IS THERE LIFE AFTER DEATH?

At 30, I didn't expect to be the only surviving member of my family. My mum died suddenly of lung cancer last year my father six years earlier of a brain tumour and my twin sister, Barbara-Ann, at just three days old. I had coped with losing my father - just. And my sister is now a sad memory. But my mum's death came as a real shock.

I didn't see her before she died. She passed away half an hour before I arrived at the hospital after a manic dash from London to Liverpool. I'm haunted by the fact she died alone, and tormented that we hadn't spoken for six months. She was a heavy smoker and I had been annoyed that she wouldn't give up. Usually she'd call a few days after an argument, but this time we were both too stubborn to give in. Her phone call telling me she had cancer came out of the blue. Within a week she was dead.

When someone close to you dies, all you want to do is talk to them one last time. Is there life after death? I want to know that they're happy and well, free of the illnesses that killed them and, most importantly, together. I also want to say 'I love you' one more time.

My mum had taken me to a spiritualist church after my dad died. They had been married 38 years and she missed him terribly. Mum believed in life after death. I've often wondered if there is an 'other side', and if I were to see a medium, would Mum, or any other member of my family, get in touch? I decided to give it a try.

My brief is simple: I'm to visit five mediums. I'm to give them no information about the deaths in my family nor will any of them know I'm researching a story. What I want, more than anything, is to contact my mum and dad, but as some mediums are also clairvoyants, I may get a glimpse of my future, too. Will I have children? Am I going to many? What does my career hold?

(NOTE: Amanda Ward visited 5 mediums. She was a definite nonbeliever and scathing in her comments for most of the people she visited.)

Is there Life After Death?
Amanda's report about her visit to Craig:

Craig Hamilton-Parker, medium, psychic, clairvoyant... I choose Craig Hamilton-Parker after accessing his website. www.psychics.co.uk. According to Craig, his wife, Jane, his daughter end even his dog are also psychic. He has written several books on the subject and charges £50 for an hour's sitting, but warns me he has to spend twenty minutes 'tuning in' before our meeting at an old school ball rear Southampton. I wait on a tatty sofa while Craig prepares himself.

We sit at the front of the hall surrounded by rows of chairs, with children's collages hanging on the walls. It's early evening, the sky is darkening and it's eerily silent. I'm a little scared. 'You've got a really lovely aura,' he begins. 'It's blue, which means you'd be good at healing.' I'm flattered and relax slightly. I have given him no details, so what he says next makes the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end. 'I've got a lady here. I'm getting a pain in my chest and finding it quite hard to breathe.

The illness was very quick, unexpected,' he says. 'I'm getting the date of 11th November. And is the date 28 February important? Is this your mum's mum, or someone on your mum's side?' I think it's my mum - she died on 21 November and 28 February was my parents' wedding anniversary.

Craig continues, the was good at organising. She's telling me that her favourite flowers are daffodils and that she's one of seven. She loved swimming, especially when she was older, and that you changed your job around the time she was ill.' He's just described my mother's character her favourite flower, the correct number of siblings and her main hobby. He was spot on about the job, too. I went freelance a few weeks before her death.

He carries on. Is there a new-born baby here? It's either yours or a sister.' I confirm that it is my sister He continues, 'She wouldn't have lived long. She doesn't look like you, but she's grown-up now and has long ringlets.' We were non-identical. I feel totally freaked but strangely pleased that she is now an adult.

Craig does ask if my father is alive. When I tell him no, he says. 'He had bright blue eyes with a mischievous twinkle.' Yup, that's dad, and I want to hear more. Craig looks at me decisively, 'He had a very short name. Three letters. Don or Ron?' Oh, my God. Dad was called Stephen Ronald, but everyone knew him as Ron. 'He had a very selective ear where the women in the family were concerned. He used to joke about your mother being "the battle-axe" or something,' says Craig. Attila, actually, but what the heck. 'And he used to torment you, but in a nice way' he says.

Next, I ask the impossible - what was my father's pet name? Craig closes his eyes and goes silent. 'Is it something to do with eating?' he asks finally. Craig is making a chewing action with his mouth. 'I'm getting sweetness. It's definitely fruit. Is it cherry?' As a child, I loved pineapple chunks and used to call my father 'Chunks'. Craig may not have got it exactly, but it was damn close.

I'm overjoyed. To me this is proof that my father is there, somewhere. How else could Craig have known those things? But what's unnerved me most is that Craig has adopted my father's mannerisms - stroking the top of his head, and pinching the brow of his nose as he's been talking. In fact, for one strange moment in the dim light, I almost believe it's my dad sitting there. I leave feeling buoyant and comforted. I find myself talking to my parents in my head. Thanks to Craig, I'm convinced they can hear me.

IS THERE LIFE AFTER DEATH?

Amanda's verdict: Verdict: 9/10

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