Congrats to Kondini, for completing 50 years of escape performance!

It's not easy, challenging yourself and your audience, day after day, year after year. The wear and tear on your body add up. Old injuries don't heal as well, perhaps not at all. But your mind gets sharper, more subtle. (I bet that's a rare occasion...Ken being called subtle!)

When everything goes right, the audience thinks you a hero. When something goes wrong (and it will), often, you're the only one to know. You make a decision that the thing will not beat you, at least, not in front of the audience. And you prevail!

May you continue to find challenges and beat them!

👏

Congrats Ken

Excellent longevity, Ken! Keep it up!

He’s probably taking a nap right about now.

Thanks for the kind words and to put on record the 50 years was for the escape side of my entertainments. This has now been dropped due to getting very old and decrepit plus unfit and no longer looking the part. The Sideshow and Flea Circus will continue to cover my OAP costs for the present.

Yes 50 years ago when beer was a penny a loaf saw my first paid escape efforts with Diana Dors, Arthur Askey and me as support act in the British Legion Club of Wilts. Yep top money paid in guineas and the way of response and follow up works showing that escapes were the best paying sector of the entertainment biz. What a wake up call that was and from then on every escape was charged at the very highest rate, and never a grumble as to value for money.

In later years I was befriended by David Deval and purchased his Littler Papers which had the low down on challenge escapes and gave me a wonderful living wage up to today. Sure the outlay for these slim papers was astronomical for the day and it took me a lot of payments to cover the cost but wow with only a few sets available and at such a price I knew I was one of the privilege few and man did it give a hell of a return.

I shall miss the challenge, the fear, the applause and above all the cash. Not forgetting the groupies of course. Escapology has been so good to me, I feel very blessed and proud to be considered worthy of the name escapologist.

Ken.

I've used a few cuff escapes, and occasionally a jacket over the years, and, about 20 years ago, I did a short tour, featuring escapes, when Dick Xavier canceled his tour at the 'last minute'. So, I don't really qualify as an EA! But, I did do 50 years of school assemblies! I'm also enjoying retirement. I MISS it, too!