Lasting relationship? Why Superstars are on the blacklist!

       Sorry Mr LaBeouf, nothing personal, but even if you begged me on your bended knees, I’d still avoid you like the plague. The same goes for you Matt Damon. And you, Christian. And Johnny and Denzel, don’t even go there!

       Think of the handsomest, swaggiest, most charismatic hunks in the Universe and they’ll all be on my blacklist! Because, you see, where romance is concerned, I suffer from one of life’s most distressing, emotionally debilitating conditions; one which, though suffered by countless millions, few will admit to and which, far from gaining sympathy, arouses scorn and derision - if not downright hostility.

       If you haven’t already guessed what this condition is, just listen to King Solomon, the second wisest man who ever lived, who obviously knew a thing or two about relationships:  “There is the cruelty of rage, also the flood of anger, but who can stand before jealousy?”

       Yes, I’m talking about the last taboo, the green-eyed monster that squats in the corner of our minds waiting to devour us, clawing at the heartstrings crazed and feral; that fiend, that emotional sadist - Jealousy.

Positive or Negative?

       Believe it or not, jealousy can be a good thing. The Hebrew word gin-‘ah’ has several meanings, such as “insistence on excusive devotion; toleration of no rivalry; zeal, ardour.” In Greek, similar meanings are evoked by the word ze’los. Such ‘righteous jealousy’ exists in God himself - not in an envious, selfish way, but out of a loving desire to protect his people.

       In the same way, a committed couple may quite rightly be jealous – not of but for each other. Being zealous for the well-being of their mate and any children, they are naturally alert to anything that could threaten their family’s security.

       Negative jealousy, on the other hand, can be highly destructive, often leading to broken relationships and even violence. This kind of possessiveness involves a lack of trust - usually without cause - and is misplaced and unloving.

Why do we suffer from it?

       Today’s throwaway attitudes don’t help. Promiscuity, infidelity and the unwillingness to work at relationships have all played their part in downplaying the benefits of a strongly committed union in favour of the quick thrill, the ego trip, the too-many pints of lager.

       Matt*, a very handsome (and strictly platonic) male friend of mine recently broke up with a girl with whom he was really smitten – purely due to her jealousy. Not that he ever gave her cause. The problem was that, being a likeable person who’s extremely good at his trade, he attracts a lot of customers, including women - something his ex just couldn’t handle.

       This had nothing to do with Matt and everything to do with her own insecurity, her inability to value herself as he did. And this, to my mind, is the key. A secure person will rarely downgrade themselves. A secure person may look like Quosimodo or his aunt yet still regard themselves as worthwhile, people deserving of love, lust and enduring affection.

       In contrast, the most gorgeous creature on the planet may see even the plainest people as a threat. Elaine* is a genuine beauty but hates watching television with her boyfriend because she can’t bear him looking at her imagined on-screen ‘rivals’. “Even when a girl is only moderately attractive, I’m afraid he’ll fancy her instead of me,” she confided before adding (quite unthinkingly, I’m sure) “I’d like you to meet him one day.” Perhaps it’s my trustworthy face!

How to avoid it

       Sadly, many people are so entrenched in their own sense of worthlessness, they may never be entirely free of jealousy. Parents can, however, help their own children to avoid it, simply by demonstrating love, commendation and approval right from the second a baby is born.  

       I emphasis the word demonstrating because so many parents of my mother’s generation failed to do this, believing that feeding, clothing and  generally providing for a child was surely proof enough. Not so. Children don’t read the family’s accounts ledger.

       Erica* looks back on her childhood with sadness: “As a mature person, I now realise my parents did love me, but hugs, kisses and affectionate words were in very short supply – no doubt because child-care experts of the day viewed such behaviour as ‘spoiling’. But how else can a child know they’re cherished and special?” Although happily married, Erica still feels inadequate in virtually all aspects of her life, comparing herself unfavourably with everyone she meets.

       It’s actually possible to identify a person who’s been brought up in a secure loving environment. He or she is often warm and approachable and have an easy confidence with everyone they meet – no matter how good-looking or accomplished. Such people don’t need to compare themselves with others – they know they’re valued by those nearest to them - and that’s the greatest gift any parent can bestow.

      As for the rest of us, well.....we’ll get by. But Shia, don’t expect a phone call any time soon!

*Not real names.

 

Move over Bond, here comes Bevis

              Extract 1 

Bevis stood in the doorway. Six foot four in his stocking feet, he cut an impressive figure. His clean- jaw was square and manly, his shoulders were wide enough to carry a fortnight's shopping in a trolley on each one, and his voice was soft and rasping with an untraceable burr. Sometimes, he sounded Irish, other times American - but he always sounded as though he meant business! Although it was late at night, his eyes were hidden behind dark glasses, making him look even more mysterious, and not even his hair, cropped close to his scalp, gave anything away.

"Champagne?" asked Prism, batting her lavish new lashes.

However, Bevis was in no mood to celebrate. "I've no time for that,” he said bluntly. "We need to find the children. Have you any idea where they've gone?" 

Extract 2 

From his vantage point on the hill, Bevis surveyed the forest below, his keen eyes missing nothing, his ears noting the sweetness of a distant lark.

"Looks like rain" came a gruff voice from behind him. It was Mordant, whose puffy red face could scarcely disguise his lack of sleep from the night before. To his great annoyance, Bevis remained motionless and kept focusing on the view. He didn't need to turn round. It was only too easy to recognise Mordant from his nauseating smell and rasping cough, both the result of the cheap cigarettes that continually hung from his fingers.    

"So what's the strategy?" Mordant demanded. "Come on, you're supposed to be the Number One.... Numero Uno! Tell us then, what's your plan?"

"Well" said Bevis "the first thing I plan to do is eat my breakfast. And after that...."

"Yes!" demanded Mordant.

"I'm open to suggestions." Bevis replied calmly. Mordant snorted with contempt.

"Ha! Just as I thought, Mr. Super-agent! Mr. Cool in your fancy leather and your imitation Raybans!   What you're saying is, you haven't got a clue, have you?" Mordant grinned at his subordinates and twitched his head towards Bevis. "Thinks he's a professional, this guy!" 

Extract 3 

The man on the bridge watched them dart underneath him, then, almost casually, he strolled down the steps to the towpath and set off in pursuit.

"Is he coming after us?" asked Joe, anxiously.

"Just keep running, Joe!"  Roots urged, but Odi couldn't resist a backward peek.

"He's coming alright", he said. "Is he gaining on us?" said Alice.  "Heck no," Odi replied, "that guy's too cool to run!" Sure enough, Bevis had hardly accelerated. Even when the party he was following disappeared round a bend, he kept his pace to a confident stride, his long leather coat trailing obediently.

Roots led the way, feeling more unnerved by this stranger than by all the other agents put together. Somehow, he felt they wouldn't shake this one off so easily. How right he was. No matter how fast they ran, or how far they got, they had only to glance behind them to see the sinister figure advancing on them purposefully.

 

http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Runaway-Children-Volume-ebook/dp/B005FY0CNG(UK)

http://www.amazon.com/The-Runaway-Children-Volume-ebook/dp/B005FY0CNG(USA)

 

Corruption: Is ANYONE truly honest?

Honestly, I don’t know what the world’s coming to.  When politicians, banks, newspaper chiefs, big businesses and even religious leaders can’t be trusted what chance is there for the rest of us? And, in the face of what must surely be the most corrupt, exploitative, money-obsessed period in human history, is honesty still the best policy? Is it actually possible to be 100% above board living in this woefully corrupt system.

On a personal level we all like to think we’re basically honest and truthful – but to what extent? Do we always fill in our tax details accurately, or do we ‘accidentally’ forget to include the occasional cash payment or perk. If we find a purse on the street, do we attempt to return it, or is it a case of ‘finders keepers’?

What often makes it hard to be honest is pressure from others.  One factory worker, for example, became extremely unpopular with his colleagues as, unlike them, he refused to take things easy when the manager wasn’t around.  Believing in the old adage, ‘a fair day’s work for a fair day’s pay’,  he was determined to keep his side of the bargain and kept on working despite recriminations from his less industrious peers.

Equally honest was the financial director of a large corporation, a God-fearing man who could spot anomalies on an expense sheet from 50 metres away. So, naturally, after lunching with prospective clients at a star-rated restaurant, he was the obvious person to scrutinise the bill. One sweep of his eagle eye was all it took for him to see the mistake – the omission of a rather pricy bottle of wine which, to the horror of his fellow directors, he was at pains to point out.

Was he a killjoy? Overly pedantic?  Depends how you view it. Getting away with a free bottle of plonk may be something of a coup for some folk, no matter if the hapless waiter lost his job.  But, would taking advantage of a simple human error have impressed the potential clients? And, let’s face it, what better qualification could there be for anyone in finance than sheer, straight-down-the-line, honest-to-goodness integrity? (Whether we see much of this virtue these days is another matter!)

Let’s look at the other side of the coin. For over a decade, an anaesthetist renowned for his pioneering pain relief fabricated research results which appeared in leading medical publications. But why compromise himself in this way?  According to a former editor of The New England Journal of Medicine, greed is certainly a factor:  “When researchers are beholden to [pharmaceutical] companies for much of their income, there is an incredible tendency to get results that are favourable to the company.”

Meanwhile, students are acquiring extra-curricular practices to ‘big up’ their skills. As highlighted by The New York Times, it seems many students will compromise ethics to achieve ambitions, intending to “follow a strict code of values” afterwards. For example, science students in Germany were discovered bribing their teachers in order to be recognised as Doctors.

Poor role models also play a part. Talking to The New York Times recently one professor states that high school students may be losing their moral compass: “It’s probably better to say that their teachers and mentors and the rest of society never helped them construct and internalize a moral compass in the first place.”

If supposedly respected individuals from government ministers to bishops fail to set a good example, little wonder younger people regard the rules as there to be broken, as demonstrated in a recent study. Out of nearly 30,000 students, 98 per cent believed honesty to be vital in personal relationships. Yet 8 out of 10 students said they’d lied to their parents, while 64 per cent admitted having cheated in an exam.

Be honest

Are you as trustworthy as you think you are? Ask yourself these questions:

·        You find a valuable piece of jewellery left on a washbasin in a public convenience. Would you hand it in at a police station or keep for yourself?

·        The cash machine is paying out more money than requested. Would you return the cash to the bank and report it, or go back for seconds?

·        At work or school, do you help yourself to pens, notepads and other stationery items to use at home, or do you ask permission first?

·        The newsagent gives you too much change. Do you take it back, or congratulate yourself on making a profit?

·        You’re out of work and claiming benefit. Then someone offers you £50 ($100) to paint their living room. Do you declare this to the benefit people, or keep it quiet?

·        Your boss asks you to lie about a product or service. Do you tell the truth and risk losing your job, or do you do as you are told?

·        You need to write an essay for college and time is running out. Do you find a piece online to copy and paste, or do you write the essay yourself even if it isn’t up to usual standard.

TEENS - 10 MORE WAYS TO WIND UP PARENTS AFTER LEAVING HOME

       Free at last! Whether you’re at college, university, working in the city or enjoying a gap year, you’ve finally cut the apron strings. No more curfews, no more lectures, no having to tidy your bedroom or ‘eat sensibly’. Now you’ve left home you can do pretty much what you want, make your own choices and be answerable to no one.

       And, best of all, thanks to modern technology, you can continue to exert your influence over the family, making your ‘presence’ well and truly felt wherever you happen to be.

       By following the instructions of my previous blog, you’ll no doubt have perfected the art of annoying your significant adults while still living at home. But now you’re virtually independent, you really need to raise your game. Here are some excellent suggestions:

1.       Remember when you refused to tell your parents where you’d been the night before? Well, forget that. Now you need to tell them exactly where you’ve been, along with everyone you’ve met and what you did there, safe in the knowledge they can do absolutely nothing about it.  One week after my own offspring had sprung to London, she told me about a friendship she’d struck up with a sweet ‘hippy-type’ person she’d encountered in an otherwise deserted subway. At night. “Ahhh, he even offered to share his sleeping bag with me.” 

 2.      If you get lost in the small hours in a particularly dodgy part of town, ring home and ask Mum or Dad to Google directions for you. (Naturally, you can’t use your Smart phone in case you ‘get mugged’) Then – and this is very IMPORTANT – turn off your phone and remain incommunicado for the next two days at least, guaranteeing another sleepless night and huge phone bills for the folks back home as they frantically ring police, hospitals and everyone they know.

 3.      Travelling abroad? Nothing stresses parents more than an overseas adventure, which throws up plenty of wind-up opportunities before you even get there. This starts at the planning stage.

 4.      Whether aiming for the North Face of the Eiger or your local MacDonald’s, don't waste Gigahertz and valuable chilling time with tedious googling when Mum’s sitting at home with nothing to do. (Dad’s are pretty much out of it by this stage, being for the most part mere conduits who pass everything on to the ‘staff’. “I’ll get your mother to do it” is the usual stock reply.) From now on, all the research/planning/pricing/booking is down to Mum. Don’t accept any negligence and, once she’s arranged everything, be quick to point out her mistakes: “No Mum! Not Shanghai – ShangDONG!”

 5.      The night before you set off ask Mum to phone you at 4am so you won’t oversleep and miss your plane/coach/bus/ship. On no account must you answer it, leaving Mum to wonder whether you got up in time. A short text to say you DID overslept is permissible on route, but hardly necessary as, once at the airport, you can call to tell Mum that the plane’s been delayed - possibly due to a bomb threat. “There’s LOADS of policemen here!”

6.       Make sure you’ve forgotten something very, very important, like your favourite flip-flops, for example – the ONLY ones you can wear without getting foot-rot – which will then have to be located and posted at great trouble and expense.

7.       Having reached your destination, make sure you switch off your phone completely, resisting any urge to text or email. Forget the saying “No news is good news”. Mums’ minds just don’t work that way. In fact the longer she goes without hearing from you, the darker her imaginings become. The son of one couple I know set off on a solitary round-the-world voyage in his tidgy, second-hand yacht and nobody heard from him for TWO YEARS! A truly awesome wind-up!

8.       Naturally, you’ll be taking lots of photographs and it’s permissible to send the odd pic to your folks, preferably in a suitably exotic environment: Teetering on the brink of a live volcano, for instance; bungee-jumping from the Eiffel Tower; shooting rapids down the Amazon; hacking through a jungle; sun-bathing in the middle of a desert (without your hat on), or frolicking on a beach near a nuclear reactor. Make sure wherever possible to feature local colour in the background, such as tigers, crocodiles, and indiginous militia in full battle mode. (In my daughter’s case it was a Komodo dragon, but let’s not go there!)

9.       The return journey will doubtless be another mad panic, as chances are you’ll oversleep again or get your time zones mixed up. Now you can ring home to say you’re travelling in a rusty old taxi at 90mph with a 1000ft drop on one side and a hail of rocks from that rumbling volcano on the other! “But don’t worry Mum, the driver passed his test yesterday!”

10.       When you finally get home, make sure you use the wrong exit, forcing Dad (who’s had it pretty easy so far) to drive aimlessly for miles in search of a non-existent parking bay wherever it is you happen to be. Of course you’ll need your Smart phone in which to bark increasingly vague directions: “I’m at the EXIT! Next to a bush! I don’t know what kind of bush - a GREEN one!”

A few choice phrases:

       “Guess what? I’ve met a lovely Sheik who’s flying me to Beirut!”

       “I’m walking through a massive field of beautiful pink poppies”

       “How do you say ‘Clinic’ in Thai?’

       “I’m somewhere near the North Korean border. Which way do I go?”

       “Hang on, I’ve forgotten my crampons!”

       “The outboard motor’s packed up and I’ve sprung a leak!”

       “Tell me again – WHICH snakes are poisonous?”

       “Of course it’s safe! There’s razor wire everywhere!”

       “What’s the difference between a shark’s fin and a dolphin’s?”

       “Everyone round here’s carrying an Uzi”

       “I’ve discovered the path to eternal serenity”

       “Must go – we’ve got pirates aboard!”

       “What’s my passport number?”

       “Hey, a cool French guy’s invited me to join the Legion!”

       “Can you contact the Embassy for me?”

       “Sounds like gunfire outside - hang on, Mum, I'll go and take a look”

       "Can't find my inhaler"

       "My tongue's turned blue!"
      
       "Ahhhh.....there's lots of cute lions just 10 yards away!"

        

      

     

DANGER! Dad's in charge!

       He couldn’t have been more than 2 years old, a golden-haired cherub in a superman outfit, hopping, skipping, jumping and taking flight in his imagination. From our vantage point on a bench outside Morrisons, my friend and I watched his  antics with that soppy look women of a certain age tend to get when kittens, puppies or persons under 3ft tall drift into view.

       Within seconds, however, those ‘ahh how cute’ expressions disappeared and strangled cries of terror took their place!

       “Stop!” I cried, my eyes focused on the kerb to which the tot was hurtling. “Little boy, stop! STOP! STOOOOP!” By now he was travelling at warp speed, oblivious to the traffic, and I leapt forward hoping against hope I could make the kerb in time.  

       Whether he heard me, or perhaps had a supersonic radar system built into his brain, the boy stopped - millimetres from a rapidly approaching Range Rover. I started breathing again and flopped back onto the bench just as Daddy sauntered by, with nothing to burden him besides his plastic Morrisons carrier bags. He turned towards me briefly with a bemused smile on his face, wondering no doubt why this strange woman had been shrieking at the top of her voice. By the time he joined his son at the kerb, he’d obviously forgotten the incident and strode purposefully across the road, leaving the boy to follow in his wake.

       Now, some Dads will wonder what I’m rabbiting on about. If that includes you, ask a Mum. No mother I’ve ever known would let a toddler either run ahead or lag behind. Even if loaded down with bags, trolleys or other youngsters, the average Mum will try to keep her children by her side, either by holding their hands, putting them  in reins, or gluing them to the pushchair.

       Take holidays, for instance. You rarely see Mum with her nose in a book, or snoozing on a sunbed, texting her friends or going for a solitary walk along the sands. Don’t believe me? Next time you’re on a beach, watch how Mums stay focused on their children. “Don’t go too far” she’ll warn if they’re paddling in the sea. “Don’t wander off” “Put your hat back on, you’ll burn” “You need more sunscreen” etcetera. Constantly on the alert.  

       Then watch the Dads. See how relaxed they are. It’s not that they don’t care, you understand, or that they’re not prepared to lend a hand when necessary. After all, who pumps up the rubber arm-bands? Or gets the gas-stove working? Or catches fish for tea?

       And, of course, Dads love their children. It’s just that, unlike Mums, they’ve no imagination. They never seem to see the DANGERS! (It’s the same when driving, but that’s another blog)

       Whenever I see a Dad out with his children, there’s always one who’ll be running ahead, out of sight, skipping on and off the pavement, wobbling perilously near busy main roads, tumbling down river banks, climbing up trees or over railings or balancing on walls. Activities that give Mums mental breakdowns are mere adventures where Dads are concerned.  

       So Dads, if you ever feel Mum is being over protective, just remember this proverb: “Shrewd is the one who has seen the calamity and proceeds to conceal himself”. In other words, think ahead, assess the dangers and please, please, please keep an eye on the kids!

   

  

 

Casting - ummm where do I start?

Guest Blog by Jule Watson, Artistic Director of Act One Panto

Criteria

       Well, obviously each casting criteria is different but the basis is the same. Whether I’m looking for a physical Shakespeare, a comedic film or a pantomime actor, the first port of call is advertising the position correctly so you only the attract the right applicants.

       Actors are like personnel in the health industry, at least that’s the way I like to look at it. In the health industry you have surgeons, nurses, dentists, chiropodists - the list is endless, and it’s the same for actors who fall into various categories, in the main tending to specialise in their own field:

1.   Strong film actors whose eyes do all the talking and whom the cameras love. Whether they’ve been influenced by Chekhov  or Meisner, they know how to keep movement to a minimum as the camera reveals all.

2.   Well-grounded performers with natural RP who have usually been treading the boards for years, usually working with the Stanislavski's acting system. 

3.   Physical actors whose predominant strength is movement for the portrayal of a piece. Influences include included Lecoq, Jerzy Grotowski, Peter Brook and Rudolph von Laban.

4.   Comedic. Now these actors are lucky as their large movements can work for both theatre and film. Just watch Mrs Brown with Billy Connolly to see how this can be incorporated.

5.   Improvisers. These performers again can adapt to theatre and film, and a majority are influenced by Keith Johnston. Jim Carey, for example, is well known for improvising in most of his films.

6.   Finally Pantomime which requires larger than life actors who constantly  break the fourth wall and are prepared to accept the ‘anything goes’ mayhem.     

Advertisement

       Well as you know our industry does not have to abide by the employers discrimination act and we can be quite specific in outline when describing whom we require, gender, age, height and weight. Again the list is endless.

       Personally, I still am using the traditional format of having the main boy character played by a girl and the Dame played by a male – but, trust me, that is where the tradition ends! So when advertising for this year’s productions, I left the other parts open to any gender.

       The advert specifies how new and unusual the company is and what a tight ensemble we are. We only employ professional talented multi-faceted theatre trained actors, who are CRB checked, have countless energy and exceptional comedic timing.  Oh - and who can fly (only joking!)

Applicants

       So the applicants CV s come flooding in – now this is the hard and heartless bit.

       All casting Directors have their own methods at this stage – this is mine: I look at the profile picture – this says a lot to me. Model looking shots are binned straight away, as I do not believe this is a true reflection of the actor – I’ve had actors arriving for auditions and had to ask who they are because they look nothing like their photo.

       Once that is done I look at their age against their photo – again some actors shot are over 10 years old than their image, so again, I don’t recognise them when they turn up.

       Now the pile is getting a little thinner.

       OK more shallowness from the casting director: Overall body shots.

Already I have an idea of what I am looking for and if the body shape is not right, out they go. It’s no good having the lead girl towering above the male love interest. In film, maybe, actors can get away with such disparity in height. Sylvester Stallone was known for soap boxes and elevated shoes so he looked bigger than his leading lady and, nowadays, it’s amazing what air brushing and special effects can do to raise a man’s ego.

       Wow the pile getting smaller. So now it’s time to see what they can do. While reading their CV, I look for several things:

·        Whom they’ve worked for

·        What kind of productions dominate their CV

·        Whether they worked for the same employer more than once (good sign if so)

·        Have they toured before?

·        Any special skills, e.g. stage combat, circus training etc.

·        Are they CRB checked?

·        Can they drive? ( Always a bonus)

·        Which Academy or University they attended (but as you see this is at the bottom, as last year’s lion had not attended either and she was so talented I had Jacy change the whole script to ensure she was in the production!

Short List

       Ok. I’ve now compiled my short list and audition invitations are emailed.

       With my need to have the best, I’m prepared to scour the country but realise that the cost of attending an audition up North may not be possible for a lot of Southern-based actors, so I offer the option of a Skype audition, even though I do prefer face to face. However, an actor’s ability to attend often depends on their finances!  

       When acceptances come in, I try wherever possible to accommodate audition times and dates around train times and existing work schedules, as most working actors have supplementary jobs like bar or restaurant work or selling to finance them during in quiet periods – often termed as  RESTING.

Audition

       This is my favourite bit – as I love to see people perform. Knowing how nerve-racking auditions can be, I always try to put the actors at ease with general chit chat, as otherwise they may not give a true performance.

       I explain a little about the company, structure, pay, accommodation and what we’re looking for to enhance our already strong ensemble.

I then ask them what they would feel comfortable doing first - their songs or monologue. If singing is not their strength, they tend to choose that first and I’m never opposed to this being done in character. These applicants have usually been shortlisted for comedic skills and physicality rather than their vocal chords but, if they can sing it’s a bonus, one that can be written into the script.

       I ask what monologues they have chosen and ask if they are from directed pieces. Personally, I don’t like it if they want to do a directed piece, as I believe this is the director’s vision rather than theirs.

       If I can see that an actor may be a potential member of our team, I will stop their monologue mid-flow and direct them, changing various elements of their existing monologue. This enables me to see a) their versatility and b) how they work with direction.

       Monologues and songs out of the way, the floor is open for questions from the candidate, after which I inform them when they’ll know the outcome – and, as a casting director, I always them know ether way, viewing this as a matter of courtesy.

Decisions Decisions

       This is always a toughie, but I have to take everything into consideration:

Acting

Singing

Movement

Special Skills

Attitude

Aura

And, most importantly, will they fit in with the already strong ensemble?

Vampires, zombies & ghosts - Fact or fiction?

       With fascination growing for the occult and cinema queues growing for spine-chillers such as the ‘Twilight’ series and  ‘Resident Evil’, spiritistic themes are currently providing juicy pickings for the film industry. The last year alone has seen 26 zombie movies produced, while over 20 more are scheduled for 2013. As for spooks and other supernaturals – well, box office takings speak for themselves.  

      But is there any basis for believing in the ‘undead’ or the ‘after life’? Are films that feature spiritism in its myriad forms suitable for the young and impressionable? In order to find the answers, we first need to trace the source of such beliefs, to find out whether there is any foundation for them.

       Cue Ancient Babylon, home of Nimrod and many uncanny practices still in use today. Fortune-telling, omen-spotting, entrail-reading, runes, star-gazing and communing with the dead all have their roots in this magic-obsessed city. (Incidentally, Babylon also invented the fiscal system, which, considering recent history, some may regard as the ultimate nightmare!)

       Ironically, atheists’ refusal to believe in a separate, invisible soul is backed up by scripture.  Here, death is clearly shown to be a state of total unconsciousness, a dreamless sleep from which, according to several Bible verses (particularly the Lazarus account) people will ‘awake’ to a physical resurrection when paradise is restored on earth.

       The Mosaic Law did not allow for any form of spiritism whatsoever - in fact it was forbidden on pain of death for the nation of Israel - and it wasn’t until Greece began to stride the world stage that afterlife philosophies began to take root.

       In the fourth century CE, the Roman Emperor Constantine, unable to quell the rise of Christianity by other means and determined to unite his empire, cunningly  infused original gospel teachings with pagan beliefs such as the immortality of the soul, the trinity doctrine,  and – that most terrifying concept of all – eternal hellfire! The Biblical word rendered as ‘hell’ in many versions simply means ‘grave’ or  ‘death’. (Hebrew - sheol; Greek - Hades)

      Constantine’s ‘miraculous conversion’ marked the beginning of the Holy Roman Empire from which the rest of Christendom developed, combining Bible accounts with Babylonish rites and practices while keeping generations of adherents in ignorance. The Dark Ages had truly begun and the Bible was unavailable to the majority of people until the 16^th century when William Tyndale translated the Bible from the Latin Vulgate into English. His aim - for ‘even a plowboy’ to understand scripture - was not appreciated by the church; hardly surprising as, from the Vatican to house churches, Christendom has done more than any other organisation to promote spiritistic practices. According to one spiritualist I met some years ago, “the church already preaches life after death – all mediums do is prove it!”

       What harm does it do? Well, for one thing, the whole concept of life after death is a cruel deception, especially for people who have lost a loved one. Believing they can communicate through a spiritualist medium can lead to all kinds of fraud and extortion; even if the medium is basically well-meaning, it can still open the floodgates to a very dangerous world.

       One particular form of spiritism – now available as a game! – is the Ouija board, regarded by many as a bit of harmless fun. Others, however, no longer share that view. While at university, John*, a close relative of mine, was persuaded to attend several Ouija board séances by a neighbouring couple. At first, the spirit seemed friendly and jovial but over several weeks, it became more sinister, prompting John to avoid these sessions. He was reminded of them sometime later when watching a movie about demon possession: “The first scene showed people playing with a Ouija board,” he explains, “What really scared me was how closely the spirit portrayed in the film mirrored the one conjured up by the couple at my student digs! Afterwards, I couldn’t sleep for weeks thinking how close I’d come to having the same horrific experiences.  There’s no doubt the movie played on my mind and had a very negative, frightening effect.”

  Such negative feelings are common in those who dabble with spiritism, sometimes even resulting in serious mental illness as the unwary are drawn into darker and darker practices. (Apparently, John’s former friends eventually joined a coven).

       Fascinated with fortune-telling, Mary* began visiting a psychic to gain insight into the future. Dissatisfied with her safe but dull husband, she believed the psychic’s prediction that a special man would into her life – prompting her into a divorce, a disastrous love affair and a life of poverty for herself and two children. It was only after a particularly harrowing session to which she’d been invited that she finally came to her senses, realising how deep her obsession with the occult had become.

       Others are not so fortunate, developing paranoia or psychotic symptoms, hearing voices, and suffering night terrors with horrific dreams. In many countries, the occult is particularly rife with of voodoo priests and witches threatening curses or spells in order to bend others to their will. Fear of vengeful spirits has caused many to be forced into drugs, slavery and prostitution.

       So much suffering could be so easily avoided if only people knew the truth. That’s why care should be taken with the kind of entertainment we choose. If it promotes spiritism, it could create a chink for unwelcome and unwholesome forces.

*Not their real names

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