I attended the 2025 Society for Psychical Research conference, held at Milton House, Abingdon, Oxfordshire, on 18-19 October, remotely via Zoom. The editor of The Magazine of the Society for Psychical Research, Gordon Rutter, asked me to contribute a short account of the online experience to accompany the main conference report. I did so, but rather than being included as a separate item my contribution was appended to a lengthy article produced by several individuals, with the result that I ended up as one of its co-authors.
My
section, lightly edited, concludes the report, but I thought I would
reproduce it here, as submitted, so that it is clear which part I am
responsible for. (Despite the cover stating 2025, the issue was published in
2026, as indicated by the copyright date on p. 2.)
Reference
Ison,
Debbie, Turnbull, Emily, Hopkins, Matthew, Ruffles, Tom and Rutter, Gordon
(2026) ‘48th SPR International Annual Conference 2025’, The Magazine of the
Society for Psychical Research, 17, pp. 19–26.
In
addition to in-person attendance, the conference was accessible via Zoom for
those who could not make the journey to Abingdon. There are advantages not having to travel to
a conference venue, in terms of both cost and time. Another plus is that recordings are made
available afterwards, so it is not necessary to set aside the entire weekend –
useful for those who have other commitments, or who live in time zones where
live sessions would entail a very early start or late finish.
There
was a slightly shaky start to the first session, but sound and screen-sharing
issues were quickly resolved and those tuning in remotely were able to enjoy
the talks as if they were present in the room.
Thanks are due to the technical team whose efforts ensured a smooth and
enjoyable experience: Ashley Knibb, Gwen Bagni (the human interface with the
online audience), and Marta Mellifluous.
It was possible to submit questions through Zoom’s chat function, and
all those asked by the online audience were answered, not always the case with
hybrid conferences.
There
are of course some differences. Foremost
among these is the loss of the social aspect: the absence of informal
networking and opportunities to make new friends, an important part of any such
meeting. A couple of speakers requested
their slides not be shared online, only projected in the room, meaning they
were difficult for the online viewers to read.
Gary Lachman's Saturday after-dinner talk was not on Zoom, though it was
recorded and will be available later.
Similarly, we missed out on Melvyn Willin’s musical contribution, which
has long been a key element of the conference, as well as the rather fetching
tote bags produced for the event.
In
sum, I would recommend Zoom as an excellent substitute for the full in-person
experience. While it cannot fully
replicate actually being there, it nonetheless enables those who, for whatever
reason, would otherwise be unable to participate directly to share in this
major gathering of SPR members, hear the fascinating range of presentations,
and come away enriched.
