At 87 years old, Ron Snelling has gone viral…
Pulling out a pack of cards, Ron Snelling sits down at his dining table, ready to perform a few magic tricks.
However, it’s not his family he’s performing for, but his thousands of fans on TikTok.
Ron set up his account in August 2023 and, calling himself Magic Grandpa, he soon had hundreds of views by people wowed by his tricks. He says, “It’s been unexpected but lovely! It’s nice that so many are interested in magic.”
Ron was just seven when he first became interested in tricks. At his birthday party a magician showed him a trick he loved. He says, “It was simple, but I’ve always remembered it. It’s where my interest began.”
Over the years, Ron would practice on and off, and was so good, he even became part of The District Magic Circle – a group of amateur and professional magicians that was established in 1905, with meetings held all over the country.
In 1970, he married Margaret and the couple raised three children and went on to have seven grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.
Ron says, “Life was busy and Margaret wasn’t that fussed about seeing my tricks so I didn’t do them too much.”
Then five years ago, Margaret was diagnosed with dementia and Ron became her carer.
He says, “Life was busy as Margaret was my number one priority. I did the cooking and cleaning. Every morning, I’d always take a cup of tea up to her in bed.”
Sadly, Margaret passed away last June. The couple had been together for 53 years.
Ron says, “It was really hard. And I had a lot of time on my hands. I was part of a bowls club so I went more often and even did some teaching
