A VETERAN magician from Bispham has finally achieved his life's ambition - to play the London Palladium - at the grand old age of 78.

Mark Raffles, of Normandie Avenue, is already celebrating his 60th year as an entertainer and magician this year, so this is the icing on the cake.

He has just performed at the prestigious annual dinner of the Magic Circle and is due to appear with some of the world's top magicians at Her Majesty's Theatre in London's Haymarket on December 7.

But, appearing in the Palladium last Sunday for the charity show, Rhythm of Life, in aid of the Anthony Nolan Bone Marrow Trust, represented the jewel in the crown for Mark.

Speaking about his achievement, Mark said: "The ultimate goal of every variety artist has always been to play the Palladium.

"I have appeared at most of the London suburban theatres, including the Finsbury Park Empire, then regarded as just one step below the Palladium, but the big one eluded me and the way our business has gone it looked as if that was going to be that.

"But ever since my Diamond Jubilee Memoirs were published in February I have scarcely had time to draw breath, appearing all over the country, from the south coast of England to Elgin in the north of Scotland.

"And now, the Palladium - what a prize for my diamond jubilee year. I am thrilled to bits. It's magic."

Despite his appearance at the big-name venue Mark is not forgetting the Fylde one bit, and local audiences will be able to enjoy seeing him at the Ambassador Hotel on North Prom in Blackpool on Christmas Day night and at the Chadwick Hotel on South Prom in St Annes on New Year's Eve.

And this is far from the end for a distinguished entertainer.

He has no plans to retire and said: "My mother first performed at the age of eight at the piano in a pub's music hall and she made her last appearance in a television interview on her 100th birthday.

"So I feel I've a long way to go yet!"

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.