Published in the Education supplement of The Guardian,
29th October 1996

The Impact Award has usually gone to a startling magazine or a trailblazing newspaper: something out of the ordinary.

Well, this year it goes to a startling chunk of writing: Simon Jones from Reading University on his mind-bending afternoon with Uri Geller.

The old spoon-twister has been at it for decades, destroying cutlery and quite a few interviewers in the process. But Jones has style, persistence - and does his homework.

You're there in the room with him as he pursues Geller back and forth: the sense of comedy is strong, but so is the pursuit.

Can a mere student newspaperman push Uri into a corner? Why can't Jones be some bland, goggle-eyed visitor from Breakfast television?

This is a piece the judges all found original, and remembered long after the first reading. It had impact. Now it's got the award.

© 1996, Guardian Newspapers Ltd.