1.Well I must say, I have seen some very fashionable Investigators in my time lurking the field but nothing as awesome as a Kilt !!! So many questions about the Kilt but the only clean one I can think of is "How many do you have and do you wear them on every Investigation ??" :)
2.) As you have been a lone investigator for a while ( obviously we are aware you do work with groups too) can I ask what are the risks you take venturing into the darkness alone and do you take any personal protection with you? I ask this as I don't want young people to think that going out to a derelict/abandoned/lonely area is an awesome idea without full knowledge of the dangers.
3.) I see you are teamed with the lovely Chris Conway, (true professional and such an awesome bloke) can you tell us a little of what you guys have in store for the UK :) Can we have some free passes ?? ( got to ask, the risk is worth taking lol)
4.) As a paranormal investigator I have found the paranormal field a complete roller coaster !! One minute I'm sceptical next minute I believe in everything then i question it all and sometimes I just laugh my head off at it all ( some stories can be so unrealistic), however in all my years I can truly say I wouldn't have missed a single invo for anything. How have you coped with this roller coaster and has there ever been a time when you have thought " What the hell am I doing here "
5.) Weirdest place you have ever investigated and with whom ?
6.) Have you ever been to the Isle of Wight ? If you could investigate anywhere here where would it be and why ?
7.) Do you have a partner ? If so how does your partner support your choice of hobby ? If not I have a couple of single females and a single male they are house trained and come with passports and a bank account !! They are free !!
8.) Your holding a dinner party for 6 guests, 3 are deceased and 3 are living. Who would you invite and why.
Ah, the Kilt ! Yeah i must admit its one of the most asked questions.....I have 3 Kilts. One is the regular Stewart Tartan, another which is the Hunting Stewart and lastly i have which i believe to be a Mcgregor.
The 2nd most asked question is why do i actually wear it? Well........that is a long story....if you have the time i'll tell :)
A few years ago, i was attending a charity event in Blair Street Vaults for Enable Scotland.
The Medium who attended that night was the then former Resident Medium of Most Haunted....David Wells. We were talking about Haunted locations in England, and one of which, i was due to investigate in a few months. He said that he had been there with the show (and to cut a long story short), he reckoned that the activity which did take place the night they were filming was happening around him, not because of his abilities...but because he was Scottish.
The building was burned by the Scots in the time when Wallace drove South, and those who remain in the now restored building had a dislike for those from North of the border. So....in my infinite wisdom, i decided to dress in the Kilt to possibly provoke.....since then, whenever i feel it may work in the sense of Provocation, or 'Paranormal Stimuli', i will dust it down and wear it. (Also wore it once in a Scottish Castle too, i wore a Tartan of a Clan opposite to that related to the building).
I prefer to investigate alone, not from an egotistical point of view, but from one of being able to rely on what i hear, see ....or maybe even sense being something i possibly can't account for. I do enjoy however working with as many different groups, and absolutely love public events. Its amazing the methods and practices that some people use to try communicate with the other side and i am all for that. I believe there is no right or wrong way to investigate, there are indeed commonly used instruments but i enjoy and encourage anyone with different ideas.
I suppose i take the same risks as we all do, i wouldn't ever venture into an abandoned or derelict property on my own, for simple reason of my own well being.
If there is a medium who is in attendance, who insists i involve myself in taking part in a circle for protection, i will indeed comply. Other than that, i dont use any methods of protection.
I first contacted Chris in 2010 when we were both doing seperate events in Edinburgh, for the Mary Kings Ghostfest. He was up in Mary Kings Close, and i was hosting in Blair Street Vaults on the same night.
A few weeks later we hooked up in Dunfermline for a few beers and from there on in, our friendship become stronger to what it is today. Chris and i share a lot of interests and i'd like to think a few qualities, and we both have the same wicked sense of humour that is displayed should you ever attend one of our events. In the world of what we do, there are few you can trust wholeheartedly, but Chris Conway is certainly one person i do. Throughout your life you make many acquantances, but Chris is first and foremost my mate.
For 2011 we intend to cover a lot of bases, our first being as probably far south from where we are, as you could possibly imagine! We are visiting Totnes in Devon.
For the period time that Chris was on Living TV, he did indeed gain a massive army of fans, now its the chance for those fans of Chris to participate alongside him and myself in investigating. It is our intention to try cover all areas of the UK. We are trying to ideally obtain access to places which aren't so well known, if investigated at all.
I found a fantastic Venue we used at Halloween 2010 which was exactly that, what a difference it is to investigate with a mixed group of people a place that is a complete 'blank canvas'. It was fantastic!
If there is anyone out there who has or knows of such a place which is local to them, and indeed would like Chris and Myself to come along......please do get in touch :) FREE TICKETS !!!! You will have to see Chris for that one, it is in our plan to run competitions for tickets to our events later in the year, once our events have gathered momentum, we are only just starting out after all :)
There are times i have found what i do to very trying, but i wouldn't change it for the world.
With regard to approach i practice what i preach, anyone who comes along to investigate with myself, be it with Chris or anyone else, all i ask is to keep an open mind. If you are too sceptical, then you tend to dismiss everything. If on the other hand you believe everything you experience to be that of a Paranormal nature then i dont think thats healthy either. If however you are somewhere in the middle of the two, then you are singing from the same hymn sheet as myself. Thats how i do it, but everyone is entitled to their own opinion.
The weidest place was a Nightclub in Dunfermline, it was amazing to accompanied with so many burly bouncers who were terrified up on the 3rd floor. They refused point blank to turn the lights off!
I havent unfortunately, but i would be willing to come down if i was ever invited :)
Yes i do have a partner and she is amazingly supportive of what i do, she comes along to the occasional event and loves to take photographs of the locations. Its actually how we met, but that's another story :)
Oh ok, em.... deceased - Bob Monkhouse, Sir Norman Wisdom, and Bernard Manning...they are all comedy heroes of mine and the night would go with an absolute blast with their capers.
And Living....it would have to be - Bruce Dickinson (Iron Maiden Lead Singer), Brian Johnson (AC/DC Lead singer) and Noel Gallacher....again heores of mine and they would be brilliant for the sing song once the beer starts flowing.