My Dad the Magician

I grew up with a Dad who was a magician, he told us children that he had special gifts because he was the seventh child of a seventh child. I remember thinking that when he looked at me through his rear view mirror of the car that he could maybe read my thoughts, so you always had to watch out what you were thinking.
It was also dangerous to pick up a coin laying around on the coffee table because you might just get an electric shock, Dad liked practical jokes.
Dad was a member of the magic circle and when he and Mum where just married he would often do magic shows for local events or parties and Mum would be his assistant. So as any good magician he also had his own white rabbit which he could of course pull out of his hat and astound his audience with. Unfortunately  Dad came home from work one day and found the rabbit dead with a carrot and lettuce stuffed in it's mouth, and since that time poor Mum was accused of killing the rabbit with kindness, those of you who know my Mum can understand how this happened.
Dad would often perform magic shows for church activities and I am sure that many members can remember having to put their finger in the guillotine just after witnessing how a carrot was chopped in half, luckily nobody lost a finger.
Dad was especially good at card tricks and even in his later years would amaze his grandchildren and great grandchildren with his tricks and sleight of hand, how many children were amazed to have him produce a ball out of their ear.
When I was about 11 and living in California my Dad enrolled me in a magic school, I don't think that I attended for long, probably because we moved to Canada, but I did learn the rope trip and also that magicians never reveal the secret of how a trick works.
Last October me and my husband were in Hull and were able to visit Dinsdale's Joke shop, this is an amazing little shop full of all sorts of tricks and treats. I was amazed that the man working in the shop remembered my Dad so well and had so many fond and funny memories of him.