We have moved the base of operations for the show to Melbourne, but don’t despair, we will still do shows in Aotearoa and your prices will still be ex-Wellington or ex-Melbourne, whichever is cheaper. So you can still have our unique hypnotic humour at local rates, regardless.

We have come to the time of year where food waistage reaches a peak. And we need to put a stop to it.

Those tasty leftovers, and small servings that will not keep – don’t “waist” them, throw them away instead.  You’ve got enough waist already and you do not need more of it.

And those leftovers that will keep in the fridge, the ones that keep summoning you to the fridge for another tiny sample to place on your waist – throw them away too.

Those of us in the affluent west have been raised with a view that food is hard to come by, and not to be squandered.  If there were leftovers it used to be a good idea to eat them.  To store them on your waist, not in the waste.  That is not true any more.  Get over it.

Look in the mirror.  Look at the people around you.  We all, by and large (pun!), have enough waist for ourselves and for several other people too.

Do yourself a favour this year – don’t waist your food.  In the west food is not in short supply – we have too much of it and too many calories in our diet.

If you are worried about throwing away leftovers – serve smaller portions – does the turkey have to be that big?

But whatever you do, don’t waist your food.

I subscribe to the maxim that “the show must go on”. I have performed with colds and flu, nausea, a double ear inflection and while losing my voice. The show is the thing, and I take my commitments seriously.

So it was  a Really Big Thing to find myself having to step out of three shows owing to illness. Pneumonia and flu had laid me low, and I could not perform.

Because we have high standards, for performance, for manners, and for respect, I thought long and hard about whether to find a replacement or to cancel outright. Not many hypnotists are “family friendly”.

It would be better to cancel than to have my customers being offended by my replacement.

In the end I asked my customers if I could substitute Reg Blackwood and asked Reg if he’d stand in for me.

I think this was a good move. I briefed Reg on what was expected, and he is an excellent performer. Here is some of the feedback:

“At the annual Hair and Beauty Educators conference Reg Blackwood presented a truly hilarious comedy hypnotist show to the delegates.  Feedback was outstanding.  I have never heard the words ‘incredible and hilarious’ used so many times to describe an evening of entertainment.   People laughed so much there were tears running down faces, and the next day there were many who had sore stomachs and ribs from all that laughter.  We can not recommend Reg more highly to those who want to be entertained with good, clean fun.

Thank you to Gerard V who provided us with a comedy hypnotist experience that was extremely well organised, highly entertaining and absolutely hilarious.  Gerard you went the extra mile for us and we can’t thank you enough.  Can’t wait ‘til next time!”

I think that worked out just fine.  It is nice to have friends that one can rely on.

Growing up, I wanted things I couldn’t have. We were neither poor, nor rich. We had a few luxuries, but we were not spoilt.

Later as a young man earning my first wages I still wanted things. Things I could not afford.

Somewhere along the way I concluded that things were mostly hard to obtain. Things were important. Things were worth having, worth keeping. Things mattered. One did not let go of things because they were hard to get, and once lost, they were hard to get back. That was the problem.

Now, as I approach 50, I have begun to understand that for many years I have had the things I need.

I have too many things. I have spent these last two years repeatedly purging my life of the unwanted accumulation of clutter.

This is my fourth iteration and each time, unburdened of another layer of debris, I find that I still have too much, and that I can let go of more.

Today I realised that my former problem is reversed. Things are too easy to obtain, and hard to let go of. Things can be clingy somehow.

It is not that I want things I cannot have, but that I have things I do not want. They build up easily and without thought. Things are now only too easy to get.

I have resolved to be more careful. To be more wary of accumulating things. To be more ruthless about dispensing with clutter.

I am overcoming the lessons and habits of my youth, because the world as changed. My beliefs and attitudes are from a prior age.

Today, having things is too easy for most people I know. They build up as if by magic. Having space, clarity and freedom. Those are want I want to have now.

The RWC has been a dampener on other forms of entertainment. We had been flat-stick busy right until it started, and now we have a 4 week gap with no shows at all. I enjoyed the relative peace of weeks one and two, but now want to get back on stage. Sigh.