Good Thinking Investigates: Palmistry (Part 2)

Having visited our chosen palmist once, we partnered with the Merseyside Skeptics Society to test how accurate palm reading can be for someone in a serious situation.

Our investigator Alice suffers from Hypermobility Syndrome (a chronic and highly-painful disability), but she responds to the palmist as she would have done prior to receiving her diagnosis. Everything Alice tells the palmist about her symptoms is true.

Our investigator agreed to a £30 reading. After a little general information, the reading turned to the topic of health.

Read the full investigation at http://goodthinkingsociety.org/good-thinking-investigates-palmistry-part-2/

We contacted the psychics to share our investigations and our concerns, but they did not respond.

Good Thinking Investigates: Palmistry (Part 1)

Palm readers have operated in seaside towns across the country for many years.

Many people put their trust (and hand over considerable amounts of money) to psychics - especially in times of need.

In the absence of any proof that palmists have any ability to accurately advise on the future, we wanted to find out whether that trust was well-placed, so we visited a palm reader in Blackpool...

Read the full investigation at: http://goodthinkingsociety.org/good-thinking-investigates-palmistry-part-1/

We contacted the psychic to share our investigations and our concerns, but she did not respond.

100% Proof that Ouija Boards Do Not Work!

Anyone with half a brain knows that Ouija Boards are total nonsense, but here is a great way to 100% prove they are nonsense, and best thing is anyone can try this!

Tony Stockwells "Psychic Detective" Exposed

Another article exposing Tony Stockwell and specifically his TV show.

This article originally appeared on BadPsychics.co.uk 26th August 2005

by Graham Smith

A woman’s anguish over the mysterious death of her father over 30 years ago has been cruelly exploited by a TV psychic’s programme to be screened next week.

Sandra Chisolm was only 12 years old when her father, John, was lost in the Arctic Ocean along with 35 other crew members of the Hull based trawler Gaul. 

When approached by a production company making an episode of “Psychic Detective” for the Living Television Channel, she agreed to take part to try and find some closure over the loss which has affected her life, and health, since 1974. The “Psychic Detective” is Tony Stockwell who now claims his “powers” have seen what really happened to Sandra’s father and the crew of the GAUL. Five years ago, four sets of human remains were recovered during a Government backed survey and search of the trawler’s wreck, which led to a Public Inquiry which judged that the ship and all its crew were lost naturally, in the heavy seas at the time of the loss. 

But Stockwell told Sandra that her father and 17 others of the crew were taken off the ship, and the other crewmen were shot prior to the ship’s sinking. He claims psychically overhearing two crew of the GAUL discussing what was to be the trawler’s fatal voyage prior to its departure from Hull, and “hearing” them discussing that a spy would be put on board the GAUL and landed secretly in Russia, during what was to be its last voyage. 

“The whole thing is a cheap con,” 

said Sandra, remembering waiting by the dockside in Aberdeen as the four sets of human remains found on the wreck were brought back in 2000, hoping that one of the bodies might be her father, so ending her years of anguish.

“The programme makes out that it was me who approached Tony Stockwell asking him to investigate my father’s death. This is rubbish, they first approached me, telephoning me and then arranging for me to come down to London to meet him, a meeting that they actually filmed. I remember at the time the film production people asking me over and over again, to state in several different ways that it was that me who wanted to meet Tony. At the end of the final day of three separate interviews they wanted me to say on film that I was happy with his findings about what had happened to my father and the GAUL’s crew, but I would not. Tony Stockwell is about as psychic as my dog.”

“They have cheapened a very serious story, which has affected many people’s lives as well as mine, for a piece of cheap television. The great majority of the “psychic sessions” that were filmed with me were not used in the finished programme. It was an elaborate con to gain my confidence before they shamelessly manipulated my story to fit in with Stockwell’s Psychic “discoveries”. I spent hours filming, often in great discomfort due to my medical condition, and much of what was filmed has not been used, only the edited parts which make Tony Stockwell appear to be something he most definitely is not.”

Initially the production company claimed that Stockwell knew nothing of what he was supposed to be investigating, but as filming began Sandra became suspicious that someone had been researching both her background and the details behind the ship’s loss.

“When he started coming out with things about Russians and submarines it was obvious it had been gleaned from other people’s serious work on the Gaul mystery,” said Sandra, “His eventual conclusion, which he passed on to me, was that my father and others had been taken off the Gaul, given new identities, and that my father had lived a long and happy life, had six children and died with the sun on his face. It’s disgusting. The whole operation was cheap skate and contrived.”

“They have played with my emotions for their own ends .It was so easy to see through them.”

Stockwell told Sandra that her father would not have been able to get in touch with her during his “new life” because of the fear of repercussions, not only for him in his new life Russia, but for me and the rest of his family back here in Scotland.

Sandra Replies: 

“If I was not a strong hearted person I could have been taken in by his rubbish. It is not based on any psychic ability at all, just trickery and manipulation.”
And as Sandra says, this programme does not just exploit her emotions. All the families of those 36 men who sailed on the GAUL are equally being exploited. Only 4 bodies were found on the wreck, and returned to their families in Hull. As Sandra says, Stockwell’s “discoveries” will now tell them that these 4 men were shot before the ship sank. And the families of the other 32 missing crewmen will wonder where their loved ones ended up. Were they also shot, or did they end up happily resettled in a new life in Russia, unable to communicate with their folks back home?
Initially the production company for Living Television, IPM, agreed to let Sandra see the finished tape before the original planned transmission in the spring. However, it was only when she refused to take part in a promotional story for the rescheduled programme that she received it.

Promotional material for the programme quotes Stockwell as “helping Sandra Chisolm unravel the mystery of the Gaul”.

“Rubbish,” she said, “He did nothing for me, and I said so to the programme makers. The finished item makes it appear that I am satisfied but nothing could be further from the truth. They have exploited my personal grief for a cheap piece of dramatic television.”

“The truth is I wish I had never met them.”



“Psychic Detective” is on the Living Television Channel at 10-30pm on Tuesday August 30th."


By Graham Smith
www.mediaworldnews.co.uk


DISCLAIMER: - This article is full copyright of Graham Smith www.mediaworldnews.co.uk and may not be reproduced anywhere without permission.

BadPsychics Classic - Father Wins Apology After Television Psychic Tony Stockwell Is Accused Of Libel

We often get asked about Tony Stockwell, much of what we published exposing him was lost when the old BadPsychics site closed down, but I have found out some old articles and will republish them for everyone to enjoy.

Originally Published - 2010/6/30

Another news story of the damages paid out to cancer sufferer Mr Clemance, after his daughter appeared on TV show with Tony Stockwell, and further proof of the dishonesty of Tony Stockwell.

The following story has been reproduced from beenletdown.co.uk. It does not necessarily represent the position of BadPsychics.co.uk.

A cancer stricken father-of-three has been awarded £8,000 compensation after being falsely accused of being a criminal by a TV psychic.

Housebound Brennan Clemance was horrified when he watched the programme, broadcast as part of the Psychic Academy on the Bio channel in July last year. The programme was subsequently made available on You Tube where it has been viewed almost 2,000 times.

During the programme, TV psychic Tony Stockwell, who appears all over the world, said to Mr Clemance’s daughter Jenna: Do you see there? How your father had ever been to prison or has links with crime? Do you know that?

Jenna replied: Yes he does, yes, yes.

Stockwell went on: Is that OK for you?

Jenna: Yes that’s true, yes.

Jenna went on: He mentioned about my father being in prison…I actually only found this out a few weeks back. With Tony mentioning it, it’s got me; I’ve got questions that I want to ask my father now.

Shortly before that part of the programme, Stockwell had said: “Psychics have to tune in their minds. It’s not a guessing game.”

The reality is that 59-year-old Mr Clemance was diagnosed with cancer of the oesophagus at the age of 37 and since then has had numerous operations. The former production worker, who has been partially sighted since birth, has rarely left his home in Darwen, Lancashire, in the last 22 years.

Mr Clemance has now won an apology and damages totalling £8,000 from A&E Television Network, which is responsible for the Bio channel, which is available to millions of viewers of Sky and Virgin Media services. The programme is also broadcasting an apology on Thursday night.

Mr Clemance’s other daughter, Kim, 25, who acts as his full-time carer, said: “We have been to hell and back in the last year.

“My sister became obsessed by psychics and by what they were telling her. Her appearance on the Psychic Academy and the false accusations were the culmination of this.

“My father and I were asked if we also wanted to take part in the programme but we told them we didn’t because we don’t believe in this kind of thing.

“We were therefore appalled when the programme made its completely unfounded allegations without making any attempt to verify if they were true or not.

“Tony Stockwell is supposed to be a professional psychic but this programme proves that they don’t always get it right. It was a sensational allegation in the middle of a boring programme.”

Mr Clemance’s solicitor, Ian Carruthers, of professional negligence specialists’ Armstrongs Solicitors and Beenletdown.com, said: “It is totally unacceptable that a supposedly responsible television company with access to millions of viewers can air completely false allegations.

“To watch the programme on the Bio channel was bad enough, but then to discover it was also on You Tube made things even worse.

“Mr Clemance has suffered substantial damage to his reputation, as well as enormous distress, anxiety and embarrassment.

“This is a seriously ill man who has required 24-hour care for almost 20 years – not a criminal with a prison record, as the programme made out.”

Mr Clemance’s daughter Jenna, who appeared with Stockwell, has since apologised to her father for the hurt she caused by taking part in the programme.

Colin Fry gives a reading to Dr David Bull - My Analysis

Every time I expose a medium, I will get one of their gullible deluded fans email me something along the lines of... "Yeah but how do you explain this...."

They will then mention something they saw on TV 5 years ago, or something similar, and then expect me to just magically travel back in time, to watch the reading, and of course in their mind, I wont be able to explain how it was done, thus confirming their delusions.

Well this exact thing happened, in my now infamous article pleading with Colin Fry to come clean about his fraudulent mediumship before he dies of terminal lung cancer, in the comments section this exact thing has happened. After watching an old repeat of one of Colin's HIGHLY EDITED TV shows, they demanded I explain how a reading was performed. Luckily for me that reading was with former Most Haunted Live host Dr David Bull. (Now you realise why I decided to re-publish an article that expose various lies he told us in an interview). And said reading had been uploaded by Dr David Bull to Vimeo, so with a quick google I could find the reading.

I then asked my Transcriber (Forum member girlseeksghosts) to do me a transcription, and the results are below.

First I ask you all to watch the video yourself. Now unfortunately they have disabled embedding on the video, but you can watch it at this link if you choose too - https://vimeo.com/39734211
You can also watch using these youtube videos I found.



As usual when I expose something like this, the video will often get taken down as a way to hide the fact I have just exposed a medium. If that happens, just google it and I am sure you will find another copy. 

Also I did try and contact David Bull to speak to him about this reading before I published anything, however David's Manager/Secretary? Told me he was very busy, and that he pretty much did not want to talk to me. Hardly surprising since we exposed his lies back on Most Haunted Live!

Anyway Transcription is below. And my comments will be interjected in RED BOLD LETTERING

KEY:
David Bull is in normal lettering.
Colin Fry is in BOLD
Jon Donnis is in RED BOLD

My name is Dr David Bull, I am a medical doctor. I am also a television presenter. I have presented programs such as Watchdog, also of course, Most Haunted Live on Livingtv. The reason that I went to see Colin was that I have done a lot of work with paranormal programs. I started off being incredibly sceptical and I believe the proof of the pudding is in the eating so I decided to see what Colin had to say for himself.

The connection I feel that is trying to take place is not so much a family link for you, you know, I mean one of the common expressions we use is 'they pass before their time' but you know I do actually feel as though this was a young person who had the scheme of things been other than what they were, would have had a lot longer, you know, on this side of life, so I don't feel as though they have been passed over very long.

I was very careful in the reading not to try and give away anything and initially I thought it might be one of two people I thought it might possibly have been my cousin who died at a very early age or my friend Mark.

Lets start off by making something very clear. Dr David Bull at the time of this reading was at his celebrity peak, he was well known, and could easily be researched, also Colin Fry would have known many people who either knew David, or had worked with him on Most Haunted. Would you be surprised to know that Derek Acorah worked with David on Most Haunted, also happens to be a friend and work colleague of Colin Fry. Now I am not saying he had given Colin any info on David, but if you wanted to find out information about someone, who better to ask than someone who is also dishonest, a liar, and a fraud!

So far Colin clearly has stated that he is getting the feeling of a young person (note he does not say male or female at this point), but not a family member. We then get an edit. Again remember that this reading will probably have been close to an hour long, yet on TV we only got a 15 minute clip, so keep in mind Colin will have said a LOT that simply bombed and was wrong, and that we will never get to see.
I feel with this gentleman that’s connecting with me that leading up to his passing he had commented or complained that he was getting pain or aching around the gland area underneath his chin you know the throat glands, and then I feel that there was something like a high fever, or a bout of pneumonia or a really bad virus and he recovered from that. I really feel that until the effects of this illness struck he had been incredibly energetic, very lively both in character and personality, and in the way he exerted himself in life.

Straight away Colin is now referring to a Gentleman, yet previously he was very careful not to mention a gender, there has clearly been a part of the reading cut out at this point.
You can tell that I was quite shocked because my breathing starts to increase, it was just too close and there was no doubt in my mind that it was Mark. Mark had a condition called cystic fibrosis which is a genetic condition. He died at the age of 31 and he died of a high temperature and pneumonia. 

Watch David's face very carefully as Colin is speaking, he is nodding his head, breathing heavier and so on, all of these things are giving clues to Colin he is on the right track.
Now lets quickly remind ourselves of what Colin actually said, he indicated a pain around the neck, so that could be anything from a sore throat, to throat cancer, and everything in between.

David has made the connection here, despite the fact that in no way has Colin mentioned cystic fibrosis whatsoever.

Also many diseases and illnesses often weaken the immune system, and sadly the way you finally die is from pneumonia and high temperature. So although it sounds like Colin was specific here, the actual content of what Colin stated was very vague and all encompassing, and it is David Bull who has made the connection to his friend who had cystic fibrosis, and again all of this came AFTER an edit whereby we went from Colin not knowing if the dead person was male or female, and also stating it was NOT a family member. We come back from the and suddenly he knows the gender.

He was one of the rudest and naughtiest people I ever met in my life and over the years we became very good friends. He had obviously cystic fibrosis but he never believed he was ill and what we used to do was that we would do a doubt act and we would go to lots of charity functions to raise money to fund a cure for this hideous disease and I would start off by saying these are the facts about cystic fibrosis this is why I am here this is why we need the money and he with his little devilish eyes and charm would stand there knowing exactly what he was doing, and he would say I have cystic fibrosis, most people with cystic fibrosis will die before they reach the age of 30, I have cystic fibrosis and I am 30. There wasn't a dry eye in the house.

So David and his friend did many charity events, and raised a lot of money, all of this would be in the public domain and very easy to research, especially as David at that time was at the peak of his celebrity.

And I really do get this feeling of wanting to admit to you that he went through those final days, months, weeks of his life almost in denial that there was anything actually wrong with him and yet in his heart of hearts he knew there was something seriously wrong with him.

This is a common trick of the fake psychic, they will say two completely opposite things, but in the same sentence, thereby covering all bases. So Colin is saying that he was both knowing something was very wrong with him, and also denying it both as the same time!
Clearly he had been diagnosed with cystic fibrosis, as had done charity work for it, so he knew he had this condition.

Now Mark sort of had a spate where he would be quite well and then really sick then really well then really sick. The problem is its a step-wise progression and he never once believed that he was ill. I remember really really well I was travelling up to film for Watchdog and I was driving up the motorway and I knew he wasn't very well I suddenly had to stop because I knew that I would never see him again and I pulled into a (I don't know why I thought that) I just pulled into a service station and wrote a letter to him which I faxed to his home and I think if I'm right it was one of the last things he kind of read and I didn't see him again so I knew he was sicker than he ever told me.

I do really get this feeling with this guy that you really really liked him or you loathed and detested him, there was no in-between with him, you either adored him or you couldn’t stand him and I think he knew that about himself.

Like previously Colin is stating two opposite things in the same sentence, he literally cant fail doing this, which is why so many psychics will use this technique.
Also notice the huge grin on David's face here. Giving Colin all the information he possibly needs.

Can you tell me his name? Can you describe him?

Ok so here we got, David Bull finally asks a direct question, something that only a real psychic could answer, what do you think will happen here?

No, the only feeling, I get no name, the only feeling that I get , and I don’t know whether its physically or mentally, I would describe him as attractive but I don’t know whether I mean physically or mentally he was an attractive person, I just know that there was something about him that he was attractive he would captivate people, he would walk into a room and hold court. 

So David's friend comes through, can give all this information about the pain he was in before he died, yet to just say one word, his name is impossible! This is an easy way to tell if a psychic is fake or not. Ask a direct question that they cannot cold read you on. They ALWAYS fail! Unless of course they have researched you.
Yeh, oh completely.

And I think that that is really why, depending on your disposition, you either would have adored him or despised him.

Absolutely. Mark was someone who would polarise people, because he was so committed and passionate about certain things. He'd tell you if he thought you were talking rubbish and that doesn’t always work well with people they can get quite upset, so I think that is absolutely right you know people did love him and people really had times when they thought enough, I cant listen to this any more, so yes I thought that was completely on the spot.

And I really do get this feeling that he did a lot for other people and I can't think of any other way of saying this, I feel from him he had to dress it up so that it didn't actually look as though he was doing it to benefit other people. He wouldn’t wanted to have been seen as being a do-gooder or a charitable person so he had to dress it up. I think if anybody had actually said to him he you are a very good man very charitable and everything he would have been acutely embarrassed by that. 

Yes completely.

People who do charity work in general are altruistic people, it's kinda the point of charity, unless you are doing it for self promotion, a bit like Colin Fry and his ilk do as a way to promote their own mediumship.

So he had to dress the whole thing up.

Yep.

And even as I am talking about this feeling that I have from him, I can feel from him as I'm were talking he does not like me talking about him like this.

No. Mark worked for a charity called the Cystic Fibrosis Trust, he would go out of his way to help anyone with cystic fibrosis no matter what but he would do it with the veneer of oh let them get on with it on their own because he hated people to think that he was so caring. I think in many ways it was part of his own coping mechanism by playing down the disease by saying actually it is not a big problem he could deal with it himself by saying well I've got it and its not a big problem. If he had gone the other way by saying its terrible they really need help I've got to help them then of course he's admitting that he needs help and that’s how he did it, and it was incredibly powerful and people loved him for it 

(Colin laughs) What is this joke? Why is he joking about this saying you were the brains and I was the beauty, he just said to me you tell him he will know what I mean by he was the brains and I was the beauty. 

Well obviously, no, well I think that was really a harsh comment, we were a great double act, we combined brains and beauty, lets leave it at that.

So he can tell "jokes" now, but cant say his own name!
Colin here with another classic line straight out of the psychic handbook.
You are of course David but who's the other David I’m getting this feeling that I have to make a reference to another David and you're still friends or you still know one another.

Yes but I'm intrigued to know what he is saying about the other David.

Clearly David is an incredibly common name, Colin has just picked a name out of the air, and will let David Bull make the connection.

The thought he has just put through to me is tell David, don't tell David too much about this he will freak, hysterical laughter!

Right. 

He's actually taking a little bit of pleasure in the fact that for the other David to know that he has connected amuses him that he would be so freaked out about it.

And my word would he freak, the other David is high up in the Cystic Fibrosis Trust Charity and Mark and David enjoyed a difficult relationship at times. Mark was head of communications and David ran the business if you like and Mark and David didn't always see eye to eye.

Is that a joke, yes, you are saying that with humour ok... and you can tell him I like him an awful lot more than he deserves.

Right, ok.

and he said you know why and he will know why.

Actually they worked towards the same goal and there was huge respect passing backwards and forwards and maybe Mark never quite told him so I shall be messenger boy.

No real info coming from Colin here at all. All he has done is give out one of the most popular names in the UK, and David Bull has done all the work for him. 

Why do I hear Aida? I can hear in my mind snippets of Aida and also snippets of Toreador.

He was a massive showman and loved songs, musical shows that sort of thing.

David Bull is a celebrity, and also Gay, and I am sure Colin Fry would know very well that David would be into musicals and so on, so simply took a guess that this unknown dead person who David knew might also be into such things. After all I you dont in general hang around with people if they do not have similar interests to you.

Remember at no point did Colin state what relationship this person was to David, or even that they were male until AFTER an edit.

and like grand opera, grand Italian opera.

Anything completely over the top, yes. Mark used to love classical music the more outrageous and noisy it was the better. He was a great showman he was a 'bon viveur' he loved life and the nosier that music you know like one of those, Tosca or something oh you know it would be at full blast, that was him. 

He's thankful that you are happy at last.

Oh am I? Ok!

Within the last 4 months there's been a bit of change in the circumstances around your life yeh? and he was just saying (ok that has explained it a little bit) if you can't see that that’s made you happy at last, alright, there's something wrong with you.

Yes and no, you know, I can't think that 4 months ago I was really miserable and now I am hideously happy. I'm not unhappy, there are things that would make me happier! I think he should pay closer attention up there wherever he is.

This is classic filler. Someone has died, so of course you are going to be sad, and then months or years later you will be in a better place and happy. Most if not all people go through cycles of happiness and sadness, and simply by watching someone's demeanour you can tell what kind of place they are in mentally. So nothing at all interesting here.

He would like to thank you for your loyalty, and not really taking the opportunity to have told you that leading up to his passing.

I was really touched by that, I told his father that on the telephone afterwards. I don't really know what to say to that it was just very very touching.

And as he begins to fade you know from my thought he has just asked me to express this to you, you are one of the very few people that he would actually want to connect to. I think he has a very sentimental side to him because he has just said some friendships are made forever.

Yet he is incapable of telling Colin what his name is! How can anyone believe this?

I think that's an incredibly lovely thing to say. I talk about him more than I talk about some of my friends who are living. I think that is really really rather beautiful you know that some friendships last forever, I hope its true.

And I'm going to leave your friend's love and best wishes with you David thank you very much.

Thank you!

Ah I was gob-smacked, I went in there thinking oh here we go a right load of hooey! I came out quite shaken actually because I wasn’t, if anyone was going to connect with me I didn’t think it would be Mark. I thought it was likely to be a member of my family I don’t know really what I expected. I thought Colin would be fishing a lot more, you know, did anyone die when they were younger you know that kind of thing. I was surprised and you know I couldn’t stop talking about it for 2 days. If you are a scientist you really can't, you have to look for evidence you have to weigh up chance, probably and things like that. There are things that Colin said that put together paint a really impressive picture. I’m still not sure how much is how much my brain wanting it all to connect. You know its a bit like if you see a visual image like an optical illusion your brain sees what it wants to and tries to draw it into an image and I sit there thinking well come on maybe I’m now putting it all together 2 and 2 making 17 but maybe some of the things he came out with are just a bit too close maybe you just can't guess those things and maybe there is something in it.

David kinda realises that it is more him wanting to believe than any actual evidence given.

Lets look at everything Colin said that was specific and true. 
He said it wasn't a family member, but then if you state that early on, then of course the person being read, is gonna think about non family members who have died!

Colin stated it was a gentleman, but only AFTER an edit, so we have no idea what was said or suggested, or asked before this. But even then, its a 50/50 statement, which in turn will direct the rest of the reading.

Colin said that pneumonia was ultimately the cause of death, and although this is true, the pneumonia was because of Marks cystic fibrosis, something Colin did NOT mention.

In fact looking back through the whole reading, the ONLY specific thing that Colin said that was completely correct, and would not be subject to David fitting things to the reading, was the statement about his friend liking Musicals!

Yep Colin Fry told and openly Gay man, that a friend of his who died, was a fan of musicals and show tunes!

So we will have to give it to Colin right there. Guessing that a friend of a Gay man would like Musicals, is surely proof of an afterlife right?

The one time David Bull asked a direct question, that being the name of the person Colin was claiming to have connected too, Colin could not answer.

Everything else was your usual cold reading nonsense, whereby things were said in a vague manner, or incredibly common statements were made, and it was left for David Bull to connect the dots.

Overall a very poor reading, and not sure how anyone watching this would consider it proof.
In fact it was so heavily edited, that if that was truly the best bits of the read, I dread to think how awful the rest of the reading was.

Anyway that's all for now.
Jon Donnis

Please guys check out http://www.cff.org
That is the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation website.
This is a terrible condition, and if you are unaware of the condition you would do well to educate yourself about it, and learn about how science has helped extend the lifespan of sufferers as well as look into how you can help too.