Over the years, I have met many mediums and clairvoyants, some good, some not so good and some, I am very sad to say, plain charlatans, and it does seem to me that the bigger the charlatan, the more palaver they go through in order to communicate with the spirit world. Whenever I have met such a person, I have wondered if they feel the need to convince themselves or their clients that they have the ability to talk to the departed. On the other hand, the mediums who seem to have a hot line to the other side usually make the least fuss, perhaps having a couple of moments of quiet contemplation or holding an object to help themselves tune in.

It has generally been my experience that our loved ones are all too eager to have a chat and tend to pop in rather unexpectedly, especially when I am in need of help, both emotional and practical. The grannies are a good example of this. Let me explain. My darling grandmother is my principle conduit. She is the one I turn to whenever I need guidance, and she is a whiz at finding parking spaces. When I first met my husband, we went to Covent Garden in London where parking is at an absolute premium. It is a beautiful area with cobbled streets, but as I was sporting very high heels, I didn’t much fancy trekking across the stones and so I asked Gran very politely if she could find us a parking space near the Opera House. When I told David to drive as near as possible he thought I had gone completely mad, but lo and behold, just as we got to the Opera House, someone pulled out of a space in poll position. I still owe her for that one. In fact, she is so good at it that my friends borrow her and she always turns up trumps for them as well.

I first met David’s Grannie in Kalgoorlie. We had gone to explore his roots as his father was born there and as we were having dinner on our first evening, this dear little old lady popped into the chair next to me. “Hello dears,” she said, and promptly started chatting away for for the duration of dinner. It must have been quite a bizarre experience for David, me talking to thin air but when I told him what she was saying he was amazed and confirmed it was his grandmother with whom he had lived for part of his youth. We are now great friends and she gives me cooking tips. If ever I am a bit stumped in the kitchen, I will ask her what to do and she always sorts me out.

However, one of my most helpful spectres appeared when I was grouting a shower. I had never attempted this before but being quite partial to a bit of DIY and also being too impatient to wait for someone to come and do it, I decided to have a go myself. Well, there I was on a boiling hot day, getting even more hot and bothered as I realised it was not quite as simple as it looked when I heard a voice say, “Gawd Suze! Wot you doin’ darlin’? A lady like you shouldn’t be doing that!” And there was Ron, a wonderful man of all trades who had become my Mr Fix-it and self-appointed chauffeur and bodyguard when I lived in London. This did take me aback somewhat, partly because I was in my skimpies, partly because his appearance was so unexpected, but mostly because I hadn’t even realised he was dead. He proceeded to talk me through the whole grouting business and then just went on his ghostly way. When David got home, he was amazed at what a good job I had done, but even more amazed when I told him about my handyman visitation.

And so my friends, if you need help from the spirit world, you don’t have to go through a load of mumbo jumbo to contact them. Ask them for help and they will give it. After all, we all need a little help from our friends, alive or dead.