My father, Paul MacLeavy, who has died aged 78, was a drainage engineer and, later in life, a professional magician.
Magic had been a hobby while Paul earned his living as a council employee, but when redundancy came along in 1996 he seized the opportunity to turn his passion into a full-time trade. Afterwards he became well-known in north Somerset as a performer, including in hospitals and on respite holidays with the Chernobyl Children’s Lifeline Project. He held membership of the British Ring of the International Brotherhood of Magicians for more than 50 years.
