Newbury (Berkshire) UK meetings

Worrying stuff! 

Two meetings to avoid, both in West Berkshire:

MIDWEEK RECOVERY MEETING,
BISHOPS GREEN.
Wednesday 6.30pm
Bishops Green Village Hall,
Beech Road,
Bishop’s Green,
North Sydmonton,
Newbury,
RG20 4AD
 

FRIDAY TABLEMATE
Portal Hall,
Burghclere,
Church Lane,
RG20 9HX. Doors open at 6.30pm. Meeting from 7pm to 8.15pm. 

Former and current attendees/members of both meetings are reporting the following practices:


    Strong prohibitions against using medication of any kind, including those prescribed by medical doctors for depression and other mental illness.  
    Strong prohibitions against the use of NHS and private counselling for issues which are not related to alcoholism.

    Telling people how to conduct their relationships with their partners and in some cases, ordering people to break up with their partners.

    Telling people that the Steps protect from COVID 19 transmission and visiting each others’ homes during lockdown without any protective masks or gloves.
    Telling newcomers in particular that people in service in AA re exempt from both the Rule of Six and the Maximum of 15 rule. This exposes newcomers to a potential fine and criminal record.

    There is a very strong link with a local religious sect with fairly extreme views on matters which are not related to AA at all. A small number of people “at the top” of both meetings attend some sort of religious meeting weekly or twice weekly where some pretty extreme views are preached. Newcomers who are “strong enough” are encouraged to begin attending this religious group in addition to the two named AA meetings and in some cases, break off contact with some or most family members.

Thanks to our contributor

The Fellas (Friends of Alcoholics Anonymous)

Newbury Design for Living (affiliated with Wimbledon DFL)

The word is that the Newbury Design for Living group, which closed back in September 2011, has been resurrected as the Wednesday NEWBURY MIDWEEK RECOVERY group – same people and with a sponsee of Dorothy (Wimbledon DFL “grand fromage”) as GSR.

For those who may not recall the Wimbledon group runs a website which includes links to “outside organisations” (including at least one that has commercial interests). Additionally a plentiful supply of non conference approved literature can be found at the Wimbledon meeting (despite us being told that this had been withdrawn – naughty naughty!). The Where to Find entry for the Newbury group indicates that they are: “Group Not in A Region / GROUP NOT IN AN INTERGROUP / “ although an application has been put in with Thames Valley Intergroup recently to remedy this. We shall see though what we shall see.....

Cheerio

The Fellas (Friends of Alcoholics Anonymous)

Newbury Design for Living (affiliated with the Wimbledon Design for Living group)

It would seem that the above group is in a state of suspended animation. According to the online update the venue itself is closed although other sources indicate that this is not the case. However don't be at all surprised if it should resurface - properly rebranded of course! The Wimbledon branch however is still going strong although we might say that one of its attendees has been rather economical with the truth. Despite the fact that we were told by this person that only conference approved literature was on display we found on our last visit that alongside this was a whole load of other stuff - booklets, pamphlets, even CDs (no doubt the production of some eminent “circuit speakers” plying their trade), some of which carried the imprimatur of the Wimbledon Design for Living Group. But then of course variety is the spice of life! (assuming that there is no 'poison' intermixed!)

Cheerio

The Fellas (Friends of Alcoholics Anonymous)

(our usual thanks to our reporters)

A few more meetings perhaps to ask questions about....

BERKSHIRE

Newbury: Design for Living
Sunday 11.00 Greenham Community Centre, Nightingales, off Greenham Rd

This group is explicitly affiliated with the Wimbledon Design for Living group (this is indicated on the group's website together with other tradition-busting information – see the aacultwatch forum for some comments on the group)

OXFORDSHIRE

Oxford: Warneford Hospital
Thursday 19.30 McKinnes Room, Warneford Hospital, Old Rd, Headington

Our reporter tells us: “Fellas, Keep an eye on this meeting. I was informed that a lady with links to the Toddington Primary Purpose group has taken on secretary and has already after 4 weeks started the nonsense. "if any one wants a spiritual experience, see me and I can arrange one in a weekend!!!!" only her primary pals doing the chair etc. This old established meeting within a mental hospital sometimes has students attending as part of their studies (a long standing agreement). In the last 2 years lots of oldtimers have died or moved on, illness etc and it seems ripe for a cult takeover. Imagine if you will, the cult making merry in the city of spires having access to all those aspiring bright young medical students.”.

Yep we can imagine!!

SUFFOLK

Ipswich: Primary Purpose
Saturday 19.15 All Hallows Church Hall, Landseer Rd

This group boasts its very own website (with its very own logo) but does not carry the usual statement of non-affiliation, endorsement etc. It does however carry links to the official AA website as well as referring to itself as an Alcoholics Anonymous Primary Purpose Group. Perhaps some kind of hybrid! Who knows!

And then there was Hampton Wick.....

MIDDLESEX

Hampton Wick: How It Works Beginners
Friday 19.00 St Edward's Day Centre, Sons of Devine Providence, 13 Lower Teddington Rd

Hampton Wick: How It Works Big Book Step
Friday Meeting 20.30 (address - as above)

Bog standard cult group straight off the Joys of Recovery template!

Note: The above meetings should be carefully distinguished from the Monday and Thursday meetings held at the same venue. These latter are actually the real thing ie. AA meetings!

Our reporter comments: "Happened to be in the Kingston area and decided to nip over the river to check out the local "Beginners meeting". I carried an ample supply of anti-nausea medication about my person (as prescribed under the direction of my GP!) just in case. It turns out I was well advised and popped pills constantly during the course of the meeting but even then it was a close run thing! There were about 60 in attendance (numbers don't mean much in cult meetings by the way. They tend to have a larger than normal catchment area and of course it is "suggested" to any newcomer falling into their clutches that they should avoid those "sick" AA meetings - hence the large congregations). There was the usual slick presentation with the faithful arrayed in neat rows facing the table behind which the secretary and "chair" were positioned. Prompt sheets were duly read and as this was taking place I cast my eye around the room checking out the décor. There was an array of slogans on the wall behind the top table some of which I recognised eg. "Happy, Joyous and Free" and of course that classic piece of misinformation "Misery is Optional". Otherwise there was nothing of any great moment. The crew similarly were of a pretty standard mix though with a preponderance of younger age groups - but then they're easier meat when it comes to cult tactics! The chair got under way. After a bit of "my sponsor this" and "my sponsor that" I kind of zoned out and waited for the denouement. Finally I was awakened from my semi-comatose state as the secretary said their bit and thereafter followed a succession of what can only be described as performances. Now I'm not averse to good show myself but these simply lacked any kind of originality or even drama. It was a mixture of patronising condescension along the lines of "Haven't you done well" and "You've changed so much since I first met you" and so on "ad nauseam" with a good measure of compliance thrown in as well. Clearly the gang approved "the turn" and the "prospect's" position in the group seemed to be secured for another day. Didn't they do well! Ten out of ten! etc etc. My boredom threshold has always been notoriously low and again I found myself drifting off into some well tried and tested fantasies. Now here's a Vision For You! Before my mind's eye I saw David B and David C (two prominent figures in the cult movement) and I found myself asking the two of them if they wished a blindfold for they were positioned directly before a firing squad with ME IN CHARGE.... fortunately for my spiritual condition I roused myself from my dream state and returned to the meeting. It occurred to me then that I had hardly heard the words "God" or "Higher Power" mentioned in the meeting whereas the expression "sponsor" seemed to feature with monotonous regularity. I thought it might be fun (and even serve to keep me awake!) if I counted the instances of these thereafter. My count for the former two was four - God: 3 Higher Power: 1. When it came to "sponsor" however I'm afraid that yet again my attention deficit caught up with me but I must have been well into the forties or fifties before I drifted off again. At the end of this production the usual exit lines were said and of course "sponsorship" was mentioned again - just in case any one might have missed it! Apparently in this group there's something called a "sponsorship coordinator" - or two "somethings" for there is one for the boys and one for the girls. I far as I could gather anybody sufficiently well indoctrinated could approach one of these and get themselves signed up. Daringly the secretary even mentioned the fact that there was a booklet on the subject called Questions and Answers on Sponsorship (AA conference approved literature) but they as quickly dismissed this as an inferior option to the group's very own version - the aforementioned "coordinators". This was probably a good move on their part because it would never do to have newcomers getting all confused. They'd have a hell of a time trying to find that bit about "Do exactly what your sponsor tells you" in that or any other piece of AA literature. Finally we were told that there would be a half hour break before the next show started - the Big Book Step meeting. By this time the medication was really kicking in and I had become very disoriented. The word "sponsor" kept booming in my head and I knew I had to get out of there fast. As bad luck would have it it was one of those meetings where you had to hold hands and play at being "unified". I did and tried desperately to pretend that I was "happy, joyous and free" although I found it made my teeth hurt a lot. Finally ....finally I managed to drag my hands away from my respective gaolers and fled headlong from the meeting into the cool clear air of the night. I can tell you one thing for sure - in the whole land you would not have found a more grateful alcoholic than me at that precise moment - I WAS FREE!!

Post script. Some little time has passed when I attended that meeting and I have been getting treatment for PTSD (or post traumatic stress disorder) ever since. My team of clinicians have assured me that I will make a full RECOVERY though they did say it was touch and go for a while! But never say DIE and in the true kamikaze spirit I am quite resolved to see the job through and go back just to see if I can withstand an entire cult Big Book Step meeting in one go. I may go for the full sedation option though but I'm quite sure I can bluff it with the best of them. I've even come up with an improvement on Step Three which I'm sure they'll love (though I think someone else has already come up with the idea):

Cult step 3: "Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the direction of our SPONSOR"

What do you think? Will they go for it?

Regards Anon”

Note: We will shortly be introducing an equivalent Cult: Where to Find for the United States. This is in response to the increasing numbers of emails we have been receiving from our American cousins relating to cult activities in their neck of woods (most notably the above mentioned Primary Purpose franchise which derives principally from the Dallas PPG).

Cheerio

The Fellas (Friends of Alcoholics Anonymous)

PS Our usual thanks to our AA contributors

Potential candidates for our Cult: Where to Find

We have received complaints about the following groups from a number of sources over the last few months. As usual always happy to hear views for and against.

Apparently the “Design for Living” franchise is opening up another branch in Newbury, Berkshire. This group is using the Wimbledon Template so presumably it will carry the same disclaimer: “The Design for Living AA Group.co.uk has neither been approved or endorsed by and is not affiliated with Alcoholics Anonymous World Services, Inc. or any AA Service entity of any country” – so the question is: is it or isn't it an AA group? We think not! Whatever the case no doubt the newcomer will be faced with a table load of home-grown wisdom (non-conference approved literature, CDs etc) together with plenty of suggestions to help them along their way to utter confusion.

Next we have received a series of complaints about a cluster of groups in the Ealing area that would seem to be associated with the Visions gang. These are based at Bayham Road and bear all the hallmarks of a cult group. Slogans, literature, prompt cards etc are produced in prodigious quantities (none of which are conference approved nor indeed is this fact indicated on the “packaging”). Apparently the “personality” running these meetings has taken the “Misery is Optional” slogan one step further; even Pain is Optional now. Someone had better alert the British Medical Association – their services will no longer be required! The “lynch pin” of the group also (so it is suggested) has a regular slot in Share magazine. The publication must be in bad shape indeed to accept submissions from such sources!

We have also been notified of two more meetings carrying the Primary Purpose message (as opposed to the AA message). One of these is based in Loughton Essex, the other in Hertford. We drew to the attention of one of the supporters of these groups the article on the Primary Purpose movement (both here and in the US) together with an analysis of AA recovery rates (about which the PP movement knows little but has much to say!), both of which are presented under the Links section of our website. We received our usual reply: a deafening silence! This is an honest enough response since actually there is NO answer to these devastating analyses of the cult.

Finally, and perhaps more seriously (given the content of an email attachment which we received - see below), we have through our researches discovered that the Hampton Wick (Friday meetings - previously Kingston Hill) group also have connections with the cult, and the following document was sent to us which is said to emanate from there. (Click here). Interestingly precisely the same set of “suggestions” cropped up about three years ago in association with a cult group in North London. Put simply it is a “voyeur's charter” (and with paedophiliac tendencies). Hardly a coincidence!

Over to you

Cheers

The Fellas