Omens and symbols

Years ago, when I was 11 and my friend's Russian mother, Katia, was teaching me how to do candle wax readings as she said that I "had the gift," she warned me not to let spooky stuff take over my life as it could drive one mad. She was absolutely right. The more you do of the 'spooky stuff', the more your mind gets attuned to it, so that you see omens and receive predictions and messages 24/7. After a big bout of it in the '70s, I wound down and let it go, as I couldn't carry on being that highly tuned, so that I was like a permanent radio antenna picking up signals.

For twenty years I wrote down my dreams and discovered that I had quite a few predictive ones. I dreamt someone shot the Pope, and somebody did have a pop at him. I had a dream in which Prince Charles was riding a horse that collapsed under him, and that happened, too. But it's completely random. I cannot dream to order. I awoke from deep sleep around 6am today, roused by a number of muffled bangs like distant gunshots, about seven or eight of them, one after the other. I tried to get back to sleep but was suddenly aware that my room was full of light. My mobile, which I keep on all night in case of emergencies, had switched on its light for some reason. By now, I was getting cross, and also a little wary. Was something going on in the ether? Was somebody trying to tell me something?

Finally, I dragged myself out of bed, joined Mr G in the kitchen (he had heard the bangs too), and seeing some dramatic jet trails in the sky, I took my camera out and snapped some pictures at around 7 am. It wasn't until I put them up on my computer screen that I saw that, as well as the giant X in the sky (The X Factor?), I had captured what looked like ghostly fingers strumming guitar strings - or perhaps a harp?

Now, if I had been switched on to omen mode, I would have thought... well, I would have suspected something extremely tragic. Maybe it's a sign that soon I myself will be strumming my heavenly harp or guitar! I hope not. The other night a man came to me in a dream and told me to eat celery to cure my stomach problems. (I forgot to buy some today. Damn!) Perhaps it's time I tuned in again and became the Oracle of Uxbridge.