We’ve pointed out numerous times that Scientology has a problematic relationship with Christmas, but in the end, it’s a secular holiday and whatever the reason for your season, have at it.
And they certainly did at the London Ideal Org, based on photos that were posted to social media by London staffer Sandrine Hall. Hey, it looked like a fun time was had by all, but we thought it might be fun to ask Alex Barnes-Ross about what he saw in the pictures.
“Apostate Alex” was a staffer at the London org himself, and he knows the people there very well. So he generously sent over some captions to help us out.
Alex: “From left to right. Kate Wakley — HCO Exec Sec. She’s Charlie Wakley‘s wife and OT VI as of 2016. Glenn Milton — Dir Reg, currently on OT VII. When I was on staff he was the Academy Sup and he got me through my Staff Statuses and a few other courses. Scott Milton — HAS. He has been in this post for a decade and attested Clear in 2018. Sandrine Hall — Public Exec Sec and last I heard she had completed OT 2.”
Alex: “This photo is particularly amusing.. That’s Barry Currie, who used to spend a lot of time with us at the Test Centre on Tottenham Court Road body routing. He used to say, in his thick Caribbean accent, “If you go Clear, I’ll buy you a beer!” which always made people smile. But when David Miscavige came to inspect the new Celebrity Centre ‘VIP Auditing room/reception area’ for Tom Cruise, Barry was among the staff sent to another location because he ‘looked downstat.'”
Alex: “In the middle is Michelle Clerkin, who was in HCO when I worked at London Org. She attested to OT 7 earlier this year and is one of the many staff at London who made huge progress up the Bridge in a very short period of time. She went from Purif/SRD in 2014-ish to OT Preps in 2016 and by 2019 was OT 6.”
Alex: “That’s Nat Wakley, Charlie’s Mum. Nat was lovely. She came out bookselling with us and was one of the few FSMs I could rely on to show up religiously and actually sell books. Charlie put a lot of effort into recruiting her on to staff, and I remember part of that journey was to have her spend more time in Div 6. She was definitely the top FSM bookseller in London. When she joined she was posted at the Test Centre, where I believe she was posted as the Book Store Officer. She was OT 5 last time I checked. All 3 of her sons are on staff — Matt was a course sup but is now an auditor, I believe. Charlie is D/ED and Jason is now in the Sea Org and posted in LA, I think as Dir I&R but not sure which Org.”
Alex: “This is the Chapel at London Org, where we would hold events and staff parties etc. Looks like a busy staff party with lots of people, but if you look carefully I can only count about 20 people. It makes me sick looking at the joy they are having playing musical chairs… if only they knew the tales from executives like Amy Scobee and Mike Rinder about how that very same game was used as some kind of sick punishment by David Miscavige in the ‘Hole’ at the Int Base.”
We certainly do remember that scene from Going Clear, don’t we? Thank you, Alex.
And what about Charlie Wakley himself? We do we continue not to see someone who was previously so prominent in photos from the London Org?
Alex: “Last time we spoke, which was less than a year ago, he was heading off to LA for some training. And my inside sources suggest he and Craig, the E/D, are currently at Flag in Florida, training on the Golden Age of Admin — although they may be back by now. But my guess is he wasn’t at the party because he was at Flag. There are quite a few people missing from the photos posted that I know are definitely on staff and would’ve been at that party. So either they just weren’t in the photos or they were out bookselling or at Flag training.”
Thank you for that help, Alex. And well done, London org, for a festive party that we hope included some figgy pudding and a few hours of respite from Scientology’s insane schedules.
Getting junior a leg up
Hey, campers. We wanted any parents out there with youngsters curious about a life on stage to know that Damian Perkins is starting up some virtual classes next month.
You may remember our story about him and rather impressive career he’s had as an actor and dancer.
If you’re interested, drop him a line at brooklynaddis7 at gmail.
Continuing our year in review: The stories of September 2023
David Miscavige sent his personal attorney Jeffrey Riffer to protest that COB hadn’t been served properly in the Jane Doe 1 forced-marriage lawsuit.
We were surprised that Tom Mesereau and Sharon Appelbaum gave up their appeals of Judge Charlaine Olmedo’s sanctions ruling, after she found that the duo had, indeed, leaked sensitive prosecution evidence in the Danny Masterson case to Scientology’s attorneys.
We couldn’t be there in person, but we had help from those who were to witness Masterson’s sentencing in court. We reflected on the penalty he received, 30 years to life.
The next day, we had a huge scoop as we, along with Meghann Cuniff, published the letters written to the court by Ashton Kutcher, Mila Kunis, and others on behalf of Masterson, and it generated a firestorm online.
At the Daily Beast, we interviewed Joe Reaiche about what his kids, Jordan and Alanna Masterson, had said about him in their letters to the court.
We also put out the full court transcript of the brave statements made by the Jane Doe victims at the sentencing.
And then we had even more letters written on behalf of Masterson, including one by his acting pal Ethan Suplee.
Major Scientology donor and ABCMouse honcho Doug Dohring moved on to Target Two.
Retired NYPD detective and former Scientology private eye Yanti Michael Greene was deposed.
Trish Conley, the star of our ‘Scientology day care from hell’ story came forward to identify herself.
Leah Remini filed for an injunction to stop Scientology harassment while she’s suing them. (Ballsy.)
We finally learned something about “Ann Jensen,” the woman L. Ron Hubbard tried to marry in 1949, while he was still married to Sara Northrup.
Mark Bunker announced his re-election campaign.
Independent Scientologists held a protest at Big Blue in Los Angeles.
The Bixler lawsuit was finally back in action after Masterson’s sentencing.
Graham Berry shared with us a demand letter about a horrific case of elder abuse that at least got Rosemary Chicwak some of her money back.
And lastly, we were able to post some photos of infamous Scientology enforcers Chris and Miranda Scoggins.
What a month!
A LOOK BACK AT SEPTEMBER 2022: Scientology won a 9-year fight for tax exempt status in the Netherlands. For the podcast we talked to Paulette Cooper about her new memoir. There was tantalizing evidence of what legendary Hollywood fixer Marty Singer told a grand jury. In LA, the mayor’s race became a contest to see who could denounce Scientology in the strongest terms. And we got out the first full-length review of Mike Rinder’s book “A Billion Years” published anywhere! And yes, we liked the book a lot.
A LOOK BACK AT SEPTEMBER 2021: Bruce Hines on his stunning cross-country run for freedom after ditching the Sea Org. Someone who worked on ‘The Ranch’ with Danny Masterson came forward with info about him. The Oregonian named Scientology’s expensive boarding school the Delphian to be the best small employer in the state. And a couple of Scientology OTs fell victim to the Covid pandemic after staunchly refusing the vaccine.
A LOOK BACK AT SEPTEMBER 2020: Dennis Nobbe, big time Miami chiropractor and Scientology donor, drops dead while awaiting trial on Medicare fraud. More spiked ‘Black Ops’ episodes showed up. Tommy Davis showed up in the book ‘Melania and Me.’ Leah Remini won her second Emmy for ‘Aftermath.’ Danny Masterson makes his first court appearance on rape charges. A Scientologist and former Sea Org figure ran for city council in Oregon. We discovered that Danny Masterson had filed nutty federal lawsuits over his Hollywood Hills home.
A LOOK BACK AT SEPTEMBER 2019: Miscavige was having even more success with donors, both the lesser whales and the big leviathans. New daily features: Source Code, Overheard in the Freezone, and Random Howdy. Michelle “Emma” Ryan announces she’s archiving the ESMB forum. The Islams try sovereign citizen craziness in court. Dream team files its third lawsuit, on behalf of a Jane Doe in Miami. The strange tale of how Mike Rinder ended up with Richie Acunto’s Scientology trophy.
A LOOK BACK AT SEPTEMBER 2018: Two upstate New York Scientologist chiropractors charged in an $80 million Medicare scam. We decoded David Miscavige’s chest ribbons. Jeffrey Augustine tangled with a Scientology PI. Jeffrey also detailed the history of the Freewinds. The US government adopted a Russian Scientologist as a ‘prisoner of conscience.’
A LOOK BACK AT SEPTEMBER 2017: On national television, Leah Remini and her mother Vicki Marshall exposed OT 8 for the shameful scam it is. And then we posted the actual New OT 8 materials for the first time to prove it. Clarissa Adams told us her disconnection story. John Brousseau, Karen Pressley, and Paul Haggis appeared on Aftermath, and Haggis answered Marty Rathbun’s smears. And we said goodbye to Bernie Feshbach.
A LOOK BACK AT SEPTEMBER 2016: Marty Rathbun goes on the attack against Ron Miscavige and Louis Theroux. The anonymous drone pilot begins premiering his footage of Scientology bases. Jason Lee ditches Scientology. And Steve Cannane’s excellent book Fair Game comes out.
A LOOK BACK AT SEPTEMBER 2015: We marked a full decade since Shelly Miscavige first vanished. Alex Gibney’s documentary Going Clear took home three Emmy awards. And we broke the news that Jim Carrey’s girlfriend, Cat White, was a Scientologist on the SRD when she killed herself.
A LOOK BACK AT SEPTEMBER 2014: Nancy Cartwright makes perhaps the creepiest Scientology ad ever. Jim Jackson remembers Lyman Spurlock. And Scientology crows about getting money from Google.
A LOOK BACK AT SEPTEMBER 2013: Scientology’s private dancer, live-blogging at the Monique Rathbun temporary restraining order hearing, and day two’s live-blog which set a then-record number of comments for a single blog post at the Bunker (3,442).
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Source Code: Actual things founder L. Ron Hubbard said on this date in history
Avast, Ye Mateys: Snapshots from Scientology’s years at sea
Overheard in the Freezone: Indie Hubbardism, one thought at a time
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Thanks Alex for your informative captions. London is a huge city. The pathetic size of the org says everything there is to say. Scientology is shrinking and there will be no reversal of this trend.
An interesting article for Tony and Alex to do is what factors keep people tied to the extreme cognitive dissonance that keeps them dedicated to the organization and the tech.
I have my own observations and opinions since I was a diehard member for 46 years. And then under the radar for another 5. That is a subject many people who were never in want to understand.
That's a lot of OT levels. Is that a new thing? Are they themselves from families with money, so as to pay for all of this?