She’d been on TV and had read for all the stars – Jason Donovan, Barbara Windsor, Myleene Klass.

The first thing she did was ask me to make a wish with my ten pound note in my left hand.

She asked if I’d been read before – and was it recently?

This time it was only my left hand she read.

“I see finance is an issue, are you thinking about changing career?” she asked.

“Now I also see a strong relationship line, though there’s been an obstacle in the past also…

“You have a lot of admirers… and your health line is strong. You won’t be a burden, you’ll live to a long age.”

She then told me she saw me travelling over water in the near future, and asked if I was a worrier, then what I worried about.

She said the worst was behind me, and I didn’t need to so much now.

“I also see an illness in the past. And there’s some sugar at the end of your lifeline.

“I see a birth in the next twelve months: it’ll be a nice surprise, someone close.

“You’ll also go to a wedding, and you’ll have a good time.”

That was as much as I can remember, apart from her telling me that I will return to see her in twelve months and tell her how I have got on over the year.

Intrepidly I entered. She beckoned me in, held both my palms.

“These are very creative hands” was the first thing a fortune teller said to me.

Well, before that she told me that recording was not allowed: it was bad luck, so was inviting people to sit in on the reading. Everyone will tell you that, she said. This was all news to me.

I then had to make a wish holding a crystal ball. I did. It’s already come true.

So, creative hands then. A good start. She went on.

“You’ve had rough times. But the next twelve months will be better.

“You’ve got a good health line – there are no signs of dementia. But I do see sugar in your palm – let me ask, do you have a history of diabetes in your family?”

I do. But she suggested it could be in my future, too.

“You’re stubborn… and you can be a bit pig-headed, can’t you… and you’ve made a few wrong decisions in the past, haven’t you?”

My marriage line is strong and healthy, apparently. I will only be married once, and she could see two children.

She saw a birth, a death and a marriage in the next year. The death will be someone over seventy, and it will not be a surprise. She then told me she saw a glass and bottle, and asked if there was someone I could think of who had a drink problem. I could. She said to be careful, it’s not yet a problem but could be.

“You have a very strong life line: you will live to a good age. You won’t be a burden.

“You’re going through changes in work, aren’t you? It will be better, don’t worry.

“There’s someone around you who you worry about? Things will get easier.

“And is there someone close to you who you think is a bit two-faced too… Be wary of them.

“Are you considering moving? It won’t be forced, you will make the right decision.”

She ended the reading by wish me health and happiness, and invited me back in twelve months to let her know how I’d got on, and maybe have my tarots read.

I gave her £10 and left.

(Have a look at this http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Da50Bzn2Lg)

There are definite links between much of what I have been told, though each reading also gave its own piece of interesting insight. Clearly there is something in this. I have spoken to many cynics who have dismissed my experiments, or what I have been told.

Despite being told by the first palm reader that to record a reading brought bad luck, I was fortunate enough to record a couple of my subsequent readings, using a hidden microphone. This added excitement to proceedings, though also a little guilt. It did though mean I have been able to listen again and go back over the few minutes we shared, anyone who has had a reading without taking notes will know that it can sometimes be difficult to take it all in and even in my post-reading video diary, I admit there will have been some things I was unable to recall.

But I have certainly overcome the fears that I initially had regarding meeting a psychic. Many people are too nervous to be ‘read’, whilst others I think read too much into what they might be told. My outside research has taught me that whatever we get told is only a guide, it is still up to us to make the decisions.

But too much got said across the seven readings that suggested consistencies and I can not get away from that. I know that seafront fortune tellers might not be the most trustworthy of clairvoyants, I certainly got fleeced a couple of times but at the same time, I believe that adds to the experience, just as the photographs of C List celebrities having their palms read do, the porcelain hands, the expensive lucky charms, the wishing on a crystal ball… Yet still, I listened, and I believed.

I still believe.

You see, the visits were on the whole intimate experiences, and were very rewarding. Even though this was an expensive project, in terms of money and emotions, I am really glad I have done it.

(Now listen to this… http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zKXdFriKuE8)

My life has already changed since the first reading, and I believe will continue to even more.

As always, I welcome any comments or questions you might have, or any stories you might be able to share with me about visits to fortune tellers: theartist@jonathangreenbank.com