Age 16: Playing cricket with some friend’s one day, some of the younger ones were teasing a kid called Dom (short for Dominic) “Dom’s a Bastide!” they kept shouting. They explained that their history lesson had touched on The Hundred Years War and their teacher had mentioned a place in the front line during this war “Domme is a bastide town... heavily fortified...etc” I had heard enough, Domme sounded awful and I was never going to live there!
Age: 33 Having accepted a job working at the BBQ/ restaurant of a good friend of my mother, I was writing my new address in a letter to someone when to my amazement I remembered the game of cricket ... My new address? You’ve guessed it... Le Grel, 24250 Domme, France. Domme is in fact one of the most beautiful villages in France!
Category 2 Flashes of clarity
Example 1
Age 27: Whilst walking through my local village one day a thought came to mind about the “sad” furniture in my flat and how I wanted to change it. I was visualizing how it could look and an image popped into my head of some of my mother’s furniture (a settee and a glass and mirror chess table)
I suddenly rejected the possibility of these items coming into my possession as my initial thought was via an inheritance! “No, my mother isn’t going to leave me these things in her will, she’s going to get a job in France and she’ll give me her settee and chess table when she moves!”
The idea of my mother moving to France was completely outrageous and was just another idle thought...
Age 29: My mother telling me that she was leaving her job after something like 26 years and was moving to France! Amongst the many things she left me were the settee and the glass and mirror chess table...
Example 2
Age about 7: Eager to enter a competition to write a modern day nativity story at our local church, I was so convinced of winning that I couldn’t hide my cunning strategy “I might be the only one that enters!” I declared boldly to my parents. “Oh, don’t be stupid, loads of other kids will be in it!” came the reply...
A month or so later I was standing next to my parents listening to a conversation they were having with one of the church people and it turned out that I won the competition hands down as I had been the only entrant. Not a word was said about the incident and I got a feeling of rejection from both my parents. However, the 25 pence book voucher was mine, all mine!
Example 3
Age about 12: Watching “World of sport” one fine Saturday morning, a rare game of American pool was shown featuring legendary player “Minnesota Fats” His first shot was a sledgehammer
Age: 33 Having accepted a job working at the BBQ/ restaurant of a good friend of my mother, I was writing my new address in a letter to someone when to my amazement I remembered the game of cricket ... My new address? You’ve guessed it... Le Grel, 24250 Domme, France. Domme is in fact one of the most beautiful villages in France!
Category 2 Flashes of clarity
Example 1
Age 27: Whilst walking through my local village one day a thought came to mind about the “sad” furniture in my flat and how I wanted to change it. I was visualizing how it could look and an image popped into my head of some of my mother’s furniture (a settee and a glass and mirror chess table)
I suddenly rejected the possibility of these items coming into my possession as my initial thought was via an inheritance! “No, my mother isn’t going to leave me these things in her will, she’s going to get a job in France and she’ll give me her settee and chess table when she moves!”
The idea of my mother moving to France was completely outrageous and was just another idle thought...
Age 29: My mother telling me that she was leaving her job after something like 26 years and was moving to France! Amongst the many things she left me were the settee and the glass and mirror chess table...
Example 2
Age about 7: Eager to enter a competition to write a modern day nativity story at our local church, I was so convinced of winning that I couldn’t hide my cunning strategy “I might be the only one that enters!” I declared boldly to my parents. “Oh, don’t be stupid, loads of other kids will be in it!” came the reply...
A month or so later I was standing next to my parents listening to a conversation they were having with one of the church people and it turned out that I won the competition hands down as I had been the only entrant. Not a word was said about the incident and I got a feeling of rejection from both my parents. However, the 25 pence book voucher was mine, all mine!
Example 3
Age about 12: Watching “World of sport” one fine Saturday morning, a rare game of American pool was shown featuring legendary player “Minnesota Fats” His first shot was a sledgehammer