Bristol Star Fleet Registry
| Fan Club | |
|---|---|
| Name: | Bristol Star Fleet Registry ("British Science Fiction Review"?, and "Bristol Starfleet Registry" - International Star Trek and Science Fiction Fan Club) |
| Dates: | 1982-2000 |
| Founder(s): | |
| Leadership: | Rod Summers, Pete Wilson, Dave Uppington, Paul Rowe |
| Country based in: | UK |
| Focus: | Star Trek |
| External Links: | |
| Click here for related articles on Fanlore. | |
Bristol Star Fleet Registry was a British Star Trek and science fiction fan club.
It created several zines featuring fiction, news, reviews, interviews, photos and more.
BSFR supported the annual Nexus, a series of science fiction media conventions from 1995-2000. It also sponsored a small one-day con called Busfare.
The club ceased in 2000.
Flyers
a 1984 flyer
from Voyager #5, artist uncredited: "These B.S.F.R. 'zines are really good, Jim!" (1984)
1986 flyer
a 1986 flyer
a 1989 flyer
a 1995 flyer, artist is Paul Richardson
Some Finances
some 1984 finances, printed in Voyager #7
some 1985 finances, printed in Voyager #11/12ish
some 1986 finances, printed in Voyager #16
Zines
After Glow | Briar Rose | Children of the Lost | The Company of Humans Diversity Combined | Encounters | The Fifth Question | The Flight of the Eagle | The Games of Magellan | Green Fire | I, Q | If Today Be Sweet | In Need of Repair | Kiku | McCoy - Examined! | Noises in the Attic | Of Songs Unknown | The Restitution of Spock | Shades of a Romulan | The Silken Thread That Binds Us | Snake in the Grass | Star Voyages | Stargazer | The Tribulation of Spock | The Vindication of Spock | Voyager Xet
A 1995 Description
By Rod Summers in the 1995 Nexus program book:
As you read these words, BSFR is thirteen years old. It's incredible to think that the club has managed to survive all those years, and not only survive but grow into one of the foremost Star Trek clubs in the United Kingdom.
Our membership now tops 800 and is increasing all the time. Indeed, with loyal BSFR readers in America, Australia and throughout Europe our happy message now spreads world wide. A far cry from the early days in 1982 when all we wanted to do was organise small get togethers in Bristol for a few like-minded individuals.
Having discovered Star Trek fandom in the early 1970s, I enjoyed reading the mimeographed newsletters, writing to unseen pen friends throughout Britain, then ultimately attending the early Star Trek conventions. Together with Dave Uppington, Paul Rowe and Pete Wilson, the decision was made in 1982 to set up a fan club for Bristol and the West Country. We had no idea how to go about it, what to charge for membership, how much printing would cost and how to get publicity. But we had enthusiasm, and that has seen us through.
We were lucky in our timing: Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan was soon to be released, so we contacted our local cinema and asked the manager if we could distribute a few leaflets, and maybe set up a small display. He agreed, the local newspapers and radio picked up on our new venture and we received a few enquiries [sic].
Home video was in its infancy, the original series hadn't been shown on TV for ages - so we had no episodes to show - but we could get together for a drink. We established a monthly routine of meeting at a floating pub, the Lochiel, off Bristol city centre. Membership grew. When we had about 50 members, we decided to print a newsletter. I volunteered to edit it, Dave's employers had a print shop - it was fate.
Voyager 1 was published in December 1982. I was originally going to call the magazine "Voyages", but when I came to lettraset the cover, I had run out of 'S', so I improvised and Voyager was born. It had a vaguely Star Trek ring to it: the probe in The Motion Picture had been called Voyager 6, and I thought we might survive long enough to reach that number.
With membership climbing towards three figures, we decided to book a dealers table at SOL III, the May 1983 Star Trek convention in Birmingham. By that time we had printed two newsletters, and had produced our first story zine, The Restitution of Spock. New members would receive four magazines per year and a forum in which to express their news and views.
SOL III marked a turning point: we signed up our first non-Bristol members. This was weird; there were actually people out there who saw us as a larger organisation and weren't concerned that they couldn't attend our meetings. We began to think of ourselves as a national club.
Moving our Bristol meetings to the Assize Courts pub gave us the chance to hire their function room. The pub also had an enclosed beer garden, which we began to hire for barbecues and Christmas parties.
We made a point of attending as many Star Trek conventions as we could, putting ourselves visibly in the dealers room. Membership grew and the magazine evolved.
We made many new friends, among them Allister Gourlay, a talented Glaswegian graphic designer, who agreed to layout our covers and print the magazine. We began to put colour on the Voyager covers, printed more artwork, and occasionally photographs. At that time, this made us unique among British clubs: no one else ran illustrations of any kind, and the difference made us stand out from the competition.
Membership grew. It became feasible to print full process colour on the covers, and therefore we could present colour photographs to our members. Voyager 18 heralded Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home with three previously unseen stills, and Voyager 19 became our first 'wrap-round' cover, with stills from Star Trek's first pilot, The Cage.
However, life was not without its down-side: costs started to spiral. We had to increase our fees or sink. Reluctantly, we raised our dues to £5 and, even more reluctantly, reduced the package to three Voyagers per annum.
1989 saw the club top 400 members, then the recession hit! Renewals slowed up, and we began to dwindle down to a 'hard core' of about 270. The low point came when Pete decided that seven years was long enough as Membership Secretary and Dave Uppington considered giving up his position as Treasurer and Zine Editor. It would have been easy to say that we had had a good run and fold the club. But the club wouldn't fold that easily!
In March 1990, we called a special committee meeting at Dave's house to address several problems: membership had fallen, costs had risen, the building society account had dwindled - the club needed a new committee and a new purpose. We bit the bullet and looked at what sort of club we could run for the 1990s and beyond. The question became: if we were going to set up a new club from scratch, what should we provide? How much should it cost?
If we were to survive, we had to publish more frequently - but how to do it when costs were so high? Then inspiration struck! Voyager was expensive, but we could produce an inexpensive supplement, a newsy, chatty AS magazine - Stargazer was born.
Bernie Walsh agreed to sign up as Membership Secretary, Dave was persuaded to stay on, and Rose Senior was willing to become our new Stargazer supplement editor.
The next decision was harder: would members stay if we raised the subs to £8 per annum? - an unprecedented sum in Star Trek fandom. We have been continually delighted by the fact that our commitment to quality in fandom has been rewarded by increasing support.
In 1992 we decided to test the waters and hold a one day convention, BUSFARE. We gave members two weeks notice and were stunned at the response: over 90 people turned up to watch episodes, chat, and party. Warmed by the experience, we were amazed and delighted when over 300 people decided to take the plunge and attend the 1993 Convention, UNICON. The 1994 Con, now chaired and organised by Bernie Walsh and his expanded team, surpassed all expectations and saw well over 500 fans attending during the weekend.
1994 saw us revamp the club committee again, with Bernie Walsh moving on to full-time employment in convention management and Alan Roberts coming aboard as our latest Membership Secretary. I now edit both Voyager and Stargazer, ably assisted by Simon Lewis, who serves as deputy editor and art editor.
At the major UFP Star Trek convention held over the May 94 bank holiday in London, the club's Voyager magazine was voted the Best British Fan magazine by the attendees.
We have also set up a separate Events Committee to handle the many and varied BSFR social activities: Bar-B-Q's, Christmas Parties, Club meetings and one day events.
However, production costs continue to rise and in December 1994 we reluctantly decided to increase the annual membership fee to £10.
Star Trek has weathered the years wonderfully. The original series spawned movies, and interest in the show has been enhanced by three new series, The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine and now Voyager.
1994 saw the end of The Next Generation's TV incarnation and the birth of the latest series, Star Trek: Voyager. All this combined with the release of the latest Star Trek movie, Star Trek Generations, means that Star Trek fandom is as alive today as it ever was.
We remain committed to the appreciation of Star Trek in all its forms and continue to run a purely for fun non-profit making fan club. The organising team work for the love of it, not the financial rewards. Every penny we receive in dues is channelled directly back to you in the magazines you receive.
Our newest members are every bit as enthusiastic as we were in the early days and that spirit warms us during the long hours spent working for the club. While You are with us, we won't let you down.
BSFR is here to stay!