It is not the fact that you have been on national television that counts.

What counts is who saw you…
http://www.youtube.com/get_player

Some of our esteemed readers might have noticed that the frequency of the posts to the Opus site rather depends on the internet access that the editor and co-owner JJ has at the time.

Opus is now delighted to announce that following a series of festivals for which he was paid more than he is worth JJ has finally decided to invest some cash in his internet access.

As from today and for at least a year he has direct broadband access to the internet in the back (or front) of his Wagon (or anywhere else in Portugal he might be at the time…)

Anyone who knows him well will realise that this technological breakthrough has made him as happy as a dog with three tails and a lot of sausages to eat…

More soon but a celebratory drink is called for…

A rare performing venue… JJ in Coimbra’s high security prison….

A very appreciative audience…

Well, I was involved in three shows today. Two were on the street but one was in the high security prison here in Coimbra.

It was a strange feeling entering the prison, being searched by the guards and having all those doors locked behind you after you have passed through them.

It is all part of the Festival that is partially sponsored by the City and in return, the Festival organisers make sure that the entertainment reaches as many of the locals as possible. Hence the street shows, the hospital shows and the one in the prison. On Sunday all the street acts do their stuff in the final show on a grassed area on the edge of town when people of all ages gather from all the apartments nearby.

The prison show went really well (indeed the audience gave us a standing ovation) and you definitely felt that the reponse was much stronger than usual. In order to qualify to watch the show the inmates had to put in a sustained period of good behaviour otherwise they were banned from watching.

Mago Dabo from Argentina had a very funny spot of bother as he went into the watch steal with two volunteers! One knew nothing and his watch was duly placed secretly in the top hat on Dabo’s table but when he went for the second one the “victim” felt something was up and let it be known. This brought a huge laugh from the audience, some of whom might well have been caught stealing watches themselves in their younger days!

A warm response from the audience didn’t actually ease my reaction when, after the show, I learnt that one of my helpers was in there for pouring petrol over his former girlfriend and setting fire to her… scary stuff. (She survived…)

I hope there will be pictures to follow…

Things are settling down now and Day Four starts, obviously, with breakfast…

…not every day that I dine with such stars as Antonio, Kevin James and Mahka Tendo.

The back stage preparation area for the early morning (10.30am!) show…

…with Malin Nilsson…

…and Jean Phillippe…

…and Nick Nickolas…

…with Lennert Green watching on.

…and Jean Phillippe gathers the crowd.

At three o’clock this afternoon we go to the high security prison and do as show for the inmates.

The participants in the six day Festival of Magic this year are…

Kevin James from the USA, Brando and Silvana from Argentina, JJ from Europe, Marka Tendo from Japan, Mago Daba from Argentina, Malin Nilsson from Sweden, Jean Philippe Atchoum from France, Lennert Green from Sweden, Bob Sheets from the USA and Nick Nickolas from Australia.

The Festival includes street shows, hospital shows, a show in the local prison and two grand Gala shows in the Teatro Academico Gil Vincente on Friday and Saturday night.

Lunch not breakfast…

Nick Nickolas from Australia via New Zealand via Woolwich strutts his stuff…

Jean Phillippe from France via Spain gathers a crowd…

The stars of magic gather for the six day Festival… Opus’s favourite manipulator Mahka Tendo with “Japanese Technology”…

Sonia and Patricia check JJ into his favourite hotel… Hotel Astoria in Coimbra where he has his “usual room” 209…

Shiv Duggal brings the sunglasses JJ left in his car on the way back from Southport to the cab he is in on the way back to Portugal…

The Boys (Chris and Bill the Cab) deliver JJ to Victoria Station for the Gatwick Express…

http://www.youtube.com/get_player

Lennert Green is in Coimbra taking part in the Encontros Magicos Festival of Magic.

Opus caught him playing with an interesting box…

High Spots…

Johnny Thompson’s lecture with anecdotes.

Johnny Thompson’s performance with anecdotes in the Late Night Magic spot.

Bill Malone’s lecture and performances.

Paul Zenon’s spot on the Gala Show.

David Williamson’s Lecture.

The two juggling barmen despite being rather too long.

Everything done by Lennert Green.

Low Points

Gaeton Bloom wasting six minutes of a man’s life by having him stand on stage winding a handle of a “thing” for no reason what so ever during his “Salad” card trick.

Ben Stone knocking JJ out of the IBM Poker Championship by pure luck!

Winner of the Opus’s “Compere of the Convention” award Jack Gleadow and his nominator Bizarre Bath’s Noel Britten (seconded by John Archer)

12 year old Jack Gleadow, compere of the convention…

Michelle, Opus‘s Best Catering Staff Member of the Year…