Here we are for the 29th Glastonbury Symposium. When this event began, incredibly almost three decades ago, there was a general wide-eyed wonder at fascinating possibilities and a belief that the world was entering a period of remarkable change. That certainly turned out to be true. What had perhaps not been anticipated was that, by the time we got to 2019, the Symposium would be one of the last bastions of free speech and broad-minded thinking of its kind. Even within the last year, there has been an onslaught from authorities and mainstream media to try to erase all ‘alternative’ thinking from public gaze, through draconian online censorship and the clever manipulation of algorithms which increasingly ensure that many people will now never find their way to information which challenges what the powers that be would prefer us to see instead. It has been a truly astonishing turnabout that has happened so rapidly that some observers within truthseeking realms haven’t yet realised what has been taken away. But try Googling certain topics that fall under our ‘truth, mysteries and new frontiers’ umbrella and see how far down the search pages they have fallen – if they feature at all – while debunking and mainstream propaganda now head the lists and truth videos mysteriously vanish.

UFOs have long been a fascination for Symposium attendees, often attracting our greatest audiences, and it is good to see that proper grass roots ufological research is still being carried out by the likes of the Swansea UFO Network (SUFON). With eyewitness testimony documented through detailed video interviews, Emlyn Williams and Steve Drewson, with the technical help of Mike Maunder, presented a series of cases they have investigated over the years which make very plain that strange aerial phenomena are very much alive and well in the Welsh towns and valleys. The authenticity of the witnesses and the sincerity of their team’s convictions came across very clearly, as they recounted tales of incredible sightings, often seen by several people in very populated areas. This is the kind of evidence that can only be gathered with true dedication, and that came across very strongly in this presentation.

Another area where science has become overly self-protecting, possibly to its own detriment, is in the realm of physics, especially in regard to anything concerning Albert Einstein’s theories of relativity. A number of scientists have spotted anomalies in his thinking over the years but have brushed them aside because of his perceived genius. Not so Patricia Dean, whose long background in science and computing has left her despairing at what she sees as glaring problems with some of Einstein’s equations. Knowing that everyday folk struggle to grasp deep mathematics, Patricia was careful to keep her extraordinary presentation light and entertaining, using a whiteboard and marker pen rather than a screen – but she also conveyed very well the gist of the key issues. The main problem lies in the conflict that results from Einstein uneasily mixing his relativity ideas with Newtonian physics, when in fact the two approaches ought to cancel each other out if his theories are as correct as we are told they are… Patricia made a convincing case that a serious reassessment is called for.

With so much information to digest this afternoon, it was perhaps appropriate that this was followed directly by a very calming meditation led by the Symposium’s very own Jason Porthouse, in his traditional Friday slot, leaving people centred and ready for dinner. 

Our Friday evening speaker, William Bloom, inspired the audience in his own unique way. Having stepped in at short notice to replace our original speaker who had to postpone at short notice, William packed the hall with his spiritual overview, taking as his theme the deep insights he has gained from the very serious illness he endured a few years before, which saw him coming close to death. His reclamation from that state has made him appreciate more clearly the blurred boundaries between different states of consciousness and has enrichened his appreciation of life. His honest sharings clearly connected with the audience, who left feeling emboldened and encouraged that every day on Earth is another gift that we should always appreciate. This was the perfect end to the first day of the 2019 Symposium.

The day began with Sheila Martin’s traditional Saturday opening notices, as she mixed useful information with her fun routine of raising shows of hands from visitors from all the many different countries that make up the Symposium audience. Joined briefly by a rare stage appearance from Diana Brown, the atmosphere was thus set for the day ahead. 

A gentler session followed, making for a good balance with the power of the opener, as Peter Knight and Sue Wallace gave a heartfelt presentation about their recent pilgrimage around the ancient natural sacred sites of Britain, including wells, waterfalls and rock formations which many people believe have magical properties. This was done with the aim of “re-enchanting” these places using shamanic drumming, poetry and song, as documented in their recent book Albion Dreamtime. Peter and Sue have been working together, as husband and wife, for years, but this was the first time Sue had joined him onstage, sharing thoughtful and inspirational insights while Peter set the scene of each visit and why they chose those sites. In times when large numbers of people feel in their bones that we have got out of balance with the natural world, this was a very good way of reconnecting the audience with the importance of re-synching with it, and it was clear that many attendees left the auditorium with a determination to seek out some of these places for themselves and follow Peter and Sue’s example.

Our next speaker introduced a new area to the Symposium – life as a paparazzi photographer. Some may see them as enemies of privacy but Jack Ludlam made it very clear that in fact there is a mutually symbiotic arrangement between celebrities and their professional stalkers, and it was clear that he was respected by many stars and had become a friendly face to them. The point of the presentation, however, was to make clear how corporate forces and authoritarian restrictions have been gradually infecting journalism, actually taking people away from truthful reportage and creating an ‘us and them’ culture that serves no-one but the controllers. It became clear to Jack, from his many years on the streets of London and beyond, how attempts to raise awareness of these ever-more draconian restraints always fell on deaf ears, and how the media were being forced into an anodyne state where blind eyes always had to be turned to where things were really going. Now retired from his profession, Jack’s gentle cockney honesty was endearing and gave everyone a refreshing insight into a world which many of us never see.

A lady who knows all about the esoteric realms is Geraldine Beskin, who has for many years been running London’s Atlantis Bookshop, a Mecca for seekers of alternative material of many kinds. Keen to show that restrictions on knowledge of the mysterious has long been an issue, she chose to focus on the story of Helen Duncan, the renowned medium who was getting such accurate information from psychic realms that her predictions of events during World War II attracted the attention of even Winston Churchill. Unfortunately she was also seen as a threat by other members of his government, who began to undermine her work and reputation in an attempt to silence her. When Roman Catholic enemies launched a plot against Duncan, accusing her of witchcraft, their methods of stopping her involved dangerous interruptions of seances and, eventually, imprisonment. Geraldine’s thoughtful presentation was a sobering reminder that getting too close to the truth can sometimes be dangerous – yet people should never waver from their deeply-held beliefs in the face of immoral opposition.

The power of sound has been explored by a number of Symposium speakers over the years, but it has never been presented as such a definite healing tool before today, as Elaine Thompson shared the thinking behind her pioneering of ‘sound therapy’. Elaine believes that by tuning into the frequencies of our voices – every one utterly unique – that we can help heal ourselves. As brainwaves and our voices have been shown to be connected, by reflecting the relevant sounds of them back to us using electronic means and adjusting the parameters to correct any sour notes of anxiety or stress, the body itself will then in turn correct itself. In her friendly and efficient manner, Elaine took the audience through some toning sound exercises and demonstrated, using her personally-designed device (rather resembling a sound cannon) the types of frequencies she uses with her clients. Many people who have used sound therapy have sworn it has made a dramatic difference to their wellbeing, and Elaine shared some of the stories and cases she has helped with over the years, encouraging people to take more control of their own health.

In times when questioning medical authorities on almost anything is becoming a dangerous taboo, supported by a compliant media and the growing powers of Big Pharma, the world may yet need the likes of Courtenay Heading, who slammed into many assumptions being made about what he calls the ‘top five medical myths’. Using his own discoveries made while working for the Isle of Man government, Courtenay expressed his personal disquiet over much-promoted issues such as cholesterol problems, exaggerated prostate and cervical cancer ‘epidemics’, the harm some think is caused by breast screening, and annual flu-jabs, amongst other areas. He believes that many of these problems have been inflated in the public eye to make money rather than cure people. Inevitably a presentation like this will always be controversial, but there was no doubting the sincerity of Courtenay’s intentions and his hope that by raising awareness people might come back to paths of maintaining general Wellness, rather than being slave to the oft-encouraged management of symptoms. He also took the opportunity to make a plea for ‘Restorative Justice’ and the establishment of natural courts that don’t answer to the usual authorities, but directly to the people. It may be an uphill struggle – Courtenay explained how his attempts to use this technique to register his car on the Isle of Man resulted in a few days being held in the local police cells! – but his dedication and admirable resolve are undeniable.

Gary was followed by Symposium organisers Sheila and Andy giving their usual thanks to everyone responsible for putting this whole wonderful event on, and Di made another quick appearance, before all the technical crews – the ‘men in black’ – came out and took a much-deserved bow. 

In this age where official science must not now be questioned or challenged in any way no matter how contradictory it may be (which is why, of course, the Symposium tries to maintain its commitment to free speech within reasonable bounds), speakers like Piers Corbyn are brave to speak out about their doubts over the causes of climate change. Brother of Labour party leader Jeremy Corbyn, Piers is aware of the extra scrutiny that this creates around him, but he doesn’t waver from his personal view that carbon may not be the driver of the current strange weather patterns and that other factors, such as solar and cosmic influences – and simple misunderstandings of wider atmospheric cycles – may be more to blame. He also holds that man-made climate change is being used to foment yet more agendas of control and worries that movements like Extinction Rebellion might be open to easy manipulation by governments and Big Business. If Piers was a fool with no standing in the climatology world, it might be easy to dismiss his views in the face of so much contrary information which saturates the media and our schools – but given that he is a respected scientist and that his weather prediction abilities have been shown to be correct on more occasions than many other climatologists, it is impossible to dismiss his views without proper consideration. His clear explanations and arguments, and his easy-going and friendly demeanour, remaining calm and affable even when dealing with the criticisms he has received, was infectious and it was clear by the long Q&A at the end that the majority of the packed audience had realised that there is certainly a case to be made that the big picture of climate change is far from straightforward. Piers was rapturously received at the end, making for a suitably climactic end to the very satisfying Glastonbury Symposium of 2019.