Monday 31 August 2009

The Obscurer and Obscurantists

On page 39 of last Friday's Hastings Observer, next to the crossword puzzle, there is a large advertisement for "An Evening of Calirvoyance" with
Stephen Holbrook, who is described as "One of Britain's Most Accurate Clairvoyant Mediums". This evening is presented "in association with" the Observer series of local newspapers.

At one of his meetings in 2006 in Blackburn he was arrested after he punched a member of the audience who accused him of being a fake. According to the Yorkshire Evening Post "The Office of Fair Trading has found that psychic mailouts offering spiritualist services in return for payment cost us £40m in 2006-7. Online, telephone and TV psychic services are also big business. As well as scores of mediums up and down the country there are also more than 300 spiritualist churches." What mediums can claim is also now restricted by new Consumer Protection Regulations.

The show is on at the Phoenix Arts Centre, which is on the campus of William Parker Sports College, which is a Church of England voluntary controlled school. How the C of E views this support of spiritualism I don't know. It costs £15 to attend the event, so I don't think I'll be in the audience.

In the same issue on page 29 there is an article advertising an book on UFOs by Malcolm Robinson who is described as a "Paranormal Expert from Hastings". There were stories about him in the paper earlier in the year, and I've a recollection that he at one time worked for the paper. His book wil be available from Healings of Atlantis dot com!

What is it with "The Obscurer"? (so aptly nicknamed by Robert Tressell) that they have to provide so much support to these obscurantists?

No comments:

Post a Comment