I closed the door. This was a small booth. She was sat at the back, watching House. Her phone rang twice whilst I was with her.

This was the cheapest reading: only £5 for the right hand.

She crossed the hand for life, love, health and happiness, then said these were the hands of a gentleman.

“I see a stick… you’ll live to an old age… you won’t be a burden.”

“I also see a wedding ring, you’ve thought about it haven’t you? The girl you’re with now, her head’s screwed on, isn’t it?  She’ll stay true to you.”

“I see you crossing the water – you’ll have a good time, and meet friends.”

“You’ve got an outing planned with friends I see.”

I did, the next day, to watch the match.

“ Wear blue, it’ll bring you good luck.”

We lost 6-1.

“I can also see a change of car, do you know who that is? Because I can also see L plates… You’ll be a successful driver.”

She also saw me rocking the cradle three times. One child is going to be a talented musician, one will need a bit more pushing, but will be happy. And, asked if I knew someone who had rocked the cradle before marriage… and to expect good news from them soon. She also saw a christening in the near future.

“I see a bit of jealousy, someone who’s a bit two-faced… Do you know who that is?”

This has come up a few times now.

“I also see paperwork, I think you’ll be your own boss because you’re independent and you don’t like debt.”

This is getting scary.

This time the tape recording worked. And it was perhaps my most positive reading of all.

I didn’t even make a wish at the start.

She discussed my options, and told me I was lucky as she’d only just started for the day.

“You’ll live to a long age. Your life line’s strong. But you’ve had a lot of worries and stress, you get down hearted and depressed, and you’ve had a lot of bad luck for a young man.

“But 2009 is going out a lot brighter than it came in.”

She discussed my indecisiveness, that this is my year for changes, for decisions, that I’ll be lucky, but I try to please too many people.

She told me everything will be ok.

“Are you looking to move house?” I nodded. “Make a decision and stick to it… Don’t hang about!”

She told me she sees a birth, a death and a marriage in the next twelve months too. The death will be someone old, maybe the person I’m thinking of, maybe not. I will come into money, but may be wronged out of it… “Because some people are one way to you, and another behind your back. You do know that, don’t you?”

She told me I had a married man’s hand, and that there’d been slight disappointment, and to be careful of people who have tried to split us up. She spoke about crossing of water, asked about uniform for work, and setting up a business on my own, re-iterating that I mustn’t hang about!

7 & 11 are lucky numbers for me. I will come into a lump sum of money linked to a government white paper… but I need to be careful.

“I see an odd number of children on your hand. Definitely one, maybe three. It could be twins – are there twins in your family?” I said no, but should have said yes. “One child comes up, then another two.”

She told me I’d found the right young lady, that health and happiness comes up on my hand, that I’d had my bad luck and had good luck to come… and that my destiny started now.

With that, I left.

I tried to record this one. The dictaphone didn’t work and I was convinced for a short time that a strange force was stopping this from happening.

After a short wait, in I went.

I was asked to make a wish with a crystal ball in my left hand. She then held both.

“You’re a worrier,” she said, pointing out my worry line full of anxieties on my right hand, “ but your life line’s strong. Your brain’s strong too – you won’t suffer tumours or haemorrhages.”

“You’re not married yet, are you… Don’t worry, it will happen, but it was meant to be nearer thirty than twenty. How old are you?” she asked, twenty nine the reply, “well you’ve already met the person you will marry, it could be the person you’re with now, it could be someone you went to school with…”

“I hope not,” I replied, “I went to an all-boys’ school!”

She laughed and went into one about how her daughters went to an all-girls’ school and were horrible to each other.

She went on to tell me more about me, though.

“You’re going through a big period of change… don’t worry, it’ll be for the best. In September, you’re going to come in to some money.

“I also see you travelling across the water.

“And you were born to be a leader – you will one day be your own boss.”

She wished me luck and bade me farewell.  I stepped out on to the sunny Prom…

This was all getting a bit surreal.