Gordon Stow opened the competition by producing a bottle of beer from a folded cardboard triangle, followed by a glass from a pack of cards and a bottle opener. This was followed by Peter Smales, wearing glasses for safety, and a rose in his teeth producing a vase of water whilst removing his jacket.

Rex Stott correctly predicted that he would suffer the curse of the Simpson Shield when he asked Brian Wilson to interchange items, culminating in Brian being invited to pour the contents of a jug over Rex’s head – an early bath! Alan Johnston invoked Archimedes to levitate a glass, and Rob Walls produced a torn card in a block of ice found in a card pack. Brian Waltham had to drink numerous glasses of wine from a never emptying flagon, and Arthur Setterington performed Ex-Salt-Ation, demonstrating the floating of a heavy ball bearing in salt water. Richard Morrell showed us Healed and Sealed in which a crushed coke can is restored complete with coke. Malcolm Bromwich had been to a Chinese Restaurant, and using a menu and two cans produced not only an abundance of rice, but a glass of wine as well. Brian Wilson used a wooden block to produce and return rice, and then emptied liquid from the block. Finally Eddie Dawes changed a tankard of water into beer.

The result of this hilarious competition was a win for Richard Morrell, with b coming second.

After the interval a number of competitors were invited to show how they achieved their varied effects, bringing an end to the evening. Absentees missed an excellent heat of the competition.