Lancashire's Anomalous Phenomena Investigation Society
LAPIS CONFERENCE 2018
LAPIS 2018 has been amazing. We are completely exhausted but we have had a fantastic weekend. Lots of pictures to follow soon.
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We would like to thank our speakers, Jenny Randles, Ann Winsper, Peter McCue, Juliette Gregson, Brian Sterling-Vete, Nathan Jackson, Richard Freeman and Rob Whitehead. Thank you for giving up your time to share your knowledge with us. Many thanks also to John and Brian who did a fantastic job with the Audio Visual equipment and ensured that all the presentations ran smoothly.
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And last but certainly not least a big thank you to all of you who attended. Without you these events could not take place. We hope you've had a great weekend and we will see you at our next event.
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Due to the success of the conference we can now announce that LAPIS 2019 will be happening. More details of that in the next few weeks.
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SPEAKERS
We have a fantastic line up of speakers who will be covering a wide variety of subjects. #lapisconference
JENNY RANDLES
Jenny has spoken at LAPIS events in the past and we are delighted that she is able to join us again.
Time Storms, Near Death Falls and Lying Saucers
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Strange things fill our skies and Jenny Randles has been investigating them for 45 years.
In her first platform appearance since 2003 this presentation will report on the cases that have proved important in shaping Jenny's thinking about what is going on.
From events that took major detective work to track down to source and find an explanation so remarkable that it ended up in a long running TV drama.
With extraordinary energy phenomena that manifest in our atmosphere and create a power that triggered an international arms race hoping to tame unidentified atmospheric phenomena. Resulting in the quest for a new science that just might explain allegations of a government cover up.
And cases that show surprising links between life, death, space, time and the nature of reality that could prove the key that unlocks our understanding of hidden levels of consciousness guarded by what Jenny calls the Oz Factor.
Add in some celebrity witness stories that help illustrate her thinking, Jenny Randles has 15 years of contemplation to reveal and suggestions on how to take the next generation of research one step beyond what has come before.
Brian Sterling-Vete
Encounters with UFOs and the Paranormal
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Brian is a BBC TV news veteran, TV Broadcaster, Guinness World Record Holder, and author of the highly acclaimed book: Paranormal Investigation - The Black Book of Scientific Ghost Hunting and How to Investigate Paranormal Phenomena.
He has had a life-long interest in all aspects of the paranormal and tries to remain as neutral, balanced, scientific and objective as possible in his approach to the subject.
He infamously worked on the 1st season of Star Trek – The Next Generation TV show as a guest of Gene Roddenberry’s, and while he was there he managed to appear in 4 episodes. The reason Brian says “infamously” is because his wife likes to remind him that he played the Edo court official in the episode “Justice” which is officially rated as the worst episode of all! As well as that, he also had to wear a silly loin cloth!
Brian has participated in over 1000 paranormal investigations throughout the United States and in the United Kingdom and is a regular guest on the Dark Matter Digital Radio show about all things paranormal: “More Questions Than Answers” with Adrian Lee.
In 2017, he also accidentally became part of what has been hailed by MUFON as “one of the most significant UFO sightings of recent times”.
Brian’s talk will include details of his personal UFO sightings from Buxton in Derbyshire to Redwood Falls in Minnesota. He has had some truly extraordinary experiences while investigating the paranormal and this will be a fascinating lecture.
Ann Winsper
The Rise and Fall of Ghosthunting
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With an overview of the evolution of the field, with personal experiences to illustrate.
Ann is a ghost hunter and parapsychologist, and co-founder of Para.Science psychical research and investigation. She has been investigating hauntings for many years, and is currently a PhD student at the University of Central Lancashire researching the psychology of Electronic Voice Phenomena. Ann is a regular speaker at conferences, giving talks on EVP and the paranormal in general.
Juliette Gregson
Weird Fylde
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Juliette W Gregson is a heritage photographer, taking pictures of derelict buildings, art deco, small toys in hedges, Preserving the Past for the Future ! She loves to go out and catch iconic images of our town and the surrounding areas. Local historian Juliette has written for the BBC, provided research for ITV and many other publications, local & national over the years. Juliette has always had an avid interest in the paranormal and weird happenings in her local area and will be talking about this at LAPIS conference.
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Peter McCue
Peter McCue is a former clinical psychologist. He has a Ph.D., from the University of Glasgow, awarded for a thesis on hypnosis.
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His interest in anomalous phenomena goes back decades. He’s written numerous articles on these subjects, and he’s the author of two books: Zones of Strangeness: An Examination of Paranormal and UFO Hot Spots (AuthorHouse, Bloomington, Indiana, 2012) and Paranormal Encounters on Britain’s Roads: Phantom Figures, UFOs and Missing Time (The History Press, Stroud, 2018).
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Peter believes that paranormal phenomena occur, and that many UFO experiences are genuinely anomalous. He contends that if we want to obtain a comprehensive understanding of ourselves and the nature of reality, these enigmatic phenomena can’t be ignored. Peter lives in Scotland.
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‘Fake News’: Misreporting the Paranormal
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People often misreport supposedly paranormal events. This can range from outright hoaxing to passing on stories that aren’t well substantiated. Excessive use of pseudonyms is also a problem: if readers or listeners aren’t explicitly informed that names have been changed, it can be tantamount to lying. Peter will cite a wide array of examples, and will suggest guidelines for avoiding unnecessary misreporting.
Rob Whitehead
Rob’s interest in UFOs and the unexplained was sparked when as a youngster he saw a cigar shaped object while walking along the Durham coast with friends. "I was out with a few friends walking along the cliffs one day with my metal detector and I suddenly noticed a black cigar-shaped object quite low and it seemed to follow the coastline as we watched it. The following day in the local paper there was a headline on the front page 'UFO sightings across the North-East' and that got me into it."
After a move to Blackpool Rob joined LAPIS and for several years was one of our conference organisers. Having now returned to his native North East he still plays an active role in LAPIS and we are delighted he is able to join us at this event.
He has lectured on subjects including his own experiences, schoolyard UFO encounters and the enigma of Bogus Social Workers.
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"Aliens Stole My Christmas Tree"
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As if the whole 'alien abduction' phenomena wasn't already strange enough, Rob will be talking about some of the oddest and most bizarre alien, humanoid and...well...'other' entity encounters on record. Hang onto your hats, this is going to be weird…
Richard Freeman
Richard Freeman is a the zoological director at the Centre For Fortean Zoology, the author of a number of books and has taken part in many cryptozoological expeditions. A long time friend of LAPIS Richard has lectured at events across the UK and is making a welcome return to our conference.
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"The Nameless Dread"
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Some witnesses to monsters around the world report an very intense level of fear generated by these creatures, from dragon like beasts in lakes to hairy giants and wing beings. Witness sometimes tell of the fear lingering long after the encounter and a weird feeling of it following them.
Nathan Jackson
Nathan has a keen interest in cryptozoology. We first met him a couple of years ago and when we heard him give a talk at an event earlier in 2018 we knew we wanted him to be part of the LAPIS Conference.
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"Green, Unpleasant Land: An Overview of British Cryptids"
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People are often surprised by the diversity of cryptids that call the UK home: lake monsters to big cats to ape-men have been seen in these sceptred isles for centuries. However, the origin of these beasts remains mysterious; are they animal, myth or something in-between?