Website

This is the blog for the 12 month World Trip, containing lots of videos, pics and adventures from the year.

For Tom's professional website, with all the information about him, his shows and contact information go to www.tomdevoe.co.uk

Home Sweet Home

INDIA - HONG KONG - SINGAPORE - AUSTRALIA - NEW ZEALAND - COOK ISLANDS - USA

One year, seven countries, eleven cities, dozens of TV, radio and newspaper appearances, and countless shows later - I'm home again.

What a year it was. In 12 months travelling the world, I've certainly grown as a person, and as a performer.

Single-handedly marketing, organising, publicising and performing shows from New Delhi to San Francisco, everywhere from ball rooms, restaurants, and corporate offices to social clubs, TV studios, and iconic national buildings - I'm a stronger and smarter performer than ever, undaunted by luxury venues or huge audiences. Everyone, of all countries and cultures, has a great time, and leaves informed and thoroughly entertained.

I'm catching up with family, friends and my girlfriend - and I'm very happy. It's great to be back.

So that's it. I'll now begin looking for an agent, so I can concentrate entirely on performing great shows. The show has been adapted, fine-tuned, and highly polished - and I think audiences across the country will love it...

Singapore Video

A quick video from early in the year in one of my favourite countries of the Trip - Singapore

Rethinking Mind Illusion in San Diego

The last destination before returning to LA for the last 10 days, San Diego is friendly, inviting, and, being so close to the Mexican border, the weather is perfect for sitting in the park and thinking.

I've spent a lot of time researching 'psychics', and the scientific studies into such claims. Recently I've had a rush of enthusiasm for science and reason, and have had to rethink what I do, and my role in such things. I'm currently reworking my show to be presented in a more open and honest way, free of any magical notions, and informative on the realities of the 'supernatural'.

The feats that 'psychics' perform, and the way they are presented, are wonderfully compelling and if done well can feel like real magic. But those performing them are, at best, deceivers. Perhaps harmless enough if they're bending spoons, but dangerous and cruel if they're creating messages from grieving people's loved ones, or flogging non-medicines instead of real cures.

Pseudoscience is buoyed by the entirely convincing tricks touted by 'psychics' as evidence of the supernatural.

I want no part in creating an environment where such things are allowed to flourish. So many times after a show, someone will approach me and congratulate me on my 'gift', not having grasped the theatrical nature of the performance.

To me, these illusions are brilliant, exciting pieces of art - I think they can be honest and informative too. Let's see...

San Francisco

Beautiful San Francisco, home of the 1800's Gold Rush and the Golden Gate Bridge, frequent quakes that shift the earth, and a 60's centre of civil rights that changed the country forever. Diverse neighbourhoods are home to diverse people; from Silicon Valley that transformed the world's technology, to a Chinatown home to the largest Chinese population outside Asia. Each street and neighbourhood has such distinct character, you can feel as though you're walking through areas of the USA, Europe, and Asia all in one short stroll.

The bustling pier, home to a loud band of sea lions and the imposing sight of Alkatraz was the destination for the 4th of July celebrations and fireworks last night, with plenty of enthusiastic 'oo's and ah's'.

I'm performing tonight at Club Deluxe, as part of a comedy night. And what could be more silly and ridiculous than apparently bending spoons with 'mind powers'. Throughout this year, I've become far more passionate about the truth, and disappointed in the B.S. touted by many in my, and similar, professions. I am, more than ever, determined to present my effects as the 'illusions' they are, free of misleading flim flam - and more entertaining than ever.

Los Angeles, California

Here in Los Angeles, in the final country of the 12 month World Trip.

Hollywood's an exciting place, full to the brim with entertainment, movie stars and the bright lights that attract so many tourists from around the world. Apparently a world within a city, on Hollywood Boulevard you catch glimpses of celebrities at movie premiers (I stumbled upon the Toy Story 3 premier on my first day), downtown LA showcases truely incredible architecture, and you can enjoy sun, sand, and the famous ferris wheel at Santa Monica pier. It's all here, along, of course, with the seedy and dangerous areas everyone warns about - no trouble so far, though being in town before a Laker's game is almost terrifying. But I have to say, it's quite a toy town for me - places, and even people, I recognise from films, some wonderful scenery and all manner of crazy excesses that you'd expect.

Next stop is San Francisco, where I think things will be a little more relaxed and uncaffeinated, and perhaps some of the people there will own dogs too large for their handbags.

Rarotonga couldn’t be a more beautiful and friendly place to spend a month. I could easily stop thinking about this performing lark and just chill at the beach everyday – I mostly have, but also managed to squeeze in some cool shows.

I spent a good time with the people from Cook Islands Television, performing and chatting and the usual, and that as well as featuring in the newspaper, Cook Islands News, has meant that there’s always plenty of smiles,‘hello’s’, and ‘hey, you’re that guy’s’ from the nice people on this wee island. And they sure are nice, you really can’t spend a day being grumpy here as the waves of smiles and kind offers are always there, rain or shine.

The shows I’ve done here have been different for a few reasons. First, performing in shorts and a t-shirt makes me feel about 10 years old and I do find myself flitting around the stage and getting over-excited a little more than usual, and nothing wrong with that! Second, if my show is part of a night of entertainment, I can be on right after a ukulele band or a troop of island dancers, doing their thing to exotic numbers and shelling coconuts with their teeth, and its fun to be such a change of pace from what’s normal here. Which is my third point; most people here have never seen anything like what I do, so it’s extra fun to be showing people these things for the first time.

Still a couple more shows here on ‘the rock’, and I’ll be savouring the peace and quiet before Los Angeles in a few weeks time. Looking forward to it already!

Rarotonga, though the largest of the Cook Islands is still just 32km all the way around (take a look on Google Earth, you can make out the airport and even a few planes parked by the runway). Ara Tapu (Sacred Road) circles the island, taking you past the small villages, shops and homes of the island’s residents. Inland is a wealth of jagged green mountains, saw-tooth hills, mango groves and tall coconut trees. Encircled by a stunning turquoise lagoon, there are no private beaches as such, the whole island is bordered by a continuous stretch of sand, with views I couldn’t have dreamed really existed.
Getting around the island is an adventure. Avarua, the Cook Island’s only town is a hitchhike ride away, and the people here are keen to stop, as long as you sometimes don’t mind riding in the back of the truck with the dog if the seats are all taken inside. Chickens, pigs and goats are also a frequent sight around the island, and the giant wasps and other flying pests help keep me on my toes on an island where sometimes the most rewarding way to spend your time is to do nothing at all.
That said, I spent yesterday riding around the island, dropping in to places of interest, and I now have some shows coming up, which I think will be the first I’ve done in a t-shirt and shorts, as well as spots on the local TV station and newspapers.
Hitchhiking is a great way to hear about the local info, and to meet some of the real characters here on Rarotonga. Standing with my thumb held out, an old man pulled up on his beaten-up motorbike. I showed him my Lonely Planet map of where I wanted to go - he took it from me and turned to page with a section all about him that starts.

‘The longest running (and certainly hardest-working) showman on the island, the venerable Piri Puto III is still zipping up coconut trees , conjuring fire from dry twigs and cooking up island feasts for the entertainment of his guests, despite the fact that he’s now well into his sixties. He’s a well-known (some would say notorious) character on the island, an ex-champion boxer and erstwhile masseur – but these days he’s wisely decided to concentrate on his one-man show’.

A real pleasure to meet an island celebrity, though the bike ride back was pretty hair-raising. Think I’ll stick to my wee bicycle for now.

Pohutukawa Bar - 13th May

A nice, light-hearted interview this morning on TVNZ, thanks to the presenters and to everyone behind the cameras. You can watch a clip here Tom DeVoe on TVNZ Breakfast Show

ALSO, you can now listen to the interview on Radio Live a few days ago here: Tom on Radio Live NZ

TVNZ

I'll be on TVNZ's Breakfast Show tomorrow at around 8.15am to chat and perform.

Huge thanks to Graeme Hill at Radio Live for a great show yesterday morning, probably the most fun I've had performing on the radio so far. With a great interest in science, Graeme is passionate about the truth and we had a good discussion on psychics and mediums, with me in the chair Richard Dawkins sat in a few weeks previously on the programme.

I'll try to get a clip of the radio show and hopefully of TVNZ to put up here soon.

Radio Live

A great show last night at The Carpark, thanks to the management there and to everyone who took part.

Tune into Radio Live tomorrow at 11.15am (NZ time) for more tricks and talk on Mentalism and the World Trip so far http://www.radiolive.co.nz/

'The Carpark Bar', Auckland - Friday 30th from 6pm

Auckland, City of Sails

Built on no less than fifty volcanoes, not all of them extinct, the largest and most multicultural of NZ’s cities – this is Auckland, the ‘City of Sails’, and I like it more every day.

Typically, the people of New Zealand are so nice, and the landscape so beautiful, that it’s sometimes hard to remember I’ve got a job to do here. With shows booked at great venues in the next few weeks, and some great publicity on its way, I mustn’t forget to venture forth and explore some of the many incredible islands and remote areas only a bus or ferry ride away from the busy city.

Sun, sea, cities, islands, distinctive wildlife, world-class wine, and a unique and broad cultural history - New Zealand has it all, but doesn’t like to boast. Have you ever heard of anyone who came here and didn’t love it?

I’m well into the swing of the travelling lifestyle now, the shows are better than ever, and I’m also looking forward to getting back home in August. I’ll be sure to make the most of the time I have left here, not forgetting the obligatory bungee-jump!

Tune in to RadioActive.FM tomorrow morning at 9.15am (NZ Time) for the latest news from the World Trip, and of course a few tricks with the presenters.
Also, if you're in Wellington, come down to Dockside Restaurant & Bar on Friday 9th from 6.45pm if you missed out on my performances there last week.

Wellington, New Zealand

So that was Sydney - and a great time I had too! My thanks to ABC Sydney for having me on the show so often, and to Eastside FM for a great debate on the subject of ‘psychics vs skeptics’, where I performed and spoke from the skeptic’s side of the ring.

After the success of my Headline Prediction, I took a week to see family in Melbourne and to have a few weeks ‘holiday’ with my girlfriend, where I took a great rest from the backpacker lifestyle to enjoy all the touristy things of Sydney, feed a kangaroo, and eat some nice food for a change.

Reenergised, a little over-fed, and now in Wellington, I’m going to jump back on the work wagon, and get back to performing great shows here in New Zealand’s capital. The scenery is stunning; a city on the waterfront, it’s a fascinating blend of Western and Maori cultures, though nearly constantly windy, you can forgive that for its incredible mountainous backdrop.

After only a few days here, I’ve seen the Prime Minister of NZ and one half of Flight of the Concords, and I was much more excited about the latter. No disrespect, sir.

I’ve only three weeks left here to make my mark before it’s up to Auckland.

Details of upcoming shows here in Wellington:

April 1st – Bettys Function House & Bar – 8pm

April 5th – Upper Hutt Cosmopolitan Club – 4pm

Hope to see you there x

PREDICTION PERFECT!!

'The whole city is on the edge of its seat..." said James Valentine yesterday morning on Sydney ABC. He had gathered together the major Australian newspapers of that day and called in an independent judge to make sure everything was done legitimately.

The box was opened by James, my prediction - 'Dosed Up On Donations' - matched, word-perfect, the front-page headline of The Daily Telegraph that morning - 'DOSED UP ON DONATIONS'.

My offer of $1000AUD to anyone who can prove that I used confederates, stooges or worked with anyone from the press to achieve my prediction still stands.

The culmination of a year and a half years' work, and very little sleep for seven days, the highlight of the World Trip and of my career so far took place on Sydney ABC yesterday and you can listen to the show here on ABC

So the big prediction has been taken by James Valentine on Sydney ABC, where it will stay until 23rd February when it will be revealed to the world. Sealed and signed, it cannot be tampered with by anyone. There will be no confederates or stooges, and I am not working with anyone from the press to achieve this prediction.

Is it possible to predict the headline of a major newspaper 7 days in advance? Find out on 702 ABC Sydney next week!

Headline Prediction - Sydney ABC

The time is here.

Tomorrow, on 702 ABC Sydney, I will hand my prediction of a major newspapers headline to James Valentine who will keep it safe and secure until 23rd February (7 days later) when it will be revealed LIVE on air.

This is by far the most ambitious effect I've ever attempted. Though I've done similar things in the past, nothing can beat this - if it works!

Should my prediction match the headline published one week later, it'll be the highlight of the Trip, and of my career so far.

(Nearly) all will be explained on the show tomorrow - 1.30pm EST (GMT+10)

ABC Sydney

For those who missed it, you can listen to my performance on 702 ABC Sydney here.

Also, it is 6 months today since I left Wales and began this Trip, and 6 months until I get home again. It's tempting to write a slushy post about how much I've learned and grown, as a person and a performer, but I think I'll save that for another day, there's still lots more to do until then...

Sydney ABC with James Valentine

Hi all, just a quick note that I'll be on 702 ABC Sydney with James Valentine this Tuesday at 1.30pm (GMT+10). If you want to hear some mind-reading, or hear a little about my upcoming Newspaper Headline Prediction here in Sydney, or maybe you want to take part in the show, call in and we'll see what happens...

Hope you listen in, thanks x

Vale illusionist ‘amazes’ audiences on his world trip

The Glamorgan GEM - Friday 22 Jan 2010

AN illusionist from the Vale is amazing people with his mind-reading abilities as he continues a globetrotting world tour that will take up to a year. Tom DeVoe, a former pupil of Cowbridge Comprehensive School, who lives in the village of Aberthin, began his journey, which he called the ‘Without Borders World Trip’, on August 13 last year – his 21st birthday. Tom told The GEM: “To travel the world doing what I love, performing for people across the globe, is the most challenging, exciting venture I could ever have imagined.” He started in London, but his itinerary takes in India, Hong Kong, China, Singapore, Australia, New Zealand, the Cook Islands and the USA. He is currently in Singapore and astonished a local journalist and photographer from ‘The New Paper’ with his mind-reading abilities, by correctly guessing which numbers they were thinking of, and confidently predicting which word they would pick out of President Obama’s autobiography, Dreams From My Father. Germaine Lim, the impressed journalist, reported: “The word was ‘goat’. Can it get any more random? “I bet DeVoe, who is in town to perform his Mind Illusion Show, probably knew my darkest secrets the moment I said ‘hello’!” Tom has also made his mark in India. “I performed in Delhi for Fever104FM, a Virgin-owned radio station, reading the minds of the DJ and callers to the show. “By the time the show was over, there was a huge crowd of people waiting outside the studio to see me. “The boss of the station pulled me into his office and asked me about what I do, and even asked me if I would go with him to a meeting of his main rival stations’ bosses to read their minds!” Tom uses psychology, suggestion and what he describes mischievously as “more devious methods” to read minds and baffle his audience. While in India, he was also featured in one of the country’s leading newspapers. Tom said: “I was featured in the Hindustan Times, a major Indian newspaper, opened in 1929 by Mahatma Gandhi. “With a readership of 6.6 million people, it is the second largest English-language newspaper in India. “I was also on CNN’s News and Entertainment shows in India. “In Hong Kong, I performed for social groups, the British Council of Hong Kong and City University of Hong Kong, receiving a beautiful engraved metal plate from the University as a mark of thanks. “I spent Christmas with friends in Singapore, and have had a great time – it has been 32 degrees C outside, so there was no chance of a white Christmas for me. “While I’m here, I’ve been working with a large entertainment agency that was involved with the recent Formula 1 race in Singapore.” He completes his world trip in August. Tom’s adventure can be followed on tomdevoeworldtrip.blogspot.com

Sydney, Australia

I was very sad to say goodbye to Singapore. Some friends I made there will be friends for life, for sure. Each time I move to a different country I feel uprooted, having previously just settled into the swing of things. To feel homesick for many places is no fun. But we move onwards and upwards, or downwards, to sunny Sydney where Bondi beach, a few tinnies, and several shrimps on barbies beckon.
I’ve been here for more than a week now, and I’m happy to have plenty of Western food back on the menu – I tried the Fish Head Curry, a Singapore speciality, on my last few days there and it actually wasn’t too bad, though the eyeball I promised my friends I’d eat was just too much!
Very surprised to see beautiful parrots flying around as regular as pigeons back home, along with a host of other exotic and unusual animals I’d never seen before. Hopefully there’ll be many kangaroos and wallabies to point at like a good old tourist in the next few months. Everything here is BIG. The food and drink servings, the money, the sun, the waves, and some comically hefty guys – all extra large and extra loud.
I’m reading the newspapers here, locals and nationals, eagerly…but more about that later. It’s going to be good, this one ;)

The New Paper – 6 Jan 2010

Welsh Mind Illusionist:
No magic in ‘reading minds’, bending spoons
REPORT: Germaine Lim

In front of Thomas DeVoe, I felt exposed.
Fifteen minutes before meeting us yesterday, the 21-year-old Welsh mind illusionist already knew what numbers The New Paper photographer Jonathan Choo and I would be thinking of.
He also knew the word I had picked out from US President Barack Obama’s autobiography, Dreams From My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance – which DeVoe had taken along – though I kept a poker face.
It was “goat”.
Can it get any more random?
I bet DeVoe – who’s in town to perform his Mind Illusion Show at Downtown East on Sunday – probably knew my darkest secrets the moment I said “hello”.
Despite my coaxing, he refused to tell me what his impression of me was because he did not want to risk offending me.
DeVoe joked: “I don’t want a Sherlock Holmes moment to happen to me.”
In the movie, Sherlock Holmes, Mary Morstan (Kelly Reilly) splashes wine on Holmes’ (Robert Downey Jr) face in a fit of anger after the intuitive titular detective spilled her secrets to her fiancé, Dr Watson (Jude Law).
Besides “mind-reading”, he also demonstrated bending a spoon forwards and sideways just by rubbing the handle lightly with his index finger and thumb, and focusing on it.
At one point, it even broke into two pieces right before our eyes.
No brute force was involved.
There’s no magic in his craft, DeVoe said.
The self-professed sceptic said he doesn’t believe in so-called “supernatural psychic powers”, which well-known Israeli-British entertainer Uri Geller claimed to possess.
There’s an explanation for everything, even when bending a spoon, he insisted.
“It’s easy to say that I was born with supernatural abilities. But my parents always tell me that I cannot mislead people. Telling the truth is the most important thing.”
No one in his family is in the business of magic.
His father works in a university, his mother with charity organisations and his brother is a musician.
It is not by mere coincidence that DeVoe predicts numbers and words correctly.
“What I do is just psychology, suggestions and some other more devious techniques.”
Which is his polite way of informing you, “Too bad, I’m not telling you”.
You could say he’s like Simon Baker’s character in the US TV show, The Mentalist. DeVoe uses skills like astute observation and principles of stage magic to present the illusion of mind-reading.
Ironically, DeVoe – who recently graduated from the University of Leeds with a degree in sociology and social policy – said he was very bad in psychology. His best subject was English.

Observing since young

He also has strong observational skills, which he says he has used to assess potential playmates and friends since he was little.
When he was 6, he learnt more about magic as he received books on the subject as Christmas and birthday presents.
His reading led to books on veteran illusionists like Geller, and his craft developed from there.
At 14, he started practising his craft on friends by guessing letters and numbers they were thinking of. But he was often wrong.
Seven years on, he says he has fewer slip-ups, though he still gets nervous just before a member of the audience reveals his answer.
“I’m not embarrassed when I make mistakes because I have the rest of the show to make up to my audience.
“Sometimes, people apologise for ‘messing up’ my tricks. But it’s never their fault. It’s mine”.
Of course, he has used his skills in his personal life, like trying to get his friends and himself into bars and clubs when they were below UK’s legal age of 18.
He doesn’t have to do that anymore, but added that he doesn’t do it also because “it can get people into serious trouble”.
When it comes to impressing someone he’s interested in, the bachelor prefers to use good manners like being genuine and polite.
Next up for the ambitious young man?
He wants to up his game by predicting an Australian newspaper’s headline when he goes Down Under later this month.
“I’ve been reading their newspapers. My plan is to foretell the headlines a week in advance.”

Downtown East - January 10th - 7pm

Aaah, well I've just about recovered from New Year's Eve, the four shows all went well, but getting to each in NY's Eve traffic was not much fun.

Here in Singapore I'm throwing a show for my friends who've yet to see me in action at the top of Zsofi's Tapas Bar this Thursday which should be a larf - all welcome.

Sunday 10th will be the big show at Downtown East where huge, larger than life-sized posters are already up, and I met with two newspapers at the venue this morning to discuss the show, the trip, and perform for them a little. They were both incredibly sweet and we had a good morning and afternoon together. The first, New Paper, is a big Singapore publication and should be out tomorrow, the other, Berita Harian, is a Malay paper which I'll have to have translated before I put a copy up on the blog. Looking forward to both articles :)

CNA - Channel News Asia

This morning I performed live on ‘Primetime Morning’ on Channel News Asia which, as I found out after the show, broadcasts to more than 20 Asian countries and territories. If I’d known this beforehand, I think my hands may have been a little wobbly, but ignorance is bliss, and the show was a lot of fun.

I had a good chat with the presenters, Suzanne and Dominic, and performed a couple of my favourite effects with them – a little prediction and some spoon bending.

You can watch a video of the show online here - Tom DeVoe on Channel News Asia

Then a meeting later in the day with the people from Downtown East, a huge venue in Northern Singapore, where we’re hoping a good few hundred will come to see the big show on 10th January. If you’re in Singapore, you’re in for a real treat.

Busy Busy

It's looking like a busy month to come here in Singapore, and I'm enjoying it more than anywhere so far. The work keeps coming in, highlights include FOUR back-to-back shows on New Year's Eve - the most I've ever done in one day - and performances at the stunning Furama City Centre (shown here), and Downtown East in January. I'll also be on Channel News Asia next week, which should be a lot of fun, and I'll try to get a copy onto youtube so you can all catch it.

I can't recommend CouchSurfing enough to anyone who is a-travelling. Even if, like me, you're not planning to sleep on anyone's couch, there are always events going on, from parties and nights out to tours of the city, and it's always a good laugh. It's such a great way to find out what's happening and to make new friends, both locals and other passers-through, in an unfamiliar country.

I also had a nice wee chat with some guys from Red Dot Magic Magazine, you can read the interview here.

So things are shaping up very nicely here. I'm almost 1/3 through the Trip and things are getting better all the time.

Singapore

I’ve been here for the best part of a week now, and I like it. I was told that I could expect cleanliness, efficiency, and a mix of cultures and that’s exactly what I’ve got. Add some wonderful architecture and arresting heat, and you have my first impressions of the Lion City. At first I was staying in Little India, where the smell of incense and food, and the sound of Indian music took me right back to the first days of the trip. I’ve relocated to a more Singaporean area, hoping to get more of a feel for the Asian culture here, a mix of Chinese, Malay and everything in between.

I’ve started work with an entertainment agency, Voyage Entertainment, and they couldn’t be a better group to work with. They cover major events in Singapore, including the recent Formula 1 race here, and I’ll enjoy working with them for these two months, and perhaps in the future if I make a return trip. Here’s their cool, if quite scary, poster design for the show, and we have some filming to do this Wednesday for the press here, too, which should be a lot of fun.

I’m a quarter through the year-long trip, and though I feel like I’ve been away for a lot longer, I’m excited to find out what adventures the next 3/4 have in store.

Hong Kong Video (HD)

Well I've just arrived in Singapore, and after a great show last night at Aberdeen Boat Club and no sleep since, I am exhausted. Before I can have a look around Singapore, here's the video of my time in Hong Kong. Enjoy.

Watch Hong Kong Video

City University of Hong Kong

My thanks to the wonderful City University of Hong Kong for a great lunch and a fun show. The University is very striking, and like Hong Kong is relatively small for the huge number of people it holds. Also, functioning as a day and a night University, it is just as 24/7 as Hong Kong itself.

At lunch, a man at my table told me a folk tale that people with allergies are angelic, put here to do good, and that bad spirits have given them defects to try and stop them. That was pretty cool. At home I’m just a geek that can’t eat a Snickers.

I had planned to have parts of the show recorded so I could make a video of my time here, but with the all the excitement and the meal beforehand, I completely forgot!

They were incredibly kind and gave me a fantastic engraved metal plate from the University, which will take pride of place in my home after the trip.

I had lunch recently with the entertainment organisers of the Aberdeen Boat Club at their Clubhouse on the south side of Hong Kong Island, and was very impressed with their attention to detail in publicity and the planning of the show on my last day here - details at http://www.abclubhk.com/event.aspx?eventid=78

I really must say how lovely everyone I’ve worked with so far in Hong Kong has been, they have all been very friendly and accommodating, so thanks to you all. Two weeks left here.

New Look Blog

Inspired by my recent photo session with Li Ka Yee Joey, the blog is looking sharp and new. Joey's a great photographer and we met up for a day's shooting around Hong Kong and on one of its outlying islands. Ma Wan is half an hour's ferry ride from Hong Kong Island and is home to one of the most bizarre places I've ever been. On one side of the island was once a traditional fishing village, now deserted. The narrow streets are empty and the tiny houses abandoned, each fenced off by metal wire and signs saying 'Government Property'. Some of the buildings are missing their fronts, the trappings of what used to be homes still visible; a chair in the corner, coat hooks on the walls. On the water's edge, rows of long, thick wooden planks once used to sort and gut thousands of fish each day are empty, free of the life and the death they once supported, but still retaining the smell of many long years of use.

I realise now that I will have almost a year of Summer. Travelling East around the world from British summertime, I'm moving against the changing of the seasons. My Christmas, New Year and Easter will all be spent in the sun.

The territory of Hong Kong consists of 234 islands in addition to Hong Kong island itself, so I still have plenty of island exploring to do. Tomorrow it's Lamma, the largest of the outlying islands. With no cars or roads, it should make for a welcome rest from the craziness of the city.

I have a few good shows lined up - one the evening before I leave early the next day for Singapore - that'll be a busy night.

Feel free to check out Li Ka Yee Joey's pictures at

http://picasaweb.google.com.hk/zucca100mb

Bollywood in Hong Kong

Hello! I’ve now been in Hong Kong for a few weeks, I’m enjoying it so much and things seem to be getting better everyday.

The highlight so far was a night spent as an extra in a Bollywood film playing a croupier at a casino. I was approached by a guy looking for people for the job and it was an easy sell –‘we’re shooting out in Macau Island at the Venitian Hotel, the world's largest casino' – I’m in. The fourth largest building in the world, it was the most luxurious place I’ve ever been or could have imagined. We were dressed up by the costume people in the casino uniform and spent the night behind the tables dealing out cards and collecting up chips. It paid too, so we must be some of only a handful of lucky people to have left the Venetian with more money than we came in with.

I just came back from a show for the British Council of Hong Kong, an organisation that specialises in international education and cultural relations. A good show a great bunch of people.

At the moment Im arranging to meet with photographers and considering making a video for Hong Kong like the one for India, which has been remade to play a lot smoother.

That's all for now...

Hong Kong

‘What do I do?’. Two plane journeys and 2,340 miles from India, and I’m looking over to Hong Kong City at the tallest buildings I’ve ever seen. Hong Kong is made up of a number of islands; Kowloon, which I’m on, looks over to Hong Kong City’s skyline, captivated. I look at it for the first time and say to myself, out loud, ‘what do I do?’ – I can’t take a picture that’ll capture the panorama fairly, and the buildings are too exclusive to go and explore or play in just yet, so I just watch for now, mouth open.

I slept for most of the first day, owing to little rest on the journey (an hours lightning storm out of the window - terrifying and amazing - didn’t help). The next day I spent doing what I’d dreamt of for the past two weeks in India – swimming. I’m a rubbish swimmer, I’m not even particularly fond of water, but to be floating around freely, surrounded by beautiful skyscrapers reflecting the sky silver-blue, was a dream after the repressive heat of Delhi, tramping on hot stone and cracked earth all month.

Hong Kong is manic. Everything moves at triple speed here; walking, talking, even food preparation all moves super fast, and with precision. After a month of adjusting from Britain to India, arriving in the centre of Hong Kong is a huge rush - exciting, confusing, and overwhelming. I feel like I’m travelling to different worlds, not just countries. The landscape, architecture, language, people, history and culture all have a completely different and unique being, a world apart from what I’ve seen so far. I like the initial rush of excitement of seeing new parts of the world, the fear that I’m lost and have no idea what I’m doing here – but I’ll never get used to it.

Step 1 – find my feet again…

Tom DeVoe World Trip - India Video (HD)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=USchySWm7xA

Here it is - the HD, full-screen video of my time in India. Featuring scenic footage across New Delhi, an impromtu after-show at Fever 104FM, performing for the Hindustan Times and shooting footage for CNN-IBN.

CNN-IBN

So I made it to television. The boss at the radio show had called CNN while I was in his office, and a few days later I got the invitation. They sent a car to pick me up and I had a long journey to prepare my nerves. The plan was to perform at their news room, a little something at each desk – spoonbending at the sports desk, mindreading at the politics desk and so on…and then something for the whole newsroom, all of it filmed for their news programme as well as their entertainment show.

After half an hour of performing tricks, I then had to do some links and other material to the camera. I was pretty exhausted and I’d just been blindfolded, with sticky tape over my eyes, for the past five minutes, so I wasn’t feeling my strongest, but I think it all came across pretty well. I was quite clueless as to what they wanted from me, I wasn’t sure whether to play it cool (as I do so well) or be a little more full of life – we’ll have to see how the show comes out. The sound technician managed to recorded some footage with my camera too, so that’s completed the video, which I’m uploading now, very nicely. The reporter said that he’d also send me the finished piece so hopefully that’ll get onto youtube soon too.

What a great way to finish things here in India. I only have my next destination to think about now - Hong Kong - got my Lonely Planet here already, and we’re ready to go.

Hindustan Times

He Can Read Your Mind

Rajesh Ahuja

Twenty one isn’t an age to indulge in mind reading. Tom DeVoe feels the same. But the British lad still can’t help being a mind illusionist. In the Capital recently to put some of his choicest tricks on display – like splitting a spoon into two pieces by channelling positive energy towards it – the artist gave us a peek into his own grey space. “I have been studying mind reading for seven years. My talent may be unusual, but I am not a freak”, he said with a chuckle.

The sociology graduate from Leeds University derives pleasure out of surprising people with his talent and loves to wax lyrical about his escapades across the world. “I left home on my 21st birthday and plan to return when I turn 22. I think mind reading is still an untapped field which the world is finally waking up to”, he said.

DeVoe, who hails from Wales, started out by performing for friends and charity. “I’ve followed illusionists like David Blaine and Derren Brown through books and videos. But unlike magicians, human psychology intrigues me. I’ve always been good at guessing what others are thinking. This is an extension of that”, he added.

For someone who’s dead set against looking for ‘cheap publicity’ through talent hunts like Britain’s Got Talent, Tom would rather have his work do the talking. “Artists don’t need TV shows to display their talent”, he said. Are his parents cool with his trampling this unexplored territory? “Oh yes, they are. They don’t think I’m a jerk”, he said with a laugh. Good for you, brother.

A Long, Lucky Day

Two big events yesterday; a radio show in the morning, and then an interview for one of India’s biggest newspapers in the afternoon. Fever 104 FM is a young, modern station owned by Virgin on a floor high up in the huge Hindustan Times building in New Delhi. The guy who works in the elevator, taking it up and down all day, took me up to the studios. The show went incredibly well – did a few mind reading things with the DJ, working out words he was thinking of. His reaction – ‘we’ll have to bleep this out…F**K!’. They challenged me to try it with a caller. I showed the DJ that I’d influence her think of the number 69, and after a quick chat with her I asked her to name two numbers – ‘six’, then ‘nine’. They couldn’t believe it. She said later that she’d also had the image of blue boxer shorts in her head for some reason. I gave the DJ a peek of mine. It was my lucky day – blue.

In my closing routine, I got people to blindfold me up, with coins taped over my eyelids and a borrowed scarf to wrap around it all, and I was to work out and describe in as much detail as possible what objects people in the room were holding in their hands. I even had someone get out a bank note and I called off its’ serial number. This played so great and I was in darkness for quite a while. The boss came in and asked me to name the make of his watch – ‘TAG heur’. When I was unbandaged, the studio and mixing room outside was full of people all wanting to get a look at what was going on.

I was well taken care of. The boss pulled me into his office afterwards, got me lots of food and chai, and we talked for a long while about what I do. He made phone calls, and grilled me about the possibility of taking to the sweepstakes and even sitting me down opposite his main rival to see what I could get out of him. I told him it wasn’t quite like that. On the subject of spoon bending, he got excited and rallied the whole office together for an impromptu show with some of the canteen’s silverware. People kept coming to me and giving such amazing compliments, compliments I’m too modest to list, but too proud to not mention. One woman asked if I meditated, if that was where I got my ‘powers’ from. I told her it wasn’t quite like that either. All in all, it was an amazing morning, with the paper interview still to go.

The Hidustan Times is an Indian institution. With a readership of 6.6 million, it is the second most-widely read English newspaper in India. The reporter who met me got me straight up in front of his colleagues to perform. I was pretty exhausted from the morning, but gave it a good shot. More mind reading and metal bending, we had the interview and they took some photos. A long and tiring day, but a really memorable one with lots of footage, and hopefully a good article in one of India’s most popular papers.

India will have one single video that captures my time here, some scenic footage, some performance. It’s already in the making and will be awesome. Two weeks left today.

Where's the Beef?

The difference between an Air Conditioned room and a non-Air Conditioned room at this hostel is about a pound. I’ve stayed in both. But ‘AC’ or ‘non-AC’ is a kind of code for something else. They’re pretty much the same temperature, with non-AC blasted by seven huge fans on the ceiling that make anything lighter than a rock flap and wave in their breeze. AC means bigger beds, better kept, and bigger lockers. AC means a balcony and four to a dorm. Non-AC means twenty stuffed into a room. While AC dorms have a toilet and toilet paper, non-AC guests have a hole and some kind of bucket system that I still haven’t worked out or plucked up the courage to ask about. I’m in an AC. Though I’m here to absorb the culture, I still need something to absorb my ‘culture’.

A meal here is about 70p and tastes pretty good. The water is apparently cleaned through ‘reverse osmosis’, but I’m not taking any chances, and so far no Delhi Belly. Despite the tasty Indian food on offer, I couldn’t help fancying a big ol’ burger and hopped in a rickshaw to a McDonalds in the rich centre of Delhi. I walked in and their menu seemed a little strange – no classic burgers as we know them, but lots with the word ‘tikka’ in them. And I twigged – no beef. Bloody deities spoiling my feast. All was not lost, however, as Pizza Hut did a nice Pepperoni pizza in their ‘foreign and exotic pizzas’ section of the menu.

The days are uncomfortably hot. It’s supposed to be monsoon season, but it isn’t raining. Sweat is your day companion, and mosquitoes your night. Magic has taken a back seat until I’m more comfortable and confident in the culture and its locations. I’ve been to a few places I’d like to perform on the street, I’ll go back prepared soon.

New Delhi, India

I am in India. The plane journey was fine – plus now there isn’t much point me being afraid of flying anymore after the taxi ride from the airport. The tiny cars, motorbikes and canvas-roofed three wheelers weave and dart into each others paths, horns beeping incessantly, with terrifying accuracy. The lanes aren’t noticed, and oncoming traffic is ignored. A rush, more like pins and needles, shot through my arms and legs when I saw my first gang of monkeys lurking on the roadside. But then came rows of blue tarpaulins, held up with a stick or two, home to whole families. At a junction, a young girl twisted her arms behind her head, and through a small wooden hoop she contorted her even smaller body, picking it up from her feet. Her sister played a drum on the floor, her brother begged in the dirt. Another young girl holding a baby slaps it in the face to make it cry. This is culture shock. Not the rush of new smells and tastes, but seeing how people are forced to live, while I just pass on through.

Some of the roads are wide and long, the buildings in the Centre are huge – Reebok, Nike, McDonalds are all here. The grand Victorian architecture exists a taxi ride away, but this isn’t the real Delhi. The roads are thin and caked in mud, the drains overflow with waste. At night, kids sleep on their backs on the pavement and in the road. Some, on their hands and knees, search through the rubbish for food. Slow, skinny dogs wander all over.

I’m in a big hostel in the diplomatic area, and have met lots of people, including Indians who’ve shown me around the city. There’s a lot to see and to learn. The three-wheeler taxis are called ‘tuk tuks’. Men here hold hands. Young women call old men ‘Uncle’. Indians often speak to each other in English; 'the Englishers left, but their language stayed', my new friend told me. It’s a very strange place, not quite like anywhere else and completely different to home. I’m still just finding my feet.

Here We Go!

After 12 months of planning, plenty of teeth grinding and eventually a few tears - we're off. This day last year, on holiday in Canada, I decided I wanted to travel for a year performing and now here we are. I'm now operating under new rules, borrowed from the worlds of drama students and the homeless - constant self-publicity and never turning down a free meal.

It's been a bloody long day; just got to my oldest friend's near Gatwick where I'll be staying until Saturday when I fly out to Delhi.

I can't thank my family enough for all their support and help, without which I wouldn't have got even this far. And I really want to thank my friends who gave me the most amazing surprise birthday I could imagine - it made my year to say the least - really unforgettable.

Next stop - New Delhi, where I'll gain a day - leaving at night on the 15th and arriving in India on the same morning. Great inspiration for a magic routine...

THE GEM Newspaper Thursday, April 30th, 2009

Life’s an illusion for student Tom

A Vale student, who dreams of becoming a professional ‘mind illusionist’, begins a journey across the globe in August – which he hopes will launch his career

Tom DeVoe (20) from Aberthin will begin his globe-trotting trip on August 13, his 21st birthday, and plans to return exactly a year later.
He said: “It is called the ‘Without Borders World Trip’ and officially it starts in London.
“I’ll travel to India, Hong Kong, China, Singapore, Australia, New Zealand, the Cook Islands and the USA, performing every step of the way.
“The idea is for everything to be spontaneous, so once in a city I’ll be in touch with newspapers to publicise what I’m doing, and hotels and other venues where I can perform.
“Among many seldom-seen feats, I will work out the PIN number of an American policeman, predict the headline of an Australian newspaper one week in advance, and describe in detail objects from an audience when I’ve got coins on my eyelids and I’m blindfolded.
“To travel the world doing what I love, performing for people across the globe, is the most challenging, exciting venture I could ever have imagined.
“It will be a huge test of my abilities, but I love an adventure and can’t wait to begin the trip of a lifetime.”
Tom, a former pupil at Cowbridge Comprehensive School, is coming to the end of a course in sociology and social policy at Leeds University.
Despite his youth and the audacity of his act, Tom is sure he can make a success of the trip.
“The things I’m attempting are ambitious, but that’s what makes it more impressive. I’m confident because I’ve been developing my skills for seven years”.
Tom uses psychology, suggestion and what he describes mischievously as “more devious methods” to read minds and baffle his audience.
He started performing in the Vale at charity events and has honed his act while in Leeds.
Following a guest appearance on the LSRfm Breakfast Show in Yorkshire, Tom was given a regular slot on the programme, and began his popular weekly feature, Midweek Mindgames, where each week he read the minds of the people in and out of the studio.
Tom hopes that during the year away he will have accumulated lots of material which can be used in the future.
“By the time I return, a year later, at the age of 22, I hope I’ll have lots of videos and stories for my website which will enable me to market myself professionally.”
Like any good illusionist, Tom has one final surprise, and that’s where his unusual name springs from.
“My real name is Tom Evans, but for performing I wanted to think up something new and fresh.
“It was only when I googled it that I found out that the surname actually exists”

Tom’s adventure can be followed on tomdevoeworldtrip.blogspot.com

Here is a copy of a full-page interview in LS2 magazine in Leeds Student written before the trip was booked, and complete with a great out-of-context comments about girls.

Unmasking Magicians
Mystery and intrigue are the cornerstones of a successful magician. In an irreverent attempt to uncover the illusion, Leeds Student tracked down Tom DeVoe, an up-and-coming star, and Paul Daniels, a superstar from the 80s and 90s, to grill them about the art of showmanship…

Third year sociology student and part time mind illusionist Tom DeVoe is about to embark on a year long world tour. Before he goes, Leeds Student jumped at the opportunity to meet a real life Derren Brown-alike for a quick brain boggling…
It’s not as hard as you may think to convene with a world-travelling stage performer, and a few days after signing up to do the interview I was meeting Tom himself. It wasn’t in a darkened corner of an olde worlde public house as I had first imagined, but amidst milling students on a Friday afternoon in the Terrace. As excited as I was to question someone who I thought would be able to answer everything I had ever wondered about magic, I was also slightly scared that I might wake up in the middle of the night humping the washing machine (thankfully there have been no signs of this yet).

Tom has been intrigued by mind illusion since he was young and has been performing on stage and at parties for 6 years now, but surprisingly he only ‘came out’ to his friends about a year ago. He said that from an early age he’d “always be thinking about what others are thinking, and not necessarily in a caring way but that I simply couldn’t help it”.
He decided he could either try and suppress these feelings, which would drive him mad, or he could use them as a form of entertainment for others. This in no way means that Tom thinks he has a gift, or any special psychic ability which makes him different from anyone else. Instead, he describes his talent by saying, “anyone can learn to play the piano but not everyone is going to be Mozart”.

This characterises the witty, charismatic and slightly quirky responses Tom gave throughout my two hours with him and thankfully his strong sense of morals also shone through, especially by his emphatic “no” when asked if he used his powers to get girls – or on second thoughts, was that just part of his game?!

When I asked him why he’d kept his passion such a secret for so long he replied, “there is too much of a stigma attached to being ‘magic boy’ and I don’t like being the centre of attention”.
This seemed slightly strange to me considering he’s planning a world tour, but who was I to argue? Now that his friends do know about his hobby they think it’s really exciting, and a much more assuring explanation for why he’d been sneaking out the house late at night than what they’d come up with. Although, there is a down side to Tom’s unveiling as rather annoyingly for him they now refuse to play him at poker!

His stage show and close-up tricks are similar to the type of illusions Derren Brown does, which involves a mixture of suggestion, showmanship and psychology. He has consciously stayed away from ‘magic tricks’ as he finds creating a connection between people “more entertaining and exciting”.

Tom spends his spare time writing new material and comes up with ideas by either reading through obscure books which reveal the secrets of illusions or working out how the old masters did the tricks and modernising them. Sadly for me, Tom wouldn’t reveal the mystery behind any of his tricks but he did say that most of them involve real concentration, practice and the ability to read people, rather than underhand trickery.

There are also certain perks which come with the territory: “After shows I often have overly friendly girls approach me with their phone numbers”, he says. However, he’s never 100% certain about how the act is going to go and things do go wrong. His first experience of this was when he was in Prague aged 16 and was trying to impress a couple of girls. He got one to close her eyes and be aware of any sensations she felt and then tapped her friend twice on her right shoulder. When he asked the first girl if she could feel anything she described the exact motion he’d performed on her friend and was so scared when Tom told her that he hadn’t actually touched her at all she burst into tears.

This reaction has put him off performing the trick again but usually when things go wrong it doesn’t phase him. Once when he was telling members of the audience what object they were holding whilst wearing a blindfold with coins taped over his eyes he guessed it was a false leg when in fact it was a big Goth’s boot! He says that members of the audience reacted well and found it funny and that they forgot about the small difference as it made the illusion all the more real and believable.

Taking these tricks around the world may be a whole different challenge though as although he hasn’t yet finalised any stops on his year long trip the culture difference and possible language barrier will make his performance all the more tough to execute. He leaves on 13th August 2009, his 21st birthday, and will start performing street shows and using the press from this to attract bigger audiences and secure venues. It’s not all about the illusions though, as like most students he sees it as an opportunity to travel, broaden his horizons and discover more about himself.

You can follow his travels at tomdevoeworldtrip.blogspot.com or join the Facebook group ‘Without Borders World Trip’ as he will update each of these with videos and stories from his performances as he goes. When he returns he hopes to pursue illusion as a full time job, although he claims modestly that he’s “not interesting enough to be famous”.

He finishes the interview by astounding me with a few tricks, the best being when he wrote down the exact time of day I was thinking of whilst getting our photographer to change the time on his watch to the exact time in my mind as well – all be simply looking deep into my eyes. That finished off a pretty spectacular meeting with a very intriguing guy, and I can’t wait to see how his world tour goes.

Words/ Sarah Blower

BOOKED

So now it's real. The tickets are booked and the countries on the route that I'll be working through are finally set in stone. After weeks of consideration and planning, leaving from London, the main destinations on the 12 month journey are -

UK - INDIA - HONG KONG - CHINA - SINGAPORE - AUSTRALIA - NEW ZEALAND -COOK ISLANDS - USA - UK

Each country and their specific cities have been chosen with consideration to language, venue and work possibilities, as well as general 'lushness'. Specifically, the cities that I should spend most of the time in will be Delhi, Hong Kong, Singapore, Sydney, Wellingon, Auckland, Rarotonga and Los Angeles. I had a quick look at Rarotonga, in the Cook Islands, on Google Earth, and all that's visible other than green is their wee airstrip with a single plane parked on it, so I knew I had to go. Apparently the airport is only open for one day a week, so let's hope I don't have to leave in a hurry. It's an exciting and exhausting list to look at, but there's so much to do before my 21st and I actually head off. Publicity is a priority before the trip begins, and I know about as much about the media as they know about me, so I've definitely got my work cut out.

This is the first big step in about 26,000 miles, and I've got so many ideas so I hope you're excited too.

Midweek Mindgames '08

Following a guest appearance on the LSRfm Breakfast Show last year, I was given a feature, Midweek Mindgames, in which to perform a little something with the other presenters each week. Far from the most amazing, but still my favourite to listen back on was an effect based on suggestion that went out during the run up to Christmas last year. I wanted the effect to have a prize element to it, but to leave those who don't win with something nice, with it being Xmas and all. So here it is for you, thanks to the Producer Jenny Clarke, and to Olly Bradley-Barnard and Nick Wright, the other presenters on the show.

Radio, Surfing, and Aussie Agents

Firstly, thanks to all who have joined the facebook group, Without Borders World Trip - this will be the easiest way to keep up to date with all the best videos during the trip. Also, thanks to Joe Ellis and the rest of the team for plugging the Trip on CSRfm last week.

Something I'll be hoping to use a lot, and something you might want to look into if you're considering travelling at some point is couchsurfing.com - it's a free internet-based hospitality service with over 974,000 members. A volunteer based network, couchsurfing connects travellers with people who live in the counties and cities they plan to visit who offer free accommodation or just to show you around town. Members offer their couch, spare bed, or floor to people for a few nights and in return, when they are travelling, they can take advantage of the same hospitality from other members. The site was started by a guy who bought a cheap ticket from Boston to Iceland, and rather than stay in a hotel or hostel, emailed 1500 students at the University of Iceland asking if he could stay, and received more than fifty offers. Definitely a useful service to have in mind!

I'm currently emailing a number of enthusiastic entertainment agents in Sydney. The plan initially was to be very romantic - turn up in a city with nothing and get publicity and shows from scratch. But I think it would be smarter to have a few contacts in a number of cities, and maybe a few gigs planned ahead to be sure.

I had a great interview with Leeds Student Newspaper last week, I performed one thing with them and ended up being there for over two hours! Should be published in next week's edition - I'll post details when I get a copy.

Facebook Group - join up!

There's now a facebook group for the Without Borders World Trip, so join up by searching 'Without Borders'! This way you'll be able to keep right up to date with all the latest before, and especially during, the trip in August.

In other news, compiling the definitive list of destinations for the trip has brought up the issue of language barriers. Since so much of what I do depends on language, I'll have to limit the number of non-English speaking countries I visit as performing could prove tricky if no one has a clue what I'm saying. Metal bending I think is a great universal spectacle, especially with people's own things like their coins and I can really see people loving this in somewhere like Tokyo where you hear so much about some of the eccentric, often punk, culture within the city. Hong Kong is a strong contender too, but I've heard from some people that the authorities can have a swift disapproval of street performing which I hope to do a lot of and I want to spend as little money on bail as possible on the trip.

Publicity

This month saw the start of my pursuit for publicity for the Without Borders World Trip, and the offers are already coming in. After just a couple of emails to the local media I know off the top of my head, interviews with the Sanctuary and Leeds Student newspapers were lined up. ITV local have also said that they’d like me to write a guest blog on their site with a video to ‘kick off’ the trip in August.

I met with the Arts Editor of the Sanctuary, Abigail Ledger-Lomas, yesterday and performed one of my favourite effects with her after the interview. I gave her an envelope the day before and told her to keep it safe and not to open it, a prediction of tomorrow’s events. On the day, I asked her to choose a page of her copy of The Spectator magazine, then she was to hold the magazine without looking at it and draw a small circle onto her page. Out of the eight or so words she circled, she chose one single word - admirer. This word, chosen from a random page of her magazine, from a circle she drew, from a number of words within was admirer, and she didn't want to change her mind. She opened the envelope that hadn't left her possession for a moment - 'ADMIRER', signed Tom DeVoe x
I'll post the interview as soon as it's published.

The Very Modern Mindreader

Here is a wee video that's used by an entertainment agency in Leeds, Xi Entertainments. We decided on the title, 'The Very Modern Mindreader', which I thought sounded pretty cool. The sound quality is shocking as it was a windy, windy day but I think you get the point. It was filmed a good while ago now, outside our old house in Hyde Park, Leeds. 'That's weird - you're weird' is fair enough I suppose, I've definitely had worse. Listen out for a delightful voice-break at 11 secs, all part of the act :)

Get Involved!

Do you want to see me work out the PIN number of a New York cop, or predict the headline of an Australian newspaper a week in advance?

On August 13th 2009, my 21st birthday, I’ll be setting off on a twelve month world trip, performing mind reading, hypnosis and all kinds of illusions along the way. And the best part is – you can follow every step of this amazing journey.

As well as posting regular videos of some of my best performances from around the world, you can comment on the videos and posts, suggesting what you want to see next and where. If you’ve been somewhere particularly special or beautiful in an area I’m passing through, or you’ve always wanted to go somewhere yourself, let me know and I’ll try to go there and perform. If you have any really great ideas, I’ll try and do it – the more adventurous the better!

To get involved, follow and keep up to date with the blog for more posts and videos to come! You can also visit my website tomdevoe.t35.com to read more about me and what I do.