Yes, the crime rate is so low there's a bulletproof screen in front of the counter at the local supermarket.
The TMO used to hire a security guard to stop people's cars being vandalised during group prog. Reassuring to know that the awesome peace creating coherence extended almost to the car park. Skem is a very depressed and largely benefits dependent area with parts you wouldn't want to visit during the day let alone at night. It's a poor health area too which goes hand in hand with poverty. Is crime low? Of course not, but it's no worse than any other similar estate. But the TM part is nice and very middle class, I'm not surprised they won an award when you see the rest of the area. It's also got the only Asda in the country that sells organic lentils! But yep, generally the locals are friendly and accepting of those weird domies. I remember some dissenting voices though from an article about the TMO in the local paper. One guy said "You never see them down the pub, they just sit around with their eyes closed all day. What sort of heaven on earth is that?" LOL. ---In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, <no_re...@yahoogroups.com> wrote: From the answers to the article: "Maharishi European Sidhaland https://www.facebook.com/MaharishiEuropeanSidhaland I am sorry the author was set upon by a gang as a teenager in Skem and I'm glad this is no longer such a problem for youngsters here. If the TM community had failed and had 'turned inwards' there would not be so many local families sending their children to the Maharishi school which is now state funded. Over a 1,000 local people would not have learned to meditate. Hundreds of people from around Britain would not be visiting the TM community every year. The TM project is thriving and valued by many. The fact that someone practices Transcendental Meditation is not stamped across one's forehead. People interviewed for the article were not very aware of who was meditating and this indicates how well meditators have integrated. For example recently a councillor asked at a public meeting why there were no Transcendental Meditators attending - when in fact there were several present and one of the speakers was a meditator (me Nicola Escott !). Some years ago the TM development won a hugely prestigious BURA award for good practice in regeneration alongside the developers of Manchester City Centre after the IRA bomb. Yes, Skem has severe problems that need addressing. It's easy to knock it, but the crime rate is actually very low. I moved here in 1980, found Skelmersdale people to be incredibly friendly and warm-hearted and the group TM meditations wonderful."
