Magic isn’t something you can talk about over the phone; it has to be seen to be believed, and so I arrange to meet magician and psychological illusionist, Martin Rees in Watford town centre to put his talents to the test.

Martin has just moved to Bushey from Weymouth and is hosting his debut local gig, Super-Natural at The Radlett Centre this month.

After a very brief introduction, he launches into his routine.

“After the brief conversations we’ve had before over the phone I can tell which card you’re going to pick,” he tells me confidently.

Martin then has me count down through the pack visualising each card of each suit in turn. I laboriously trawl through hearts and clubs and settle on the ace of diamonds. Lo and behold, it’s the only card that is upside down in the deck.

“Oh no this scares me,” says Holly our photographer. Martin then asks Holly to scroll through her mobile phone contact list and stop wherever she likes.

“Have a look. Is it on a name you know?”, he asks. “Repeat the name to yourself in your head. Think about if it’s a boy or a girl. I can tell by the way you’ve relaxed that it’s a boy.”

Martin writes down the letters B, L, M and R. I can see the letters, but Holly can’t. He asks Holly to read them out from this gleans the name starts with an M. He gets her to repeat the name to herself in her head and then writes down the name Marcus. He’s spot on. Naturally, by now we are both a bit spooked.

Martin tells me he’s been practising magic since the age of four.

“My first gig was at a wedding when I was 12 for which I was paid £20. At 13 learned hypnotism.”

Mainly self-taught, Martin is sceptical about why people practice magic. “It depends what their intentions are,” he says. “My show is themed around ghosts, mediums and psychics - none of which I believe in. People need it to help with grief and there is a lot you can do but don’t pretend to have psychic ability. Magic is my hobby, I do it for fun, to entertain people. I’ve been doing it that long I can do most tricks in my sleep.”

We decide to try out Martin’s powers on a group of students. He does the mobile trick again on 18-year-old David Field from Chorleywood, who attends West Herts College. Co-student Carly Van Dyk (16) from Rickmansworth gasps in amazement as her card, the seven of hearts, turns into a joker in the blink of an eye. Their friends - Jack Maunders (17) from Croxley Green who goes to Oaklands College, Abbots Langley resident George Collins (17) who attends Parmiter’s School, Caroline Cooke (16) from Cassiobury, who goes to college in Hemel and Jordan Esfahani (17) from Watford, who is also studying at West Herts College - are all fascinated by what they see. We begin to draw quite a crowd.

So how does Martin do it?

“The eyes give away a lot,” says Martin “Body language, the state of someone’s fingernails, these things can tell you a lot about a person.”

Martin has been preparing for this show for a year but says he simply sits on a garden bench in Bushey for inspiration or tinkers away making new tricks in the shed. He uses a projector so the audience can see what he’s writing down but says he has few props.

“There will be surprises. The second half is quite scary. It’s a performance like no one’s ever seen before.”

Super-Natural is at The Radlett Centre in Radlett, October 12 at 8pm. The show is not suitable for under-15s, for pregnant women or people with a heart condition. Part of the proceeds will be going to The Norwood Children’s Charity.

Details: 07976 353672 or email: explosiveevents@hotmail.co.uk