SINCE history began, tales of people communicating with the dead have captured the imagination of anyone who asks the most common question of all,"What happens when we die?"

Religions have been built upon this eternal mystery and although we have never been short of earthbound souls who claim to have a direct line to the spirit world, to date, there has been no hard and fast evidence to suggest, as the cynics declare, that mediums are little more than opportunistic con artists using their hypnotic powers of persuasion and suggestion to prey on the vulnerable.

Neither a true believer or a dismissive naysayer, Chronicle reporter TIM BUTTERS caught up with celebrated Psychic Medium Tony Stockwell, ahead of his appearance at Theatre Brycheiniog next Tuesday, in the hope of shedding a little more light on things that go bump in the night.

"I don't like the word fraud," said Tony, "Mediumship is like gymnastics, some people are very good at it and some aren't so good. I don't think there are any mediums out there who don't believe in what they are doing.

"It's never a case of fraudsters trying to pull the wool over people's eyes. Some mediums are just underdeveloped that's all," explained one of Britain's most successful spiritualists when asked about the possibility that his profession attracts all sorts of hustlers looking to make an easy buck.

Yet whatever you think about the trade that Tony plies, he's a difficult man not to warm to.

His cockney charisma and willingness to laugh at himself are key ingredients in putting people at ease.

"Look I only know what I know," said Tony in his broad East End burr, "I'm a very ordinary person from a working-class background and I'm very limited in my response to what happens when we pass over.

"I don't pretend to have all the answers I just know we're all going to die, but I don't know what happens when we do. I've had glimpses of the spirit world in visions and from what I can gather it takes all that is best from this world and adds a unique element of its own. I know that all sounds very twee and you probably think I'm a wally, but that's all right, I'm used to being laughed at."

Stockwell's first forays into the spirit world began at the age of 16, when following the loss of a dearly loved grandparent he sought some measure of solace in a church of a different creed. "I was very close to my nan and so when a friend invited me to a local Spiritualist Church I jumped at the opportunity," recalled Tony. "Immediately I felt right at home in that environment and found it all very exciting. The feelings that washed over me were so positive. I remember thinking this is what I want to do with my life.

"You have to remember up until that point I had always seen people and heard things that no-one else around me did. To me this was a normal state of affairs, but other people couldn't understand it and just thought it was really strange. So when I walked into that Spiritualist Church it was like finally coming home. I kept returning week in, week out, and after two years, do you know what? I finally got a message from my nan."

Since then Tony has spent 20 plus years doing what he does best. But what exactly is that and what does the process involve?

"People will think I sound a bit silly, but what happens on stage is I stand or sit there and shift my awareness. I go from the room and imagine a space to my left-hand side. I then get information from a spirit such as their gender and name. I then look for certain details such as their occupation, how they passed and so forth.

"I'll see visions in my mind and hear voices in my ear and all this is accompanied by a tremendous feeling of overwhelming knowingness.

"This may sound mad, but the voices always have accents. For example I was in Croydon one

night, performing to an all white audience, when the accent of a gentleman from India started to come through. I thought this is a bit odd, but it turned out he had been married to this lovely white woman in the crowd."

Tony also explained how the vibe of the audience and the venue itself can be all important regarding the clarity of the messages he receives on any given night.

"A year ago I was in Hastings and the whole evening was something of a struggle, the vibe was so still and it was an uphill challenge to salvage anything from the night.

"After the show I discovered the theatre was converted from a former mortuary and I thought no wonder everything had been so muted!"

Tony who's a keen believer that the world is crying out for good mediumship was eager to stress before our conversation ended, "The reason I do what I do and am happy to do it is because I've been blessed with an ability to help relay messages from the spirit world that are of great help and comfort to those in this world.

"Cynics can mock me if they want, but the feedback I get from people who I've passed on a genuine and reassuring message to, make it all worthwhile.

"Especially in the case of parents seeking messages from their children. I remember not so long ago I passed on a message to the parents of a seven-year-old who had died of leukemia.

"When I was coming towards the end of the contact, the youngster told me to tell his mum that he knew she had a pair of his socks in her handbag.

"The parents were just blown away by this. I could not possibly have known the socks were there. So to them it was complete proof that the contact I had made was genuine.

"Sometimes when the contact with the spirits is really clear you are able to channel the most amazing details that are capable of convincing anyone who might be wavering or sitting on the fence."

Tony Stockwell will appear at Brecon's Theatre Brycheiniog on May 25 at 7.30pm. For more information visit their website.