Is life really written in the stars? (Take A Break's Fate & Fortune)

Member Name: littlexen

Product:	Take A Break's Fate & Fortune
Date:	29/05/07 (342 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: bright and colourful, well presented, lots of varied articles, 7 pages of horoscopes

Disadvantages: poor journalism, not believeable, lots of adverts, puzzles are easy to complete

I can take or leave celebrity magazines, I have never really got excited about the latest copy of Heat or Hello magazine, but the one thing I do love, merely for cheap laughs is Fate and Fortune which is a spin off to Take a Break. My mum buys Take a Break magazine and we usually argue over whom is going to do all of the puzzles first when I go around for dinner so when she stopped buying it I was hoping to find something else to keep me amused.

I found Fate and Fortune which appealed to me because I love reading into people’s astrological star-signs, I have been to see a psychic and a friend of mine regularly reads Tarot cards and I have always been fascinated by what the future holds for me and I love reading spooky stories of people seeing ghosts and coming back from the dead. However, this magazine is read by those with an interest in the stars, new age themes and complementary/alternative health issues not quite what I was hoping for I have to admit, but I am prepared to give it a go and see what it is like. This magazine is also monthly costing only £1.60.

The magazine usually has a bright front-page which is immediately eye catching upon any shelf and it does look very similar to its sister magazine Take a Break with its layout and design. As with Take a Break there is a savvy looking lady on the front cover surrounded by a mix of eye-catching headlines such as “This dead pilot lives on in our boy” and ““Psychic Slimming” unlike the cover of the Take a Break Magazine where you have headlines such as “My Sister is now my brother” with Fate and Fortune there is something spiritual about the headlines.

Upon opening the magazine inside front cover gives an insight into what stories and articles can be found within the magazine by looking at contents list for this month with articles.

As with Take a Break there is a letters page in which those who read this magazine have sent in letters which are usually about something spooky they feel has or is currently happening to them and the best letter will win the prize of £50 for their efforts.

Next we have ‘Voices from beyond’ and this section belongs to a medium that due to the thalidomide drug was born without any arms. She is called Mandy Masters and claims that she is able to contact your dead relatives or friends. Now I am not sure whether or not to take this section at all seriously but in this issue we have a letter from someone telling Mandy Masters some information about the person that they wish her to get in touch with for them and then Mandy will tell that reader all about this person and the relationship they shared with them and from looking at previous issues she is usually spot on.

Now if you think that is a bit off the mark let me introduce you to Leanna who is a white witch and this section for me is a bit weird because Leanna asks readers to send in spells and the best one gets printed and the reader wins £100, but it doesn’t stop there because Leanna will also let you in on her secret spells too and she gives readers advice on which spells will work for their current problems and how best to perform them safely. So for anyone who annoys me watch out, I might just turn you into a frog!

Finally we have a section which is aptly named ‘True Life’ and this time you can win £200 if your story is published about a “real life encounter with the supernatural” and some of the stories are similar to those you would find in Take a Break but they have an eerie side to them, some of the stories are quite sad and believable but having read some of these stories it becomes obvious that many readers sit and write any old claptrap to win the money, sounds much like a Ciao competition with many of the writers allegedly buying the said product of the week and reviewing it.

Now as I mentioned I have been to see a psychic and I am always interested in what other people’s experiences are so when I saw the psychic detective section in the contents page I was quite looking forward to reading it. Now the psychic detective is an ex policeman called Kevin Wade and Kevin goes around trying to solve unsolved murders and other crimes with his psychic abilities. Kevin will take on a story explain what he feels is happening and then give his very own verdict. The one story which does stand out for me I think was in the May issue and it was about a missing Mariner and Kevin has predicted that the missing mariner is infact not missing but is very much alive and living a life abroad. I wait with baited breath to see whether or not this is proven to be true.

Another section that I found really entertaining to read is called ‘Psychometry’. In this section readers send in a photo of a household item into Jayne Wallace and using her psychic powers she will give the reader a story surrounding the item and unlock any secrets the item holds.

Now in any magazine called ‘Fate and Fortune’ there has to be a horoscope section and a list of every star sign can be found along with an insight into what will happen for you within the coming weeks and unlike most magazines where horoscopes are shoved in the back, within this one they are quite possibly the biggest feature spanning over 7 pages with details love, life, success and cash and if that doesn’t satisfy you, there is also a chance to telephone your horoscope hotline for a more detailed horoscope.

For those readers who are interested in Health Issues there is a section titled ‘Your Health’ and here you will find numerous recipes for herbal remedies which can help with many differing conditions and you might also find a slimming feature which will give you the best advice there is on slimming for that month, notably the advice changes from month to month.

So far we have gone through some of the more believable aspects to this magazine and now we enter what can only be described as completely off the wall and having 4 or 5 different sections to choose from such as The Noticeboard which will tell you about spooky goings on around the Country and an Angel Psychic who tells people who is looking out for them during their daily life. Does anyone believe they are surrounded by a Guardian Angel? In the ‘Ask the Angel’ section if you want to know more about these angels then Jayn Lee-Miller is the expert in this field and she will start by giving you an insight into what different types of angels there are and when and how to ask for them for help. Jayn will then go on to explain up to 3 angel cards and their meanings and answers the reader's questions.

Then we have Texas and well lets just say seeing is believing. I am sure a lot of people will remember the television programme ‘Mr Ed’ it used to be on Channel 4 and it was about a talking horse, well Fate and Fortune has obviously found a relative of Mr. Ed because let me introduce you to 15 year old ‘Texas’ the psychic horse. Now if you have an issue and you are at your wits end and really just do not know what to do, Texas is an agony aunt whom you can write too and tell your problems and he will help you deal with them using his owner to pass on and communicate with the readers.

Now no magazine is complete without the puzzles and prizes section and as this is the feature my Mum and I argue over the most I am finally glad to see that I have got my own section which contains things like Sudoku and arrow words, the kind of puzzles you would expect to see in Take a Break funnily enough and with prizes to be won of a normal nature, which for this magazine is rather weird as I was expecting to win a years Free Tarot Card reading or something more peculiar. However the competitions are serious and you can send your answers in by post, by phone or fax.

As with many magazines these days it is very much reliant on adverts and in Fate and Fortune you won’t be surprised to read that they are all based on spiritual readings which encourage you to ring hotlines, on a premium rate number to get your Tarot Readings and so forth.

So what did I think to Fate and Fortune? In the future if I am tempted to pick up any of the Take a Break range I will stick with the main editions and will steer well clear of the Fate and Fortune spin off. Well presented and packed full of easy to read stories I found myself in hysterics at times but in the end, poor old Texas and his psychic abilities was too much to handle even for me. As I have said, I really like reading my horoscopes and have had my Tarot Cards read but I couldn’t possibly take any of it seriously and anyone who believes a horse has psychic powers and communicates through his owner is well… in need of a little help. So I will definitely not be buying this again anytime soon. £1.60 might not seem a lot, but when you consider that I only really enjoy the horoscopes and fairly easy puzzles it is actually overpriced.

Summary: Not worth the paper it is printed on!