer - Chris Cowl

• Committee - Eamonn McClurey, Steven Ashcroft, Matt Cooper, Martin Quigley & Eric Leonard

The role of website Editor was voted for by the members to be Matt Cooper. ​

The role of news letter editor was voted by the members to be Eamonn McClurey.

The night 'Magic for Couples' has been removed and an outstanding lecturer has been added! 

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Mark James will be joining us to give his lecture 'Anatomy of a Magician' Featuring:

• Sleight of hand

• Comedy 

• Juggling

• Sideshow Stunts 

• Mind Reading 

• Escapology

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Mark is an outstanding Magician and a great performing he has performed all of over the world including the Magic Castle in Hollywood! 

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We hope you are all happy with the change of the night and the lecture that has been added! 

Dell Johnson, a cornerstone of the Middlesbrough Circle of Magicians, has been celebrated for her exceptional service and dedication to our circle. As one of our longest-serving members and an esteemed Honorary Vice President, Dell's contributions have been invaluable in fostering the spirit of magic and camaraderie within our community.

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In recognition of her unwavering commitment and years of service, the committee felt that merely bestowing a title was insufficient to honor such a remarkable achievement. To this end, we have decided to present our Honorary Vice Presidents with a special award that serves as a tangible token of our appreciation and respect.

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On behalf of all members, we extend our heartfelt congratulations to Dell Johnson. Her passion, skill, and dedication continue to inspire us all. Well done, Dell!

On the 15th of April just before the E.D.C Night commenced, we had an audition!

Michael Raw presented himself in front of the members and took to the stage! His performance was outstanding with great storytelling!

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It was agreed unanimously by all the members who attended, he would be accepted into the Middlesbrough Circle of Magicians! Michael was then welcomed back into the room to a round of applause from the members as he joined us for his first meeting! 

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We can already foresee that Michael will be a greatly valued member of our society. 

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Welcome to the Middlesbrough Circle of Magicians! 

The Middlesbrough Circle of Magicians (MCM) recently paid tribute to our longest-serving member and Honorary Vice President, Mark Warman, by presenting him with the inaugural HVP Award for his outstanding services to the circle.

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Mark's passion for magic has remained unwavering throughout his remarkable 60-plus years of membership. His dedication and enthusiasm continue to inspire magicians of all ages within our community.

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The accompanying picture captures a proud moment: President Neil Armstrong presenting Mark with his well-deserved award. Congratulations, Mark, from all of us at the MCM!

Nine performers graced the stage, each presenting their best trick for a chance to claim the Bill Riipley Top Hat Trophy.

The caliber of performances was exceptional, yet emerging victorious this time was Nimmo Clarke with his mesmerizing 'Flicking' good card trick.

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Among the audience were not only our esteemed members but also Bill Ripley's daughters, who graciously agreed to present the trophy once again. To all who attended, we extend our heartfelt gratitude and a warm invitation to return at any time.

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On behalf of our members, we extend our sincere congratulations to Nimmo for his well-deserved triumph.

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Thanks to everyone, the evening was a resounding success with a fantastic turnout and unforgettable performances.

The Minutes were read and agreed upon for the 69th A.G.M. Along with the Secretary and Treasurers Report. The accounts were presented to the members and checkers made their statements. 

The Joining Fee remained at £30 although the annual membership was risen to £40. The Expenses for the Secretary and treasurer were risen to £40 equaling payment of one year's annual membership.  

Election of Officers was as follows.

• President - Neil Armstrong

• Vice President - Tony Southwick

• Secretary - Gary Bainbridge

• Treasurer - Steve Lewis

• Committee - Nimmo Clarke, Steven Ashcroft, Matt Cooper & Martin Quigley 

Role of website Editor was voted for by the members to be Matt Cooper. ​

Role of news letter editor was voted by the members to be continued by Tom Daws.

The first of the Bill Ripley Best Trick Competition Nights proved to be a hotly contested evening. in total 7 members performed their best trick to the remaining member. In the audience this year was Bill Ripley's daughters who kindly agreed to present the trophy. The winner, and a well deserved one, was Tom Daws who gave a theatrical cameo performance to music. Well done Tom.

The minutes were read and agreed from the 68th A.G.M.

Secretary's Report (Martin) and Academy of Magic Report (Eric).

Treasurers Report (Steve Lewis via Martin) - The accounts were presented and explained although not yet checked.

The checkers (Dianne & Ian Morrison) will make their statement at the next meeting.

The joining fee will remain at £30 for new members only, and the annual subscription will remain at £38.

Expenses were left at free subscriptions + payment equal to one years' subscriptions.

Election of Officers was as follows - President 2023 = Tony Southwick, Vice President = Nimmo Clarke, Secretary = Martin, Treasurer = Steve Lewis.

Committee = Neil Armstrong, Steven Ashcroft, Eric Leonard, Eamonn McClurey.

Checkers = Ian & Dianne Morrison, Website & Marketing = Neil Armstrong, Newsletter Editor = Tom Daws, Circle Historian will now become part of the role of Secretary.

Monday 14th November 2022 saw magician 'Ferran Rizo' and his wife 'Magic Nataly' visited the Middlesbrough Circle of Magicians.

The lecture was a real mixture of workable magic for table hoppers.

Ferran opened with a torn card behind glass window effect where the spectator held a 1/4 card and the other 3/4 card was behind the window.

A shrinking card case and deck effect followed quickly.

Ferran demonstrated some nice coin work with a Copper and Silver in the spectators hand routine.

Linking and unlinking Safety Pins was next. An effect not often seen but extremely visible.

He closed the first half with a card prediction effect where a drawing turned into a real card and back again into a giveaway picture.

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The second half was opened by Ferran's wife, Nataly who performed a rising card effect with a spectators drawing of a feather. She then vanished the drawing, turning it into actual feathers.

Ferran resumed with an Okito coin box effect where a Copper coin escaped two silver coins and reappeared in the box. A nice story accompanied the effect.

He closed with a chop cup and balls routine in his hand which was extremely well executed.

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The night was very well attended by members and it was a really good night.

Some of Ferran's effects were available for purchase and many were sold.

Monday 17th October at the MCM Headquarters saw an excellent evening of magic from the 6 performers who competed for the Jimmy Green Wand Trophy for Cabaret Magic.

They also entertained a good crowd of magicians, friends and family.

Neil Armstrong, Eamonn McClurey, Tom Daws, James Baker, Gary Bainbridge and Brian Lesko were the competitors. The standard was very high and the judges had to make a tough decision to make!

The eventual winner was Eamonn McClurey with Neil Armstrong coming in 2nd.

A wide variety of magic was seen from Cards and Coins to Comedy and Mind Reading, clearly something for everyone.

Monday 26th September 2022 saw the Middlesbrough Circle of Magicians entertain the Newcastle Magic Circle at MagicBox in Newcastle.

There were 9 performers and a really good variety of magic seen. Tony Southwick (President) was the MC for the evening.

Neil Armstrong opened with his very atmospheric, 'Jean the Code Breaker' routine.

Steve Lewis performed his road sign routine as well as some card predictions torn into newspaper.

Daniel Roberts performed his 'Heads Up' post-it card prediction routine.

Graeme Smith performed his Coin + Cork Cylinder Routine followed by his Mini Chairs Routine.

Brian Lesko performed ropes, coins and his paper balls into sponge balls from hat routine to music.

Martin performed a memory effect with a full deck of cards.

Tom Daws performed his fork bending routine followed by a Wild Card Pokemon effect.

Nimmo Clarke performed a disappearing drink miracle followed by some lovely card predictions.

Eamonn McClurey performed his sympathetic matchboxes followed by his legendary Egg routine.

A great night was had by all and it was really nice to share another night of magic with our friends at Newcastle Magic Circle.