Public Speaker - In Person or Via Zoom

PLENTY OF HUMOUR

Our planned speaker pulled out three days before a talk was due. Fortunately I remembered an email from Steve offering his services with a talk. Within 5 minutes we had agreed for him to give a talk about Morecambe and Wise to Mansfield U3A. And what a talk it was. It took us down memory lane with clear coverage of the life histories of the supreme comic duo. There was plenty of humour, good anecdotes and reminders of some of the star guests such as Andre Previn, Glenda Jackson, Shirley Bassey, Angela Rippon and her remarkable dancing skills as well as newsreaders singing 'There is nothing like a dame' from South Pacific. Steve was relaxed and alert. A model performer for a U3A talk. I recommend him as a choice for any other group.

Philip Tucker - Mansfield U3A

DETAILED, INFORMED AND HUMEROUS

The talk Steve gave on Tommy Cooper was very detailed, informative and humorous with some excellent illustrative material including old programmes, photographs, Tommy's own notes and videos of the great man performing his tricks. Steve showed us a man almost obsessed with magic and comedy who loved performing. Steve also included some magic tricks of his own, which worked very well, and he added some good comedic touches. He spoke extremely clearly and an appropriate pace so that he was audible throughout, holding our attention well. He spoke for an hour and remained interesting and engaged throughout. I would recommend Steve to all groups, especially during these difficult times when we need humour more than ever. We will certainly ask him back to present another talk on other comedians and magicians and know that we can rely on him to prepare an excellent, professional presentation.

Rob Wilkinson - S.E. Wales U3A

FASCINATING FACTS

This month our speaker was Steve Short, himself a magician and Member of the Magic Circle. Steve presented some fascinating facts on the life and career of David Nixon. Steve had clearly spent a great deal of time and effort on researching his talk, showing a myriad of slides of David and his family at work and play and copies of original artefacts from his career. Running throughout the presentation were also several clips of T.V. programmes that David appeared in. Many of our members said that the talked evoked memories, either of their first 'magic set', the theatres, T.V. studios and showbiz stars during the era that David was performing. Steve provided us with an enjoyable afternoon's entertainment.

Sue Warren - Thorley U3A

INTERESTING AND INFORMATIVE

Last evening Steve Short gave an interesting and informative lecture on Jasper Maskelyne, a famous magician. His presentation which took us through Jasper's family history and the part he played in the camouflage unit during World War 2 in Egypt. Steve interspersed the presentation with sleight of hand magic which not only amazed but included members of the audience as 'assistants'. A very enjoyable evening.

Chris Fenwick - Hull Literary & Philosophical Society

ENTHUSIASTIC APPRECIATION

Houdini and the world of magic is an interesting subject. Our U3A members were entertained for an hour by a mixture of magic and the Houdini story. There was also entertaining audience participation. At the end of Steve's talk the audience showed their enthusiastic appreciation.

David Riggs - Skegness U3A

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

We recently hosted Steve Short's David Nixon presentation on Zoom. I received some great comments from members; it was a very interesting and informative talk with many photos and number of short video clips. I would highly recommend this talk to clubs, well presented with some extremely interesting facts about David Nixon.

Barry J Martin - Secretary & Honorary Life Vice President

IT WAS A FUN EVENING

We had a lovely evening in the company of Steve who is friendly and funny. Our chosen talk, about one of Steve's heroes of magic was Jasper Maskelyne - The War Magician, it was fascinating in its own right. Steve, however, interjected some magic to illustrate points as his talk progressed, and to bring it to a close with laughter. Everyone went home baffled by Steve's marvellous magic, but also with a smile. It was a fun evening.

Angela Richards - Sutton & Barnby Moor WI

Covering all of the UK including Lincoln, Harrogate, York, Hull, Sheffield, Beverley, Bridlington, Doncaster, Halifax, Huddersfield, Leeds, Bourne, Brigg, Grantham, Horncastle, Louth, Market Rasen, Spalding in fact all of Yorkshire, Lincolnshire, Nottinghamshire, Lancashire and Norfolk.