I try my best to keep in touch with clients and guests from my past performances. There are very few occasions in life where hiring a magician becomes an important part of most people’s lives, so my fondness in keeping up with past friends is purely sentimental.
Not only do I keep in touch, but I have a modest presence on a few social media outlets to convey a few of the adventures that I get up to. A little corner of the internet to keep in touch with the couples that got married in front of me or the birthday ladies and gentlemen who celebrated a significant milestone in their lives. It cheers me enormously to keep in the gentlest touch with you all.
When I set up my TBHM Instagram account particularly, I never had grand plans for breaking the internet. It was just the platform of the day and I was content in sharing a few glimpses of the adventures that I got up to. I was happy that these moments would never raise any more reaction from most of my viewers than a slight smile, or raised eyebrow. The idea of being a content creator seemed a little beyond my sphere. It was a place to connect with people I know, not to go chasing strangers across the wild uncharted realms of an unruly algorithim.
Indeed, if that was my goal I had given myself a terrible handicap. You might notice that I have been very reluctant to commit magic performances to the glare of the movie camera. There are some fragments in the deep dark crevices of the internet, and earlier this year, I pushed the boat out by recreating a performance from my Magic Circle audition for my website. This was in response to new potential clients repeated - and perfectly legitimate - question of “Where can I see Miles perform?” However, I have always loved magic being a face to face art form. A moment of astonishment when you connect to someone at an event is still, in my opinion, the pinnacle of my art.
However, lately I have rekindled a love of filmmaking. It was in this newsletter only a few months ago where I talked about the joy I have been finding in making little vignettes with a video camera. These trifles were little more than a hobby that I thought would be instantly forgotten. But I have been enjoying myself immensely and have been looking for a project to expand this pastime.
Over the late summer and into the early autumn I have been searching for a very specific project that could meld all the ideas together. I ran through a lot of half-baked ideas… but now I have found something that I am very excited about.
When I was growing up in Nottingham, I was always fascinated by the glamour of London. Now that I have lived around the capital for over 25 years I still find the romance of my adopted home city compelling and the inspiration it provides for performances at London Events. There is a train track at the bottom of my garden, and every time I notice another set of passengers head into the heart of the city I feel a little twinge of joy for them as they get to experience one of the great urban spaces of the world.
So, with these three threads in place. Magic, London and filmmaking, I have weaved together a new project that is launching this month. And I would be absolutely ecstatic if you could support it.
It is a separate adjacent Instagram account called London’s Gentleman Magician. It is an attempt to explore the places, stories and people that make this city feel truly enchanted. Each short film captures a moment of sleight of hand magic, performed on location and told through a storyteller’s lens.
This is not meant to be a covert operation like my TBHM instagram account. I believe that I am making something unique and would love to get it in front of as many eyes as possible. Many people have asked me for what they can do to support my work. If you are feeling generous this is a moment where you can help bring something I truly believe in, to life. If you have the opportunity to search @lonondonsgentlemanmagician and follow the account, I would be most grateful. And when you are on the account if you could share the videos that you feel an affinity for with your friends, or reply to some of the questions that I pose in the posts, it would help me enormously. In these early weeks when the algorithms decide who gets seen and who disappears into the ether, every bit of engagement helps the project find its audience.
But rest assured, live performance will always be my first love. And The Bowler Hatted Magician meeting real people in live situations will always be my first priority. London’s Gentleman Magician is simply my way of sharing that magic a little further afield.
Whether you have watched me at your wedding, across a dinner table, or now, through a screen, thank you for letting me keep in touch. But this month I am raising a glass to new adventures. Both live and online. I am deeply honoured that you share your time with me in either medium.
Follow the LGM's adventures on Instagram at @Londonsgentlemanmagician