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Bigshot old chap. Let me deal with Derren Brown first. I have seen two of his television shows and found them unadulterated torture to watch. I was screaming for the television commercials to come on. Alas for various reasons I was not able to switch him off.

However, I did see him on You Tube working a live show and I thought he was much better. So it is NOT true to say that I know nothing about his show. In fact I made him famous in the first place even though he doesn't know about it. I don't have the time to explain why.

I will merely say that I have known his manager for fifty years and am highly amused that he used to manage and promote a wicked psychic medium of the type that Derren disapproves of so strongly. Still, I suppose I cannot visit the sins of the manager upon that of the entertainer even if he does use disgraceful profanity on stage and misrepresents himself as an NLP and psychology type when we all know he simply read the 13 Steps to Mentalism.

And to your other point. Psychic ability is NOT demonstrably false. In fact there is far more evidence for it than there is for the rather daft idea that Jesus rose from the dead. There IS something to it! I have done thousands upon thousands of readings and as a result am an expert on these matters. I get psychic vibes all the time. Part of the job old chap.

And don't throw back to me that old tommyrot about Randi's challenge. There. I have just proved my psychic ability by predicting that you will be tempted to mention that old fraud's silly million dollar challenge. I really don't need a million dollars since I have made plenty of dosh in the past from doing past life regressions. As for giving it away to charity I would do so but I get a psychic vibe that Randi's cheque will bounce. I do know these things after all.

And I HAVE seen more than a "scrap of evidence" that past lives are real. That doesn't mean to say that I believe it. It merely means that I have seen loads of evidence but I haven't formed an opinion on the matter. Far too busy doing readings you understand. And the evidence I have seen is documented.

There are no "false methods which are kept hidden from the market". I did a seminar on the subject in London recently. Witnesses from this forum were there who will attest that I explained no wickedness whatsoever. Purely palmistry and tarot techniques and no jiggery pokery of any kind. It was palbably clear to anyone that attended that my character and motivation was as pure as the driven snow. I didn't explain one word of guff that you read in books by magicians who have never done a paid reading in their lives and know NOTHING about the psychic business.

You really must try to develop your psychic ability, my boy. We all have it, you know, but don't exercise it. Palmistry and the Tarot is a very ancient divination system that you haven't studied. If you haven't studied it how can you know anything about it?

For the record I believe 100% in the power of the tarot. In my readings I merely claim 75% accuracy because I am a paragon of modesty. And guess what? I am 75% accurate. My predictions come true all the time. And for a very logical reason that even that old buzzard Randi would accept. As long as it works it is genuine. Who cares why it works as long as it does?

I have saved marriages, prevented suicides, consoled the bereaved, encouraged the depressed, given hope to those who have lost hope, and helped the discouraged. I have nothing to apologise for and I sleep well at night.

As for money of course I get paid. Even social workers and your local minister gets paid. And the Pope himself is not short of a shilling or two. And here is the important part. Payment is part of the therapy for the client. If they pay nothing they will put a nothing value on the session. If they pay then they will try and get something out of it.

When people who debunk have done as much good as I have for people then they can be in a position to chatter away about moral high ground. But first they should study the business and the people in it properly. The cynics are what grafters call "half wide mugs". That means that they have a little knowledge of things but don't know the whole story so they waffle about things they know nothing about. It sounds good but it isn't the reality of what goes on.

I know what goes on. I am in the business. I am the way, the truth and the light in these matters. I am the one you must ask about these things. Seek and ye shall find. Ask and it shall be given unto you.

At least you will be getting the correct information and the reality is that only psychic mediums and magicians use the reprehensible technique known as "cold reading". I hate to break it to you but nobody else does. Even the crooked gypsy psychics who would sell their children if business was bad don't use it either.

And THAT is the reality of what goes on.

Ive not been well, but im here now. Ta for all the posts. I never really expected to get so many, thank you. I know a lot of you will find it strange ive asked a group of strangers for advice and thoughts on this subject. Its not as if ive only just come on here and you guys dont know me from Adam, as it were...I wish id never said that now!

I think the thing is, im not happy, and its the soul mate thing and also the fact that because ive been through a tramatic experience and had any religious belief i may have had taken away from me, im looking for something that means 'what im all about, what my life is about'. I have no money, no religion, and im looking for I guess the meaning of my life, and lives i may have had before.

Sophie. Do you do magic? Just curious. I suppose you do if you are on a magic forum. I was just wondering, that is all.

I suspect you need a reading rather than a past life regression. The problem is finding the right practicioner. That can be a bit tough. And of course if you have no money that is a problem too since they will all want to be paid. But then someone who does regressions will want to be paid too.

Psychic fairs are good because you can walk round and speak to the various people and get a vibe as to who you would want to go to.

For the moment all I can do is recommend a very good book for people who are under stress which you have given indications that you may be subject to.

It has nothing to do with psychic matters and is full of common sense. It is called "How to Stop Worrying and Start Living" and the name of the author is Dale Carnegie. I feel that this would be helpful for you.

sophie - everyone is searching for the meaning of their own life...you're no different...

it depends though, on whether you let the soulmate thing define everything you are and do - do you feel that is healthy?

anyway - not going to say anymore - the bottom line is, if you're not feeling too good mentally, or at least if you think you need some help in coming to terms with things...well...

you can do all that with a trained therapist - and any ethical tarot reader would get you to do the same, its just that the message would be delivered via the tarot - but the message will ultimately be the same...

"go speak to a mental health specialist"....

there, i've saved you thirty quid! treat yourself to a dvd and a curry tonight...

http://www.mind.org.uk/

Ive seen mediums etc before and it didnt help, its not something i want to go through again...waiting for that person to mention the one youve lost, they dont and you end up even more alone and confused, but thank you anyway...i do have money for a book.x

The trouble with mental health experts is that they tend to be madder than their patients. I have never met a sane one yet. I will concede that there may be an odd one out there who is normal. However odd seems to be the operative word. Not that I have a cynical nature of course.

While on the subject of books here is another one. This is out of print but no doubt can be searched for somewhere. It will deal with the soul mate thing. It is called "Love Tactics" and the name of the authors are Robert Phillips and Thomas McKnight. Avery Publishing.

The hell with it! I feel in a generous mood. If you want a reading for free just let me know. I do mail order readings on cassette audio tape. I am not quite up with the times yet and have no idea how to do it on CD. I am NOT a medium and do not contact people that have passed over and I am frankly sceptical that it can be done. I may be helpful however in giving you information on your own life.

It is not the ten commandments though. If I knew everything I could win the Lotto. However it may be helpful.

If on the other hand you don't want to go this route that is fine too.

all therapists go through therapy themselves whilst being trained. 3years worth at least. so not only do the genuinely want to help, but they know what its like to go through therapy too.

SpareJoker wrote:

Craig Browning wrote:Ironically, there is a great amount of "anecdotal" evidence that supports reincarnation... it would be quite difficult to prove it such things out based on the skeptical views of western science however.

Sorry, I don't see how this is 'ironic'. Anecdotal evidence can be found for pretty much anything you care to think of. I have anecdotal evidence that smoking is not harmful, in that I have never directly seen anyone die from purely smoking-related issues. Moreover, I have strong anecdotal evidence that seatbelts do not save lives, as I have never directly witnessed them doing so.

If, however, I base my views on the available evidence, then quite a different picture emerges.

So, it doesn't matter how much anecdotal evidence there is for PLR, an anecdote still remains an anecdote.

Craig Browning wrote:What we do know is that there are thousands of accounts that support past-life memory...

Ok, this would count as a body of evidence. When you say the accounts support past-life memory, do you mean that the accounts have been corroborated historically? I would be interested in perusing such a source. Do you have a link pls?

Craig Browning wrote: What we do know is that there are thousands of accounts that support past-life memory... especially young people that have vivid recollection of events and situations that happened well before they were old enough to have inadvertently learned of such things and too, we are speaking of children who had no previous influence or suggestion tied to said memories. I'd suggest checking out ENLIGHTENMENT Magazine Issue 32 (March-May 2006)

I'd suggest checking out the following study from the American Psychological Assoc (http://www.erin.utoronto.ca/~w3psygs/05 ... whurst.pdf)

ABSTRACT—Memory illusions in children of three age groups (5-, 8-, and 11-year-olds) were investigated using a modified version of the Deese-Roediger-McDermott (DRM) procedure.

Children from each age group falsely recalled nonpresented items related to the study lists. However, the nature of the intrusions varied across the different groups. The 5-year-olds were more likely to falsely recall words that rhymed with the studied items than to recall unrelated items, whereas the 11-year-olds were more likely to falsely recall words that were semantically related to the list theme than to produce either rhyming or unrelated intrusions. Intrusions made by the 8- year-olds were equally likely to be semantic, rhyming, or unrelated to study items.

The results are consistent with the notion of a developmental shift from phonological to semantic associations, leading to qualitatively different memory distortions in children of different ages.

I so love folks that bring a knife to a gun fight...

The "cynically dependent" can find grounds to dispel any and all things that they don't WANT TO BELIEVE IN OR ACCEPT. I'm not just speaking of the supposedly "Rationalists" or today's current social bend but similarly religious fanatics of every flavor... just look at the insanity here in the states when it comes to "Intelligent Design" vs. Evolution.

When a child 3, 4, 5 years of age, insists that you call them by a specific name or they are giving accurate recollection to scenarios that happened long, before their birth that involve a given family's history, you find some rather haunting evidence that sustain Reincarnation. I've personally had one on one encounters with a lad who, from his earliest days of being able to speak well into the 3rd grade, got very ticked off for people calling him "James" (his birth name). The lad not only insisted on being called by a particular Egyptian name but offered some very accurate insights about said entity and the era in which he lived... going so far as to explain to one of his elementary school teachers that "There was a time I'd have your head for treating me as you do... "

This is just one of several situations I have had personal "karmic" connections to such a youth. I am aware of other studies in which children of exceptionally high aptitudes and "genius level" intellect, insist on past-life existence, offering very specific recollection for which there is no environmental connection; the child's memories stemming from their earliest days of being able to communicate well into their mid and latter teens (CBS News/60 Minutes as well as other credible agencies have done articles on such individuals in the past decade).

Gen. George S. Patton is one of numerous "leaders" and "genius" types that have been known for their outward belief in Past Lives and who were likewise able to give exceptionally accurate accounts tied to said past lives.

Mine is not to argue or "debate" this point. I KNOW of the validity of said tradition as well as the rampant confusion tied to it due to the antics of money grabbers... any and all philosophical views can be exploited by the con-artists... that includes the cult-minded ways of rationalism and pseudo-intellectualism... seems every Brit that's seen or even heard the name Derren Brown falls into that category... they are "skeptics" because they think they must be if they do magic tricks. Of course, there's that ego side of this point as well; the "need" to feel superior to anyone that relies on the auspices of faith or anything remotely mystical. It's akin to those High School and College "jocks" that belittled and harassed the nerds and geeks but in this case, the self-defined intellects are bullying those they feel to be inferior to their mental savvy.... something for which there's been a great deal of contention within the skeptic's community; the more aggressive "evangelics" of said world, creating a major chasm within their own ranks as the result of their extremism.

Skeptics... an honest skeptic, leaves the door ajar and is willing to believe or at minimum, allow for plausibility. Cynics on the other hand, wont and "Can't" because they are guided more by ego than facts.

Sometimes, given a situation and personal experience around it, one simply MUST believe. That is why we have some rather reserved people of faith on this forum but, out of fear of ridicule, they don't speak up or stand up when it comes to those that would belittle them or the views of anyone that has a spiritually oriented belief. It's a sad thing, actually. Especially when you have an opinionated old Pagan like myself, that will speak up for the right of all human beings to believe... THAT IT HARM NONE! The views and antics of folks wishing to put down the beliefs of others on the other hand, not only bring about considerable harm; the fools that promote such attitudes have the audacity to deny the fact that they are being cruel, rude and overtly disrespectful.

As to Reincarnation & Karma... it is one of the most Universal of mystical teachings and was even a constant of Christianity up into the latter decades of the 5th century (which Rome figured out that the Zoroastrian one way ticket to heaven or hell was far more profitable, not to mention Politically practical). Intellectually speaking, it has been seen by many great thinkers as the more "logical" course of things -- a Law of Necessity, if you would; because it does bring about balance as well as understanding.

MOST CERTAINLY... there is room to contend that much of what we hear about this path in today's world is rife with drama, egotism, and what can be best described as a charlatan's playground. If I meet another incarnation of Cleopatra, Merlin or King Arthur I'm going to barf. Most all of us were surfs and dragon fodder at best, but that's another tangent we needn't go into. My only point is, there is far more to it than the majority of closed minded "intellects" wish to discover... those that have the wonderful ambition of being nothing more than worm food and believe they are nothing outside chemicals and electrical pulsations. Pardon, but I choose to LIVE vs. Exist in such a state of being. Ironically though, some of the most spiritually balanced people I know are Atheists... but then, we're looking at an attitude that's much akin to Buddhism... which supports the idea of Reincarnation even though it's a very pragmatic course of "faith".

Under the auspices of Western "Science" we cannot prove, or disprove the spiritual and more importantly, the idea of "essence" or the immortality of one's consciousness. This could be due to the limitations of current technology and our ability to accurately and without bias, investigate such things. It could likewise be due to the fact that human beings that cling to the "scholastic" way of viewing things, lack the willingness to be willing to SEE what's really out there.

mark lewis wrote:Bigshot old chap. Let me deal with Derren Brown first. I have seen two of his television shows and found them unadulterated torture to watch. I was screaming for the television commercials to come on. Alas for various reasons I was not able to switch him off.

However, I did see him on You Tube working a live show and I thought he was much better. So it is NOT true to say that I know nothing about his show. In fact I made him famous in the first place even though he doesn't know about it. I don't have the time to explain why.

I will merely say that I have known his manager for fifty years and am highly amused that he used to manage and promote a wicked psychic medium of the type that Derren disapproves of so strongly. Still, I suppose I cannot visit the sins of the manager upon that of the entertainer even if he does use disgraceful profanity on stage and misrepresents himself as an NLP and psychology type when we all know he simply read the 13 Steps to Mentalism.

Hokum. Allow me to remind you of your own words, as you seem to have forgotten.

"And it is reported to me that the chap swears on stage. Quite disgraceful. You wouldn't see dear old Doris Stokes do that, would you?"
In paraphrase "someone told me he swears on stage and that is disgraceful".
As I said - you criticise without first hand knowledge while attacking Brown for doing the same.
Claim contact with his management, that you're responsible for his fame and whatever else you like, but it doesn't change the words you wrote.

And to your other point. Psychic ability is NOT demonstrably false. In fact there is far more evidence for it than there is for the rather daft idea that Jesus rose from the dead. There IS something to it! I have done thousands upon thousands of readings and as a result am an expert on these matters. I get psychic vibes all the time. Part of the job old chap.

Again, whether or not Jesus rose from the dead is utterly irrelevant to the discussion at hand and the fact you keep dragging it up serves only to discredit your argument further.
The claim of Jesus' resurrection is, in clear terms, unfalsifiable.
The claim for psychic ability is absolutely falsifiable.

And don't throw back to me that old tommyrot about Randi's challenge. There. I have just proved my psychic ability by predicting that you will be tempted to mention that old fraud's silly million dollar challenge. I really don't need a million dollars since I have made plenty of dosh in the past from doing past life regressions. As for giving it away to charity I would do so but I get a psychic vibe that Randi's cheque will bounce. I do know these things after all.

I would have a hard time caring less about Randi or his challenge. You already have your out prepared, no doubt your escape route is "you deny it because I predicted it"... but I would not have got around to Randi or mentioned his challenge for a couple of reasons.
1> I never really liked Randi's approach in the couple of things I saw of him.
2> I didn't even KNOW he had a challenge out.
Psychic fail there matey.
However, you have your out, so I'll comment on that.
If you genuinely believe that you made an accurate prediction and I dodged it, you fall squarely into the "deluded" category mentioned in previous posts. Otherwise you fall into the charlatan category. I'm inclined to believe the latter as you've set yourself a no-fail situation. Classic bunk mate. Sorry, but it's true.

And I HAVE seen more than a "scrap of evidence" that past lives are real. That doesn't mean to say that I believe it. It merely means that I have seen loads of evidence but I haven't formed an opinion on the matter. Far too busy doing readings you understand. And the evidence I have seen is documented.

Again, you appear to have forgotten your own words. Allow me to assist once again:
"I have found no evidence that the subjects were experiencing real past lives. But I also found no evidence that they weren't. I did find evidence that the money they paid me was quite real and that was the most satisfactory part of the whole exercise."
If you said "I have found no evidence that I can do structural calculations for skyscraper construction. But I also have found no evidence that I can not" it would not justify charging for a service you are, as far as anyone can tell, incapable of providing. The same applies for regression. All the evidence is that they are false memories, and yet you sell them as past lives. That is not the behaviour of an honest man.
However you spin it, your previous words allow no room for you now to say "I have found loads of evidence". You were not denying a formed opinion in that post, you were denying evidence.

There are no "false methods which are kept hidden from the market". I did a seminar on the subject in London recently. Witnesses from this forum were there who will attest that I explained no wickedness whatsoever. Purely palmistry and tarot techniques and no jiggery pokery of any kind. It was palbably clear to anyone that attended that my character and motivation was as pure as the driven snow. I didn't explain one word of guff that you read in books by magicians who have never done a paid reading in their lives and know NOTHING about the psychic business.

Pure techniques or not, the techniques are guff... based upon guff... and without any basis in the real world. That is the hidden fact.
As for books by magicians. I'm afraid not. I'm sad to have to inform you that you have made another psychic fail of epic proportions.
I get my information on the psychic industry from people WITHIN the industry.
I have a practitioner in my family (she falls into the "deluded" category) and several adherents among my friends and family. In fact - going by their ages and the time you worked in Ireland I'd hazard a guess some of them have probably been your clients. Good friends are regulars in readings (tarot and palmistry along with others) and I take what they tell me. Even the "what they said was so specific - there's no way they could have known" was the same old, classic Barnum type rubbish. Whether their practitioner knew they were spewing up Barnum statements matters not.

You really must try to develop your psychic ability, my boy. We all have it, you know, but don't exercise it.

Likewise. It's scary how wrong you've been while believing you are right.
Then again - maybe it's for later, eh?
This, though, is just another stick to hit the entire psychic industry with. You make positive claims which invariably turn out to be false unless someone MAKES them true. I just wish I had a way of proving how wrong you have been about me without resorting to anecdote or letting you comfortably slip into one side or another of your rather skilfully devised "can't be wrong" prediction that I was going to invoke some old codger I know almost nothing about... that's if he IS old... to be honest I don't even know if he's still alive.

Palmistry and the Tarot is a very ancient divination system that you haven't studied. If you haven't studied it how can you know anything about it?
For the record I believe 100% in the power of the tarot. In my readings I merely claim 75% accuracy because I am a paragon of modesty. And guess what? I am 75% accurate. My predictions come true all the time. And for a very logical reason that even that old buzzard Randi would accept. As long as it works it is genuine. Who cares why it works as long as it does?

WHEN it works, it does so because you're talking to the kind of halfwit [please see edit note below - this was a bad choice of words but I will not remove it from the text] that will take whatever rubbish you spout for them (as long as they pay and you've got some cards to mess with) and make it true. That's not psychic ability. That's gullible people paying you to tell them what to do. There's no divination involved - you (if you are even remotely like the other readers I know personally) either make general predictions that can be fulfilled in any number of ways by chance alone or you make a specific prediction that the client enacts.
You predict a "tall handsome stranger" (or whatever, it matters not) and so they go looking for that tall handsome stranger.

If I throw a dart over my shoulder and tell someone there's a readhead in their future love life, they believe it and got looking for a readhead to date - it doesn't make me psychic or accurate if they get one - it just means I've messed with something I shouldn't have and if I've been paid for my "abilities" that I'm a charlatan.

EDIT: I will not edit the above words, but I realise "halfwit" comes across badly. Again, having family members, friends and distant acquaintances who fall into the category I so labeled I do not believe they are halfwits. Some (but not all) of the true believers I know are incredibly intelligent people - they are just gullible as they have chosen not to properly analyse what they have been told and believe Barnum type statements to be accurate and specific even when shown that they are nothing of the sort.

I have saved marriages, prevented suicides, consoled the bereaved, encouraged the depressed, given hope to those who have lost hope, and helped the discouraged. I have nothing to apologise for and I sleep well at night.

Well done.
Who ever said nothing good can come of it? Not I.
I said people who knowingly trade as a psychic when they are not are charlatans and that those who believe the rubbish they spout are deluded.

As for money of course I get paid. Even social workers and your local minister gets paid. And the Pope himself is not short of a shilling or two. And here is the important part. Payment is part of the therapy for the client. If they pay nothing they will put a nothing value on the session. If they pay then they will try and get something out of it.

And there's the key...
...If they pay nothing they will put a nothing value on the session. If they pay then they will try and get something out of it.
It is not what you put in or give... it is what they get out of it. The emphasis on them.
It is all their own doing. Not yours.
You charge for a service you do not provide. Regardless of whether there's some therapeutic benefit in spinning a yarn and someone else benefiting from it... they are coming to you for one thing (reading, regression etc) and you do not give it.
They pay for a regression... you hypnotise them, prompt them to make up a story, video it and let them go about believing they got what they paid for.
By your own admission the only thing you have any evidence for is that you like taking their money.

When people who debunk have done as much good as I have for people then they can be in a position to chatter away about moral high ground. But first they should study the business and the people in it properly. The cynics are what grafters call "half wide mugs". That means that they have a little knowledge of things but don't know the whole story so they waffle about things they know nothing about. It sounds good but it isn't the reality of what goes on.

Moral high ground and "I did find evidence that the money they paid me was quite real and that was the most satisfactory part of the whole exercise." are not compatible.
You are a businessman, not a philanthropist.
Your business is based in falsehood and preys on the gullible. Any good is incidental. It's from a positive word, a listening ear, a client doing it for themself. All you have done is offer a service, fail to provide it and charge for the privilege. Encouraging a belief in psychic power when you've failed miserably at demonstrating any in your predictions about me or encouraging a belief in something you have zero evidence for is misleading them from the abilities they already have.

I know what goes on. I am in the business. I am the way, the truth and the light in these matters. I am the one you must ask about these things. Seek and ye shall find. Ask and it shall be given unto you.

At least you will be getting the correct information and the reality is that only psychic mediums and magicians use the reprehensible technique known as "cold reading". I hate to break it to you but nobody else does. Even the crooked gypsy psychics who would sell their children if business was bad don't use it either.

And THAT is the reality of what goes on.

I've seen elderly tea-leaf readers, tarot readers, crystal gazers and more beside use cold reading without even realising it. I've seen parents use elements of it on children who "remember" a previous life and in doing so reinforce the poor kid's delusion.

I've already pointed out that you're not talking from the business to someone who knows nothing and has learned all he knows from magicians.
I've been into magic for a little over a year - and in that time (or any other time for that matter) I have read just three books by magicians.
The Royal Road to Card Magic, Modern Coin Magic and Mark Wilson's Complete Course in Magic.
I've been interested in the psychic industry and claims for many years, I've seen, discussed, known and been friends and family with people deeply involved in the psychic industry and it is from there I learned.

In fact, so far I don't think you've made a single correct prediction, claim or assumption about me... and some of the things you've got wrong are already known on this forum. At least one thing is clear - you didn't do your homework on me - not that it has done you any favours as you got everything wrong anyway.

That said - you've kept up a 100% streak for the psychic industry. As yet, 100% of all specific predictions people in the industry have made about me have been 100% false. The only ones that even come close are the Barnum type comments and quite frankly - anything that applies to everyone doesn't count.

I've been told I was well read in the classics... at the time I didn't even know what "the classics" were.
I've been told so many laughably false things by all manner of people in different branches of the psychic industry it staggers me that anyone ever manages to twist predictions to apply.

Sorry, Mark, but THAT is the reality of what goes on.

Proof by length of post. Amusing.

Not so much. It's just hard to address so many issues in a short post.
Thankfully I am a fast typer so it doesn't take all that long to tap out mammoth posts.

Don't worry though - you won't have to endure many (if any) more.
I'm pretty much over it.

I can see we're way past the point of no point in this thread and (contrary to the apparent evidence here) I try to avoid arguing on the internet these days. Once upon a time, yep, but I generally can't be bothered any more.

Sorry if my post froze your browser while it downloaded.


Maybe I need a DeLorean DMC12 to go back and stop myself getting into this discussion in the first place... of course, that's not self-consistent... hmm... maybe I'll just be glad that in some parallel universe I shrugged my shoulders and moved on.
Or was that a different thread?

I have not read Bigshot's first post. Alas it goes on nearly as long as mine does. And now that Reverend Browing has arrived it will take me three weeks or so to read this thread through.

However with regard to his last post alas, Bigshot does not understand humour. I rather think he needs to get a sense of it. Of course he hails from Manchester so that may well account for it. I have always found the natives there to be a trifle slow on the uptake.

I did see however the beginning of his diatribe where he defends Derren Brown. I confess that I have not seen the chap swear on stage although I have seen quite a bit of his live show on You Tube before I got bored. I have admitted that it was a vast improvement on his awful television shows which were dark, dreary and boring. However it was reported to me that the chap swears on stage and I consider that quite disgraceful. I am a holy psychic reverend after all.

However I wanted to be sure of my facts so I tuned into matters in a psychic sense and confirmation came back to me from the universe that he does indeed use profanity on stage. And regrettably I also got a vision of a certain Gerry Mc'Cambridge person, whoever he is, swearing on stage in another mentalism performance.

However, I had better deal with one disgraceful performer at a time. I am willing to listen to your rebuttal. Are you saying to me without any equivocation that the chap does not swear on stage? I did notice that you didn't deny it. It seems to me that your silence speaks volumes.

Talking about speaking volumes I suppose I had better steel myself to read your lengthy post. If I do not report back it simply means that I got lost in the torrent of words.

If this is the case I shall let my colleague and fellow psychic reverend Craig Browning answer you. He can chatter longer than both of us put together.

I have just looked cursorily at the musings from Manchester and I am quite put off by his addressing me as "matey". This is impertinent informality and terribly working class.

He is not my "mate" and neither is he my "matey". In fact I do not know the personage in question and have not been formally introduced to him. It would behoove him therefore to address me in a more respectful manner as befits my station in life and his lack thereof.

I shall now return to his long post and see if I can wade through it. In the meantime he really must learn to respect his elders.

This isnt very dignified is it. As for Derren, im not sure why he entered the conversation. I think everyone needs to pipe down and respect each other really. Although as far as Derren Brown goes...Id defend him with my life if truth be known. If there is anything i believe in its Derren.

Ive seen Mr B a few times now and met him twice, he's friendly, shy and very giving with his time. The last time I saw him was in llandudno, I made a real idiot of myself. As he was talking about when those we love die we go to their home and each choose an item that means the most to us, i got this huge lump in my throat...i tried to gently cough but it didnt work. All of a sudden and without warning, hot, stingy tears came streaming down my face and I began sobbing. The woman next to me hugged me, if I hadnt been sitting at the front it wouldnt have been that embarrasing. I had to leave the theatre for a while. Im not sure what happened, but it could have happened more privatly.

Can we please remember what this topic is about...and i ask that you dont diss the Derren, he holds a very special place in my heart, and when ive nothing else to cling to, I know I believe and trust him.