Magazine 75

 
Sandringham

The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh’s country estate in Norfolk was purchased by Queen Victoria in 1862 at the request of the Prince of Wales – later Edward VII – as a home for himself and his bride, Princess Alexandra.

Sandringham House, the focal point of a 20,000-acre estate, is haunted. Poltergeist activity is said to start every Christmas Eve and continue for several weeks. Footsteps have been heard in the deserted corridors of the servants’ quarters. Doors are known to open by themselves and lights often switch themselves on and off.

Christmas cards have also moved from one wall to another and bedclothes have been found pulled off the beds.

Heavy breathing noises have also been heard in one room on the second floor and housemaids working in the house even started to refuse to enter it unless accompanied by another servant.

The present Queen once ordered alterations to the old kitchens and it appears that this increased certain activity within the building...

THERE IS, it transpires, far more to Russell Grant’s psychic abilities than indicated in our profile of the colourful astrologer (PN June 2016). We reported that the celebrity expert on birth signs and celestial charts first made a name for himself as a boy medium (pictured right) whose abilities made headlines in Psychic News in the mid-1960s.

Our interview with him then moved swiftly on to his impressive development as an astrologer, as well as a parallel career on the stage and as a media personality, most recently on Strictly Come Dancing.

If that gave the impression that his psychic abilities vanished after puberty, nothing could be further from the truth. And who better to provide the evidence than our very own chief reporter Kay Hunter?

Magazine 74

ALMOST 20 million people believe they have had a near-death experience (NDE) though scientists have yet to agree on how they should be interpreted.

Vancouver clinical psychiatrist Professor Elaine Drysdale of the University of British Columbia, Canada, regards them as spiritually significant.

She refuses to dismiss them as the result of delirium, psychoses or lack of oxygen to the brain. Instead, she teaches patients and students about the benefits of understanding how the experience can change their lives. 

“Many patients who learn about NDEs believe they have implications for understanding the spiritual realm,” Drysdale told Vancouver Sun columnist Douglas Todd.

She agrees with prominent oncologist Dr Jeffrey Long, who says such experiences cannot be explained away by existing biological theories. Long describes how people who appear clinically dead are often alert to events they could not normally have seen or heard...

Appropriately, Oscar-winning actor Morgan Freeman, who played God in Bruce Almighty and its sequel Evan Almighty, is the presenter of the six-part documentary series. It takes him around the globe as he explores the beliefs of different religions.

In the opening episode, Beyond Death, Freeman discussed the religious complexities of death, resurrection and what lies beyond. In doing so, he met David Bennett in a New York City church to learn more about his remarkable survival after having drowned off the coast of San Diego.

Described as “a once boastful and ego-driven commercial diver”, Bennett talks about crossing over to the Other Side where he was surrounded by “fractals of light” and ultimately given a second chance at life.

“I became a more positive person,” Bennett told Freeman. “I possess more compassion, I’m more selfless than before – in many ways, death taught me how to live.”

Magazine 73

In an emotional conversation with Oprah Winfrey on her SuperSoul TV show, Tracy – best known for his eight seasons as a cast member on Saturday Night Live and for his role as Tracy Jordan in the comedy series 30 Rock – has described exactly what happened, and how it led to a vivid meeting with his late father, Jimmy Morgan.

	Tracy Morgan and Oprah on Super Soul Sunday (Photo: Harpo, Inc./Jose Tutiven)

He was on his way back from a comedy gig in 2014 when a Walmart tractor-trailer struck his limousine van on the New Jersey Turnpike, causing a devastating multi-vehicle crash.

Tracy was left with a life-threatening brain injury and his close friend, James “Jimmy Mack” McNair was killed.

It was while he was in a medically-induced coma for more than a week that he went to “the other side” and was reunited with this father, who died in 1987 at the age of 39...

Magazine 72

Creator and scriptwriter Tony Warren, on the Coronation Street set (Photo: ITV)		Actress Pat Phoenix  (Photo: ITV)

 
HIS REMARKABLE creative skills made British television history by giving birth to Coronation Street – known to its legions of fans as “Corrie” – so Tony Warren’s passing on 1 March at the age of 79, deservedly grabbed the headlines in a fashion normally reserved for the soap opera’s stars.

He was, after all, just 24 when he came up with the idea for a serialised play and wrote all 13 episodes of the show when it was commissioned by Granada Television. The first episode went out on 9 December, 1960, and he continued writing scripts until 1968 when he moved into other fields. Corrie, of course, continues to this day: the world’s longest-running TV soap opera. 

What is not so widely known is that Warren – real name Anthony McVay “Tony” Simpson – had an interest in Spiritualism and it was probably his influence as a consultant that led to the inclusion of a controversial séance scene in the 1970s...

ANOTHER fascinating chapter in the White House’s long history of association with the paranormal came to an end on 6 March, 2016, with the death of Nancy Reagan, America’s First Lady from 1981 to 1989.

	Nancy Reagan

Nancy’s use of astrologers during Ronald Reagan’s presidency caused a storm of controversy when it was made public by a senior aide with a grudge against Nancy. It has also been revealed that Reagan family members, daughter Maureen and her husband Dennis Revel, have encountered the White House ghost – thought to be that of Abraham Lincoln – during their stays.

And following his passing in 2004, Nancy said she not only saw her husband’s ghost in the White House corridors but also often spoke to him at night.

Speaking to Bob Colacello for Vanity Fair at her Bel Air, California, home in 2009 she expressed her grief at losing him after 52 years of marriage. “I miss Ronnie a lot, an awful lot.”

She added: “It sounds strange, but . . . I see Ronnie. At nighttime, if I wake up, I think Ronnie’s there, and I start to talk to him. It’s not important what I say. But the fact is, I do think he’s there. And I see him.”

Magazine 71

FORTY-FIVE years after he returned from space, astronaut Edgar Mitchell has embarked on a new adventure that will surely be as revelatory as his lunar landing.

His passing on 4 February, at the age of 85, was announced by the Institute of Noetic Sciences (IONS), the organisation he founded in 1973, just two years after his momentous space flight. Its objective – to research the nature of consciousness – was inspired in part by an experience during the Apollo 14 mission in 1971.

Mitchell was the module pilot alongside commander Alan Shepard Jr, becoming the sixth man to walk on the moon. During their 33-hour stay on the lunar surface, they deployed scientific instruments, performed communications tests and photographed the surface and themselves, standing alongside the US flag.

“There was a sense that our presence as space travellers, and the existence of the universe itself, was not accidental but that there was an intelligent process at work,” he wrote on his return.

A SPECTACULAR display of precious works of art and rare relics of Spiritualism’s early history – some representing forms of mediumship that have since virtually disappeared – went on display in London at the College of Psychic Studies in January.

The event, open free of charge to the public, was staged to celebrate two important events in the College’s history 90 years ago: an exhibition in 1925 titled, simply, “Objects of Psychic Interest”, and a move by the organisation (founded in 1884) in the same year from Queen Square to an impressive new home at 16 Queensberry Place in South Kensington.

	Vivienne Roberts, curator, examines artwork as she prepares for the exhibition.

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle was its president when the move took place and that fact was also commemorated by the unveiling of a blue plaque on the building, on the first day of the 2016 weekend exhibition, by its current president, Stephen Chapman.

The anniversary began with an illustrated Friday night lecture, “Celebrating the College Archives” by Leslie Price, College archivist. He revealed some of the gems that are preserved in the depths, away from damaging elements or careless handling, and the famous Spiritualists, mediums and researchers associated with them.

They included fragile examples of early Spiritualist publications, as well as books, long playing records, automatic writing scripts, photographs of pioneers and letters from Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and other leading College members during its early history.

When the first visitors arrived for the exhibition on Saturday, they found many of the items Leslie Price had mentioned had been put on display, for this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to feast their eyes on items of great historical importance...

Magazine 70

Sara MacKian, Open University senior lecturer
Picture courtesy of Stoke Sentinel (Photo: Lizzi Lathrop)

Magazine 69

SHE DIED nearly 20 years ago, but Baba Vanga (pictured rigth) – “the Nostradamus of Bulgaria” – is still making headlines, though as far as we know that’s not something she predicted.

What has caught the world’s attention, however, is a claim that the blind psychic predicted that Muslims would invade Europe in “a great Muslim war” that would end with the establishment of an Islamic caliphate by 2043.

The rise of Isil, of course, has led to this particular prophecy receiving widespread publicity in tabloids and more conservative newspapers, on the internet and in other media around the world.

The problem for anyone prepared to take these claims seriously is sorting the hype from reality. She was clearly highly regarded during her lifetime, judging by those who are said to have consulted her, but finding confirmation that she actually made these prophecies is almost impossible...
 
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A LARGE proportion of the scientific and medical community dismiss healing and healers on the basis that patients’ unexpected improvements and even cures are simply the result of the well-known “placebo” effect.

This phenomenon, in which a sick patient believes he or she is receiving effective medicine, treatment or surgery and responds accordingly, is real and common, and improvements do occur even though the medication is inert, the surgery is a sham or the patient is being lied to about the nature of the treatment.

The placebo effect complicates assessments of new treatments because it has to be taken into account in assessing pharmaceutical test results.

It hinges on patient expectation and for that reason it is easy – and perhaps understandable – that it is used by those who are sceptical of healing powers to explain away the positive results that are often achieved by healers and others who offer complementary and alternative approaches to medicine...
 
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Magazine 68

AT THE age of 89 and after major surgery for cancer from which he had made a remarkable recovery, Minister Eric Hatton – referred to by many as “Mr Spiritualism” – made his transition to the spirit world on 6 November. He passed peacefully at home, surrounded by his loved ones.

	Eric and Heather had been married for over 52 years

One can only imagine the greeting he would have received in the spirit world from those he worked with for decades in promoting the truths of Spiritualism: mediums, healers, speakers and, above all, his wife Heather (pictured with him, right), who had made the same journey eight years earlier, following her death in June 2007.

Theirs was a remarkable, loving partnership that was never self-centred: service to others was paramount in their lives. As well as playing key roles in their local church at Stourbridge, West Midlands, and becoming trustees of Spiritualist charities, they also made time to assist individuals on a personal level.

Heather often used her psychic gifts to help others and Eric said that he never recalled her taking money for those sittings.

Her passing, ironically from a viral infection following successful heart surgery, was a huge loss to Eric, even with his knowledge of survival.

“Such was the strength and power of the bond of our intertwined lives that I felt deep within myself that she would do her utmost to take away my hurt and prove she was near,” Eric wrote in his autobiography, Taking Up The Challenge (2010), adding:

“Through the excellent mediumship of Gerard Smith, Eileen Davies and John Conway, to name but three, I received graphic and detailed personal evidence which surprised even me.

“In some sittings with these three, reference was made by Heather to incidents which I had long forgotten, and to verify them I had to make searching enquiries to confirm the accuracy of the details. Some were extremely personal, and though I would love to share their veracity here, I cannot, because in doing so I would be betraying a pact that Heather and I made.”

It was evidence of this calibre that first persuaded Eric, in the 1940s, that not only do we all survive death but communication between this world and the next is a reality...

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	David Traynor channelled Michael Jackson

IT WAS difficult to tell if Channel 4’s “My Psychic Life” had deliberately set out to make fun of mediums, or whether they began with the best of intentions and had lost control as the behaviour of their larger-than-life subjects became increasingly farcical.

But let’s not be too hard on those who allowed themselves to be filmed in order to show “what life is like for people who claim they can talk to the dead”.

I’m sure they had the best of intentions tinged, perhaps, with the hope that appearing on TV could, at the very least, attract a few more clients and may even propel them into the limelight and allow them to enjoy the fame and fortune they craved.

We saw openly gay Dean James Fox giving a one-to-one sitting to drag star DJ Zoe in Blackpool, then striding onto the stage of an empty theatre and expressing the hope that one day he could fill an auditorium of that size.

And perhaps he will. But what we saw of his mediumship in front of much smaller audiences suggests it needs further development before that ambition can be fulfilled...

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Magazine 67

AT THE very end of 2004 and ten days before the huge Indian Ocean earthquake caused giant tsunami waves to wreak havoc along the coastlines of 14 countries, wild and domestic animals seemed to know what was about to happen – and fled to safety.

According to reliable eyewitness accounts, the following events happened:

• Elephants screamed and ran for higher ground.
• Dogs refused to go outdoors.
• Flamingos abandoned their low-lying breeding areas.
• Zoo animals rushed into their shelters and could not be enticed to come back out.

It has also been noted that whereas the tsunami took over 220,000 human lives, relatively few animals were reported dead. This adds to growing speculation that animals somehow sense impending disaster: a belief that has been around for centuries.

There was a time when humans’ own instincts were more animal-based but our sixth sense has largely been replaced by language skills. It could be that our psychic ability, through time, has been largely eroded by our evolutionary development and the need to adapt to a modern environment...

The book is a fitting memorial to his career (see review in this month's Psychic News, page 30) since it encapsulates a worldview that is spiritual and compassionate – in contrast to the outlook of some other self-help authors whose focus is more materialistic. It was not until the 1990s, however, that he acknowledged a spiritual dimension to his work.

It was confirmed in the announcement on his Facebook page: “‘Wayne has left his body, passing away through the night. He always said he couldn’t wait for this next adventure to begin and had no fear of dying.”

Ellen DeGeneres, comedian and TV host, was among the first to pay tribute to Dyer who had officiated at her wedding to actress Portia De Rossi...

Magazine 66

	Uri Geller             Photo: Glyn Ridgers

Speaking to Psychic News from his home in Sonning, Berkshire, early in September, Uri explained:

“From the first day I left Israel, in June 1972, I always had this aching desire, this yearning, to go back to my homeland. I never knew I would be out of Israel for so long.”

In the early part of his career, Uri lived in America, Japan and Germany before choosing Sonning to be his permanent home. It was there that celebrities and family celebrated the renewal of Uri’s and Hannah’s wedding vows in March 2001. Michael Jackson was best man.

But the pull of his homeland has proved stronger, so he and his wife Hannah have bought a home in Jaffa.

He confesses: “I will miss everything about England. Instead of sitting in a very luxurious house overlooking the River Thames and seeing boats pass by, we will be in a tiny apartment in Old Jaffa, which is 5,000 years old, and we’ll overlook the Mediterranean, with views of palm trees, archaeological sites and a Greek church.”

One factor in his decision is the way in which the world has changed since he first made headlines around the world...

IT IS no surprise that Unitarians should take an active interest in psychical research. After all, although it has its roots in Jewish and Christian traditions, it is open to insights from all faiths, science, the arts, the natural world and everyday living.

It also encourages its followers to base beliefs on rational enquiry rather than external authority. And rational enquiry is at the heart of the Unitarian Society for Psychical Studies (USPS) in the UK which is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year.

Yet it was a young man’s death that led to the creation of USPS.

 Roger Whitby was 21, had achieved a first-class honours degree in civil engineering at Sheffield University and had beaten 340 other applicants to secure a job in London with a major building company.

It was the summer of 1963 and with six or more weeks before he was due to start his first job, Roger went on holiday to the Mediterranean island of Corsica with his sister Vivien and their parents, Unitarian ministers Rev George S. Whitby and Rev Florence Whitby.

George Whitby enjoyed a long and distinguished career as both a lecturer in philosophy for adult education and an examiner in moral philosophy at the University of Glasgow. For 30 years he was a minister of the Unitarian Central City Churches in both Glasgow and Sheffield...

Magazine 65

AFTER a period of uncertainty that saw changes at the top and a declining membership, one of the UK’s oldest Spiritualist churches, the London Spiritual Mission (LSM), in the city’s Notting Hill district, has bounced back.

It has a new president – Gordon Smith, among the UK’s best-known and most evidential mediums, was appointed president in May – and membership has more than doubled.

 Despite living in Scotland and having a busy schedule of demonstrations throughout Britain and overseas, Gordon intends taking an active role, particularly in mediumship and healing development.

He took over from medium Peter Geekie whose resignation as president, due to ill-health, was announced earlier this year (PN April 2015).

“I was asked to take on the role two years ago,” Gordon tells Psychic News, “but I didn’t feel the time was right. But now, my gut instinct says ‘Yes’.

“I first set foot inside the LSM 25 years ago as a visitor. I sat at the back of the church. Don Galloway was demonstrating that day and he recognised me and invited me up to the rostrum...

Ghosts, poltergeists and other spooky phenomena have long been part of the staple diets of movie makers and TV producers, but they make no pretence to be anything other than fiction.

The current very noticeable trend, however, is to produce movies – for the cinema and for TV – that attempt a more realistic approach to what is clearly a fascinating subject to explore.

Project Afterlife is typical of these. It’s a six-part series in which four investigators with different backgrounds explore the stories of individuals who have had near-death experiences. So that’s more documentary than drama.

Proof, starring Jennifer Beals, on the other hand, is pure fiction – but is based on fact and the search for proof of life after death. Beals, who plays Dr Carolyn Tyler, a surgeon who has lost her teenage son and also had a near-death experience, has been praised for the sensitivity she brings to the role, but the show itself has had mixed reviews...

Magazine 63

Magazine 63

LEADING medium and tutor Glyn Edwards, CSNU,

has passed to the spirit world aged 65.

Liverpool-born Glyn devoted his life to learning and teaching, sharing his vast knowledge and mediumship with many students and friends around the world.

Having joined a Benedictine community at the age of sixteen, he took his first steps along paths which led him to acquire knowledge of other disciplines. He became a close friend of renowned tantric master Swami Dharmananda Saraswati Maharaj, who gave him the name of Devasdada, meaning “Servant of God.”

Glyn had a wide experience of physical mediumship and trance states, and was a trance medium himself. He lived in the small country village of Maids Moreton in Buckinghamshire.

The medium was a senior course tutor at the Arthur Findlay College, Essex, for more than 30 years. On its website, the college says:

“Glyn possesses extensive understanding of various mediumistic and spiritual paths, and is particularly known for the quality of his work and his ability to demonstrate his mediumship almost effortlessly in front of large audiences.

“He is highly respected for his understanding of and insight into different areas of mediumistic unfoldment and his devotion to helping students explore and realise their individual potential.

“In 2003, he made the front page of Psychic News (which he has done many times in his mediumistic life) after being struck down by a mystery virus. Since then, he has shown how determination and the power of the spirit can overcome adversity.

“Remarkably many have testified to how his work and teachings have moved on to a deeper level. He also found this chapter in his life opening up many profound insights and experiences that expanded his amazing mediumistic and spiritual vision.”

Safe Passage  (above) by Tony Katz
“This picture symbolises hope. Whatever traumatic things happen in life, with faith in the Great Spirit all will be well and you will be led into the safe haven of light.”

The Temple of Inner Peace (top right) by Tony Katz
“This picture is for relaxation and healing.”

Spiritual Heights (bottom right) by Tony Katz
“This mountain scene represents a person’s journey through life – or lifetimes – eventually reaching their ‘spiritual heights’.”

Magazine 62

 
When proffering a greeting hand to someone we have just been introduced to, contact is made long before their hand touches ours. In fact, the same may be said of anything we reach out to touch, with contact being made at a more subtle level a little time before any interaction takes place. I’m talking, of course, about the aura, that wonderful phenomenon which is an integral part of a human’s subtle anatomy, and plays such an important role in the manifestation of our spiritual make-up.

Although the majority of people are completely unaware of the aura’s existence, those who are privy to it understand it to be a multi-coloured ‘glow’ that surrounds the body, from which an abundance of information is gleaned by those who can actually ‘see’ it. But what exactly is the aura? And what can be made of it from a scientific perspective?

The aura is in fact best described as a vaporous mass of electromagnetic particles, surrounding both animate and inanimate things. This would suggest that a table or even a brick has an aura, which of course they do, to a greater or lesser degree.

THE HUMAN FORM

The human form itself is an electromagnetic unit of incredible power, modifying, distributing and discharging energy, and is contained in its own spectrum of colour and light. And so we understand the aura to be a metaphysical as well as a scientific phenomenon. Chemical energy is converted by the cells of the body into light energy, culminating in what science refers to as ‘human bioluminescence’ – an optical phenomenon that is seen in some deep-sea aquatic creatures; a kind of transcendental glow around the body...
 
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Magazine 61

Spiritualist medium Colin Fry has been diagnosed with terminal lung cancer. But the 52-year-old entertainer has vowed to battle on with his punishing UK theatre tour while he has sufficient strength.

Brave Colin was given the grim news several weeks ago but kept it a secret from his loyal fans.

But on Saturday 18th April he was forced to abandon his show after just five minutes at the Bluebell Hotel in Burton Agnes, Yorkshire, after feeling unwell. His show the next day at the Radlett Centre, Radlett, Hertforshire, was also cancelled.

In the theatrical tradition of ‘the show must go on’, Colin aimed to be back on stage on 23rd April at the Woodville Halls in Gravesend, Kent.

Following the sad announcement, Colin said: “It is bad news for me personally, but it has made me even more determined to carry on. It gives me a chance to say goodbye to my fans, who have been so loyal to me over the years.

“I hope they and the theatres will all bear with me. I feel good most of the time, but there will be bad days too....

 
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I can’t know if these thoughts of mine actually make a difference – how could any of us prove cause and effect? Sometimes I feel as if I’m just talking to myself (which I suppose could be therapeutic in itself) but I continue to send out the thoughts in the hope that they’ll do some good somewhere, somehow.

I’ll lay a pound to a penny that I’m not alone in feeling a frustration about this ‘I-wonder-if-they-can-really-hear-me’ routine. And that’s never more true than when the thoughts I’m sending spirit-side concern a sincere request for guidance about something that’s troubling me deeply...
 
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Magazine 60

Husband-and-wife mediums Timothy and Jeanette Abbott have received eight-month jail terms following their conviction for a benefit scam lasting a reported 16 years.

Sitting at Stoke-on-Trent Crown Court, a judge ruled that Mrs Abbott’s sentence be suspended for eighteen months, a decision Psychic News understands to have been based on the needs of a dependent child.

Timothy Abbott, 53, along with his 46-year-old wife, Jeanette, dishonestly obtained thousands of pounds in disability, housing and council tax benefits. Together the couple obtained a total of £170,000 during their 16-year spree at the tax-payer’s expense, including £35,496 in incapacity benefit for Mr Abbott plus £22,848 in disability living allowance.

During undercover investigations, Abbott was filmed lifting dumbbells, and using a rowing machine, exercise bike and treadmill. He pleaded guilty to two counts of failing to notify the Department of Work and Pensions of a change in circumstances.

The medium – who has continued to publicise his work as a demonstrator and teacher throughout the period of his arraignment and trial – also admitted defrauding HMRC of £9,532 by his failure to pay income tax or national insurance...

 
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This month we showcase the spiritual art of trance medium Judith Clarke, 76, along with a verse received from Spirit. Here Judith shares some of her spiritual journey.

“I have been on a spiritual journey through my art for the last 18 years. I started painting watercolour when I lived in Scarborough. As I progressed I became a member of the Scarborough Art Society, exhibiting in many galleries around the area.

Then, after a personal crisis, my life changed and I moved to Whitley Bay, but before I left, and in the midst of despair, I started painting without thinking – throwing water, colour, salt and sometimes scraping out, leaving to dry and coming back later to find emerging paintings.

Some of the paintings were given to me before events happened; I did a tidal wave sea scene a few weeks before the tsunami in Thailand. In another painting, on turning it around, I saw my daughter with long chestnut hair in a flower garden with a baby boy in her arms. A year later she gave birth to a baby boy...
 
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Magazine 59

 
David Bruton, President of the Spiritualists’ National Union and Principal of both the Arthur Findlay College and Arthur Findlay Centre, responds to PN readers

Further to the extensive coverage in last month’s PN relating to the SNU’s introduction of a physical protocol for the Arthur Findlay College (pictured) and Centre, and the subsequent withdrawal of physical medium Scott Milligan from working at the College, I would like on behalf of the Union to make the following points in an attempt to answer the concerns expressed in the printed letters: 
 

In my view – Eileen Davies

I have great respect for Eileen as an outstanding medium, tutor and course organiser at the AFC and I support much of what she says. However, there are one or two points contained in her article which need to be corrected to provide your readers with a true and balanced view of the facts surrounding the introduction of the protocol...

 
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Sue Farrow casts a quizzical eye over some of the descriptions spirit communicators have given of life in the world unseen, and discovers a contradiction or three . . .

In between walking the dog, matching up the unpaired socks, traipsing round the supermarket and numerous other unremarkable but necessary tasks of the past few weeks, I’ve been brooding more than usual on the meaning of life. Not just this one, but the next one – the whole big ‘continuity’ picture.

Be honest, now – have you ever had the odd heretical thought that it doesn’t all quite add up? And, like me, felt a twinge of guilt for indulging in such subversive mental meanderings?  Well, hang the guilt – I’m a Spiritualist and I’m supposed to think out of the box.

So here’s what bothers me:

We Spiritualists operate on the basis that life for every human soul is never-ending – a continuous eternal journey of spiritual progress and evolution. We muddle through the hard times on the ultimately positive premise that the soul grows through the facing of challenges and adversities, overcoming the various obstacles, small and large, that inevitably drop into the waters of our lives, causing anything from ripples to great big tidal waves...
 
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Magazine 58

 
For those of us who have known the joy of an animal’s unconditional love and devotion, their sensitivity and innate honesty, it’s easy to see why that question (and particularly its answer) is so important. The bond between the human and animal who share a home and a life together becomes very deep, and the loss of a beloved pet can be devastating.

That loss is often made more difficult to bear when human family members or friends, who can’t quite appreciate this unique bond, become impatient with the one who is grieving and dismiss their sadness with a tactless comment on the lines of “Come on – it was only a dog!”

Just as good mediumship can help enormously with the loss of a human loved one, so it can when a precious animal dies. PN’s archive is packed with accounts of animal spirit returns – not just of ‘traditional’ pets such as dogs and cats, but many other species too. You’ll find some wonderful examples in this month’s archive feature on page 52.

 
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We hear seemingly endless comments about mediums and mediumship but rarely hear what mediums themselves think and feel about the work they do and the conditions in which they do it. That’s why we’ve decided to conduct PN’s first ever survey of mediums so that churches, centres, demonstration venues, sitters and all who benefit from mediumship around the world can understand a bit more about what our dedicated mediums need from us.

Our survey is completely anonymous and we’re not asking you to name any church or centre. It’s simply an opportunity for you to have your say and increase our understanding of life as a working medium.

We at Psychic News think this subject is of huge importance and we hope that every working medium will take ten minutes to complete the survey and return it to us, either by email or post. We will then compile the information we receive from you all and publish the collected results in our April issue.

And remember – the more mediums who take part in our survey, the more the rest of us can learn about the unique job you do and the practical ways we can provide you with the best possible conditions to do it. We look forward to hearing from you!

To download a survey form click here →

Magazine 57

 
For the first time in its 50-year history the Arthur Findlay College (AFC) has issued a formal protocol governing demonstrations of physical mediumship (PM).

The eight-point document (reproduced opposite) becomes operational on 1st January and applies to PM demonstrations at both AFC and the Arthur Findlay Centre in Stafford.

In years gone by, PM was very much in evidence at AFC, with a dedicated séance room in the basement. Prior to this, luminaries of Spiritualism such as Gordon Higginson were among those who demonstrated their PM at the college. To the best of my knowledge, the only physical medium currently demonstrating levitation phenomena and independent direct voice at AFC is 31-year-old Scott Milligan.

If you’re not familiar with PM, it’s worth my briefly explaining what it’s all about, and why it matters.

PM is a unique form of mediumship, entirely different from the much better known type of mediumship that offers messages from spirit communicators relayed through a medium who is fully conscious (albeit perhaps in a somewhat altered state) and is essentially acting as a telephone line for those who have moved on from this life to communicate with loved ones still on earth...

 
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JAMES RANDI’S million dollars is on special offer again – this time it’s promised in return for proof that dowsing works.

The 86-year-old American sceptic has made the challenge, sponsored by the James Randi Educational Foundation, to Dr James Marshall, newly appointed Chief Executive Officer of the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO).

The challenge came after Dr Marshall made some controversial comments on Australian radio on the subject of dowsing. He said, “I’ve seen people do this with close to 80 per cent accuracy.”

Proponents of dowsing, or divining, believe they can find underground water by using a pendulum, rod or stick.

Dr Marshall posed the question: “Is there some instrumentality we could create that would enable a machine to find water? I’ve always wondered whether there’s something in the spectro-magnetic field.”

Many people have questioned whether CSIRO, where Dr Marshall takes up his new post in January, should be funding research into the authenticity of dowsing...

  
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Magazine 56

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How Nicky Alan (pictured right), a world-renowned medium who starred alongside Gloria Hunniford in the Sky TV series Angels, has dealt with the ongoing ordeal of suffering from the serious and debilitating condition Fibromyalgia.

Nicky Alan, a vibrant bundle of energy with a personality to match, was struck down with Fibromyalgia after a road accident in January 2012.

Fibromyalgia (CFS/ME – Chronic Fatigue syndrome/Myalgic Encephalomyelitis) is a chronic condition characterised by widespread pain and profound fatigue. The sufferer experiences aching or burning sensations, often from head to toe. It varies from day to day in its level of pain and may also change location, often becoming more severe in parts of the body that are used most in everyday life, such as the hands.

I met up with Nicky and she revealed to me how her spiritual beliefs and mediumship were tested during this trying time...

 
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Magazine 55

 
It’s usually mistaken for graphology, which itself is regarded as a pseudo-science, sometimes used by the police to ascertain whether or not an individual has perpetrated a fraudulent act by forging somebody’s signature.

A PHA is a process of gleaning information about a person’s true nature – their dreams, aspirations and endeavours, as well as their spiritual and psychic potential. As with all divinatory methods it can also be used to glimpse the person’s future and is a sort of database of information about the writer. It cannot, however, predict a person’s death or the winning lottery numbers (I wish!) although I do occasionally give a person’s lucky numbers...

 
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He told Phillip Schofield and Amanda Holden about the leaflets he was distributing outside the theatre.

“The leaflet really talks about some methods people can use to appear to be psychic,” he said. “Some claim to be genuinely psychic, but there are methods some can use to appear to be doing this.

“Even if they are not really speaking to the dead, it can appear that they are. I want people to look at the things they are being told, and work out if what they are hearing is real.”

Asked if he thinks psychic ability is real, he replied: “I don’t rule it out, but I don’t personally believe that is the case. I’ve not seen any evidence that someone is able to speak to the dead.”

Is Mark doing any harm? In the discussion which followed, Spiritualist medium Colin Fry, famous for his numerous TV appearances, refused to be ruffled. He explained that his work helps people and gives them hope...

 
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Magazine 54

Sunday 24th August was an exception. I was in Stourbridge Spiritualist Church attending a service conducted by the medium Darren Brittain. It wasn’t the first time I’d seen him work, but – hardened, cynical journalist though I almost certainly am – I’d never knowingly pass up an opportunity to watch this exceptional medium at work.

Not for him a few hit-and-miss names randomly thrown out in the hope that some obliging soul with a kind heart will accept them. Detail is Darren’s middle name.

Not just a thorough physical description of the father communicating, not just his name, personality traits, occupation, age, manner of passing, favourite food, location of work premises, but the number of the bus in which he travelled to work each day. It blew the recipient’s mind, as did every other message delivered to members of the 120-strong congregation at the service.

Darren’s mediumship didn’t manifest in the kindergarten, unlike some. Now 40, he was 17 when he first entered a Spiritualist church in an attempt to discover what was causing him to see “lights and colours” around people. It had been happening for a few years and he wanted to know why. The medium told him he was psychic, and would soon be doing what she was doing. He wasn’t inclined to believe her . . .

 
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Diane Perry (born 1943) was brought up above a fish shop in Bethnal Green, London. Her father died when she was young. Her mother was a Spiritualist who hosted a weekly home circle on Wednesdays, where there were powerful table movements and communications.

 
Diane later recalled: “I gained a lot from those experiences. There is no way now that anyone could tell me that consciousness does not exist after death because I have so much proof again and again that it does. It’s not a belief, it’s a knowledge, a certainty.”

As her biographer noted – “It was her house, she knew there were no trapdoors and no one was being paid.”

“We used to sit round this huge mahogany table with legs the size of tree trunks which had come from some grand house and one of the neighbours who was a medium would go into trance and get messages from the spirit guides,” Diane remembered.

“I remember one night my mother made some joke about the spirits not being very strong and they took up the challenge. They asked the greengrocer, a woman of about 18 stone, to sit on top of the table then they lifted the whole thing up, this huge heavy piece of furniture, and it sailed around the room with the greengrocer perched on top. We all had to run into the corners to get out of the way.”

 
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Magazine 53

 
You may not have heard of the J.V. Trust, but you’ll almost certainly have heard of the Arthur Findlay College, Stansted Hall. You may even have studied there, or know someone who has. To many around the world it’s the foremost centre of learning for Spiritualism and psychic science – a mecca for students of mediumship and the spiritual life.

	Eric Hatton, chairman of the J.V. Trust and former chairman of the Arthur Findlay College.

What you may not know is that this former home of the great Spiritualist ambassador James Arthur Findlay, gifted to the Spiritualists’ National Union on his passing in 1964, has faced the prospect of closure at least two or three times since its establishment as the AFC. The fact that it’s still open for business and in pretty good shape is in large part down to the generosity of the J.V. Trust.

The trust’s founders, Roy and Christine Wandless, had great affection for the college and are no doubt delighted that their personal generosity has enabled such a unique institution to be rescued in hard times. Though wealthy, they certainly knew hard times themselves.

“Roy and Christine had lost two children, John and Valerie, from cystic fibrosis, and wanted to set up a charity in their memory,” explains the trust’s long-time chairman Eric Hatton. “So the name derives from ‘J’ for John and ‘V’ for Valerie...
 
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Regression is a process to help you access past-life memories, to help you see them for yourself. It’s not about being told who, what or where you were, but for you to experience that. 

What drew you to practising regression?  Are you aware that you’ve had a past life or lives? 

I studied the Mystical Qabalah formally for many years, and it was during that time that I became interested in the concept, as some of my past lives were making themselves known. I’m aware of many past lives; it’s important for therapists to experience what they teach or use in their work.

Are some clients already aware, before they approach you, of what appear to be scraps of memory not consistent with their current lives? What other reasons do clients give for wanting to be regressed?

There are lots of reasons why people come for a past-life regression. It might be as part of their ongoing spiritual adventure and road to discovery. Sometimes people want to know why a recurring dream is making its way through more than others. Often people have a spontaneous past-life memory – they just ‘know’ they have lived in a place, an era, or with someone else, before.

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Magazine 52

One day in February 2006, a woman who had endured the ravages of cancer for four years was rushed to hospital as her vital organs began to shut down. She weighed next to nothing and was in dreadful pain. Her husband and mother were with her as she was transferred to Intensive Care, and doctors told them she had just hours to live.

Anita Moorjani soon drifted into a coma and was no longer able to communicate with her family or medical staff. She was unconscious and about to pass. Yet, even as her brother flew halfway around the world to say a last goodbye to her, she was aware of everything that was happening.

In her moving book Dying to be Me, she describes in great detail things she couldn’t possibly have known by physical means, such as conversations between medical staff and her loved ones, away from her bedside. This made me wonder if she was simultaneously aware that there was no way she could know these things in earthly terms, or if that realisation came to her only after she returned to physical consciousness...
 
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	Medium Gordon Smith

Take part in the Psychic News art competition for a chance to win a Psychic Cruise for four days (three nights) for two people leaving from Southampton on 23rd April 2015 and visiting Le Havre and Bruges.

All you need to do is enter an original piece of your own artwork with a spiritual theme. It can be a painting, drawing, photograph, encaustic art or whatever you can think of or be inspired to work on or with. Your artwork can be any size but must fit into an A4-size envelope. Please also send no more than 200 words describing your work or the inspiration behind it.

The first prize is one cabin for two sharing on the Psychic Cruise from 23rd to 26th April 2015 (worth £798) and includes all meals, shows, workshops, and a meet and greet. The prize is generously being offered by Cruise Focus, who describe it as “a cruise into your mind and spirit.

“With keynote talks, workshops and presentations from Gordon Smith and our handpicked psychic experts you will benefit from a truly unique and exciting ‘spiritual’ experience. Featuring keynote evening demonstrations from Gordon Smith – this incredible cruise will enable you to make your own spiritual journey with us."

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Magazine 51

The Centre houses some 40 examples of works by Evelyn De Morgan, and fine specimens of her husband’s pottery and tiles. The paintings are highly distinctive and evocative, involving rich use of colours and exploring spiritual, mystical and mythological themes, inspired by the couple’s deep Spiritualist faith. Unfortunately, the decision to relocate the Wandsworth Museum has resulted in a notice to leave being served upon the Centre and it will be closing its doors on 28th June, forcing another hunt for a “location with good amenities and footfall”. The Centre previously had to close to the public for two years in 2009, following the foreclosure of an earlier lease by Wandsworth Council...

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Some people express surprise when I tell them that many churches are reputed to be haunted. But why shouldn’t this be so? These buildings were at the heart of the communities for centuries, bearing silent witness as countless souls attended services such as baptisms, weddings and funerals.

It’s only natural to expect that the intense emotions associated with these events will echo down the centuries, later to be picked up by those sensitive enough to see and hear psychic phenomena.

One of the most intriguing haunted churches in Britain can be found on Garlick Hill in the heart of old London. It’s known as St James Garlickhythe (Garlickhythe refers to the nearby landing place, or hythe, near where garlic was sold in medieval times) and can trace its origins back to the 12th century.

The church was completely destroyed in the Great Fire of 1666 and was rebuilt by the legendary Sir Christopher Wren, achitect of St Paul’s Cathedral, between 1676 and 1682. It was later nicknamed ‘Wren’s Lantern’ due to its profusion of windows.

In 1855, a mummified male corpse was found in the chancel and was placed on display in a glass-panelled coffin for the curious to view – upon payment of a small fee!
 
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Magazine 50

In an email on 29th April, David Cordery, of Max Communications (MC), wrote:

“Thank you for giving us the opportunity to quote for digitising and processing your magazine archive. Unfortunately, I have to say that a number of people here are struggling with the subject area you cover and as such I feel we will not be providing a costing and will pass up the opportunity.”

The astonishing decision was all the more inexplicable, given that it came after discussions with the Kent-based firm had reached an advanced stage and had included a visit to our Hertfordshire office.

Baffled, and with a growing suspicion that religious prejudice might have played a part in this sudden turn of events, we wrote to David Cordery asking on what basis his staff were “struggling”.

We pointed out that “the job of archiving should not require the archiver to believe in or accept the material that is being scanned and preserved for posterity, and if you allow people you employ to let their own views influence the work you do, that raises serious doubts about Max Communications’ professional standards...

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In a nutshell – Morgan. I adopted my first dog, a pure-bred mutt of questionable beagle heritage, in 2004. Little did I know then what a huge impact he’d have on my life.

At the time I was working in London’s West End on a play called The Old Masters. Morgan came into my life and after the initial settling-in period all rescued animals need, I became aware that his sadness was not going away. I thought it was something I’d been doing wrong, having been a cat person all my life.

When the Mayhew Animal Home, where I’d adopted him from, emailed an invitation to an animal communication workshop, I knew I had to go. I thought it was the latest way of reading an animal’s body language.

Twenty people sat in a circle as the teacher told us how we could all learn to talk to animals. Nineteen were crying as they listened to the stories, and then there was me. I was full of disbelief and sat with my arms and legs crossed, and probably a scowl on my face. I didn’t believe a word of it.

Despite challenging the teacher in the break, I decided to stay, and in the afternoon we were partnered up and asked to communicate with each other’s animal just from their photo. I thought it was crazy. My internal dialogue was along the lines of, ‘You’re just a rabbit. Not even a real rabbit, you’re just a photo of a rabbit and you can’t hear me, can you?!’ Then in my mind I heard the reply, ‘Who the hell do you think is listening to you?’
 
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Magazine 49

David Hamilton is a one-off.

He has a first class honours degree in chemistry and a PhD in organic chemistry. He worked for several years in the pharmaceutical industry, developing drugs for cardiovascular disease and cancer.

But here’s the one-off bit: he’s also a bestselling author for the world’s most respected spiritual and metaphysical publisher, Hay House, and an inspirational speaker in huge demand for talks and workshops that, in his own words, “use science to inspire”.

So how did this unique fusion of science and spirituality, subjects so often seen as polar opposites and mutually exclusive, come about?

“I worked for a big company called AstraZeneca, and basically my career was sticking atoms together to make molecules,” David explains. “But what interested me more than making the medicines was what happened when we tested them.

“You get a hundred patients with a drug and a hundred with a fake drug – a placebo. What amazed me is when you might get 75 per cent of people improving on the drug, it’s not uncommon to get 50 to 74 per cent improving on a placebo. And that for me was compelling...

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In March this year I was a student at the Arthur Findlay College (AFC), Stansted, on the Reach for the Stars course.

On 18th March that week we were very fortunate to be invited to attend a séance given by physical medium Scott Milligan.

Careful controls were put in place to ensure the integrity of the proceedings. Two independent people checked the equipment (musical instruments, toys, furniture) and the room beforehand. Everyone was searched as they entered the room. The medium himself was searched and checked, as was the chair in which he would sit. He was then secured to that chair by heavy-duty plastic cable ties.

The feeling inside the room was electric and very happy, with lots of spirit energy and lots of singing! The room was in darkness and all participants held hands. The spirit child Daniel and the small spirit girl he jolkngly calls “Scruffbag” were full of fun – touching people, throwing toys. I felt hands touch me many times, on my legs and my head.

Then Daniel said he was going to bring a spirit person through for someone. The name George was given, along with information that the man could crack walnuts with his bare hands. It was also said that the wrong diagnosis had been given for the illness which affected two parts of his body...

Magazine 48

I shouldn’t really be writing about auras. I can’t

see them. I wish I could, but it hasn’t happened yet.

 
Good reason, then, to call in an expert. Edinburgh-based medium Thelma Francis is an acknowledged expert on all things auric. She believes there are a fair few misconceptions around the subject, including what an aura actually is. I asked for her personal definition:

“It’s the electromagnetic energy field around your body. It belongs to you; it’s every bit as much a part of you as any other organ in your body. You can’t detach it – it’s all of you.”

She goes on to describe a situation we encounter pretty much every day: “Somebody walks into your space and you know almost immediately if you want them there, or if you don’t.”

This, says Thelma, is because it’s we who are extending our energy, or retracting it.

“We do it unconsciously. But when you’re aware of your auric energy, when you’re aware of the whole of you, you can actually control it, you can extend or retract it at will.  But it’s usually something we do automatically, until we actually think about it and break it down, then realise what we’re doing.” 

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The world’s population is currently estimated at over seven billion. Each day, tens of thousands of people will die and tens of thousands will be born.

Every minute of every day, news comes to us instantly through TV, radio, Internet and newspapers, and we are bombarded by national and international events, both tragic and uplifiting, on a constantly rolling basis.

The saying “Things happen for a reason” is well known, and as human beings we do like to have our reasons. Our logical method of thinking requires us to find rational explanations for the things that happen in our own lives and in the world we inhabit.

We make decisions all the time, and use our emotions in many of them, but ultimately it’s logic we use to justify those decisions to ourselves and others – reason.

In this world, we’re faced with disasters both human-made and natural. We look at the current freak weather systems occurring throughout the world and we need to find a reason their happening. We hear reports from scientists and weather experts who speak about how the jet stream has shifted, how global warming has done this or that, but on the whole we’re glad that someone is coming up with a reason...

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Magazine 47

For the past century, International Women’s Day has been held on 8th March. It’s a day when women celebrate their skills and achievements, and bring the plight of disadvantaged women to public attention.

Fifty per cent of the world’s six billion people are female, and many suffer from inequalities of opportunity, healthcare and education. Justice, compassion and prosperity are not just political issues. They are spiritual issues that both men and women must address until there is fairness for everyone.

Whether suffering is the result of forced marriage (often at a very young age), female genital mutilation, forced prostitution or other appalling oppressions, the lives of women in many countries can be a painful lifelong struggle...

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He ultimately arrived in a vast hall where all manner of interesting activities were taking place – even the rehearsing of a Shakespeare play.

That is just one imaginary journey into Eternity. There are other fanciful accounts, but it seems the real thing may be quite different, as we’re told by countless people who have ‘been there’ and returned...

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Magazine 42

Magazine 41

Magazine 40

Magazine 39

Magazine 38

Magazine 37

Magazine 36

4th May  2013 issue
(Issue No 4102)

Magazine 35

20th April 2013 issue
(Issue No 4101)

Magazine 34

6th April 2013
(Issue No 4100)

Magazine 33

23rd March 2013
(Issue No 4099)

Magazine 32

9th March 2013
(Issue No 4098)

Magazine 31

4th March 2013
(Issue No 4097)

Magazine 30

9th February 2013
(Issue No 4096)

Magazine 28

12th January 2013
(Issue No 4094)

Magazine 27

29th December2012
(Issue No 4093)

Magazine 26

5th December 2012
(Issue No 4092)

Magazine 25

17th November 2012
(Issue No 4091)

Magazine 24

3rd November 2012
(Issue No 4090)

Magazine 23

20th October 2012
(Issue No 4089)

Magazine 22

6th October 2012
(Issue No 4088)

Magazine 21

22nd September 2012
(Issue No 4087)

Magazine 20

8th September 2012
(Issue No 4086)

Magazine 19

25th August 2012
(Issue No 4085)

Magazine18

11th August 2012
(Issue No 4084)

Magazine 17

28th July 2012
(Issue No 4083)

Magazine 16

14th July 2012
(Issue No 4082)

Magazine 15

30th June 2012
(Issue No 4081)

Magazine 14

16th June 2012
(Issue No 4080)

Magazine 13

2nd June 2012
(Issue No 4079)

Magazine 12

19th May 2012
(Issue No 4078)

Magazine 11

5th May 2012
(Issue No 4077)

Magazine 10

21st April 2012
(Issue No 4076)

NEC Announcement – Mr Andrew Hadley OSNU

With effect from Friday April 13th 2012 the NEC accepted the resignation of Mr Andrew Hadley OSNU as a Director of the Spiritualists’ National Union and as Chairman of the Arthur Findlay College Committee.

 SNU President, David Bruton OSNU has been appointed as the Chairman of the Arthur Findlay College Committee.

National Executive Committee,
Spiritualists’ National Union.

Magazine 9

7th April 2012
(Issue No 4075)

Magazine 8

24th March 2012
(Issue No 4074)

Magazine 7

10th March 2012
(Issue No 4073)

Magazine 6

25th February 2012
(Issue No 4072)

Magazine 5

11th February 2012
(Issue No 4071)

Magazine 4

28th January 2012
(Issue No 4070)

Magazine 3

14th January 2012
(Issue No 4069)

Magazine 2

31st December 2011
(Issue No 4068)

Magazine 1

17th December 2011
(Issue No 4067)