"In the middle of all this stands the new Reading Room of First Church of Christ, Scientist, London. It is flanked by a dress boutique on one side and a fish shop on the other. A narrow passage mercifully divides the Reading Room from the fish shop! . . . [Its] facade is contemporary and very pleasing to the eye. The interior, clearly visible from the street, is light, peaceful, and inviting. The move from a more conventional district is bringing many blessings, for this busy, confused, and crowded thoroughfare is just where a Christian Science Reading Room can be of most use. Already it is arousing the interest of those who might never have found their way into the old Reading Room, situated as it was in a more formal part of London.
"Because it is where it is, the Reading Room is readily accepted as part of the everyday scene of the King's Road. Recently three young men, all dressed in the accepted Chelsea fashion, went into The Christian Science Monitor room where a young girl student of Christian Science was already seated. They began to question her about Christian Science, and after a while, because others wished to use the room, they all left together to continue their talk in a nearby cafe. A few days later . . . the librarian asked her how much the young men were really interested in Christian Science. The girl said that in the first instance the boys had come in for shelter from the rain, but after some conversation she told them she didn't drink or smoke or take LSD. They were astonished at this and wanted to know why! They talked for a while, and she mentioned Science and Health by Mrs. Eddy, and suggested they should read it. A few days after this, one of the three young men came in again and spent some time reading Science and Health.
"On another occasion a young man came bounding into the Reading Room. He was full of confidence. He too was wearing the usual Chelsea uniform of jeans and a sweater. His hair was fairly wild, and there was paint on his hands. He settled down to read the Monitor from cover to cover, and has been in several times. He is a Canadian working his way round the world, and he told the librarian that he always goes into Christian Science Reading Rooms wherever his travels take him. This one, he said, is one of the pleasantest he has come across.
