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My guardian angels
THE AMAZING, yet to me, quite acceptable idea of guardian angels has been manifest in my life on three quite different occasions.
On reflection, I realise there would appear to be a relative date factor of sorts. These unusual events occurred to the best of my
memory and/or calculation, each in a year ending in a three.
The fact of their manifestation did not dawn upon me following the first encounter, and it was only after the second that I put two-and-two together and reckoned that both incidents had something in common.
The third and final (at least, to date) instance confirmed in my mind that there was indeed a common, if tenuous, connection in the encounters, but as I have always believed in the supernatural there was no reason to doubt their significance.
And so, to the beginning.
While at Beckenham Technical School in 1943,
I took part in a cross-country race. Its route took us through roads and local grounds previously unknown to me, and these included a large and uninviting allotment area. (At this time, the nation was still engaged in wartime Digging for Victory!)
Our way led through a road tunnel or brick archway (it remains a little hazy), and standing at the entrance was a young man, good-looking in retrospect, although I did not remark this on the occasion.
Encouraging us vocally, he gave our tired young legs wings. As I say, I thought no more of it, believing him to be one of the teaching staff, but later came to ponder the fact that I had never seen him previous to this occasion.
I did not mention the encounter to anyone, or even think about it unduly, and the incident was placed in and remained at the back of my mind.
Forty years on and my youngest daughter, Julie, was new to her secondary school - Langley Park School for Girls, where at a school fair in 1983 parents were invited to lend their efforts to stewarding this forthcoming school indoor event.
The duties entailed standing around making sure that property was respected and that nothing amiss took place while visitors enjoyed examining the exhibits, which included paintings and craftwork.
A rota had been drawn up, and when I arrived to take up my appointed duty, I found myself taking over from a young man who, to my knowledge, I had not previously met.
Again, this was not surprising in that I was new to the school. He smiled as he departed, but said nothing, and it was only later that it struck me that here was the self-same man whom I had last seen many years before during my school cross-country run.
Forty years had passed, but he looked precisely the same as on the previous occasion.
I never saw or heard of him again while Julie was at the school, and still have no idea who he was.
Brief encounter of the third kind was in 1993, a further ten years on when at midday during the week, by some momentary inclination, I was drawn to enter the Temple Church of the Knights Templar in Middle Temple, London, hard by one of the barristers' chambers often visited by me in the course of my then legal duties on behalf of Bromley solicitors Bartlett, Gregory, Collins and Snow.
As I sat with others among the small gathering in the pews, who should present me with a hymn book for this midday service than the young man whom I had by now come to suspect was my guardian angel.
This time he did not smile.
Perhaps because this was to be the final occasion of our meeting.
I did not notice him as I left the church, and I have never seen him again, but feel sure he exists. I was in no form of trouble or distress when any one of the encounters occurred, and so in this respect he was to my knowledge hardly filling the role of a guardian, although who knows what may have awaited me or what event unknown to me he may have pre-empted?Nevertheless, I am positive that this experience proves there is more on the other side than "this world dreams of".
By Alan d'Vois
11:47am Friday 21st December 2007
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