An Apostate in London: Alex talks strategy about Scientology with an MP
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It’s lunch time on a typically rainy day in London. As I make my way up the steps and exit Westminster Tube station, I look up: Big Ben. I pause for a moment and take a breath. I’ve lived in London for 16 years, this sight is nothing new; but somehow it feels different. Unlike every other time I’ve been to Westminster, I’m not here sightseeing with a friend from out of town or grabbing a pint at a nearby pub.
I’m here for a meeting with a Member of Parliament.
The moment I walk through the door, I am confronted by a security guard who asks why I’m there and who I’m here to see, as if he had a list in his head of the thousands of politicians and civil servants who work in the building. He looked me up and down and double checked “is he expecting you?” I nod. “And it’s definitely in this building?”
Trying not to come across as rude, I say “yes” and proceed to place my belongings on the tray for the airport-style security scanner. He tells me to put my belongings in the tray and take my belt off, having just done it a few seconds prior. “Ah, security,” I think to myself as he hands me a bright orange lanyard with a laminated card that says ‘VISITOR’ in bold white letters. I am to keep this around my neck at all times, I am told.
A few moments later after going through a metal detector I find myself at the reception desk where I say the name of the person I am meeting. The receptionist asks for my name. “Alexander Bar-” she interrupts me and says “sorry, Al..?” I smile, and decide just to go for “Alex.”
“Right, and your surname?”
“Barnes-Ross”
“Sorry, Bard what?”
I spell my name out letter by letter and notice that instead of a computer, she is handwriting my name on a piece of paper, next to the name of who I’m seeing. It might be 2025 and the receptionist might be sat in front of a computer, but this is the government.. and that means paperwork. Literally.
I am directed to a seat in the foyer opposite a glass wall looking directly into a grand atrium. There’s a lot of hustle and bustle and people from all walks of life cross in front of me, shaking hands and heading on to the various committee rooms and chambers that surround us. It’s a diverse crowd of civil servants and politicians and as I sit there waiting to be collected, it dawns on me: this is the seat of power.
Content retrieved from: https://tonyortega.substack.com/p/an-apostate-in-london-alex-talks?utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web.
