A magical night with Oliver B

Magic has always fascinated me. For as long as I can remember, I have always enjoyed watching shows like Breaking The Magician's Code. And when I was little one of my favourite things I owned was the Argos magic set (complete with top hat and foam rabbit!). It's the wonder of the seemingly impossible made possible right in-front of your very eyes. And however much you think you know how it was done, and try to figure it out... I always fail miserably.

Last night I was invited to W Hotel in Leicester Square to watch illusionist Oliver B work his magic prior to his set at the Brit Awards. The hotel was absolutely stunning with disco balls and glitz in abundance right from the moment you step foot into the hotel.

We came out the lift, mouths agape, and were pointed in the direction of the bar. The focal point of the bar were these glass tubes that ran from ceiling to floor containing logs being licked by flames.

A small ish group of us (about seven in total) gathered on one of the sofas in the bar ready to be amazed. Normally I'm a bit funny about shows where the audience is called upon to participate. I've been to a comedy night before where the audience was continuously heckled and taken the piss out of and I've also been to a cabaret for a hen do where everyone was called up on stage to get involved in some shape or form. So after these experiences, needless to say, I am generally quite nervous about being in the front row or in close proximity at whatever event I'm at. Oliver B is such a lovely guy and put everyone completely at ease. Being just a small group of us, it felt intimate and really, really special.

Ollie already has impressed the likes of Roger Federer, Niall Horan from 1D and Simon Cowell. But you can find plenty more glowing reviews on his website www.oliverbmagic.com - I reckon we'll be seeing a lot more from him in the future!

Classic tricks like pick-a-card-and-now-I-will-find-your-card were revamped (the card in question was on the other side of the room. At the bar. He had been sitting with us all the while). He 'found' a rabbit behind someone's ear and and the number of 'offspring' it had matched the number a member of our group had requested. And how about the deck of cards that suddenly transformed into a plastic / glass block despite the cards being in my friend's hands the whole time and not his? Ollie brought "but how?!" to a whole new level.

Afterwards we had a little time to get to know him and also to each interview him. Ollie was refreshingly honest with every question put to him and even showed us a couple of tricks. One of the props for one of his tricks was so simple but cost him £50! Unbelievable! Oliver then had to dash off as he had to prepare ahead of the Brit Awards. But the rest of us stayed and enjoyed the bar, sampling a cheeky cocktail or two. I had a Secret Garden cocktail which contained crème de fraise, honey syrup, fresh strawberries, lemon juice and champagne and was topped with strawberries and cucumber. I did try a sip of the Candy Floss cocktail but it was a bit too sweet for my liking. It even had marshmallows on top!

In summary, it was a really lovely night out and so different to other blogging events I've been to before. As ever, it was lovely to meet new people and a massive thank you to Claire for inviting me. It was magical!