After dinner wizardry

COFFEE AND MINTS AND DERRING- DO! AMAZE YOUR GUESTS ( AND GET THEM INVOLVED) WITH YOUR ALL- ROUND CLEVERNESS BY PERFORMING THESE FUN FEATS OF DOMESTIC TRICKERY

YOU WILL NEED: 2 STRAIGHT-SIDED CRYSTAL TUMBLERS SINGLE MALT OR BLENDED WHISKY A NON-POROUS CARD

Fill a crystal tumbler to the brim with whisky. Fill a second, identical glass to the brim with water and completely cover it with something slim and non-porous, such as a laminated card or postcard. (Note: a thick invitation will create too wide a gap between rims.) Invert the covered water glass and place it directly over the first, fitting one rim exactly above the other. Carefully, gently, pull the card over slightly so that the liquids are just exposed to each other.

Water is heavier than whisky, so it will flow straight down, causing the latter to move upwards. The contents of the glasses should be swapped completely – a rough mixture of whisky and water, while an acceptable drink, is not the desired result. Gently replace the card so that it completely covers the mouths of both glasses and remove the whisky glass. Restore the tumbler to its upright position and enjoy (maybe not all of it). The brave may wish to try it with a rare single malt.

YOU WILL NEED: 4 GUESTS 4 DINING CHAIRS

To test guests’ physical fitness, see if they can do the crab pose. This involves lifting the chest and hips off the ground so that only the palms and feet remain on the floor.

Arrange four chairs as though pulled in under a square table. The chairs need to be close enough that when one person, with feet on the ground, lies down across a chair, the adjacent chair will be close enough to support that person’s head and shoulders. Next, have all four guests sit down sideways – at right angles to the chair backs. One by one, each person lies down, resting their head and shoulders on the next person’s legs.

A bystander removes each chair, one by one, and the human table does not collapse: combined and balanced forces keep your friends intertwined and aloft. The chairs can be put back at some point; or an end can be hastened by asking the members of the table to scuttle sideways, like a crab, or rotate around, like an unwieldy jigsaw puzzle piece.

EQUIPMENT PUDDING DISH OR SERVING BOWL LARGE DINNER PLATE THREE CLEAN FORKS & SILVER NAPKIN RING

Food such as traditional school puddings must be eaten hot, before a skin forms. And a hot dish needs a trivet, like the elegant example above. But how simple is it to assemble?

The hot pudding dish is held by an impatient cook while the host demonstrates. Balance three forks pushed through a napkin ring, equally spaced, the prongs stopping at the lip of a plate that in turn holds the bowl. The instant it has been made, this handsome trivet should then be dismantled at speed. The host takes the pudding from the plate and holds it impatiently while a guest grabs the forks, napkin ring and plate, attempting to dismantle and assemble as quickly as possible, before passing along all the elements of the trivet to their neighbour and holding the pudding themselves. Each competitor should be put under undue pressure, with general jeering and distracting commentary. The slowest competitor eats the cold, congealed pudding.

YOU WILL NEED: BOTTLE OF WINE WITH CORK COMFORTABLE SHOE THICK WALL FOR HITTING

How infuriating to arrive at a dinner party only to find that the hosts have lost their corkscrew. And yet this does happen, especially when the hosts have done it on purpose.

Start by removing the foil around the cork. Next, choose a shoe that improves with wear, such as a brogue. Avoid running shoes (designed to absorb shock). Insert the base of the bottle into the shoe, at the heel end, and hold so that the shoe is vertical and the bottle horizontal. Stand, feet shoulder-width apart, knees slightly bent. Note that concentration (and balance) could be impaired if one is still wearing the other shoe, or if several bottles have already been opened this way. Strike the heel of the shoe against the wall in a steady, regular motion. After around six hits the cork will have progressed, though the speed of its exit will depend on the thrusts – and shoe. When the cork is more than halfway out, tip the bottle semi-upright and ease its passage by hand.

YOU WILL NEED: CARAFE OR WIDE-MOUTHED BOTTLE HARD-BOILED EGG SCRAP PAPER AND MATCHES

Auseful image in pondering the physics of eggs and bottles is of a person being sucked out of an aeroplane in mid-flight: it’s a question of atmospheric pressure. While a boiled egg’s progress through the atmosphere is more sedate, it needs to be thoughtfully prepared for its journey ( before guests arrive), its smooth shape unimpaired by rushed boiling or clumsy peeling. Place the egg on the rim of a carafe to check the fit; it should perch as though in an egg cup. Simmer the egg for 13 minutes, then take the hot pan to the sink and run cold water over the egg until it’s much cooler. Crack, roll and peel. Now your egg is ready, light a strip of paper and drop it, along with the match, into the glass vessel. Plug with the egg immediately and marvel as the bottle seems to ingest the egg of its own volition. The heat of the flame briefly increases the pressure inside the bottle. When the flame goes out, cooler air reduces the pressure and the egg is drawn inside.

YOU WILL NEED: CANDLES HEAVY CANDLESTICKS MATCHES

Balancing on one knee is an unusual thing to do, but with a little practice it can seem quite natural and even zen-like. The introduction of fire challenges this happy equilibrium. Consider the surface of the ground: a carpet is far preferable to wood or stone, though perhaps it should be covered with newspaper. Linoleum never looked so enticing.

Both participants kneel on the floor opposite each other and lift their respective right knees behind them, grasping their right ankles with their right hands. A third person places a candle in each of their left hands and lights one of them.

Candles in candlesticks (or ideally candelabra) will be heavier for holding aloft, while pushing the wicks further away – this makes for more exciting spectating. One of the candles is lit. The object is for participants to approach each other and then for one to light the other’s candle without either of them letting their right knee touch the ground.

YOU WILL NEED: VISCID HAND CLARET GLASS GOOD ORDINARY CLARET

This is a technique that can be demonstrated by a willing child and a glass of pure water, graduating, with the child’s departure, to adults and glasses containing port or good claret. Glasses that are suitable depend on the hand: the optimum combination would be a sturdy claret glass and a viscid hand – moist but not wet. A port glass would suit a smaller hand, a whisky tumbler a bigger hand. The essence of this trick is to create a vacuum. The hand needs to be placed over the top of the glass with fingers pointed downwards, at right angles to the palm. Apply pressure to create a tight seal. Quickly lift the fingers so that the hand extends flat over the glass, suctioning it onto the hand, so it can be lifted. It is simply a case of air pressure squaring up to the effects of gravity. These tricks are taken from the Dangerous Experiments

for After Dinner card set by Kendra Wilson and Angus Hyland (Laurence King). Illustration: Dave Hopkins.