Bridlington

The wild westerly wind was blowing strong driving in hard cold rain the day my wife Mary and I visited the sea port town of Bridlington in Yorkshire .  I was there for two reasons, firstly I had been invited by Katie the President of the local Spiritualist Church to give a talk to her members and secondly to meet with my old Army buddy ‘Crazy Horse’ James Howell. Let me start with meeting Mr. Howell a man I had last seen in 1971 at the Barracks in Sennelager, Germany when we were both serving with 39 Missile Regiment RA.

Through the internet facility known as FaceBook I had reconnected with James on the pages dedicated to our old Artillery unit 36 Arcot 1751 Battery .  Exchanging messages over many months I was intrigued by the memories we shared of a time when life was less complex and Britain actually had an Army of over two hundred thousand men.  Mr. Howell told me he was living in the Newcastle on Tyne area so when Katie at the Bridlington Church invited me I thought it an ideal opportunity to meet with James and his delightful wife Maureen.  By the side of the harbour with a storm howling around us we shook hands again some forty five years since we last did so. James was no longer a somewhat svelte nine stone stripling he was now a strapping thirteen stone mature man and I, well I am a grey haired gimpy old Grumps.

In a local bar, over soft drinks, we spoke of incidents that had coloured our collective military past. James had a remarkable, if somewhat jaundiced, recall of one particular moment in time when I had conducted a very unwise Ouija Board session in a barrack room. On that night I had, inadvertently, connected with a discarnate entity from the dark side of the next dimension. There was a soldier in the room making jokes about the veracity of our communicator and the Ouija board spelt out this warning ‘He will not be laughing soon’.  That night, some hours after we had ended the connection to the restless spirit something diabolical happened to the soldier that had laughed. His barrack room was virtually destroyed, large steel lockers were thrown around and metal beds were twisted like Uri Geller’s dessert spoon whilst the man cowered under his mattress in abject terror. The first I knew about this was the next morning as other soldiers told me of the destruction. Now, some forty seven years later, James Howell was remembering that incident and appeared convinced that it was not the work of some demonic discarnate force but an act of madness by yours truly. As I said rather an uncomplimentary observation but one that had remained burnt into his memory for almost five decades. James even recalled the other soldier’s name as Stanley Browning the 36 Battery Runner.

James and I enjoyed some happier recollections of 1969 when in pre-Gaddafi Libya we both swam the bay of Tobruk . Subsequently we endured many months of hardship following the overthrow of King Idris. We were trapped in the base of RAF El Adem as the revolutionary army of Colonel Gaddafi surrounded the unit and refused permission for planes to land or depart. Then James reminded me of the time I had bitten a chunk of flesh out of his friend the fearsome and ferocious, but very tasty Scotchman, Charlie Mac. I was only defending myself having been soundly whacked on the head with a wooden mallet in a brawl then subjected to extreme violence. As I said ‘Crazy Horse’ had some rather dark memories of our distant days together, when we were young. In fact he told my dear wife Mary that he had great sympathy for her having put up with me for so long, wondering how on earth did she do it?

Number 5 Victoria Road Bridlington is the location of the Spiritualist Church and it was there on the evening of 29^th June 2016 that I met with Katie the president of said church. The Church itself is a single story unit set slightly back from a residential road in its own neatly cultivated grounds. Within it has seating for approximately fifty in a wonderfully warm and spiritually uplifting atmosphere. On entering I immediately became aware of the scent of Patchouli, my favourite incense was delicately perfuming the interior. Katie, a glowing spiritual lady, told me how she and her family had refurbished the church that had been gifted to them by a former member.  Looking out through the brand new windows I saw an immaculate peaceful garden for mediation and remembrance, Katie explained how she and her dedicated daughter Debs had transformed this from a virtual rubbish tip. The whole Church had a brilliant atmosphere of peace and love that seemed to shine out from the very fabric of the building. I knew the moment I walked in that I was going to really enjoy my evening there and this was quickly confirmed. Taking the admission for the Church that evening was a delightful young lady called Shirley who gave me a rather old fashioned look then quietly assured me that she was looking forward to my talk, well so was I.

I was gently and very politely introduced on the platform by a kindly gentleman named Trevor. He told the congregation that I was an internationally published author and psychic as well as being the feature editor of this newspaper Psychic World. My talk I titled ‘Exploring The Etheric’ and for this I had prepared absolutely no notes whatsoever. Now I was facing over forty people and allowed myself to be inspired, you see I really was exploring the etheric as what I was about to say was completely unscripted and given to me as I spoke. The theme of my talk was how spirit will always find the right person to work with in their quest to bring enlightenment and the truth of eternal life. To better explain this I gave many personal  examples of how I myself had been contacted by spirit and received directions and guidance.

In telling the congregation about my first near death experience I remembered the days when I was suffering from influenza as a young solider back when I was in barracks. The Army doctor had wanted to hospitalize me but I had asked if I could just sleep through this illness in my own bed, it was a mistake that almost cost me my life. Unknown to me I was in fact very seriously ill and once I went to bed the influenza took over my body. Suddenly I found myself standing outside my own physical form staring down at myself and a voice spoke to me asking where I would like to go. Being inquisitive about the world I asked to see The Taj Mahal and instantly I was there outside that mighty magnificent building. Then the voice asked again where I would like to go and I wanted to see The Eifel Tower in Paris . Within a split second I was at the very top platform of that tower mingling with crowds of people. The voice then asked me where I really desired to be and I recall saying that I would like to visit my maternal grandparents at their home in a 17^th century stone cottage in the village of Foulridge , Lancashire . It was like being Superman, I began to fly through the air over England and came to earth some half a mile or so from my grandparents home. I felt as if I weighed a ton, I could hardly move and as I struggled forward I saw a most beautiful lady dressed all in white with long flowing dark hair approaching me. She stopped and said in the most reassuring tone that seemed to fill me with love ‘John you have to decide, do you want to go on to see your grandparents or will you return to your body?’ I knew then that I must continue being a soldier and told that angelic being I would go back. As she took my hand I again felt an incredible all pervading sense of peace and then I awoke. I was on the floor having fallen out of bed and I was cold, but the fever had gone, I had survived. I told the good people in the Spiritualist Church in Bridlington that if I had opted to continue on my journey to see my grandparents then I would, without any doubt, have walked into the world of spirit and they would have never heard of me or that incredible encounter. You see I believe that even then, when I was a young rather roughhouse soldier boy, the spirits knew I had a job to do for them and gave me the opportunity to return.

I would like to thank Katie the President of Bridlington Spiritualist Church for inviting me to speak. Thanks also to Trevor her gentle partner and to all who came to see me on that happy evening. I sincerely hope that my words brought some hope and allowed you to see that the spirits do guide us as they seek to explain that there is no death just eternal everlasting life in the light and love of God.