September ( a little late).

Well its been too long since my last post I had a busy September with quite a few weddings a couple of wedding fayres and a birthday all thrown into the mix. I have been to Bath, Worcester, Chew magna and Bristol for various wedding during September and met some lovely people along the way.

Also I performed at the Tortworth Court wedding fayre and can be seen in the promotional video for the Love Actually wedding fayre site. A link to this video is here http://vimeo.com/29662959 ...... it was shot by White Villa films who are a fantastic videography company as you can tell from the video.

I also attended a wedding fayre at Bowden Hall in Gloucestershire. Again a great day exhibiting alongside some great companies.

I also had the pleasure of running a small card workshop for members of 'The Cotswold Magic Society' which was great fun.

Right now we're in October I'll post again soon and leave a link to my new wedding promotional video.

All the best,

Darren

August

August was a great month for me and different because I had a real range of gigs. My first of the month was working alongside Crispin Jones who is a fantastic watch designer from London. I had the pleasure of doing a product launch for the company in 2008 and it seems they have been going from strength to strength since then. We spent a whole day filming close up footage of his watches to be used at tradeshows all over the world. It was an intense day of filming but great fun and his watches are in my opinion the most innovative and stylish on the market today.

http://www.mrjoneswatches.com/watches/

Here is a link to the Mr jones website check it out and also if your in London check out his shop in the Oxo tower near the south bank.

I also had the pleasure of performing my cabaret act at 'Theatre 503' in London which is a fantastic theatre in Battersea. It was part of an evening of comedy and improvised theatre and I must give a massive mention to http://theimprosarios.com/ they are a improvised theatre group who basically make up plays every evening depending on the input from the audience. Each member has razor sharp wit and comic timing of the highest level.

I was lucky enough to have my very talented brother film me at this event and we even put together a short showreel from the footage that can be found on the Cabaret page of the site.

No month would be complete without a couple of weddings and August was no exception I had the pleasure of performing at two intimate weddings one at the gorgeous Rococco Gardens in Painswick and the other at The Green Dragon Inn in Cockleford.

A summer party and company fun day was on my agenda for the end of the month. Malvern Instruments is a leading company in material characterization. I had the pleasure of entertaining staff family and friends at their annual summer fun day. It was a lovely day and I enjoyed mixing and mingling with the crowds entertaining them with my magic.

Thats all for this blog post be back soon with updates from September so far.

July.

Well July has been and gone and it was a highly entertaining month for me, filled with weddings and private parties. I got to visit Highclere Castle in Newbury as the first wedding of the month and what a stunning venue it is. The grand exterior is really quite breathtaking as you approach the castle from the winding driveway. The interior doesn't disappoint either and is full of renaissance charm and elegance. On such a beautiful day though I entertained the guests outside as the newly wed couple had their photographs captured in the stunning gardens and grounds.

Other highlights from the month include an evening entertaining at Fulham Palace in west London. Again a venue with a certain elegance and charm about it. I was hired for post dinner entertainment around the tables and amongst the various small groups of guests standing. I am always fascinated with the almost military style operation for these sorts of events that occurs behind the scenes. I arrived as the desserts were being delivered to the tables and watched as an endless stream of waiting staff served the perfectly identical desserts to the 100 or so guests. Compared to my performance which varies significantly with each new group os guests, even though I maybe performing similar effects the group dynamic changes with every encounter, which is one of the joys of the job I do. No two audiences are ever the same.

I had the pleasure of working for a company who do a very unique job. The company is called 'Snow Business' and they produce artificial snow for films, tv and corporate events all over the world. I was invited to their headquarters in Stroud to entertain at their annual conference and summer party. I would urge anyone to take a look at the showreels on their website because I imagine you have all seen their work in a film or on Tv and were blissfully unaware of the origins of the snow or ice. http://www.snowbusiness.com/ The event itself was a hive of activity when I arrived hot air balloons were taking off from the field, a marquee was set up ready for a storyteller and then a band later on. I could see a bonfire ready to be lit later on and various employees and family members enjoying the festival feel of this event. My brief was simple walk-around and entertain and thats exactly what I spent the evening doing. As the light faded I moved closer to the lights of the marquee and at one point had guests with torches over my hands to see the magic as clearly as possible. It was a highly enjoyable evening and I will look forward to working with them again in the near future.

Other wedding venues I visited this month included : Hatherley Manor , Cadbury house, The Egypt Mill and The Dark Barn. Along with a number of busy evenings at Byzantium restaurant in Bristol.

Well we're already in August now but i'll save that update for another day. Maybe even a video in the next blog.

Over and out.

New venues.

Being a Magician is a great job because not only to you get to meet a vast amount of people but also you get to travel all over to perform at different venues. This week I performed at two venues that I had never performed at before.

On Thursday evening I was booked to entertain the national sales team of Celotex ( Insulation specialists) the night before their annual sales conference. I had a wonderful drive out to Broadway ( Worcestershire ) to t

he Dormy House Hotel.

The hotel is set in very picturesque grounds and once inside it has a mix old and new perfectly balanced together. I was booked to entertain the guests in the terrace bar whilst they enjoyed a few pre dinner drinks. It was a very enjoyable hour and the entire team seemed to really be thrilled by the surprise. I quite often get booked as a surprise for a sales team or wedding party and I feel it often makes the performance even more memorable and special for the guests.

The other venue I found myself performing at was Eastington Hall near Stonehouse. Once again set in picturesque surroundings it was perfect for the wedding reception I was booked to perform a

t. With a large outside seating area looking over lovely gardens and plenty of space inside made it perfect for mixing and mingling with the crowds.

I have included a couple of links to the websites for both venues .

http://dormyhouse.co.uk/

http://www.eastingtonhall.co.uk/

Feedback.

Its always nice when you get an e-mail from the client after the event. I received an e-mail yesterday from a wedding I performed in May at Eastwood park. I had been hired as a surprise for the bride and groom for the evening reception as the new guests arrived. Here is the testimonial I received :

“We are so glad we hired Darren as an extra surprise for our daughter and son-in-law at their wedding last month. He proved to be the perfect ice-breaker for all the guests arriving for the evening. Darren’s blend of magic and charm enthralled everyone. We kept hearing eruptions of laughter and applause rippling around the room . A month later everyone is still talking about him and wondering how he pulled off such amazing tricks up close. Many of our guests commented on how he came back to their table and remembered everyone’s names as if they were old friends. I’ve never seen anyone put people at ease and make them feel included as effortlessly as Darren does. That’s a special kind of magic on its own! Darren, you are a brilliant magician and a first class entertainer – incredible value for money! We’ll definitely be hiring you again..and again.. for any event we can.”

Karen Lowden.

It was a fantastic gig from my point of you and I am so glad it well received by all the guests.

Weddings and Cabarets.

May proved to be a busy month. Not only have the weddings been plentiful but also I have performed my stand up act at a cabaret in London. Its always nice to be able to work on material that is slightly out of your everyday repertoire. Last Friday I performed at The Shaftesbury Tavern Cabaret in north London and it was a highly entertaining evening. I worked alongside jugglers, acrobats, improvisers, Burlesque and even a ukulele playing compere.

I performed in both halves my first acts consisting mainly of card effects and my second act being more of a street style gambling act with cups and balls. The response from both was fantastic and it is definitely an avenue that I will be exploring more often from now on.

One wedding I was booked to perform at was for a couple who I had met at a wedding fayre and they had booked me for entertainment during the photographs and drinks reception

before the meal. Luckily for me a they also hired a fantastic Photographer who managed to get some great snaps of me working... http://www.astonhuephotography.co.uk/

I will be editing a small video of photos and video taken at Kay and Dans wedding and posting it on the site soon. So stay posted.

This month also saw me complete my second marathon. Me and a close friend travelled up to to Edinburgh and took part in the marathon it was a tiring but fantastic day and I managed to raise a good amount of money for macmillan cancer care.

All for now.

Darren.

Weddings.

Well its been awhile since my last post and I have been busy performing at a number of weddings and private parties. In late April I performed at the Kingscote Barn Tetbury for the evening reception of a wedding. The venue is beautiful set in rolling hills full of Spring lambs running about.

I got booked for a gig in Worcestershire on the day of the Royal wedding it was a walk around gig entertaining both the adults and children as it was a family fun day event. Even though the sun didn't quite make an appearance it was still a fun filled day and both the adults and children enjoyed the magic.

I also travelled to Buckinghamshire with a friend who does fire performance ( poi, devil stick, staff and eating.) We were performing for a 18th birthday party and it was a great

evening. The crowd were really receptive to the magic and screams and cheers filled the air. It was a fun evening even with the drive back to Bristol at the end of the night.

The beginning of May saw me performing at Eastwood park for two weddings one day after another. Another stunning venue and must be perfect for the Photographers as the crowds are gorgeous and the weather was too.

One of the weddings I was booked to perform at the evening reception the other I was booked for the Photographs. I find if they are expecting a large number of guests in the evening clients tend to book me for the evening as the guests arrive onwards.

This week I will be performing at a wedding fayre on Thursday evening in Cheltenham at the Queens Hotel and then a wedding on Friday evening in Lympsham. After that I'm off to Edinburgh to run a Marathon on Sunday.

www.justgiving.com/darrencampbell