Wow, that is quite a saga about Robin - I just had a look. Though it beats me why someone who had escaped from Scientology would want to set something similar up for themselves. I didn't even know there were independent groups now. Also, it reminded me that there was another guy who set up something in East Grinstead, a study group - and he got declared SP for not following the exact rules for LRH - do you remember anything about that? He was lovely, and apparently had once been close to LRH. You have such a good memory, I'm really impressed.That was David Flood. He's now a photographer in Los Angeles, still a churchie, I think.
Vic Lyons and Steve Kaye.
He got to be quite famous in Scientology circles. Google him. He's quite chatty on Facebook if you want to connect up with him there.
Yes, the training bonuses for the sups were pretty good back in the 70s when orgs actually did training.
No, we didn't stay together very long. She went back to northern California and I stayed in the UK. I visited her around 1982, and met her again in 2005, but haven't seen her since. The pic is from the 1982 visit.
Paul
Battle Of Britain - 1974
- Thread starter Free Will
- Start date
Hi Julie and welcome to the board!
I think the David you're thinking of was David Banks, who had a cleaning company in London with Jay Hurwitz. I think David is still in, but Jay is out, so I don't suppose they work together any more!
Sorry I haven't any info about Andy or Robert.
I did laugh about your comment on Robin Scott! Bless him, I believe he's still trying to get something going in the independent field (or the "Freezone"). People on ESMB are obviously in varying degrees of being out, some are still hanging on to LRH.
I'm not one of them!
Steve Kaye comes on here very occasionally, also Colin Guy.
Solo
Dulloldfart
Squirrel Extraordinaire
Thank you. I don't recall anything about "study groups" in EG beyond the usual squirrel stuff from Steve Bisbey et al. in the early 80s.
Paul
La La Lou Lou
Crusader
Solo I think you might be wrong, Banksy, David Banks (not the graffiti artist) was well too involved in his own cleaning company. The David Kulie is thinking about is Dave Wicks. Takes me a while but I get there in the end.
Did everyone in London have their own cleaning company?
LLLL
Did everyone in London have their own cleaning company?
LLLL
La La Lou Lou
Crusader
Bugger, take that back that was Phil Wicks not Dave.
Operating Lambda
Patron
There were quite a few at that time and it was the major moonlighting scene for starving staff members (no skills required + graveyard hours).
I have oh so fond memories of cleaning out the grease traps in a condemned Chinese restaurant while I was Qual Sec. The company was Cleaningwise, forget which Scn owned it.
Yuk!
La La Lou Lou
Crusader
I think I'll go and have a bath after reading what you said, ''I have oh so fond memories of cleaning out the grease traps in a condemned Chinese restaurant while I was Qual Sec. The company was Cleaningwise, forget which Scn owned it.
Yuk!''
Operating Lambda, wasn't Cleaningwise Dave Banks and Tony Brown, the London day Essex officer.
Yuk!''
Operating Lambda, wasn't Cleaningwise Dave Banks and Tony Brown, the London day Essex officer.
teadreamer
Patron
Teadreamer, you can't know how wise you were for blowing them!
Well done.
Thank you La La Lou Lou
Terril park
Sponsor
Tony Brown
I'm getting confused by my memories, but I think the cleaning company I remember, probably around '78, was David Banks and Jay Hurwitz and there might have been a David Wicks who came into it later if he was an Oz or Kiwi? I don't remember Tony Brown. It was down a street in Fulham and might have been Cleaningwise, I definitely remember that name. Clive (the younger brother, have I got that right?) Rabey did the door-to door delivery of leaflets before me, and said it gave him a lovely tight bum walking up and down all the steps to basements and front doors. All it ever did for me was wear out my favourite shoes.
I have other memories from St Hill that pop into my head. Being on this site has brought back all sorts of things.
I remember during one of those midnight musters, Bruce whateverhisnamewas was doing his rousing-the-troops bit. He showed us a magazine picture of Karen Black, a Scn actress who was doing well in Hollywood at the time. All he said was something along the lines of 'hurrah, this is what it means to be upstat, isn't she beautiful' and the whole lot of us (sitting in a group on the floor) uttered cries of 'ooooooooh' just like those little furry things in the amusement arcade machine in Toy Story. I remember having this sense of deep unworthiness because obviously that was what you would achieve (and what you should look like) if you were successfully applying Scn.
When I first joined Scn, I was 19. I had been living in a half-way house in Swansea after having tried to kill myself. I'd had a rubbish childhood, had spent a lot of time in London involved in drugs and was deeply unhappy. I came to visit my parents who lived in East Grinstead at the time. In this fragile state I was introduced to Scn. I still remember the sense of hope I had from my free introductory personality test. And then about a year later when I signed my contract for eternity. I gave all my savings (a couple of hundred squid I seem to recall) to the lady in the bookshop, who gave me a receipt for a back-order of every coursebook, briefing course stuff, everything.
When I was in London Andy and I both saved for a TR course on Flag - paid for, never done. When I was chased many years later for debt by someone from the church, who figured I never paid for auditing or something while in the SO, I told them to go to hell because I had given them so much money for things never received.
I was also friends for a while with Isabelle Springall, she was married to Robert in FOLO, and she blew before I got kicked out. I met her later in London and even lived in her flat in Wimbledon for a while. She told me she paid all her stuff when she got sent a bill, because she felt it was only ethical because she had broken her contract! But then she did go and get herself involved with some other creepy cult nonsense in London with the School of Philosophy in South Ken, and ended up wearing her hair in a bun and wearing long skirts and learning to write Sanskrit.
Does anyone remember Mark and Brenda McQuade? Mark used to be an auditor for St Hill Fdn org. I lived in his house for a while before I joined the SO - he was always pissed that I joined AOSH instead of Fdn, thinking it was a bit of a betrayal, but we stayed friends. I think Steve Bisbey was Fdn Org then?
Sorry this is all over the place. Some of my memories make me feel really sad/angry for the waste of several years, but then again, given the state I was in when I had my personality test, maybe I would have died without it. Who knows. And also I did make a powerful connection with people.
I do remember the Guy brothers - didn't Alistair marry Ina?
Got to go. This is a bit like a weird kind of therapy.
La La Lou Lou
Crusader
Good stuff Julie, it is weird working it all out and remembering the crap.
Tony Brown was ozzie, he was the E/O LDND. Fulham sounds like Banksy.
Clive Rabey from tours org, was he staff or what? I sort of thought he was SO, but he was never in uniform, I suppose he was a professional FSM.
Bruce Gluckashow, a famous name, don't think I ever spoke to him.
Isabelle Springall, wasn't she sweet, quiet with long blond hair?
You're doing well remembering what you can, it's a good way to clear the soot, dust and cobwebs out of your brain.
Tony Brown was ozzie, he was the E/O LDND. Fulham sounds like Banksy.
Clive Rabey from tours org, was he staff or what? I sort of thought he was SO, but he was never in uniform, I suppose he was a professional FSM.
Bruce Gluckashow, a famous name, don't think I ever spoke to him.
Isabelle Springall, wasn't she sweet, quiet with long blond hair?
You're doing well remembering what you can, it's a good way to clear the soot, dust and cobwebs out of your brain.
Bugger, take that back that was Phil Wicks not Dave.
I expect you're thinking of the David Wicks in East Enders, LOL.
La La Lou Lou
Crusader
OMG I haven't watched East Enders since I named my pet Bengalese finches Sanjay and Gita!
I expect I have overheard people talking.
I expect I have overheard people talking.
Dulloldfart
Squirrel Extraordinaire
Yes, Clive was (and is) SO. He's at FSO these days.
I think Mike Rabey was in the SO relatively briefly. He was out by the 80s.
Paul
Terril park
Sponsor
After coming back as an OEC/FEBC I replaced Tony Brown as ED.
Lasted about 2 weeks. 1982 or thereabouts. Another story. He was temporary also.
I believe his business was originally set up with Ron Hopkins.
Once Ron was SO wasn't able to publically have that connection
best I know.
Phillip Wickes was also involved.
When someone got declared, the premises of " Cleaningwise", and
some other person had a partition of plasterboard put between different parts of the building to comply with disconnect procedure.
Clive Rabey started out, least when I knew him, as an assistent tours reg to a guy whose name I can't recall. Sort of overwight like me, very successfull. [ like me?]
Nice fellow!
Yes, Phil Wickes, that was it. He came on board slightly later, when several of us moved out to a house in outer South London suburbia, shudder. I get confused between Clive and Mike Rabey. The guy I remember was tall and thin as a whip! He had a bit of an afro going on with his hair, it was so curly. Very nice guy, got married to Katie Buttery (who was also lovely as I recall, and everywhere she walked there were clouds of 'Rive Gauche' in the air). One of them worked in FOLO I think, that was the other one who got married to Sherri.
La La Lou Lou
Crusader
Sherri Rabey, I remember hearing her name and I couldn't get the song 'Cherrie Baby' out of my head, I think it was Clive that married her. He would tell jokes all day long. That must have been before the no perfume rule came in, when impending planetary disaster was predicted to come from wearing scents. (forget global warming this was global aroma)
Terril I wish you had a photo of the plaster boarded office to show the stupidity of the disconnect thing, and the fact that it really does have impact on people's lives. That really is insane. I can't begin to imagine how it could be done, let alone why. I hope the SP had a separate toilet!
Terril I wish you had a photo of the plaster boarded office to show the stupidity of the disconnect thing, and the fact that it really does have impact on people's lives. That really is insane. I can't begin to imagine how it could be done, let alone why. I hope the SP had a separate toilet!
Dulloldfart
Squirrel Extraordinaire
Mike was the ginger afro guy with Katie. Clive had straight dark hair, maybe still does.
Paul
How about some more names that have dropped into my head - Peter and Malin Gelfan? Monica and Miles (from HCO I think? The nazi office).
And also I recall an 'important' guy from a German org, Uli Buller might be the name, who came with his girlfriend Hermina who was incredibly beautiful. Everyone lusted after her including my boyfriend at the time, who said he had to have her as his auditor because 'her TRs were so good'. I do wonder how come Hermina got to come to England and train all the way up from HQS onwards at the German org's expense.
I also remember another wierd little thing. Carol's stats were flatlining, which was unheard of. She had a student on her SHSBC, a very nice quiet guy, who had been there for ever, and he had a thing about using highlighter pen on his course notes. He'd been doing it for the entire time, all his materials were marked this way. She made him stop! She said she'd had a blinding realisation that he was wasting lots of time doing that. She was so happy, and her stats went up again. What that poor guy thought of it I don't know.
