The Magical Peppers and the Great Vanishing Act. Sian Pattenden

idea! Maybe a statue or something like that,” suggested Esmé.

      Potty stopped to think.

      “Or should we be more ambitious?” mused the Potty Magician. “Anyone can make a statue disappear.”

      “We could bring the shed?” suggested Monty.

      Potty was having a brainwave. “The Queen has seen the greatest performers the world has ever known. She will expect something incredible, out of the realms of possibility – a simple shed might not do the trick. Her Royal Highness saw Timothy Cooper rip a tablecloth from a dining table, under the nose of a giant bear that was just sitting down to enjoy a substantial meal. The plates and cutlery remained exactly where they had been set; the bear was happy and the crowd went wild. Anyway, we need a true spectacle that breaks new ground on a global scale – but without any bears, for safety reasons.”

      Monty thought for a moment. “Could we make the Queen disappear?”

      “I think that may be against the law,” responded Esmé.

      “One moment, Esmé and Monty,” said Potty. “Maybe we could make the museum disappear. What do you think? It’s going to be a tough one to pull off, but if Nigel Copperfield can make the Egyptian pyramids vanish for a few seconds, then I can certainly dispose of this so-called Mega-Million Super Museum.”

      “Even though the museum is vast and heavy and real?” asked Esmé.

      “Oh yes.”

      Esmé truly hoped that Potty could make the museum disappear. He hadn’t done very well with the shed, but they had just over a week to rehearse the grand trick, so there was a chance it might actually work.

      Potty looked closely at the invitation that he was still clutching in his hand.

      “We need to RSVP in person the day after tomorrow. That gives us one whole day to sort out the nuts and bolts of our act.”

      “It also means I can spend tomorrow at the library researching,” said Esmé happily. “The museum has been standing for decades. It’s only in the past few weeks that it’s been reinvented as the Mega-Million Super Museum. I might be able to find some details about the building and the floor plan so that you can work out your trick in advance, Potty.”

      “Sounds splendid! We are set – nothing can go wrong with a little preparation! We will make the museum disappear.”

An excerpt from TRICK: Möbius Magic

      You will need paper, Sellotape and scissors for this trick. Tell your audience you have made a loop out of paper to put round your wrist, but it won’t fit. “Stone me,” you’ll say, “I’ll just cut the loop bigger!” Your clever audience will laugh as they know you cannot make a loop bigger just by cutting it.

      However, if you cut the loop in half up the middle, instead of into two loops, you will now have one larger loop.

      The secret is that your original loop is actually a Möbius Strip – a mathematical marvel – made from a strip of paper that has been twisted once and then taped together {see fig. 1}.

      Health and Safety is not something to be frowned upon. Please do not try to work with fire, big cats or swords. You are still a beginner and you can never be too careful – some ambitious tricks can cause an accident unless handled by an experienced professional. Construct your own props with Sellotape and scissors rather than hammer and nails. Cotton wool, also, is rather soft and forgiving. The great Pat Daniels always liked to construct his own props, but one day he managed to slice off his own pinky finger with a circular saw. Ouch!

      In all totality,

      t’s gigantic. How on earth are we going to make it disappear?”

      Monty Pepper was taken aback at how vast the museum seemed as he, Esmé and Potty walked through the tall, iron entrance gates. Monty wore a new red cape over his velvet magician’s suit; Potty was in a yellow satin number worn over a tweed suit. Esmé wore her light summer cagoule (ready for all weathers), which had a large pocket. In it she carried a penknife, a small torch and a packet of strawberry chews, just in case anyone got hungry. Everyone was prepared to meet Henry J. Henry and see inside this inspiring Mega-Million Super Museum.

      The building was impressive – enormous stone pillars supported the Greek-style triangular roof. The museum was at least the size of a football pitch plus a department store on the side. It stood, a triumph of traditional, imposing, stone-clad building-ness.

      “It must be very old,” Monty said.

      “Construction work was finished in eighteen fifty-three and took over two decades,” said Esmé. “I read about it at the library.”

      The Peppers and Potty walked alongside the flourishing garden at the front – even the outside was part of the new museum. Here were Plants from Really Really Ancient Times – a display that included Welwitschia from the Namibia desert, a shrub that can live for up to two thousand years.

      Potty raised his eyebrow. “Better not make that disappear,” he said.

      They walked to the entrance, up a flight of grand stone steps that were being scrubbed furiously by around twenty cleaners in white coats.

      “That’s a lot of cleaning,” remarked Monty.

      At once, a beam of bright white light hit the central column, followed by a pulsating strobe of purple to the right-hand side of the building. The visitors stopped in their tracks. Loud music pumped from large speakers at each side of the museum, with deep bass notes and some toppy hi-hats.

      “Technical rehearsal, light show number one,” shouted a man, who wore a safety helmet and had an orange vest over his clothes. “Cue the lasers.”

      Esmé, Monty and Potty gasped as the words MEGA-MILLION ROYAL OPENING appeared in mid-air before them. The laser display then changed to the words HER ROYAL HIGHNESS, then formed into an image of a crown, which slowly morphed into the outline of a corgi.

      “OK, that’s enough for now,” said the man in the hard hat, and the lasers stopped at once.

      “Impressive,” said Monty. “Do you think they’ll put your name in lasers for the opening, Potty?”

      Uncle Potty furrowed his brow, not used to the notion of celebrity. “Maybe.”

      “As the light show suggests,” said Esmé seriously, “this is more than a normal museum; this truly is a Mega-Million Super museum.”

      The grand opening was clearly a big operation. By the main entrance was a poster of the Queen wearing her ceremonial robes and a huge crown. She was not smiling in the picture. Star Attraction! read the poster.

      THE MUSEUM’S GRAND OPENING WILL SHOWCASE…

      HER MAJESTY THE QUEEN’S REGAL JEWEL COLLECTION.

      CAST YOUR EYES UPON A SELECTION OF THE MOST EXQUISITE JEWELS AND HIGHLY PRIZED TRINKETS FROM