I READ recently the predictions of two legendary seers. One was Michel de Nostredame, the other was Yorkshire white witch Janet Ursula Southiel (Mother Shipton to us).

Some of their rhymes are like a conundrum that needs decoding, but the author had simplified the predictions.

Nostredame was spot on about the rise of Adolph Hitler (Hister). Mother Shipton was right about "Carriages without hoses shall go" (cars), and about ships ("Iron in the water shall float").

But her end prediction is a bit off-putting - "To an end the world shall come, in the year two thousand and sixty one". That means we've just 56 years to wait. Let's hope her arithmetic was not up to much.

Mrs A Paterson

High Stile Street

Kearsley