Nothing much happened at the announced move off point, so we went on over the level crossing and down the pedestrianised High street to Old Market crossroads. We set up shop and shouted the usual stuff about beiong against $cn, $cn is a barmy UFO cult, and so forth. Brian/"Persil", the bOrg's Press Officer, turned up and spent a long time yapping at the local councillor. Stuart, the Ethics Officer, was there too in a yellow anorack taking many photos from across the square. An extra, possibly out of town, OSA person turned up in a doorway taking photos and talking into a two-way radio, but rapidly disappeared when he was pointed out to the Evening ECHO reporter. One interesting development:
THEIR SMALL SHOP ROUND THE CORNER IN THE "OLD MARKET" MINI-PRECINT HAS CLOSED, APPARENTLY WITH RENT OWING.
The significace is that the clams normally body routed in the narrow "throat" of the High street coming down to the square, and whisk people just over the way into the shop. Can't do that now. Apparently they try to catch raw meat at the very bottom of the pedestrianised section just before the zebra crossing which takes you into the un- pedestrianised southern yards leading down to the quay (their place over "Alcatraz" restaurant is only one building down). But it's not nearly so sucessful as a body-routing spot. The group split, and about four people went down this end near the Org.
About 90 minutes in, the drizzle turned to a flurry of real rain, and we headed off for the pub. One person stayed up by the cross-roads, with Duke the Dog watchful on his lead, while "Persil" continued to haraangue the councillor and his son. The rest of us trickled down to the bOrg, then in to The Hoggshead for a drink in the warm. Stuart the E.O. got an invite to join us and spent most of his time in the pub trying to handle Roland. "Persil" later rolled in too.
Finally we had a wander down the sea-front for some sea-side fish'n'chips which we ate looking out over the quay, then back up the High Street in time for the 1730 train home.
All in all, not a bad day out.
| Dolphin Centre | | (shopping mall) | ..|_________________| Falkland Sq : '': : '''''''''': :' : : =======:==:=level crossing : : : : pedestrianised 150m : : HIGH STREET : : : : : : '. : : : "ambush alley" (old body-routing spot) : : ...' ' ... : [old ]'. : Old Market is a "mini-mall" [market] : : the clams had a 15ft front : : single shop unit where they 50m : : could take the raw meat : : .........:(*)........... ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ __________ ____________ ''''''''':| |:'''''''''' :| |: Now they can only body route [~~~~~]:| |: at end of pedestrianisation(*) [ ORG ]:| |: and take the chumps across a [_____]:| |: busy road along to the bOrg. :| |:[~~~] This spot has :| |:[_HoggsHead has much less 50m :| |: pub pedestrian flow :| |: ........'| |'......... ~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~ ------------------------ - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Sea - - - - - - - - - - - -
Further checking revealed that the Scientologists' most productive site in the UK had been reduced to just one office over a restaurant, further down the High Street, away from most of the foot traffic. We had sufficient numbers including local supporters, to split our forces in two, with leafleting and the water-winged dog 'Duke' at the centre of the shopping area, and countering the few disheartened body-routers outside their remaining 'org'.
Once again the local residents were only too happy to take leaflets as soon as they realised that we were 'AGAINST Scientology'. LRH 'Standard Tech' had served only to annoy the local population who would come up and ask 'Do you have time for a survey' before bursting out laughing and urging us to keep up the good work. One of them said that the Poole Scientologists has been threatened with being shut down by their headquarters as they were doing so badly.
Meanwhile the real 'Do you have time for a survey' merchants were not having much luck. Having persuaded polite but uneasy members of the public to come across the road to complete the 'survey' it must be pretty galling to watch somebody give them Xemu leaflets and then see the intended victims take the opportunity to scoot off. But at least the hapless body-router could diagnose the problem and brilliantly identified his opponents as Suppressives, demanding to know what 'rapes and murders' they had committed.
The decline of the former jewel in Scientology's UK crown within a year is amazing.
There is nothing like a day out at the seaside to cheer one up.
Ted Mayett (KoX) wrote: <snip> > So what are the actual addresses we are talking about here? > Is the closing of the bookstore a closing of an org? > Perhaps other reports will answer this.
No. The bookstore was just a satelite to their main place which is two or three floors above a restaurant further down the street with much less foot traffic.
They are left with that one place now with poor foot traffic. There were three body routers there when I looked. They are obviously under pressure since I saw one lady literally block the path of someone and start asking them questions.
The Poole residents are wise to them and they see our pickets as a way of their crystallising their objection for them.
We have been looking at their accounts and I have been using my knowledge of the way they work to work out what is going on. The Poole org owes about $2,000,000 to some body. I have worked out that this is the central Co$ and is no doubt for the training of their staff. It is obvious that they are not getting any ~real~ money in. You can tell when you look at their trade creditors. One year they owed them about $100,000 and the accounts sort of invented stock and loans to cover it. In other words they were not making enough money to pay their bills.
Now it will be even worse. I believe their accounts are late for filing bacause they want to hide what is going on or the auditors and trying to find some way to make their accounts look acceptable. I believe they are finished and will not be able to pay their debts unless the central Co$ bails them out. Rumour has it that they have been given an ultimatum. Get more people in off the street or close. Now the are placed where there is less foot traffic then they will surely close.
Perhaps one more picket is needed to finish them off.
Even if they do close I might go down to Poole. I like the place. It is on the south coast of England, more ot the west. It is close to Weymouth, which is a bit further on, where I was born, and in the same county. If there were work there I think I would live there. There seems to be a thing going with the group Mensa there. We met a town councillor who is a Mensa member and I saw someone with a Mensa umbrella. Mensa is for people will IQs in the top 2%. I used to be a member (except I was in the top 1% - brag!) but I left because they were so bigotted about paranormal events. So maybe there would be a good social scnene there for me since I could always rejoin. The trouble is finding my type of work (contract SAS Analyst/Programmer).
The beer there is very good and there is a reasonable fish and chip shop right on the harbour key. Jens looked on in horror at the battered cod and chips I was eating but had to admit that England managed to conquer most of the world while eating that stuff. Afterwards I gave the picketers a stunning display of the flying skills of seagulls. I threw my excess chips in the air and they were all caught by the gulls in their beaks. I threw some down in the water for some swans as well.
That chowder pot will soon be ours. The org will not last too much longer.
David Gerard wrote: > > On Sun, 12 Oct 1997 22:40:32 +0100, > Dave Bird---St Hippo of Augustine <dave@xemu.demon.co.uk> wrote: > > :About 90 minutes in, the drizzle turned to a flurry of real rain, > :and we headed off for the pub. One person stayed up by the cross-roads, > :with Duke the Dog watchful on his lead, while "Persil" continued to > :haraangue the councillor and his son. The rest of us trickled down to > :the bOrg, then in to The Hoggshead for a drink in the warm. Stuart > :the E.O. got an invite to join us and spent most of his time in the > :pub trying to handle Roland. "Persil" later rolled in too. > > Trying to handle Roland? Do tell! > > Did your clams drink alcohol, or did they try to order coffee?
It started with me walking down the road carrying Duke. Stuart (the clam ethics officer) was taking photos of me as I passed their body routers waving at them furiously. Stuart asked me what I was going to do next. I told him that Duke was a small thermo-nuclear device and that I was going to leave it in their lobby and then catch a helicopter to take me 100 miles away before it exploded. Stuart looked visibly worried. Then I told me it was a joke. He then asked me if I were the person on the internet who kept making all the bomb threats. I told him it was done by OSA and that it was stupid nonsense. Then I said what I really was going to do was have a pint or two before I caught the train back so I could watch the most important event of the year on telly. Since he didn't have a clue and said he didn't read newspapers or watch telly I had to explain that it was the world cup qualifying match between England and Italy. I talked about English football and how it had deteriorated since England got banned from Europe for crowd violence and how things had picked up in recent years. I told him that Manchester United now pass the ball as well as a good italian side and that English clubs get $30,000,000 per year given to them by Sky TV. He was amazed. Then a few more of us turned up and Stuart asked if he could join us in the pub. I said yes. I bought him the orange juice he asked for.
We chatted in the pub. He asked me why I was doing this. I explained that Scn makes false claims about the tech working. He explained that it helped him and as far as he was concerned it always worked. I then explained what happened when I went to St Hill for auditing and how the auditor (Mo Tyburn) was falsifying my TA and how the staff there consistently tried to cover it up and tried to reg me for some very expensive auditing to "totally handle my case". I told him how I became disillusioned and did a search on the internet, found the Dianetics volcano and on it being so slow did a further search and found Xenu.
Persil turned up later. Persil smiles but is very insincere (1.1). He did not want a drink off me. He talked about OT powers and the definition of OT. He told me that OT consisted of being at cause over Matter, Energy, Space and time. He indicated the table and asked me if I could be cause over it. I replied that I could move it around but that that was not the same thing as being at cause over matter. I invited him to turn the table into a living duck. He declined and asked why anyone would want to do that. I pointed out that with all the animals people eat then they should want to replace one from time to time.
Anyway. It was quite amicable and then it was time for them to go. I said it was nice to meet them and talk to them. I held my hand out to shake hands with them as they were leaving. Persil smiled and at first declined. Then Stuart got up and held out his hand. Persil then shook my hand and then Stuart. I pointed out to my fellow SPs that I was the only ~real~ SP in the group since I am an SP on paper and that they should note well how a ~real~ SP handles clams.
What they clams do know now is that I spent something like $75,000 disemminating WIS's which I was not pleased about. I also told them I worked for a drug company (which I do at present. They use SAS software which I program in). This could lead to interesting developments. Basically they know that if the pickets continue then their org will close. They see me as a dangerous force because I know about Scn. They may go for me in a big way and sue me, fair game me etc. On the other hand they may think about paying me off. Or on the other hand they may do nothing.
They have a problem there in Poole. It is called "pickets". They will not survive long unless the pickets stop and they can improve their image. It may already be too late.
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