Wandering down Tottenham Court Road

I got the biggest, blackest cross I've ever seen on my forehead yesterday. Huge. Not like the discrete ones I got last year at school, where I managed to end up going up three times at different Masses to demonstrate to the pupils what they were supposed to do. Discovered later that you're not really meant to do that! But those ashen crosses seemed to disappear so quickly, no-one noticed!

We eventually decided we couldn't wait in wondering when the builders were going to stay forever, so we went to Oxford Street. Saw the big, orange, Chinese lanterns. Not that exciting, actually, although they probably look nicer at night. No, the highlight of the day was when we wandering up Tottenham Court Road trying to find Foyle's, the Bookshop (later discovering we should have turned right instead of left, since we were very close to it), and ended up going into the Scientology shop. We were invited to see a film, and out of interest since I occasionally teach it a bit (in the Sects and Cults section of my curriculum), and since H has an interest in these religious things too, we went to see the film. We're probably the two least likely people to be taken in by such a group, but surely others are not drawn in after watching the film on Dianetics that we saw.

We were led first of all into the small, downstairs bookshop, where hundreds of copies of L. Ron Hubbard's Dianetics, in multitudes of languages including Cantonese, Zulu and Khosa, were lined up on shelves. The people working there all had black suits on, the women with white blouses, the men (well, man - we only saw one) with a red tie, that seemed appropriate. We walked up the red carpetted stairs, past one door bearing the sign "Film in Progress" on the first floor, and up we went to the second floor. We were shown into a room with about 16 red velvet chairs laid out as in a theatre. We sat on the front row, in front of a screen. Two more people came in a couple of minutes later. The film was called, "Book 1". It was something else. L. Ron Hubbard was only ever seen from behind - like early films featuring Jesus. Instead, he had three friends who read sackfuls of letters out to him, only pausing to comment, "I've been a doctor for twenty years, and in all my knowledge and experience, I've never known anything to work as effectively as Dianetics!" and "In my years of study as a Psychiatrist, nothing comes close to Dianetics as a method of helping people!" In the one scene where someone was shown to have hurt his head, the talk was all about how he was going to have to have it amputated, then, the back of Hubbard's head, and a moment of revelation, "Ah! Now I know why I felt that way!" and all of a sudden, the man isn't going to lose his leg after all. Anyway, the story built up to a crescendo, the publishing of Hubbard's first book, about Dianetics. The two people behind us had had enough, and walked out. We stayed, waiting to see what happened next. And suddenly, the film stopped, the screen went blank, and the lights came on. Was that it? Like that? No finale? The door opened, and a woman walked in. Just behind her was another Scientology Operative, or Thetan, or whatever, and we called out - "Was that it? Is it finished?" Another film was just beginning. Not our one ... this one began with dark shadows. The woman looked shocked ... "Hadn't it finished?" When the other couple left, she had assumed the film was finished, that noone else was left behind, imbibing their teaching. So a bit embarrassed to find us still there! She offered to put on the film again for us in the other, now vacant, film room, but we didn't want to watch it all from the beginning again, and she couldn't fast forward it, so we decided to leave. She showed us the books downstairs, which we decided not to buy, then offered us a free personality test. Very tempting ... just to be able to tell my class about it so they don't feel tempted to ... but decided against it, since it was now getting late and we had to find Foyles.

Well, we walked and walked, and eventually asked for directions. And were given directions to Waterstones on Gower Street. So we now know where that is, but since they didn't have the book we wanted, that was not much use anyway. So we wandered back down Gower Street (old university street which reminded me of my Alma Mater) then eventually headed over to Charing Cross Road. And Foyles. And got the book.

We finished the day off at Dionysus, a Greek kebab restaurant/cafe. Finally full, we headed home, only pausing to enjoy Eduardo Paolozzi'a mosaics at Tottenham Court Road underground.

Today has been spent at the Opticians, with a bit of shopping. I didn't realise Peacock's at so many nice clothes, for younger people. But didn't buy anything there. Maybe after pay day. Since then, I've read a book ... but for that, you'll need to read other blog!