In the week that Hampstead's Freud Museum invites us all to sit on the great man's couch and ponder our submerged sexual drives, it seems the Mad and the Marginal is very much alive in London.

Consider The Courage To Sing, an evangelist-sounding organisation that believes all of life's problems can be solved with a good old sing-song. Corporate types needing more self-confidence, or mousey types needing any confidence at all, can learn to bellow like Liza Minelli at courses combining traditional singing techniques, healing arts (yoga, Qigong and meditation) and success psychology (visualization, affirmation, dreams and emotional recovery).

Then you've got The Alchemist, essentially a spa/beauty parlour that comes to you, offering the very Channel Five sounding Alchemist's Massage which involves a "healing massage accompanied by a psychic reading". According to their website, "an alchemist has the power to turn something common into something precious". Except that, er, no one's ever actually managed alchemy.

Finally, for those whose heads are so far in the clouds they wish to remain there, check out The Cloud Appreciation Organisation (sounds like a front to me) which doesn't really require you to be in London, but could provide a welcome urban diversion nonetheless. Dream on Yvonne.