A Cumbrian author has recounted the unlikely moment when he was told how alien “super-minds” would help Carlisle United reach the Premier League.
A UFO research group told Neil Nixon they had established a channel of communication to extra-terrestrial life.
And they told the writer he was free to ask them anything – so Neil, a big United fan, naturally enquired about the Blues.
Neil takes up the story in a new book in which he explores the highly unusual and often unexplained world of UFOs.
He said he was in touch in 1996 with a research group “which had established a psychic channel to a group of almost 1,000 alien super-minds who existed in a form approaching pure spiritual energy within the Earth’s atmosphere.”
“Superb stuff,” he writes, “and the most endearing trait of these beings was their willingness to answer questions on anything.
“I got to ask a few. Some, concerning the existence of God, global warming and other major concerns were given short shrift.
“One question concerned the promise of Michael Knighton, then chairman of Carlisle United, to get the football team I’ve followed my entire life into the Premiership within 10 years [ie by 2002 after his 1992 takeover].
“I doubted the deliverability of Knighton’s statement then. In the end he succeeded in taking us to more relegation fights than promotion campaigns.
“How, I wondered, would these alien super-minds have achieved the Premiership? Their reply still gets laughs in front of a live audience.
“They suggested baking a cake that contained the wishes of the chairman and feeding it to the players who would then deliver on the pitch.
"If this truly is wisdom from highly advanced alien super-minds then, frankly, I have a problem with it. A workable recipe for any cake that can turn lower-league cloggers into the equals of £100-million-pound internationals beggars belief…”
Workington-born Neil’s wry recounting of the exchange comes some years after Knighton himself infamously claimed to have seen a UFO and been spoken to by aliens.
Neil is keen to point out that the Oxford-based research group, called Contact UFO Research (titled Contact International back in 1996) are an open-minded organisation who are willing to consider all aspects and answers where UFOs are concerned.
“I don’t doubt the sincerity of the people who passed the message back to me,” Neil added.
“Within the group was a person who openly admitted to psychic experiences; an admission that fits with those who are prime candidates for FPP [Fantasy Prone Personality Disorder – a condition discussed in psychological literature, but which is not currently accepted as a diagnosable medical condition, and which is sometimes offered as an explanation for strange “alien” experiences].”
The suggestion that a special cake could inspire the Blues to the top-flight is just one of many stories included by Neil in his book, which is published today to coincide with World UFO Day.
Titled ‘UFOs, Aliens and the Battle for the Truth’, it is described as a short history of a topic of endless fascination, analysing some of the strangest supposed reported “alien” encounters and also exploring sceptical and rational arguments and explanations for the phenomena.
Neil, who went to Nelson Thomlinson School in Wigton, has spent many years researching the subject of UFOs, having himself been member of a research group and written books and articles on the paranormal.
He said the latest book “is a beginners’ guide to a mystery that’s fascinated me my entire life.”
“I’ve learned not to trust anyone offering a simple explanation, and I’ve come to realise there are lots of right answers, explaining small parts of what people report, but many more questions currently without answers,” he added.
“The book lines up what we know, considers the best explanations and gives anyone with an interest all the knowledge they need to get involved.”
It is the latest publication in a long writing career which has seen Kent-based Neil published in the NME, The Guardian and Viz, as well as producing an award-nominated radio drama.
His books, meanwhile, include the acclaimed Carlisle United-themed memoir ‘Singing’ the Blues’.
Neil has also produced a list of his top 10 ‘UK UFO sightings’ which he discusses in talks and media work – among these is the ‘Solway Spaceman’, the mysterious figure seen in the background of a famous photo taken by Jim Templeton on Burgh Marsh in 1964.
‘UFOs, Aliens and the Battle for the Truth: A Short History of Ufology’ is published by Oldcastle Books.
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