A couple of years ago I was hired to perform for an 85th birthday party. The birthday boy had been a very prominent high court judge and the party was thrown at his house nestled in a lovely village in the bosom of the home counties.
The judge’s daughters assured me that their octogenarian father was a magic fan but a couple of minutes into the show he nodded off in the corner as I entertained his neighbours and friends. About half way through the act I asked, as I always do, to borrow a pack of cigarettes. This crowd, almost entirely over fifty, did not contain one smoker.
It was a very casual and friendly show. I told my smoke free audience how I had been noticing more and more that my audiences were smoking less and less. I told them that I owned several old magic books that said things like, “Borrow a top hat from a member of the audience…” I mused that maybe in years to come that borrowed cigarette tricks will be as extinct as borrowed top hat tricks.
I was sure the judge was sleeping in the corner but just then he piped up and in the posh-ist of British accents said, “I have a top hat for you – if you want one.”
Tags: John Lenahan
John Lenahan's Year of Gratuitous Socks 
17,March, 2008 at 7:09 pm |
Brilliant post, best I’ve read all week.
18,March, 2008 at 1:23 am |
as always- got me “lol”ing
19,March, 2008 at 1:06 pm |
[…] glad I’m not a screenwriter. I was reminded that the judge in Monday’s post was the father in law of one of my neighbors. Mark is, among other things, a screenwriter. I […]