Years ago I had a very vivid dream. In the dream I was walking down cold stone steps in a winding staircase. I felt odd and looking down I realized that I was no longer me but I was a man. I was dressed in what I now know to be medieval costume. Have you ever dreamt that you were a different gender?

I wasn't surprised by this finding and found myself looking out an open window next me. I call it a window but it was actually more like an arrow slit like you see in old movies. It was sunny outside although quite cold in the staircase. I could see two men and a woman using wooden implements like hoes and shovels and they appeared to be readying the ground for planting. That is all I can remember of the dream but what I do remember is very clear to me. Have you ever dreamt that you were living in a different time period?

One of the things that they talked about was how people can instantly hate or love someone they just met. They claimed that it is because you knew them in a past life. Strangely enough in the late 70s I went to Scotland to visit my cousins who I had never met. The cousin was David and his wife was Jenny. Jenny and I instantly bonded. By the time I left we were finishing each other's sentences. I felt like I had known her all my life. I have never had this type of experience before. Jenny was 50 years old than I was and basically we had nothing in common. Have you ever had an instant connection to someone who you have just met?

I have always had a huge interest in life on the home front during the London Blitz. Don't ask me why but it just fascinates me. Have you a period of history that you are really interested in even though it has nothing to do with you personally?

As for my medieval dream I told a friend about it and she gave me a history book on the period. Again I became fascinated. So fascinated that I went to university as an adult student and got a Associates Degree majoring in Medieval History! My friends think I was crazy to choose such a subject. Do you?