Derek Acorah & Colin Fry

[girlseeksghosts]

Having just read Jon's piece about Gary Mannion's personal invitation events it just reminded me......

I've paid to see Derek Acorah and Colin Fry in the past - both purely for my own amusement/entertainment and just to see how each performed their acts. I often think I shouldn't really voice an opinion on someone when I have not seen them for myself in this context.

Derek was embarrassing (he wouldn't let it go when no-one could 'own' the spirit that came through) oh and a drunk scottish man continually heckled and annoyed everyone (not to mention random booing and people walking out during the show) lol.

Colin's audience were a lot kinder and everyone sat quietly and applauding at the appropriate moments. I even got a reading much to my horror (but I couldn't resist could I when I was the only person who could say that their mother had had a birthday the day before Colin was asking for) Anyway, Colin got lucky with me bringing forward the spirit of a grandfather I never even knew (ha! my dad doesn't even remember his father - he left when my dad was still a baby and never heard of again!!) Anyway Colin went into great detail about this man - I forget what he said now but it doesn't matter anyway, none of it could be proved one way or the other.

Allowing myself to be put on the spot and my face on a big screen on the stage made me nervous and I wished I could have been far more tactical and quick thinking with my responses! Anyway suffice to say it was fun but I wish I had been prepared, nevermind lol Mind you have to say, at least it proved to me that not all people who got the readings were stooges, we did sit in the bar beforehand but on my instruction (in case people were eavesdropping) we didn't talk about anything remotely useful for a medium to gain prior knowledge of.

Anyway as for Gary Mannion... well, who would pay 35quid to be man-handled/touched, in pitch-black, having signed away any chance of rebuttal, at least Derek asked that the Scottish chap who gave him so much hassle be given a refund

[Mr. Jon Donnis]

Degsy is more of a showman so attracts a slightly different audience to Colin

[girlseeksghosts]

Yes that must be it Jon, very different atmosphere even though it was the same venue at Cambridge Corn Exchange

[Mr. Jon Donnis]

I think strangely Colin has more credibility in the eyes of the average mediumship fan, which is strange when you consider out of the two Colin started off his career being exposed by his own peers as a fraud in the famous Trumpet Incident.

[suebb71]

I've been to see Derek, like yourself I like to see mediums Live in order to get that experience of seeing how they perform in front of an audience. There were many, many misses and very vague references at Derek's gig, however, oddly whilst 'reading' someone way back and to the right of the audience that insisted they couldn't take any of the information he was giving I could actually validate a lot, if not everything for that one particular reading. The woman he was reading was getting quite frustrated I think. Afterwards I went to Gwen and asked if he ever gives the wrong person the wrong reading and she said absolutely not, but she also recognised me from the forums and told me not to go writing any crap about Derek..lol ;)So, alas the only reading all night that seemed to be a hit actually wasn't. I've spoken to Colin Fry, I can't trust him as a medium yet he actually does seem like a nice guy, very funny and took a lot of cheek from me with good humour. I do believe there are deliberate fraudsters out there that cold read, guess, make stuff up and generally make their money from the pain of others, but I do think there are others that genuinely have some form of ability and believe that they are channelling the dead even if they actually aren't, so by default, they're not deliberately lying.

[Mr. Jon Donnis]

Mediumship is impossible that is always the fact anyone should start at, that way the only opinion you need to make is if the psychic/medium is eyes open or eyes closed, (fraud or deluded)

100% of famous psychics are eyes open frauds.
100% of spiritualist church mediums are eyes open frauds.

The ONLY type of medium who genuinely believes what they do is real is the young fool who was indoctrinated as a child, and was never told it was all a work.

[girlseeksghosts]

Hi Suebb71 - yeh I wouldn't trust either of them lol

I did find Derek to be far more aggressive in his approach - he couldn't understand that nobody wanted to claim the spirit coming through. I'm sure Colin would have have just smiled and say anyway the spirit leaves his love with us and quickly move on lol. I remember Derek getting very cross/upset (not sure which) but basically saying this young man was a soldier killed in action or something like that and his loved ones were there in the audience and it was not good that they were not recognising him. When I say aggressive I don't mean literally, but just far more determined that everything should fit. Unfortunately I got the feeling it was probably one of the worst shows he ever had and I would have liked to ask him how he felt after. I bet he will remember that night in Cambridge even though its a few years back now.

Strange you should say about someone else's reading could have fit for you too, a lady next to me kept whispering she wished she had put her hand up because everything Colin was saying to someone else could have applied to her, names, dates etc. I'm guessing by the very nature of what they purport to do, the more general and ambiguous readings they can get away with, the more chances of them having a 'hit'. Still surprised though when Colin started off the reading I got with, 'whose mum has just had a birthday' and nobody else could claim that. But no doubt if I hadn't he would have said, 'well this month at least' just widening the goal posts with each sentence lol

What other forums are you on Sue, I seem to recollect your forum name elsewhere lol although perhaps you are not allowed to mention other forums here

[Mr. Jon Donnis]

Sue used to be a member on here, and also probably on the old Living TV forums

[girlseeksghosts]

Oh right thanks Jon, the old Living tv forums especially the MH one were always good for a laugh, wonder where everyone dispersed to lol, not here I imagine lol

[suebb71]

Yep, I was the second to post on the original MH forum..lol...a very long time ago! Nice to meet you.. probably again!

[Mr. Jon Donnis]

Unfortunately when this forum was created, it was for a rather niche subject matter, which when at its peak was great, but when on a downturn means we have a lot of lurkers but not much interest in actually posting.

We get roughly 400 odd people come to this forum every day, yet only a handful post, it is sad, but without a good mainstream paranormal show to drum up interest, this forum wont get back to the heights of the old days, where we got thousands and thousands on the forum every day.

[takemeback]

I'd just like to mention that almost 2 years ago, my mother and I booked tickets to see Colin Fry live as he was doing a show the next town over from us. When we arrived, they told us the show had been cancelled!!! I googled Colin Fry cancellations or something like that on google about a week ago and someone else had posted on another forum that another live show of his that they were going to see had been cancelled too.

At the time, I thought Colin Fry was genuine, despite the trumpet incident, because I've seen his shows on TV and he's really accurate and knows things about the people in the audience that he couldn't possibly know just by guessing. Jon explained on my thread that shows can be heavily edited so I guess that makes sense now.

Anyway, I wonder why his shows get cancelled? Cold feet, maybe?

[Mr Jinx]

Lack of tickets sales!

[Mr. Jon Donnis]

Yep. Lack of sales, the bubble burst for psychics!!!

[dollydaydream]

I used to be on the old MH forum and the Derek Acorah forum I remember how sparks flew when Jon posted
I often wonder if all those people who used to think the sun-shone out of Derek's bum still defend him
there where quite a few that used to follow all over the country

[Mr. Jon Donnis]

You maybe remembering my cousin Nik on the old MH forums, although I did post on there too.
Eitehr way I reckon 99.9% of the people who defends MH back in those days now call it all fake.

[zippy]

to be honest i have the most haunted dvds. i was also involved with 2010 west raynham ex raf base (their live) doing dog security after the freaks on 28 days later urban exploration website threatened to attack the filmcrew. i liked series 1 to 4. no its not because im a believer. its simply that i enjoyed the start of each programme because i liked the history and background details of the buildings etc that were being investigated. far more interesting than stone throwing etc.

[Mr. Jon Donnis]

I liked it till Derek left, I used to enjoy his ridiculousness, I couldn't care less about the rest of the nonsense

[rstaton]

Jon can you please excplain the cold readings and stuff. I know that if an elderly person stands up in the audience, its not quantum physics to guess they no longer have a living parent, but how do they know about younger people and lost children, or car accidents etc, I used to really believe but now I strangely don't. How do they do it?x

[rstaton]

And what the hell is a noob wannabe? Lmao