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Story 1, March 31, 2002, from the UK Guardian:

Nick Cohen: Primal therapy | Politics | The Observer

http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2002/mar/31/politicalcolumnists.comment

Quote:

"During their stay at the Maroma Hotel, a pricey retreat on Mexico's Caribbean coast, Cherie Booth/Blair took her husband by the hand and led him along the beach to a 'Temazcal', a steam bath enclosed in a brick pyramid. It was dusk and they had stripped down to their swimming costumes. Inside, they met Nancy Aguilar, a new-age therapist. She told them that the pyramid was a womb in which they would be reborn. The Blairs became one with 'Mother Earth'. They saw the shapes of phantom animals in the steam and experienced 'inner-feelings and visions'. As they smeared each other with melon, papaya and mud from the jungle, they confronted their fears and screamed. The joyous agonies of 'rebirth' were upon them. The ceremony over, the Prime Minister and First Lady waded into the sea and cleaned themselves up as best they could.

When the unnerving story broke, those who could rid their minds of the image of vacuous self-indulgence might have wondered how an authoritarian right-winger could be comfortable with therapies which are meant to be liberating."

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Story 2, December 8, 2002, from the UK Guardian

Nick Cohen: Ev'rybody must get stones | Politics | The Observer

http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2002/dec/08/cherieblair.labour1

Quote:

"'The most accessible entrance into the Blairs' spirit world of paganism, spiritualism, pseudo-science and quackery is through a chat with Cherie's 'homeopathic dowser healer' - one Jack Temple, aged 86. Temple is the possessor of a 'Neolithic stone circle', which, he assured me, captures the healing energies of the stars, sun and moon and holds them for the benefit of his paying customers. He discovered the 'magic' stones in Pembrokeshire and transported them in two lorries to his home in Pyrford, near Woking, Surrey.

'I'm sorry,' I interrupted. 'The local authority and the National Trust allowed you to run off with an ancient stone circle?'

'The stones weren't in a circle,' he explained. 'They had been cleared so the field could be worked. They were dumped in a ditch and a farmer sold them to me.'

'I see. A farmer said a load of old rubble was once a Stone Age religious site and you paid ready money to get your hands on it. How did you know the stones were genuine stones, so to speak?'

An irritated note entered Temple's voice. 'I dowsed them with my magic pendulum, of course. I made the amazing discovery that each of the 16 stones relieved stress in different parts of the body - the muscles, the brain and so on.' After he moved the stones to Surrey, Temple went to the garden centre and used his pendulum to divine the aura of the herb and alpines section. The trial of the plants was merciless. He found only wild strawberries had the strength to 'contain nature's energy generated by the stone circle'.

Temple duly planted his circle with strawberries. He will sell you a small packet of their dried leaves for £10 (plus £1 p&p). It's a bargain, as Cherie Blair knows. Temple said in his autobiography Medicine Man : 'I believe I've helped the lame to walk, the barren to conceive, and the sad to smile. I've been able to reflate the lungs of children previously condemned to a life constricted by asthma. I've even seen the bald pates of middle-aged and elderly men begin to spring hair growth again.'

Don't mock him. Fergie and, inevitably, the late Princess Di have acclaimed him as a healing genius. Temple is happy to allow everyone to share the inner harmony of royalty and the Blairs. For £85 he will sell you a pile of stones and instructions on how to lay them out in the garden. (This time he doesn't mention the cost of the post and packing, which I suspect will be steep.)

Cherie Blair was introduced to the doddering dowser by Sylvia and Carole Caplin. Sylvia, 67, is a former ballet dancer turned spiritualist. On 11 November, the Daily Mail published an extraordinary piece. According to a former client, Caplin Senior 'can bring the light down' and open channels with the dead. Mrs Blair regularly visits the mystic's £500,000 house in a gated park in Dorking. It, too, is filled with stones. 'There was a particularly active period in the summer when Sylvia was channelling for Cherie over two or three times a week, with almost daily contact between them,' the Mail reported. 'There were times when Cherie's faxes ran to 10 pages.'

This can't possibly be true, I thought. I phoned Downing Street and asked if they denied the story. The press officer promised to call back, but never did. I checked if the Mail had received a complaint. The paper hadn't heard a squeak of protest. I think we can take the silence as a confirmation."

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Story 3, December 11, 2002 story from the Edinburgh Evening News:

The mystical friendship of Cherie and Carol - Edinburgh Evening News

http://edinburghnews.scotsman.com/features/The-mystical-friendship-of-Cherie.2385420.jp

Quote:

"As the Prime Minister’s wife comes under pressure to ditch her New Age friend Carole Caplin, Sandra Dick examines the pair’s relationship

SHE is a mother of four children with a razor-sharp mind, a high-flying legal career, a deep Catholic faith and a husband who just happens to run a country.

And it seems she also has a particular weak spot for the power of crystals, for conversing with the spirit world and having nasty toxins scrubbed out of her body while standing naked in the shower with her best friend."

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In Conclusion

Tony Blair is setting up a wealthy interfaith venture (1) to combat religious extremism. His history includes starting a war of aggression, passing authoritarian laws in once-free Britain, and dabbling in the New Age (as led by his wife). He's Catholic now - even though his public record is solidly "pro-choice" - and his new business has a Papal sign of approval. Any questions?