Psychic experience

Here is an extract on one of my recent short article for potential publication in a magazine (with interest in the spiritual etc.) in the 'Real life Stories' section. It is about a psychic experience during a summer holiday in East Germany:


'Opa' is the German word for 'Grandpa'. My Opa Hermann was born in East Germany in 1902 and died in 1985 in the small East German town where he lived almost all his live. He was a farmer in his younger years and than became a night watch man - I guess what you would call a security guard these days. Though with his small 5ft 4 frame, he certainly wouldn't make a very frightening security guard! This is my first conscious psychic experience, involving Opa Hermann. 

When I was born, the Berlin Wall was already up and for us, this was the normal life. I was an only child living with my parents in a small town, with my maternal grandparents living close by.


Whilst not being explicitly forbidden, spirituality was not something ever talked about in East Germany. Religion was tolerated but certainly not encouraged. There was no such thing as 'Religious Education' in school, and church goers were viewed with suspicion. As a child growing up in the system, for me, they only seemed somewhat odd, didn't fit in. It would not have even occurred to me that there might be things in this world which cannot be explained rationally. 


In the summer of 1985, my parents took me on my first ever holiday to the seaside; I was 16. going on a holiday was not as simple as booking a B&B and getting to the place. 'Holiday places' were allocated in East Germany by whatever state-owned company one worked for. And holidays by the seaside were always particularly popular of course, and very hard to come by. My parents were ordinary workers and first in line for a coveted seaside holiday. I don't know how, but finally they managed to get us a holiday by the seaside. 

Open University no more in 2012

I am serious about becoming a (part time) writer, so serious indeed that I decided to join up with 'good ole' Open University for a creative writing course. Sadly, it's not going to happen. The course fees went up from £700 in 2011 to £2500 in 2012. This is, I guess, in keeping with the government's changes in University funding and hugely increased fees for studying at Uni's. Somehow, it hadn't occurred to me that it would apply to distance learning as well. Sad end of OU learning for me.

I never thought that 'distance learning' would work. Memories of me sitting with 'Advanced English' books in my flat in Berlin, trying to improve my English whenever I had the time which was, well, at times never and at other times a whole weekend non stop. The thing about the Open University is that it gives your learning structure, and the course books are really well thought out and even you do not realise it at the time - they do get the point across. The tutors were a bit 'hit and miss', but nonetheless, I was always looking forward to my once a  month OU classes. The 1 week residential course in Brighton... let's not get there because that would be a whole story just by itself, and yes, it would be a positive, funny, enlightening story. The only negative point  about that 1 week away was that my Ebay account was hacked by unknown. And as I had literally cut myself off for that week (bliss!), I also had not seen the big unauthorised spendings on my account. But I am sidetracking again...

So, I managed to finish my degree in Criminology with Psychological studies in 2010. That means I am a degree holder and cannot apply for loans. I do earn a living, but a very average one, and I simply cannot justify spending £2500 on a distance learning course. Someone once said 'The only way to be a writer is to write' so I guess that's what I will be doing. Will get the OU book from a well known Online book retailer (no Ebay for me) and read it on my daily commute.