Welcome to Cressing Temple Barns

Once I had doubled back and found the perfectly sign posted entrance to Cressing Temple Barns, much to the amusement of Parasearch Radio’s Kerry Greenaway, we parked up and headed in.

I had decided to give Kerry a lift to the convention because she was literally thirty minutes away and had never been to one before. Well I couldn’t have that, these paranormal conventions are essential events to help our community grow. Plus as Kerry gives a huge amount of her time to deliver many radio shows to the paranormal community each week, I figured it was an experience she shouldn’t miss and glad she didn’t. So, thank you Kerry for putting up with me all weekend. I should probably extend that thanks to Elizabeth Koert too, as she equally put up with me.

Right back to the convention!

Cressing Temple Barns is a fantastic location, not to mention beautiful. Cressing Temple is a place that is full of history, it was originally given to the Knights Templar back in the 1100’s. The site is home of three Grade I listed barns as well as a Tudor built walled garden.

The history of Cressing Temple and its Barns could easily fill a post all by itself and if you do wish to know more about the location please visit their website cressingbarns.co.uk

As we walked into the entrance foyer we greeted by the lovely Sian who quickly located our weekend passes and welcomed us to Paraforce UK 2017.

Looking through the list of talks over the two days it was clear that Viv and Sean had certainly worked hard to fill both days as much as possible. We grabbed a coffee and then it wasn’t long before we bumped into John Blackburn and Maxine Briggs. After briefly speaking to them both I was offered an early viewing of John’s strange painting of ‘David’ which I couldn’t pass up. Pretty sure my curiosity is going to get me into trouble one day!

Maxine escorted me across to the Granary to see the painting, which on this first unveiling was different from what I had expected. However still fascinating and as the day would continue I would begin to find out a little more about David and John’s story.

Viv and Sean’s Variation of the Ganzfield Experiment

As I was already in the Granary it made perfect sense to remain there for my first talk of the day. By this time I had already lost Kerry, but I think I had found my old mate Gert Brouwer another Paraforce Guest Speaker.

After a brief intro from Sean and Viv they showed us some interesting footage of Sean using their variation on the Ganzfield Experiment. This particular approach utilises the use of white noise primarily, but also a couple of others too. In the example they presented a strobe light was used rather than a constant red light, with of course a half ping pong ball blindfold.

Their sensory altering setup was used to then place the individual in certain amount of deprivation to possibly allow them to gain access to similar information as mediums.

To give the audience a better idea of how this may work, the pair then asked for a volunteer to give it a go. In this case, if memory serves me well, Nige gave it a go and believed that he did see some kind of manifestation.

Next up Viv got John Blackburn to give it a try and as a medium John picked up considerably more, which was quite interesting.

This was certainly an interesting way to start a weekend of paranormal talks and I’m really glad that people are trying new things like this. Moving the field forward by trying new things is something we should all be looking at.

If you you would like to know more about the Ganzfield Experiment check out my outline in the Metetherial Encyclopaedia – The Ganzfeild Experiment.

 

Gert Brouwer’s Investigation Approach

Next up in the Granary was Gert Brouwer and as I was already there I decided to listen to my friend from the Netherlands.

Gert told us a little abut how he approaches paranormal investigation, which is something I always find very interesting. If I understood correctly Gert approaches his investigations in what he called ’rounds’, where as he goes through certain aspects of the investigation in order to ascertain what was occurring.

This of course involves looking at things from both a psychical and investigative approach. Gert explained that as he works a case, he often continuously debunks aspects to rule them out and then may even revisit them too. This includes doing the research to find the facts to back up the paranormal claims.

After many years of talking with Gert online and discussing the paranormal at length with him, it was excellent to hear him speak, not to mention meeting him face to face.

 

Lunch with Two Ladies

I grabbed lunch in the restaurant with two lovely ladies, Kerry and Elizabeth. Nothing like some bacon and brie whilst chatting about the paranormal.

In regards to lunch, I would just like to say a huge thank you to Elizabeth Koert, you know why !

 

Michael Dee and an Unexpected Discussion

Hands up, I didn’t know an awful lot about Michael Dee before attending his talk, but this is exactly part of what I love about these paranormal conventions. Granted I was aware of some of the youtube work he has done, such as Merrick Alora and Scariest Places. However I had only seen snippets here and there.

Michael (aka Michael David Roberts) began his talk by telling us all about his work and his latest production Morbid, photos of which were displayed in the background as he spoke.

The journey that Michael is currently travelling certainly seems to be an interesting one in all fairness as his passion for the work he has produced certainly was apparent as he spoke. Explaining how his chance meeting with Derrick Acorah to film a brief meeting with Merrick Alorah spring boarded the character and work. An event that has possibly lead to the Morbid production that he is currently working on.

However although Michael’s work is based around the paranormal, initially it was fictional. In order to do things from his own angle though he filmed as much of his stuff at actual haunted locations, which in time lead to some paranormal experiences of his own. Those experiences likely heightened his interest in the paranormal too.

What I really loved about this particular talk though was that Michael stood in front of us all and took the opportunity to ask some very interesting questions. Questions that may have answered some curiosities he may of had, but questions that sparked a little discussion. On this particular occasion I decided not to take part, but it was interesting to hear different members of the field present their ideas and beliefs.

All from a little question about the Stone Tape Theory which incidentally is a theory that often has me thinking – I mean, do buildings and places record the energy of events only to be played back like a video recording at a later date; or are these places just triggers for telepathic interaction. Food for thought and one of the great things about paranormal conventions.

I would also like to thank Michael for reminding me that it’s always a great idea to ask questions, especially when we still don’t have all the answers.

William Becker and Tree Spirits

I caught William’s talk almost by accident, but I am glad I did. I’ve never really spent much time researching things like tree spirits or elementals. So, my knowledge on them isn’t great I’m afraid.

That said it was an interesting talk on these strange spirits that William said had been witnessed in the mountain forestry in the states.

It reminded me of the accounts I have read of fairies over the years and I’m not talking Tinkerbell related here.

William was one of those over the weekend that I wish I had found more time to chat with. Apologies William.

John Blackburn and David

Next up was John Blackburn’s talk on his own journey and how he became connected with a probable spirit called ‘David’.

After explaining his initial experiences as a child, John told us how the painting of the Anguished Man came into his possession and with it a very interesting spiritual connection.

As John worked with the painting and ‘David’ the connection provided some very interesting instances of physical mediumship.

However after a while the owner of the Anguished Man decided to retain the painting removing it from John’s possession and stopping the work he was doing. At the time though this connection had become a friendship with emotional ties. Loosing the Anguished Man and David, upset John deeply. In fact he suffered from a period of mourning in a way. This isn’t uncommon and was also mentioned when the Scole Experiment finally came to an end.

However this wouldn’t be the end of John and David’s relationship it seemed. At a later date, I believe John came into the possession of a particular book. This was followed by a Ouija board session that John wasn’t involved in, but it appeared that David communicated and also gave the name of the book too. These events then sparked the attempt to create a new picture and attempt to transport David’s spirit from the Anguished Man to this new picture. Something which John said occurred very quickly.

This process is something John calls Karmic Transmigration.

Right at the end of the talk, John was talked into revealing the new picture to the audience. Oddly as the picture was revealed, an emotional wave appeared to hit Joe Chin, which lead to him taking some time outside.

The picture in its new form certainly captured the audience and I do have to admit it does spark my interest too, I wonder where that will lead!

Hog Roast and a Bar

The evening segment of the weekend started with a Hog Roast and a Bar, which are two things which went down well. The Hog Roast was fantastic and the portions were very generous too. The bar was pretty good too, I’m guessing I wasn’t drinking! However the bar staff had banter, which is always good.

Actually jokes, bar and hog roast aside this was a great time for the guests and some guest speakers to gather and chat about their favourite subject; the paranormal.

I bumped into Tomo Warrington and was happy to meet another like minded individual. We spoke of the SPR, Ghost Club, concepts like telepathic interaction, what is a ghost and more. It’s always great to meet new like minded friends.

A Relaxed Ghost Hunt

Once the Hog Roast had been polished off, we headed off in various groups around the site to investigate several locations. It was good to have free time to roam around the site to investigate where we wanted to.

However it wasn’t long before Viv grabbed me and helped us to gain access to the main house so that we could check out the cella, which is always a great place to investigate.

The story is that the spirit of cavalier used to lock children down in the cellar. There were some areas where children could be locked, but on this occasion we didn’t get much. Although there were a few newts down there that I had to save, little blighters were sitting right where they would be trampled on.

Physical Mediumship with John Blackburn

A little later I joined a group on the ground floor for a little seance with a difference lead by John Blackburn. This was quite strange really as it was an interesting display of probable physical mediumship.

At one point as we all held hands John had two members raise their hands of the table, but they weren’t consciously doing this.

Next up Elizabeth found herself in the corner of the room being lifted by unseen hands, then she walked forward and made to pat another member of the group on the head. A very fascinating session that we then took to the cellar.

The cellar was a lot darker than our previous location and this was an equally interesting session. Some light anomalies were seen and individuals touched. Unfortunately I never experienced anything myself, but it was certainly an interesting session.

A Little Thanks

I would just like to say a huge thanks to Viv, Sean, the Paraforce Team and all the Guest Speakers for a great first day. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Check out more on Paraforce UK 2017 here…

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