I need a break (Take A Break's Fate & Fortune)

Member Name: juicy_lucy

Product:	Take A Break's Fate & Fortune
Date:	27/05/07 (178 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Easy to read and put down

Disadvantages: Just a bit unbelievable

Take a break

This is one of those magazines I picked up a while ago, in error- I merely saw “Take a Break” and thought it was the original magazine by that name. needless to say, it’s quite different, although being a spin off of the original magazine, this does promise to deal with true life stories. I was never especially convinced by the original, but continued to give this a go.

A few readings on, mainly when I need light and not overly taxing reading, and I am at the stage now where I am sitting with the June edition in front of me- nothing very spooky there.

~~Front Cover~~

Deciding to be original, I start at the very beginning, and there, as with other editions I have bought is the stereo typical front cover. Why so? As ever, there is a rather attractive, glitzy lady on the front, although what she has to do with spooky goings on eludes me. Tightly packed with attention grabbing headlines, her rather nifty turquoise outfit eludes me, instead I am bombarded with statements such as “This dead pilot lives on in our boy” and “Psychic Slimming”.

The price of £1.60 is similarly almost, but not quite obscured; not a lot to pay for some quite astonishing articles!

~~Contents~~

Inside front cover gives me the fascinating contents list for this month, dealing with the Weird and Wonderful, including the mystery of the missing mariner, Regulars, with such astounding topics as asking the angels, Questions answered and Puzzles and offers.

With such a choice, it’s hard to know where to begin…

~~Letters~~

As with most magazines, there is a section devoted to letters, and this section is right at the beginning, with a double page spread devoted to readers aiming to grab £50 for the prize letter. Hard to know if the letters are true or if people are trying for the cash prize, but I always find myself reading them, before being drawn to the antics of the spooky reporter; I am almost tempted to send in my details but if I have to have a ghost grab my leg like the poor unfortunate in this month’s magazine, then I think not…

~~Regulars~~

The regular section include a range of articles and features, all dealing with the supernatural, and sometimes quite hard to believe.

Mystic Mix deals with the with the weird and wonderful and this month includes a rather strange article about a mother who heard her son speaking from beyond the grave, telling her to keep his sperm so he can have children. Makes me wonder if there are any takers.

Real Magic is the section where you can send the white witch Leanna (yes, she has a broomstick) your spells which have worked. Leanna answers readers spells, giving advice, and then gives an example of her own magic, straight form her own spell book.

Psychometry allows people to send in pictures of objects with a brief description, and Jayne will give you the story and using her psychic powers, will unlock the secrets. So, if you want Jayne to read a possession, send a picture to the e mail address.

Angel expert, Jayn shows you how your angelic protectors can help you, and these pages are littered with examples of readers sending in angelic experiences and drawings of their own angels

Of course, there has to be horoscopes, and in this magazine they take up no less than 7 pages, covering love, life, success and cash, as well as the chance to telephone your horoscope hotline to pay lots of money for a detailed horoscope.

The Noticeboard puts you in touch with spooky goings on around the country, and allows people interested in this sort of thing to find a pen friend.

The Psychic Love Coach answers your love questions, and although she can’t answer questions personally, she can answer them in the magazine, and give ideas as to how you can tap into universal love… I want some of that!

~~Weird and Wonderful~~

This seems to be the sections where most of the excitement and changes come into force, with true life stories and experiences in real Take a Break style.

The Psychic Detective investigates strange goings on, and this month it’s the case of a missing mariner. He gives his verdict, and has decided that the man in question is living a life abroad… I do wonder if he will come forward and prove the detective right.

There is a section where you can close your eyes, and get the flower petals to read your past, present and future, but I seem to get a different reading each time I try it out

We also have articles about a pilot who has been reincarnated as a small boy and spooky pets who come back from the dead, as well as possessed phones and a dead father who appears on the sofa.

~~Questions answered~~

This is, I think where it gets most out of touch with reality. Each month, we have a section on voices from beyond where readers are suitably amazed at the accuracy of many Master’s messages from dead loved ones. Fair enough, this I have seen before, and I have also heard of people reading dreams, but the monthly appearance of Texas the psychic Horse…this is a tad strange to say the very least. Every month, this four legged agony uncle soothes the souls of people and their pets. Described as a 15year old with spirit guides, he relies heavily on the help of his animal owner and communicator to pass on the messages. Quite how this is done I will never know, but there are plenty of letters from people writing to “Dear Texas”



~~Other bits and pieces~~

As with most magazines, there are puzzles and prizes, including such “normal” activities as arrow word and Sudoku.

There are freebies to be won and a spa break in London.

The magazine is also heavily reliant on adverts- these being mostly of the spiritual kind, encouraging the reader to make premium rate phone calls for readings.

Happily the magazine encourages you to recycle it after use.

~~What I think~~

As I said, the first time I read this was an accident, and I would say quite a happy accident. I have then flicked through it on numerous occasions, in the same spirit (no pun intended) as I flick through the more well known Take a Break; on the whole I am astounded at how dull and non happening my life is compared to the lives of others.

Some of the articles and features are quite frankly hard to swallow, but I do admit to getting a bit spooked by things like the photos although the realist in me tells me that it is so not a forest spirit walking their dog! On the subject of hard to swallow, I don’t think I can possibly take the psychic horse seriously, and I do wonder if these people writing to a horse are for real…

On the whole, I am fairly cynical about this kind of thing, and get the feeling that the readers writing letters may be trying to win the £50 prize. However, for a light hearted read, and taken in context, it’s not taxing, not over priced, and at times quite unbelievable.

Not one I would have delivered on a monthly basis, but for a magazine full of pictures and topic openers, a goodie!

Thanks for reading

Daniela x

Summary: Not one I would have delivered or rush out to buy