IF ever there was a profession in which an allergy to rabbits is unwelcome, it’s probably making a living as a magician.

And being allergic to bunnies has finally forced my favourite illusionist, Ian Wragg, to announce his retirement from children’s entertainment on the 30th anniversary of setting out on his magic career.

It’s 20 or so years since I first wrote in The Northern Echo about Ian’s not-so-magical allergy to rabbits but, despite the coughing, sneezing and swollen eyes, he’s bravely carried on with a succession of bunnies.

First there was Blodwyn (a Welsh rabbit, obviously), then Homer, followed by Ali G, Asrah, Dante and, finally, Bess and Tibles. In case it should ever help in a pub quiz, Bess was named after Harry Houdini’s wife, while Tibles was named in a backwards tribute to PT Selbit, the first person to perform the illusion of sawing a woman in half.

Now, Bess and Tibles are having to be sent to a good home as Ian accepts defeat.

“The allergy has just got steadily worse to the point where I can’t carry on,” says Ian, once of Darlington but now living in Esh Winning. “In the end, it was beginning to really affect my lungs and I ended up in a right old mess just by being near a rabbit.”

Ian’s wife Sue is a nurse and it was on her medical advice that he has decided that a rabbit can never feature in his act again.

Now President of the Darlington Magic Circle, Ian will instead concentrate on performing at weddings and corporate shows, where adults are less likely to expect a magician to be accompanied by a furry friend.

“The thing I’m best known for is children’s shows and the reality is that kids like to see a magician making a rabbit appear out of a hat,” he explains. “It’s become an expectation so I’d rather concentrate on shows for adults rather than disappoint the kids.”

The next big date for Ian is an Easter show with Darlington Magic Circle colleagues at 7.30pm on Thursday, March 29. Tickets cost £10 or £7.50 for members and the magic number is 07815 901176.

It’s strictly “adults only” – and there’ll definitely be no Easter bunnies.

ISN’T it magic when a well-laid plan comes together?

Last week’s column revealed how Kevin Keegan had spoiled John Robinson’s wedding night at Hardwick Hall Hotel 35 years ago.

John, now chairman of County Durham and Darlington Fire Authority, told me how there’d been an all-night party at the hotel to celebrate Keegan signing for Newcastle, and it had proved “a bit of a distraction” for the newly-weds.

Hardwick Hall means a lot to John and his wife Maxine because they were also both born at the hotel in the days when it was a maternity hospital.

My item last week ended with the paragraph: “So wouldn’t it be nice in Valentine’s week if Hardwick Hall read this and helped the fire authority chairman reignite the flame of romance?”

Well, no sooner had last Monday’s edition of The Northern Echo hit the streets than Hardwick Hall were on the phone to offer John and Maxine dinner and an overnight stay, free of charge, to make up for their disappointment in 1982.

Honourably, John immediately declared that he’d be making a donation to the Fire Fighters’ Charity in return, so it’s a case of everyone wins.

John and Maxine hope to have their overnight stay around their wedding anniversary on September 18. If anyone happens to be at Hardwick Hall that night, please keep the noise down.

The Northern Echo:

ALSO mentioned last week was the little book of newspaper gems from yesteryear, kindly passed on by Joan Lawrence, mum of missing York chef Claudia.

This week’s selection from the book, compiled by Denys Parsons in 1981, comes from the Middlesbrough Evening Gazette: “Mr Len Benson, of 3 Bury Hill, Thornton-in-Cleveland, has asked us to say he has no connection with a manure smell in the village.”

I WAS having computer trouble last week and my frustration at not being able to connect to the internet was boiling over. Google was letting me down badly.

Then I read the report on the funeral in Barnard Castle of legendary Daleswoman Hannah Hauxwell, and mourners being told of her gratitude when her TV fame finally led to her getting water on tap.

An inspirationally simple life with lessons for us all in our hi-tech world. Rest in peace, Hannah.

The Northern Echo:

FINALLY, a timely reminder from London of the importance of taking care with the fold when displaying news bills outside shops....

The Northern Echo: