The Talk that evening was on the life of a Local Bishop, in the 18th century, in a time when Pamela would, most probably, have been burned as a Witch: as, probably, all of the AsktheAnswer Readers would have been.
And emphasised, later that week, when I was wandering the graveyard of Bude's St. Michael's Church (dowsing for Pamela's own with my home-made dowsing rods) and found myself in the company of its Reverend. I'd asked
him if he knew of her (which he hadn't) and, after a brief biography, I'd got the 'look' that would have been on the faces of those who'd set light to the bonfires. Back in the day, I might have quailled, but with so many experiences of standing my ground behind me, I was holding it now.
The Lady at the Desk, on the night of the Talk, was called Audrey; and when I mentioned Pamela's name she had said: "Oh NO. Not her, again. When that guy from America came, asking all those questions, he drove us all potty but the man you need to talk to is just coming through the Door" And that was when I met Paul (who'd been driven even more potty) and who, after listening to the Why I was here, had told me to meet him at The Triangle, the next morning and he'd take me to the local Newspaper Office, to get a copy of what Stuart Kaplan had sent him, after his visit from America. And that was when I discovered that Pamela had lived in the Bencoolin Inn, when it was apartments; and (kind of) a possible explanation of why I'd felt I was being observed from a top window, as I'd passed by. I can't recall how i was to meet Reg, who'd been a young errand boy, delivering groceries to her, and his regrets that he had taken a shilling for his birthday when she had offered him one of her paintings as an alternative. His memories had been of a half opened door, and a shadowy figure. But I do remember his telling me of what had happened to the Gloucester Regiment he had joined, as a young soldier; and how most of them had been killed in The Korean War. And his weeping, as he remembered the so many friends who'd died. And so I was to take back so many memories when I returned home, and was to contact Stuart Kaplan with them.
I'd got an almost immediate reply, inviting me over to meet him; and, even though my funds were low, I'd booked the journey and my 4 night stay on my Credit Card. This was to be my first visit to the United States. Many more were to come, as I took myself to Science & Consciouness Conferences in Alberquerque and Santa Fe, to course in Sedona; and on private visits to two good friends; but that entance into the Grand Central Station, in New York, as I made my way to Stamford, in Connecticut, where Stuart Kaplan (the founder of US Games, and publisher of hundreds of different Tarot Cards, as well as many books on the subject) had his Company was like entering a Movie Set, so redolant it was of that World. And to be given the opportunity of sitting in his Library where a table was laid out with what he had brought back from Bude was a very special privilege. So it was I held her Visitors Book in my hand (filled with the signatures of so many of the 'high and mighty.') and which she had given away, in 1914, because of her
consequent disappointed at ther lack of encouragement. A tiny fragment was to fall away, something that I'd put in my handbag as a special 'souvenir,' and which I was to show to a Medium, working at the Arthur Conan Doyle Centre, in Edinburgh (where I also do Tarot Readings) and asked her if she could 'pick' anything up. She had, saying: "This was a very talented lady, not sufficiently recognised, in her time but, where she is now, is very happy." This from a fragment no bigger than a thumbnail!
And there'd been letters to and from friends, in Bude, revealing she had turned her attentions to a healing group: all adding to what I'd picked up from my parallel journeys. So, all of this is why (even though I have just about every book written about her) Is why Pamela's Deck is so important to me.
Audrey X
Next Article -
Audrey - Breaking the Tethers that Bind