# About me... A mystic once told me that I was destined to bring wisdom to the world. Then again, she was a scam artist who stole thousands of pounds worth of jewellery using a very ingenious trick involving helium balloons. What is true is that I’ve always found the unexplained to grate like a personal insult. Even so, it was never my intention to investigate mysterious crimes and occurrences. After graduating from the University of Bristol in 1985 I worked in various reporting jobs before squeezing onto the writing staff at <em>Witness</em>, a small investigative magazine that punches well about its journalistic weight. It was there, in the summer of 1991, that things took a turn for the curious. I was interviewing the famed sceptic and debunker Andrew Paris, who had decided to lock himself up for the night in a haunted room of his house in a bid to disprove the legends about it. The windows were latched, the door was locked, and, lo and behold, he was duly shot under impossible circumstances. A combination of straightforward scepticism and ‘superhuman stubbornness’ (thanks Charlie) eventually led to the solution to <a href="the-problem-of-the-panelled-room.html">the problem of the panelled room</a>, although it was by no means an easy process! The attention generated by this case made me something of a target for the confused and bemused, and since 1991 I have found myself investigating, with varying degrees of reluctance, ghostly apparitions, UFO sightings, impossible thefts, vanishing cars and, of course, the Helium Mystic – who’s now serving a well-earned two-year stint at Drake Hall. After numerous requests, this web site aims to collect and collate all my mystery solving escapades into one easy-to-surf place. I hope you enjoy exploring!