"And I have also met quite a number of people who received knowledge, especially in the early 70s, who left just about immediately"

How does the subject creep into the conversation ? I have sometimes wondered how many people I have met who went through the " knowledge" ritual . Mostly I'm just too embarrassed to talk about it even if I suspect the possibility that someone was one ( rare).

I did see a guy a few days ago on the T.V.(on one of those " antique" shows  where the presenters go into peoples houses and find their hidden treasures) who absolutely looked and behaved like he had once been a premie ( and had never really recovered).Maybe I recalled his face without knowing who he actually was?

Nobody has ever asked me ( that I didn't already know) if I used to be a premie.

A few months ago I went through a ( brief) phase of telling a few people I know that I once belonged to a cult ( a kind of " coming out" ). They were full of incomprehension really and changed the subject as soon as possible, never to be referred to again.Too much information I suppose.

There seemed to be so many premies in the seventies. In those days they wore badges or carried their belongings in a cotton "Ally Pally Guru Puja" shoulder bag (  and so did I . horrible things...even Elvis can't have sold so many souvenirs in such a short time) and London was crawling with them!