Prophecy The David Meade Project

-It's mental. Completely mental.

-I just really want to know whether he has like superpowers.

Creepy or freaky supernatural?

Hello again. I predict you're looking forward to this instalment of The David Meade Project.

Wait no longer, here he is, David Meade.

-Is that an L? An L?

-Yes!

-Oh, my God!

Once again, David is going to choose a feature of human nature he wants to have fun with.

Trouble is, not everyone will be able to handle it.

It's crazy. That's insane.

-How'd he do it?

-My God! Totally freaky!

This time, it's all about predicting the future,

but with David around, no-one can tell what's about to happen.

Some people think I have special powers. I don't. I'm a mentalist.

I'll use any technique I can to make this stuff work.

If I were going to predict where to find David at the start of one of his projects,

it would be on the street, with random strangers, playing mentalist games.

But you know what? Not everything is what it seems with David Meade.

This is a really simple one, but its simplicity makes it a little difficult.

I'm going to set a time on my watch and the participant has to guess what time that is.

If this works, they should match my time. There are no guarantees.

-Do either of you have a watch I could borrow?

-Yes.

-Brilliant. I'll have that one.

Now, I'm going to try a really simple experiment and I want you

to look at me, look at my face and on my face, I want you to imagine a clock.

Think of a time, imagine some hand spinning around on a huge clock on my face.

I know you'd much rather look at my face! All right. OK.

Now...this may not work.

-OK, I have set a time. You can't see it from there, can you?

-No.

-OK.

I want you to look straight here for me.

As you look at this clock, allow the hands to spin around and around and whenever you're ready, name a time.

-16:23.

-16:23?

-Yes.

-Why 16:23?

I don't know. I just like it.

OK. Close enough? 16.23.

-Oh, my... No, you didn't!

-That is so...

-How did you get that?

-What?!

-Why did you think of that time?

-I've no idea. My heart skipped a beat. What just happened?

My games or experiments, whatever you want to call them,

work best in ordinary everyday environments.

Don't let David fool you. It's actually extraordinary stuff, inspired by clever books

and of course, David's secret ingredient - mentalism, the art of mind manipulation.

I'd like to play with something that's extremely ordinary, the concept of time.

-You got it?

-Yes.

-Happy? Now, I can't change it. Whenever you're ready.

-What time have you set it to?

-1.37.

-1.37?

-Yeah.

-1:37.

-Argh!

-Oh, my God!

No!

-How weird!

-Oh, my God!

How do you do that?

-Let me see, what time did you set?

-12.01.

-12.01?

-Sorry.

-I did 12.01.

-How do you do this?!

-How did YOU do that?

I don't like you.

I kept changing my mind, but I went with 12.01. And he got it.

How'd he do it?

That's not fair. I want to know!

Just can't believe it. I don't know how he done it.

I'm still in shock. My goodness!

That was really great. It actually worked a little bit better than even I expected.

I might be on a lucky streak. I want to see if I can make this bigger.

This time, Sophie, I want you to try and prophesise, OK?

I want you to imagine a massive clock in your head

and I want you to tell me, in your head, what time you're thinking of.

-7.15.

-7... 7.15?

What time is it right now? Do you know, roughly?

-Ten past three?

-Ten past three, roughly? Look at the time on the clock.

SHE LAUGHS

How did you do that? You can't go up... Oh, my God!

Creepy or freaky supernatural?

-I'm going to ask you, what time is it?

-5.10.

-About 5.05.

-OK, excellent.

I want you to look me straight in the eye.

You're going to prophesise this, Alex,

imagine a huge clock here, a massive clock.

-Whenever you're ready, out loud, name your time.

-11.58.

11... 11.58? Really? What time does that say?

-11.58?

-Oh, my God!

-Alex, how did you do that?

He just got the number. I got goose pimple. I don't know.

I just really want to know whether he has like superpowers.

-What's the time? Out loud. Really loud.

-20.16!

What's the time up there?

Oh! What...? Stay out of my head!

I could see this coming. All this clock-watching has made David want to have a go at -

wait for it -

only predicting the future!

Well, that would be amazing.

Just think what you could do with that ability.

Mind you, with those glasses, he can't see two feet in front of his face,

never mind see into the future. Of course, he reckons differently.

Many people believe it's impossible to predict the future.

I think that's flat-out wrong.

We all predict the future every single day.

Every time we try to cross the road, we're making a prediction as to whether that car

is going to be here by the time I cross the road or not. That happens automatically.

I want to play with time and see if I can create the perception

that I might be able to predict the future.

Of course, I can't and if I could, I certainly wouldn't use one of these!

I've been thinking back to a time when I thought anything was possible.

Now, I'd like to take myself back to that place to see

if I can get in the zone and seemingly predict the future.

What better way to look forward in time than to go backwards?

David has returned to...his old primary school.

No-one could have predicted that one.

This is where it all began. I absolutely believed while I was here that I could look into the future.

Sometimes it worked and sometimes it didn't. But it's that belief that makes it critically important.

One thing that's exciting about coming back to my own primary school is meeting one person in particular.

There are some people who stick in your memory. I'm really excited about meeting that person.

They say you never forget your first and for David,

that goes for lollipop ladies too, apparently.

The last time I seen David was when he was seven.

So that's a good ten years ago, or 20 years ago, I should say! Makes you feel old when you hear that!

Today, I want to see if a prophecy I had almost exactly one month ago

while walking around a clothes shop, I want to see if it is going to come true.

David would have been full of devilment, coming out of school,

making faces behind my back, doing like this here!

He was really funny.

I think everyone would love to be able to look into the future. Who wouldn't?

But I'm a mentalist, so let's see if I can use some of those skills.

The worrying thing is, it might not work and if it doesn't, I'll look like an idiot.

-Hello, everybody!

-Hello.

-Hello, hello!

Well... Hello, Sally. How are you? Thanks for helping me out.

You look terrified. Do you believe you can predict the future?

-Not really.

-OK. I've always tried to look into the future and see what's coming

and in this place, in your very chair there, is where I used to sit.

I used to try and work out what I'd be doing in the future. I want to try an experiment in prophecy,

in our ability to see the future. I think I've seen the future. I need you to pick a colouring book.

-You have no idea which one you're going to pick, have you?

-No.

-You haven't had a look through them?

-No.

It's important I don't look, so I'm going to be looking the other way.

Is Sally good at colouring in? A little bit? Don't sound so sure!

-I've got one.

-Oh, you've got one?

-Yep.

-You've got one you want?

-Yep.

-OK, brilliant.

I want you to flick through those pages and stop on one page, a page you want to work with.

I'm not going to look. Keep an eye on me to make sure there's no way I can see.

If you catch me sneaking a peek, shout out and make sure I'm not doing any funny business.

I'm going to have you colour in that picture,

but I don't want any of the kids to think we have set anything up.

I'm going to have you now colour that in.

I just want you to pick up any marker you like.

My prophecy was this would come together for a beautiful picture.

Sally's going to colour in a random picture from the book while Sally and David chat.

But it's never that simple with David. Pay attention, class! You might miss something.

If you were to think back to primary school and think of one of your friends from primary school,

-give me one name.

-Doris.

-Doris? Right. How long did you know Doris?

-18 years.

-Brilliant.

You and Doris, you could travel to any country in the world, where would you like to travel to?

-Virgo.

-Where?

-Virgo.

-Have you been to Virgo before?

-Yep.

By the way, I think Virgo is near Portugal.

-I went on a cruise.

-Oh, lovely. Brilliant. Lollipop ladies are getting well paid!

You and Doris, I want you to imagine you've come back from this trip from Virgo. You're terrible hung-over.

You go to the Jobcentre and you can apply for any job in the world.

-What job would you go for?

-A waitress.

-A waitress?

-Yeah.

I had this prophecy, it was about three or four weeks ago

while I was in a clothes shop. I thought, a month from now,

I'm going to be in my primary school and if I am there,

I hope Sally comes and helps me because I want her to do something important.

I want her to pick a picture out of any colouring book.

-I think you should have chosen a picture of a boy.

-Yep.

-Is that right? Boys and girls? Is it, yeah?

-And the boy should be having a balloon. Is there a dog?

-Yes.

He's got a beautiful coordinated jumper. All the same colours?

-What do you think of the jumper? Be honest. Would you wear it?

-ALL: No.

-What do you mean? What's wrong with it?

-It's multi-coloured.

I think it's a beautiful jumper!

LAUGHTER AND APPLAUSE

What do you think? I'm like a model, Sally!

-What have you done up here? What is this?

-An apple tree.

-An apple tree?

So that wasn't part of the drawing, you've drawn that.

Well, the next part of that was... I brought a balloon with me.

-What colour did you colour the balloon? That's the balloon making that noise, by the way!

-Yellow.

-What colour did you do the balloon?

-Yellow.

-And you drew a tree?

Free choice, Sally, yes? You drew a tree? Hold that.

APPLAUSE

Sally... Oh, that's one thing that we have, we have a needle here

because inside it, there's a piece of paper.

Take the needle. We're going to put it flat on the table.

Come over here, so we get a good shot.

Inside, there's a piece of paper... Ooh! There it is! Pick it up.

Now, Sally, this was my real prophecy,

the jumper was a bit of craic.

-An embarrassing craic, at that.

-It was good.

-Go ahead.

I want you to read this letter from the very top in your clearest, bestest voice.

My name is Sally. My best friend is called Doris.

We're going on holiday to Virgo.

-When I grow up, I want to be a waitress. I drew a...

-A tree.

Free choice, yes? We didn't set that up? Let's hear it for Sally! Brilliant!

I have to be honest with you, you shouldn't be too embarrassed about this.

You even did the socks wrong! Purple and red.

Who would wear purple and red socks? This guy!

Believe it or not, he's got another pair like that back home.

I was wondering why he was taking his jacket off and it never dawned,

looking at his jumper and it being red, I never thought

for one minute it was the colour in the picture I had coloured in.

I couldn't believe it when I saw the sleeves.

This was a really big deal for me, coming back to my primary school,

being in the same room as old teachers and students.

It was a big deal that this worked. Thank goodness it did work. It worked incredibly well.

The socks were amazing! He had the two different socks, exact same colour. It was fantastic.

Sally was absolutely superb. I couldn't have asked for anyone better to take part.

It seems as though my prophecy came true. And armed with that, I'd like to see just how far I can push this.

Having done this experiment with Sally,

it seems to me that perhaps we might be able to pre-empt what's about to happen. Maybe. Who knows!

David's left his classroom behind to become the teacher.

But before he can pass on the gift of prediction, he needs

the most important ingredient - someone to teach.

I've been trying to find someone that's right for this test for years.

The person I need isn't necessarily full of self-confidence and don't believe they've achieved their best.

I think I've found it in Linda.

Linda is going to learn to predict the future, but she doesn't know it yet.

Normal life is just normal. It can be very boring, same routine every day.

Being at home, looking after the children, doing normal everyday things.

Round the house. Playing with the kids. Stuff like that.

I do tend to think, this might happen, that might happen. A lot of the time, I get it right.

To help Linda, David will introduce her to what some say

is a secret tool of all ancient predictions - patterns.

Most successful prophecies are, when you look at them

from a bird's-eye view, actually the result of pretty beautiful patterns.

Throughout history, if we look at the work of Nostradamus,

his incredible prophecies are the result of various patterns. That's what I want to experiment with.

Nostradamus was a man who was supposed to have predicted all kinds of things.

The rise of Hitler, JFK's assassination

and Westlife selling over 41 million albums.

Also, and I don't want to worry you, but World War III.

Some people have interpreted his predictions as a series of patterns.

But I bet he never used a cardboard box with a couple of holes in!

Linda's going to be prophesising moments into the future by way of a simple game we've all played before -

rock paper scissors - but it's under some pretty shoddy test conditions.

She will essentially need to try and prophesise what the opponent will throw in this game.

And my prophecy is that Linda's going to be unbeatable.

Ladies and gents, Linda is up against the best rock paper scissors players David can find,

obviously with a lot of time on their hands.

I would say I was competitive because I'd compete with friends.

I take rock paper scissors seriously.

When there's the last beer or the last something, we usually do it.

The feeling I have is excitement and very interested in what's going to happen.

Each contender has one chance to beat Linda.

But from Linda's point of view, she has to predict correctly ten times.

I think Linda's going to be perfect for this.

I think she's got the base skill set that might allow her to excel.

You're going to put your hand in there and decide what scissors, paper or rock that you want to play.

-The other person's going in there. I'm going to pick up the box and see how you did. That make sense?

-Yep.

So I think we'll have our first participant. Hi. What's your name?

-Aneka.

-Aneka, this is Linda. Linda, this is Aneka.

This is going... Good sportsmanship there! That won't last!

Hands in the box. One, two, three...

Ooh! We've got a draw!

-OK, not too bad. So we'll go with number two. What's your name?

-Matt.

-Matt. Brilliant.

Hands in the box. We're going to do this as fast as we can.

One, two, three...

Draw again. Can we have somebody else?

-OK, are you ready, Linda?

-Three, two, one, go!

OK, Linda, this is the one.

Oh, no!

Draw. This is so weird.

Cor. There are bigger drawers here than on my Aunt Edna's washing line.

Whatever patterns Linda's using aren't giving her wins,

but she's not losing either.

-How does it feel, the way this is going?

-Freaky.

It's weird, isn't it?

-Yeah, very weird.

-Did you think this was going to happen?

-Definitely not.

Oh, come on, Linda.

Knowing what's about to happen is part of this prediction game.

A draw again!

Just two challengers left,

and they'll do anything to break Linda's pattern.

Do you want to try and psych her out, Philip?

Is that enough?

Hands in the box.

And we have one more, one more.

Oh, blimey, he's got no hope.

-Dynamite.

-Hold on, what's that?

-That's dynamite.

-Oh, dynamite?

-What beats dynamite?

-Nothing.

Oh, dynamite. Yeah, mind-blowing.

Where did dynamite come from? It's called rock paper scissors.

-He should be disqualified.

-Want me to disqualify him?

Yes, he's disqualified.

Oh dear, it wasn't meant to go that way.

Linda's failure to win outright has left her disappointed with her own performance.

Everybody just seemed to match whatever I done,

rock, scissors, paper, you know,

I couldn't believe they were getting the exact same thing that I was.

It was, how are they doing that?

It's unusual.

It's just odd, it's hard to explain.

It's a no-win situation

which has left both David and Linda a bit out of sorts.

I feel a little bit confused.

My goal was to empower Linda to believe she had the gift of prophecy,

but I hoped she would win everything.

I suppose my prophecy was that she would be unbeatable.

And technically she wasn't beaten,

so I'm going to declare that a minor win for me.

But I'm not quite sure where to take this next.

Well, one thing's for sure.

Linda isn't ready to give up just yet.

I think it would be amazing to be able to predict things.

It would be such a gift, really.

I'd love to be able to do that.

A new day.

Let's hope David has something good up his sleeve for Linda.

Linda provided such an unusual performance

when we played rock paper scissors, I had to do something else with her.

David needs something big

to restore Linda's faith in her powers of prediction,

because they're definitely not working now.

I have absolutely no idea what's going to happen,

really don't, but we'll see.

The last time in rock paper scissors, how did you feel as it was happening?

-It was just very odd.

-Odd?

-Very odd.

I just couldn't work out what had happened,

-how I guessed what they'd pick.

-Remember it was you prophesising what they would do. I'd like to see

if we can transfer some of that into what we're about to do.

Throughout history, all of the most successful prophecies

have been a result of someone spotting a pattern,

and using it to predict the future.

Yes, you've guessed it.

Welcome to David Meade's very own lottery game.

Let's face it,

he's not going to teach you to prophesise the real lottery.

No-one could do that.

But if this works, it'll be just as impressive.

I have Linda looking through reams and reams of information

on what's happened in the lottery in the last few decades,

to see if she can spot a pattern, and then build a prophecy of her own.

All Linda has to do is believe

she can predict six balls correctly,

something she's never thought possible before.

When it comes to the lottery, I would do it every now and again.

I wouldn't be a weekly person, monthly person.

Rare occasions, if the money's big

or if something just drives me to go and do it, I will.

Now, these are no ordinary lottery balls, Linda,

in various colours.

I want you to take those and empty them into the fish tank.

I'll help you. I'll pick some balls out of this fish tank.

-Mm-hmm?

-Using a very technical device, I must say.

I want you to see exactly how this works.

This is one of those beautiful old-school Hoovers.

Hold on. Did you pinch that off my nan?

Put your hand over that.

Feel it, yeah?

Perfect for a exfoliation, et cetera.

It would be obvious if we just picked numbers like that,

as I might be able to aim at a number.

Even though I won't know what number you're thinking of,

I might be able to aim and choose,

so I've put a bit of a nozzle on it here. This means,

I can float around in here and see,

there's one number I've picked out, that is number 32.

OK? Actually, you give it a wee go yourself there, Linda.

Spin it around, mix it up.

Whoops, sounds like you've got one. What did you get there?

You got a number 46. Number 46.

OK. So, in a moment you're going to prophesise what number you think

is going to come out of this machine.

If you walk around here for me, I'll show you exactly how you'll do that.

You're going to pick any one of these colours that you like,

making sure that no-one can see,

scribble your number on the card and keep it secret, keep it hidden.

That'll be the first time.

The second time, you'll take a number and put it up like this.

Again, it's up to you which colours and order you choose them in.

By the way, I really appreciate you being here,

and I appreciate your help with the last experiment.

I actually got you a wee voucher.

-Thank you.

-It's only a fiver.

Always the height of generosity, David.

OK, Linda, I think we're probably ready to begin.

Whenever you're ready,

go ahead and write down your prophecy. Make sure I can't see it.

No expense spared on this lottery.

-Don't worry, I'll do the fanfares.

-Well, we shall begin.

OK.

Let me see. OK, we have got a number.

But I don't want you to see it. Turn around for me. Face the camera.

Ta-da!

-This is your first prophecy. Your first prophecy, OK?

-OK.

27, gateway to heaven.

-Just going to set this...

-I predict you're wondering

what the table with a naff bit of card stuck to it is doing.

It's so David can't switch any balls,

and Linda can't see the result until the end.

Mind you, it shows what a cheapskate David really is.

Go ahead now, and write down your second prophecy.

Where are these numbers coming from?

Just random choice.

-The dark recesses of your mind?

-Absolutely.

OK, Linda, whenever you want, you just say "now".

-Now!

-Oh, really? That quick?

-Yeah.

-We got one?

Yes, we do have one.

OK, I don't want you to look. Turn around for me. Linda, this...

Feeling blue?

-My chest size, number 42.

-I don't want you to see this, again,

so I'm going to place that there.

You can turn around now. Go ahead and write down your third prophecy.

Is there anyone in the world that could know what your guess is now?

-Absolutely not.

-So these are just popping into your head?

-Random, yep.

-OK.

OK. Stop.

-There?

-Yep.

OK, we've got one. So go ahead and turn around.

Linda, this is your third opportunity to prophesise. OK?

Three balls down, Linda seems strangely confident.

-All right, Linda. How did that one feel?

-So-so.

Oh, spoke too soon.

Sounds like Linda's not so sure.

And tell me when to stop.

-Now.

-Now, there?

I don't think we got one. Oh, we did.

OK, Linda, this is

-your fourth...

-Number 19.

Dancing Queen.

So, let's go.

-Stop.

-There?

-Yep.

Go ahead and turn around for me, turn around.

Linda, this is your fifth prophecy.

This is your fifth prophecy.

Five balls down, and guess what?

David's wonky old table is still standing.

Who could have predicted that?

-Ready to go?

-Yep.

Where do you want me to start?

-Top, middle or bottom?

-Go that side.

-Make this one really random.

-Go ahead.

-Now!

-There?

-Yep.

OK, you got one.

-OK.

-Cos I don't want you to see it.

Linda, this is your final...

-that's your last one.

-Number 10,

-Downing Street.

-I mean this,

I'll be delighted if you get some of these right.

Six balls selected.

Nothing Linda can do now

but wait to see if her predictions are correct.

-Do you want to see how well you did?

-OK.

That's it, tear off the tacky bit of card.

Cor, it's hardly a velvet curtain, is it?

Starting, we had 27, 42,

12, 19, 38

and 10, in all of the colours, red, yellow, green, blue, blue, green.

Red, yellow, green, blue, blue, green.

Same again, 27,

42, 12, 38, 19 and 10!

-How did you do that?

-I have no idea.

How did you do that?

-That is amazing!

-My God.

Thank you so much. You were amazing.

Thank you so much, I really... Do you know how you did that?

I have no idea. But I know what, I'm doing the Lotto night.

I'm there, with those numbers.

-And they just popped into your head?

-Absolutely.

-Thank you.

And I hope that you enjoy spending your voucher.

Do you want to check it?

It's not for much, now.

-It's only...

-You normally never give anything away.

I have a freaky feeling, I KNEW that's what that was going to be!

-I so knew that.

-That is a 10,

12, 19,

27, 38 and 42.

10, 12, 19, 27, 38 and 42.

-Your numbers.

-Freaky!

-Picked from the dark recesses of your brain!

Oh, my God! Totally freaky.

Unbelievable.

Oh, no. I feel like I want to cry.

I don't think anyone could argue with the fact

that was an overwhelming success, but it wasn't my success, it was Linda's.

Just...

unreal. How...?

How could anybody predict that?

I've been looking into the way people prophesise and predict the future

for decades now, but one thing that I've learned

is that prophecies only become prophecies

when they're actually true.

Blows me away that people absolutely believe they can predict the future

and maybe they can, or maybe it's only a prophecy

when the reality actually aligns with what they predicted.

So I'm not sure if anyone can predict the future. That's the truth.

But I do know that Linda did something incredible today.

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