* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Magic New Zealand e-zine * www.watson.co.nz/ezine.html * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Issue Number: #161 Date: 9th March 2003 Editor: Alan Watson www.magician.co.nz www.alan-watson.com e-mail: AW@Alan-Watson.com ================================ Hi here is the latest news ================================ 1. Editor’s Message 2. Interested in Paul and Debbie? 3. PCAM 2003 July 31st - August 3rd, 2003 4. Meir Yedid. Guest Of Honor At FFFF 5. Paul Daniels Is Coming To The USA 6. "Kaz" Kasnetsis Passed Away 7. The Magic Circle Collectors’ Day 8. David Ben Workshop, Lecture & Book Signing 9. British Magician To Entomb Himself - In Cheese 10. Funny Paper 11. www.websites4magicians.com 12. What's Happening In Las Vegas 13. Promotional Videos For Magicians 14. 'Saturdays At Reubens' 15. Self-Contained Trick To Propose Marriage 16. Viking Item Is Ripped Off 17. News From Indiana USA 18. The Amazing ‘Orchante’ Saga - Page 148 19. Magic New Zealand e-zine archives 20. Subscription Management ------------------------------------ 1. Editor's Message ------------------------------------- Message from Alan Watson - The Magic One David Ginn Lecture Tour - New Zealand – more details to follow shortly. Auckland Wednesday 13 Aug Wellington Friday 15 Aug Christchurch Saturday 16 Aug --------------------------------------------- Remember if you have any magic news drop me a line: AW@Alan-Watson.com ------------------------------------ 2. Interested in Paul and Debbie? ------------------------------------- Message from Paul Daniels (England) Visit www.pauldaniels.co.uk Interested in magic? Visit www.timreedmagic.com The following dates are PUBLIC dates for 2003 where you can see, mostly, the Audience with Paul Daniels Show: March 07 Welwyn Garden City Campus West Theatre 08 East Grinstead 09 Retford 11 Two shows at Skegness, Butlin's 12 Beechwood School Show 13 Arts Centre, Swindon 14 Guildford 15 Cortonwood Haven, Yarmouth 21 Book signing in Cultures in Norwich and then Norwich Playhouse Theatre 22 Birmingham Master Class 23 Leeds Master Class 27 Ebbw Vale 28 Haven Holiday Camp at Aston Hall Hotel, Aston, Sheffield 3.5 29 Opera House, Buxton April 02 WEDDING ANNIVERSARY 05 London Master Class 06 MY BIRTHDAY 12 Chicago Master Class 13 New York Master Class 14 New York Monday Night Magic 15 Orlando Master Class 16 Fly to Vegas 17 Possible show in Vegas 18 Possible show in Vegas 19 Las Vegas Master Class 20 Los Angeles Master Class 27 Theatre Royal, Margate May 09 Civic Hall Whitehaven 18 Show on board, Warner's Cruise Ship 23 TBC Fund raising dinner at Phyllis Court. Contact is Philip Williamson of Rotary on 0118 987 1787 26 Skegness Embassy Theatre 31 Warner's at Nidd Hall Harrogate June 12 Potters Bar 13 MS Golf Day 14 Babbacombe Theatre, Torquay 15 Royal Hippodrome, Eastbourne 19 Master Class for Magic Club of Great Britain 22 RNLI show in Wargrave July 06 Bedford Corn Exchange 11 Dystonia Golf Day August 08 PD Golf Day at Batchworth Park for Sparks Charity From the 3rd to the 30th August Paul will be appearing at the Edinburgh Festival doing two different shows each weeknight. More details later. September 01 - 14 Oceana Cruising October 11 Haven at Bembridge I o W 13 - 24 Cruising on Oriana 31 DEBBIE'S BIRTHDAY November 15 Warner at Home Lacey ---------------------------------- 3. PCAM 2003 July 31st - August 3rd, 2003 ------------------------------------- Message from Shawn Farquhar (Canada) PCAM President and Chairman Hey there hope all is better in your world. I had a release of some of the names for PCAM and thought the readers might want to know. PCAM 2003 July 31st - August 3rd, 2003 in Coquitlam, BC Canada (Vancouver) hosted by Shawn Farquhar. We have just released a number of the acts that will be appearing and lecturing at our 70th anniversary. Greg Frewin (Triple Crown Winner of Magic IBM, SAM, FISM) Eric Buss "IBM Stage Winner" Oscar Munoz "IBM Gold Cups Winner" Diamond Jim Tyler "TAOM Winner" Jeff McLeod "PCAM Pro Challenge Winner" Aldo Colombini "FISM Winner" Sean Bogunia "The Dancing Hank Guy" John Shyrock "Direct from Magic Island" Julie Eng "Cover of Linking Ring this month" Along with all the usual fun of a PCAM... Contests - Stage, Close Up, Comedy, Mentalism, Originality, Platform, Children's Entertainment (Juvenile, Jr. and Sr. levels) Pro Challenge Competition - Six professionals competing for $2000.00 US in prize money and the Gold Medal Bag "O" Tricks Contest - Hosted by David Wilson The Weakest Link game show - Hosted by the "Water Boys" One Hand Cut-a-Thon - Hosted by Rod Chow and SAM #95 Vendors like: Daytona Magic (Florida) ShowPlace Magic (Utah) William Pierce (California) Tony's Trick and Joke (BC, Canada) The Vanishing Rabbit Magic Shop ( Calgary, Canada) And a whole lot more.... More information, including a tentative schedule can be found at www.magiChampion.com We are currently over 50% of the way to being Sold Out! --------------------------------- 4. Meir Yedid. Guest Of Honor At FFFF ---------------------------------- Message from Jerry Wiesenberg (US) President IBM Ring 26 Meir Yedid. this year's Guest of Honor at Fechter's Finger Flicking Frolics, will be lecturing in the New York City area on Friday, March 28th. The all new lecture will be held at the Soldiers, Sailors and Airmen's Club at 283 Lexington Avenue (between 36th & 37th Streets). The lecture starts at 8PM. Members of the Ring are invited free. Guests will be charged $15. Those having seen Meir lecture before, know it is an event not to be missed. For further information, write, Jerry Wiesenberg, President of IBM Ring 26, at magicwies@aol.com. --------------------------------- 5. Paul Daniels Is Coming To The USA ---------------------------------- Message from Bev Bergeron (US) Are you sometimes frustrated at wanting to do more with your magic but are not sure how? Do you wish you could perform the same standard of magic that you have seen on TV? Does the prospect of earning thousands for a single show appeal to you? Paul Daniels is coming to the USA, and he has a wealth of experience to help you with all these areas of magic, and much more. Paul will be in Florida (Orlando) on the evening of Tuesday 15th 2003. If YOU only attend ONE magic event in 2003 --- it really should be Paul Daniels Magical Master Class. Anyone can teach you magic, but Paul teaches YOU the REAL magic: The entire BUSINESS of Magic. The Class will be in Orlando - Tuesday April 15th from 7 pm till 10:30 pm The venue is the Orlando Altamonte Springs Hilton Hotel - I-4 and 436 (by Altamonte Mall) It's the same hotel where we held our Florida Magic Conventions The fee is $120 - BUT If you act NOW - you can pre-register for $85 AND bring a friend for free if you register in the next week. The reports on the Internet about Paul's classes in Australia have been fantastic. Everyone that attended had high praise: "The best magic class I've ever attended!" for example. Paul will cover some tricks, but mainly how to improve your performance skills, and the business side, in other words how to make a living from magic. A range of topics include: How to get on TV to increase your INCOME How to enhance ever magic effect you already own How to Promote yourself How to Tap untouched markets How to use special marketing tools to double your salary in 2003 How to develop the right stage persona. And a lot, lot, more. Bev says: In 1977, Alouise and I were told to go to the plush Savoy Hotel in London by Ken Brooks to see "a young man perform by the name of Paul Daniels." We went - we saw - we were impressed. After that Paul started a television series that lasted 15 years. He worked Vegas and thousands of commercial shows. He really was the "Johnny Carson" of the British Isles. Today he is doing mostly corporate shows and the occasional cruise ship, as well as guesting on numerous TV shows and touring his one man show. I've seen Paul many times take just a simple trick like the Chop Cup and entertain an auditorium of 3,000 people for over a half hour. When I was with Disney, he and his family usde to spend hours in my dressing room telling me stories of his tours of the summer camps and beach musical halls. Now you can hear them too, and learn from a legend of magic. Lance Burton calls Paul "one of the greatest magicians of all time!" You can learn more about Paul and the Masterclass by visiting: http://www.pdmasterclass.com/ or email: info@pdmasterclass.com You can also book online at the above internet site. Make sure you plan to attend - you won't regret it! ---------------------------------- 6. "Kaz" Kasnetsis Passed Away ---------------------------------- Message from Milt Larsen (US) _____| KAZ MEMORIAL |_____ Our dear friend John "Kaz" Kasnetsis passed away January 23rd. He had been in the hospital and finally in a coma so it was not unexpected. Yet it is hard to believe that such a warm and caring human being will no longer be with us. There will be a memorial celebration of his life at the Magic Castle at 5pm on Sunday, March 9, 2003 in the Palace of Mystery. It was his request that in lieu of flowers contributions should be made to the Academy of Magical Arts Junior Magicians fund - In Memory of John "Kaz" Kasnetsis. He was a man admired and loved by everyone he ever met. He will be missed. Aloha, Kaz. Until we meet again. ---------------------------------- 7. The Magic Circle Collectors’ Day ---------------------------------- Message from Eddie Dawes (England) (Open to non-Members of The Magic Circle) Saturday, 31 May 2003 The Centre for the Magic Arts Chairman: Eddie Dawes Official Opening by President Michael Bailey at 10.45 a.m. Speakers include: Hans Wittus Witt SimSalaBim – Kalanag and Dante Dany Trick Magic Stamps from My Collection Peter Lamont The Wizard and the Psychic: John Henry Anderson and Daniel Dunglas Home Jon Marshall “You’ve Got Bert’s Scrapbook!” Ian Keable and Scott Penrose Devant’s Mysteries a presentation assisted by Mike Austin, Nicholas Einhorn, Geoffrey Durham, Richard Mcdougall and Alan Shaxon Coffee will be served from 10.00 a.m. Tickets (including lunch) £25.00  (but inclusive in the Heritage Weekend ticket at £65) Tickets available from The Magic Circle, The Centre for the Magic Arts, 12 Stephenson Way, London NW1 2HD Tel. 020 7388 6480 Fax 020 7387 5144 Payment may be made by cheque (payable to ‘The Magic Circle’) or by Visa / Mastercard. ---------------------------------- 8. David Ben Workshop, Lecture & Book Signing ---------------------------------- Message from Michael Canick (US) March 30th Hold Sunday March 30th (NOTE THAT THIS IS A NEW DATE) for a visit from Canadian magician David Ben, who has recently completed a super-successful return engagement of his show, "The Conjuror," in Toronto. Mr. Ben will be giving a hands-on workshop starting at noon to a small group of people as well as a lecture in the evening at 7 p.m. The workshop will feature magic with cards, coins, sleeving & gambling techniques. David has indicated that he is prepared to tip some of his top secrets. He's also offered to address ANY TOPIC THAT ATTENDEES MAY WANT!! Attendance at the workshop will be limited to 15 people and it is filling up. Cost for the workshop is $110.00 and includes a catered lunch, a Conjuror poster (a $20 value) and FREE admission to the evening's lecture. It will last until about 4 p.m. PLEASE reserve in advance to avoid disappointment. Mr. Ben's lecture in the evening will feature some new material (not previously presented in NYC) as well as items from the repertoire of David's mentor, Ross Bertram. He will also prepare some new lecture notes. The lecture will be held at our store (or another venue if the crowd is too large) and will start at 7:00 p.m. Admission fees for the lecture are $25 in advance; $30 at the door; $20 for members of our Book Club. It will last about 2 hours. Finally, copies of Mr. Ben's recently published book, "Advantage Play," subtitled "The Manager's Guide to Creative Problem Solving," with references to Erdnase and magic, will be offered for sale for $25.00. Those who are unable to attend in person may purchase a copy in advance and Mr. Ben will be glad to sign it or personally inscribe it. P&H, of course, will be additional. Please contact us now if you would like a copy so we can order a sufficient number of books. ********************************** * Michael Canick Booksellers, L.L.C. * 200 East 82nd Street, #3B * New York, NY 10028 * Phone: (212) 585-2990 * Fax: (212) 585-2986 * E-Mail: canick@panix.com *********************************** ---------------------------------- 9. British Magician To Entomb Himself - In Cheese ---------------------------------- Message from Bev Bergeron (US) British magician Noah Kelly announced bold plans Wednesday to entomb himself in 320 kilograms of mature Cheddar cheese for 48 hours next month. “This is an endurance test. I’m not going to wimp out and use a mild cheese,” said Kelly, 32, who’ll perform his stunt at a shopping mall in his hometown of Weston-super-Mare, in the west of England, on March 20. Kelly said he got the idea while lying in a bathtub thinking of US celebrity street magician David Blaine, who spent 62 hours inside a big ice cube in New York’s Times Square last November. “I was thinking how cheesy what he did was, and then from there I thought that I could do it surrounded by cheese,” he said. ---------------------------------- 10. Funny Paper ---------------------------------- Message from Samuel Patrick Smith (US) Many people are not aware of a relatively new magazine published in Canada for variety arts performers. It's called FUNNY PAPER, published and edited by Chris Van Krieken, with articles for magicians, clowns, storytellers, jugglers, and ventriloquists. Columnists include Marty Hahne, Scott Humston, Angel Ocasio, Samuel Patrick Smith (surprise!), and many others. I want to encourage children's performers, especially, to support this endeavor. It's now in the third year of publication, appearing bi-monthly and -- get this -- on time! There's no other publication geared toward children's entertaining, and most of the magazines offer only a token acknowledgment of this important branch of magic. Let's get together and help Chris Van Krieken keep the ball rolling. Subscribe, then spread the word! Her Web site is funnypapermag.com, and you can subscribe online. ---------------------------------- 11. www.websites4magicians.com ---------------------------------- Message from Jeff Ezell (US) I wanted to get this out to as many people as possible. Maybe you can help. www.websites4magicians.com has great pricing to set up websites at a very low cost of only $49.99. You can visit mine to see an example or visit the link in the body of this letter. A great deal!!! ---------------------------------- 12. What's Happening In Las Vegas ---------------------------------- Message from Don Drake (US) I just thought I'd drop a line here, and let everyone know what's happening in Las Vegas. In addition to our regular line up of fine magic, Lance Burton, Mac King, Rick Thomas and too many more to mention, we now have two new shows. Victor & Diamond, The Soul Of Magic is a really good show, now playing at Bourbon Street Casino on Flamingo Blvd. It is a show that is different, and really holds your interest! Victor has a real flair for communicating with the audience, and Diamond is a fine magician as well as being a good assistant. You can see it starting at 7:30 PM. The Amazing Johnathan has moved to the Flamingo Hotel & Casino and is playing to packed houses every night at 10 PM. With Billy McComb opening for him this week, you will not stop laughing from the time you sit down, until you leave. The Amazing Johnathon has moved to Las Vegas and looks to be a permanent resident. He's working every night but Thursday! By a strange coincidence Bourbon Street Casino is right around the corner from The Flamingo, so you can catch both shows on the same night! What a deal! I did this last night and between the two of them I'm all magic (and laughed) out!. If you're in Las Vegas, here's a twin bill you won't want to miss!. The Gary Darwin Magic Club, will feature Tim Ellis & Sue Anne Webster this coming Wed. night at Boomers, starting at 10 PM. I guess I need say no more, with the great reviews they have been getting on their tour! ---------------------------------- 13. Promotional Videos For Magicians ---------------------------------- Message from Fast Jimmy (Aust) I was chatting today with Dave Lord, my good friend and a fine magician, whom I regard to be one of the greats in his field of entertainment in this country. Dave's constant concern for detail in magic has made him not only a top class performer, but also a very clever thinker in the art of magic. Besides magic, one of Dave Lord's other passions is video production. The same amount of attention to detail that he applies to his magic is seen through his work as a professional in the world of creating promotional videos. Every magician, whether just starting out or a full time professional, wants their work to be captured and projected to their particular market in the best possible way. I know that going to a video production company and having my work video taped can be unnerving and extremely expensive. Having performed on TV shows myself here in Australia I understand the importance of a good cameraman who can give the viewers the impression that their watching your performance live and unedited. With a full time magician behind the camera, you don't have to worry about exposing secrets of magic. More importantly, Dave's magical mind will help you capture your effects in the best possible way. Dave's greatest advantage is that because he is confident being on both sides of the camera, he can advise you as to how to look your best in this unfamiliar medium. Thanks to Dave, your broadcast quality promotional video or DVD can be tailored to your specific requirements. Everyone that has engaged Dave Lord to shoot and edit their promotional video has gone on to successful and prosperous careers, and with Dave being an entertainer himself he knows how important it is to get the job done right first time. His rates are very competitive and the end result will speak for itself. With cheaper airfares, you will probably be pleasantly surprised to find that it is more economical to bring Dave in for the job than to use a local! To contact Dave for more information, phone his office Dave Lord's Promotion Works! 07 3806 2772 Or e-mail: dave@davelord.com.au ---------------------------------- 14. 'Saturdays At Reubens' ---------------------------------- Message from Rick Stuart (US) Pity that restaurant closed recently. I'm not sure where the city crowd meets now, as I don't get into the City on Saturday mornings. I know they've found a new home though. ---------------------------------- 15. Self-Contained Trick To Propose Marriage ---------------------------------- Message from Tony O I am interested in finding a self-contained trick that I can use to propose marriage. I am not great with sleight of hand but have played with many of the classic self contained tricks i.e. scotch & soda, color brass deception, dollar bill levitation, etc. etc. Can you make any suggestions of tricks that turn something into a ring, make a ring appear, make a written proposal appear, or any other type of trick that will work well with this situation? ---------------------------------- 16. Viking Item Is Ripped Off ---------------------------------- Message from George Robinson Jr. (US) To All Our Magical Friends; It is again a sad day as another Viking item is ripped off by an unscrupulous and parasite company. You all know who this company is, Magic Makers/Rob Stiff. They have now ripped off our proprietary item, The Vanishing LifeSaver as well as our Brass Nest of Boxes. The Vanishing LifeSaver was invented by Edgar Ralston and the manufacturing rights sold to A&B Magic (The Great Alexander). Joe Stevens brought this item to my attention many years ago. I chased it down and I purchased the mfg. rights from Alexander in 1987 and have been producing this item ever since. I have since been granted the manufacturing rights to all of A&B items though Kenna Thompson who purchased the line upon the death of Alexander. The loathsome company in question has entered the Magic market with an entire line of stolen items. Nothing in their line is original. They have not only stolen from me but from others and it is time that we all took a stand. Viking has been supporting the Magic community with new and original Magic for 30 years and will continue long after this thief is gone and forgotten. He adds nothing to the Magic community but only takes. I ask that you not support this activity and that you support original thought which is how you can guarantee a fresh line of Magic, new and original. If you are offered this or any brass items that you feel are suspect, please call us for verification. All our items are stamped with our Viking logo and have a register number on the instructions. We need to bring some morality and friendship back into the Magic community. We all need to help each other as we will all at some time fall victim to this prey. I ask the Magic dealers to take a stand and I ask the Magic Magazines to deny advertising space to these thieves. Competition is fine when you have protection under the law, but the creative force behind Magic has no legal support at the moment, only the support of moral right. I ask as your friend for over 30 years, someone who has been here for YOUR benefit, trying to give you 100% to give back just a little and help us win against this scourge. I thank you all in advance for your support and consideration and I look forward to bringing you new and exciting magical creations. I have always been here for you and I hope you will now be here for me and others like me. This is not just for me but for the others that have also been ripped off by this company; John Cornelius, Kennedy, Steve Dusheck Jr., Al Cohen, Miller and so many more. Thank you again. George Robinson Jr. george@vikingmagic.com ---------------------------------- 17. News From Indiana USA ---------------------------------- Message from Rick Fisher (US) The Hoosier Magic Convention is BACK! After a two year abscence the 7 IBM rings in Indiana have teamed up to form the HOOSIER MAGIC CONVENTION on June 20,21,22....Here's who is booked to lecture and perform - An All Star Line-up! Performances and lectures by: Troy Hooser, Tom Craven, Christian & Katalina, Dick Stoner, Ron London, Rick Fisher, Larry Taylor & more! Dealers include: Stoner's FunStores, Abbott's Magic, Ron London to name just a few..To be held at the beautiful Clarion Waterfront in Indianapolis Indiana. Register before May 1st - only $50 - spouses and children under 18 only $20! What a bargain..........go to our website www.hoosiermagic.com for more information... --------------------------------  18. The Amazing ‘Orchante’ Saga – Page 149 ---------------------------------- Message from Tommy Orchard (The Amazing Orchante)(UK ex-pat Kiwi) - PROLOGUE - Fiji A Brief History and Government Those of you who have been following my chronicle from the beginning, will be aware that I spent some considerable time in Fiji during the early Sixties, initially with my late friend Alan Horobin and later, with my own promotions, touring every bit of Fiji; picture theatres, tin sheds in tiny villages, etc. anywhere I could work my show, together with my then, Eurasian/Fijian girlfriend. (See page 29, now pages 40/41; an early error in the saga meant the pages had to be renumbered). Veronica and I last visited Fiji’s shores on the 15th July 1976, when Eric Petford had asked us to join him at the ‘Paradise Point Resort’, Korolevu (situated on the Coral Coast, about an hour and a half drive from Nadi, and twenty minutes from Sigatoka) where he had recently been transferred from a hotel/resort in the South Island of New Zealand, as manager of this fabulous, idyllic retreat; it was to have been our permanent base (See page 143). Eric was going to pool together all the other hotels on Fiji, and those that were on the different smaller islands and atolls of the Fijian group, many of which were/are privately owned - catering for the very, very rich! The plan was that we would have regular, non stop employment for years to come. Unfortunately, ‘Bloody Officious Indians’, had other ideas! I will give you the full story, regarding ‘That Line’ later, but first, here is a little? ‘History of Fiji and Government - as it has some bearing on ‘That Line’, and will give you a better understanding as to why I used it. Fiji’s discovery is usually credited to Abel Jansen Tasman, a Dutch navigator who visited the island group in 1643. Captain James Cook of England sailed through the islands in 1774, but major credit for the discovery and charting of the island's goes to another Englishman, William Bligh, who navigated the islands after being set adrift in a small boat by the mutinous crew of his ship, the ill-fated ‘Bounty’. The first inhabitants of Fiji came from Melanesia some 3500 years ago, and established a hierarchical society based on clans. Little is known of the island's history before the arrival of Europeans - an assortment of roving traders, missionaries and shipwrecked sailors - in the mid 17th century. Relations between the indigenous community and the new arrivals were reasonably good, founded on mutually beneficial commercial activity, until the establishment of plantations in the 1860s, which destabilised the economy. Serious friction between the Fijian chiefs and the Europeans ensued - the main cause centring on land ownership. On a broader front, imperial rivalry between the major European powers was reaching a climax in the Pacific. Thus, in 1874, Fiji became a British colony. Large numbers of workers from India were imported to develop a plantation economy, accounting for the islands present ethnic mix and consequently the tension between the two main communities, which has blighted Fijian politics since the country's independence in 1970. For the next 17 years after independence, the moderate conservative Alliance Party governed without interruption. Foreign policy was (and it still is) broadly pro-Western and geared towards the development of regional alliances, such as the South Pacific Forum. As a member of the forum, Fiji, along with its smaller neighbours, vigorously campaigned against French nuclear testing. It is also a member of the Commonwealth, from which it was suspended temporarily in 1987 and again in 2000. The 1987 suspension followed the general election that same year, which removed the Alliance Party from office. The poll brought to power a coalition between the main ethnic Indian party, the National Federation Party, led by Marendra Chaudhry (see next page), and the newly-formed Labour Party, which drew support from the growing multi-racial trade union movement. The new government had a majority of Indian ministers, which proved too much for the many nationalist native Fijians (referred to as Taukei). This was the trigger for an army coup d’ etat, headed by Colonel Sitiveni Rabuka, with the declared intention of ensuing the preservation of Taukei rights! Page – 151 Colonel Rabuka declared himself head of an interim military government and introduced a new constitution, under which blocs of seats in a new assembly were allocated to specific ethnic groups, thereby guaranteeing a Taukei majority. Under this format, the 1992 elections brought to power a coalition dominated by the principal ethnic Fijian party; Rabuka assumed the Premiership. However under domestic and international pressure, the Rabuka government made several modifications to the constitution, and to guarantee equal rights for all. By the time the revised version came into effect in 1998, Fiji's poor economic performance had undermined the Rabuka Government's popularity. The Fijian Labour Party was now able to secure an absolute majority in the Vela and an Indian Prime Minister, Mahendra Chaudhry, took office. The result was anathema to militant Taukei, including businessman George Speight, who had lost lucrative franchises, because of the change in government. In May 2000, Speight organised a coup, holding Chaudhry and other ministers as hostages while he issued a series of demands. The other main power centres in Fiji at this point - the army and the Great Council of Chiefs - reacted cautiously. The standoff lasted two months. After initially conceding to most of the rebel demands (including the dismissal of Chaudhry), the military led by Commodore Frank Bainamarama, took control at the beginning of July. A few weeks later, the military moved against Speight and his followers, who were arrested. An interim government under the veteran Taukei politician Ratu Josefa Iioilo, was installed with Lisenia Qarase, as Premiere. Following the elections in August 2001, a coalition government was formed between the conservative Alliance Party and the Fiji United Party, despite the fact that most votes were won by the Labour Party; Laisenia Qare remained as Prime Minister. The islands have since enjoyed reasonable stability after the chaos of the previous two years, although nothing has been done to address the underlying causes of this chaos. The Indian community now suffers systematic discrimination and is effectively excluded from political power. So there you have it, a rather more lengthy than I intended, but thorough discourse. In case you have forgotten (for which I can't really blame you, I applaud your patience), it was all triggered by the line: ‘Bloody officious Indians had other ideas’, Remember? When we arrived in Fiji in 1976, the Fijians had very little say in the making of decisions, on any matter, whether it be political or otherwise, because Fiji was being run by the Indians. Frankly, I was amazed by the amount of petty bureaucracy, because it certainly wasn't there on my previous, lengthy visits to Fiji. Apart from the discrimination factor, which I personally disagree with, I curse the fact, and our rotten luck, that the bureaucratic Indians had not yet been excluded from politics etc. when Veronica and I arrived in Fiji, to work with Eric at the resort. Their unreasonable, officious attitude cost us a lot of money, for which – I’ll never forgive them! When Gorge Speight kicked off in 2000, I cheered with delight; if I’d been a mercenary, you wouldn’t have seen me for dust; I’d have been there, right beside him, with all ‘six guns blazing’! NEXT WEEK: FIJI -A BRIEF RETURN ------------------------------------- 19. Magic New Zealand e-zine archives ------------------------------------- Back issues of the Magic New Zealand e-zine go to: www.watson.co.nz/ezine.html Both the User Name and Password MUST be entered in lower case to gain access. User Name: magic Password: kiwi When you enter the archive the e-zines are in issue order and are coded. Eg 001 Nov06 1999.txt first three numbers (001) denote issue number, then the date (Nov06) and the last figures the year (1999) Both the User Name and Password MUST be entered in lower case to gain access. ------------------------------------- 20. Subscription Management ------------------------------------- Our subscriber list is NOT made available to other companies or individuals. We value every subscriber and respect your privacy. To subscribe or unsubscribe from the Magic New Zealand e-zine: www.watson.co.nz/ezine.html Magic New Zealand e-zine is published weekly, on Sunday. The opinions expressed in this e-zine are those of the individual contributors and not those of Magic New Zealand. Neither Magic New Zealand or Alan Watson can vouch for the accuracy or reliability of any opinion, message, statement, or other information reported via Magic New Zealand e-zine. Subscribers to this publication and authors who contribute to it by doing so agree that they will not hold Magic New Zealand and/or Alan Watson liable or responsible in any way for the opinions expressed herein. We reserve the right to edit, correct or, in our discretion, choose not to publish any submissions provided to Magic New Zealand for potential publication. Magic New Zealand welcomes readers to submit timely articles or news items which appear to be of interest to our readers. Those submitting to this e-zine agree that we have permission to publish their submissions and that they have the full copyright to the material submitted. All works published by Magic New Zealand are fully protected by international copyright as provided by law, and articles cannot be published for profit by anyone other than the individual author without the written permission of Magic New Zealand. >>This publication may be freely redistributed (but not sold) to other magicians if copied in its ENTIRETY including the copyright notice below and the above disclaimer.<< © Copyright 2003 Alan Watson