Magicians in Trouble

Discuss the latest news and rumors in the magic world.
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Brad Jeffers
Posts: 1221
Joined: April 11th, 2008, 5:52 pm
Location: Savannah, GA

Re: Magicians in Trouble

Postby Brad Jeffers » February 5th, 2018, 3:28 am

performer wrote:Jeffers old chap. You really are an awful busybody you know. No doubt you are in charge of your local neighbourhood watch committee.

You are correct sir.
For a while I even had one of those neighborhood watch signs in my front yard.
I had to remove it however, as people kept knocking on my door wanting to know what time it was.

Bill Mullins
Posts: 5913
Joined: January 17th, 2008, 12:00 pm
Location: Huntsville, AL
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Re: Magicians in Trouble

Postby Bill Mullins » February 5th, 2018, 11:17 am

Mark -- I think the American version of the insult you are trying for would be "No doubt you are head of your local Home Owner's Association."

performer
Posts: 3508
Joined: August 7th, 2015, 10:35 pm

Re: Magicians in Trouble

Postby performer » February 5th, 2018, 4:20 pm

American versions have no importance whatsoever. After all they are a most peculiar country and besides we British are an older nation and therefore our versions naturally take precedence. Besides what do neighbourhood busybodies have to do with being a home owner?

In any case I DO believe the term is "neighbourhood watch" even in the Excited States of America! It certainly is in Canada which is really a giant suburb of America. And I vaguely remember the term used in that George Zimmerman business.

performer
Posts: 3508
Joined: August 7th, 2015, 10:35 pm

Re: Magicians in Trouble

Postby performer » February 5th, 2018, 4:36 pm

Anyway, I have no particular interest in the rather seamy topic under discussion but since I am here it does bring something to mind that I often think about. I did once know an amateur magician who later became a member of the British House of Lords and a man of great influence in British politics. He wasn't a magician when I knew him but I suspect I had an influence on him in that regard. And of course because of me he became a very good friend of David Berglas whom he contacted in connection with some coaching he thought I needed in magic when I was a very young magician. He also became a very good friend of Uri Geller and in fact became a member of the Magic Circle.

His name was Greville Janner later to be come Lord Janner of Braunstone. In his later years he was accused of horrendous things along the lines under discussion. He died of dementia before he could ever be brought to trial. He was a wonderful man and I don't give a damn about the "evidence" against him. To this day I believe he was innocent of the things he was accused of.

I expect the British members here will know all about the case. It was widely publicised in the British media.

Richard Stokes
Posts: 237
Joined: September 11th, 2008, 8:18 pm

Re: Magicians in Trouble

Postby Richard Stokes » December 5th, 2019, 2:02 pm

Alas, Janner was a victim of the fantasist Carl Beech.
Beech has now been jailed for his false accusations.
The Midland police investigation against Janner is now seen as incompetent and highly negligent.

performer
Posts: 3508
Joined: August 7th, 2015, 10:35 pm

Re: Magicians in Trouble

Postby performer » December 5th, 2019, 9:35 pm

Yes. I read recently about Carl Beech. He got 18 years for spreading lies about Greville and other prominent people. I couldn't believe the crap that I was reading about Greville. I just KNEW it couldn't be true! I didn't know that much about the individual cases but I KNEW, I just KNEW it had to be garbage! Greville was one of the managers of a Jewish youth club I belonged to (Brady Boys Club) and organised many charity shows I participated in with a music group singing Israeli folk songs called the Brady Ramblers. They sang and I did magic. I knew Greville quite well and had been in his home a few times. I had never seen or experienced anything untoward. And if there had ever been anything untoward towards a single member of the Brady Boys Club it would have been around the club like wildfire. Neither I nor anyone else ever heard a damn thing. And even at the height of the scandal you would never, ever have found a single ex-member of the Brady club to believe a single word of that crap. In fact there is a facebook group for old Brady members of which I am a member. Nobody on that group ever believed a single word of those disgusting accusations.

I am very glad that this Beech fellow's conviction goes a long way to vindicate Lord Janner, a man for whom I had the greatest admiration. I mentioned him over several pages in my memoirs "The Lives of a Showman" before all the accusations came out. Members of my family said that if I ever reprint the book again I should leave out any reference to Greville. I utterly refused to do so at the time and I never will in the future. He was a most wonderful man of great integrity who did a lot for the Jewish community in the UK.


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