Galileo Con

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Convention
Name: Galileo Con
Dates: 1982-?
Frequency:
Location: UK
Type:
Focus: Star Trek
Organization:
Founder: Catherine Richardson & Margaret Richardson
Founding Date:
URL:
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flyer for the 1986 con, Artwork by C. Sibbett
flyer for the 1982 con

Galileo Con was a series of fan-run Star Trek: TOS conventions held in the UK.

1982

The first Galileo Con was held August 27-29, 1982 in Newcastle.

It was the 13th British Star Trek convention.

The chair was Margaret L. Richardson.

The complete con program is here.

1982: Program Book

Galileo Con ‘82
  • 14th Official British Star Trek Convention
  • Crest Hotel, Newcastle on Tyne
  • Convention Charity: Age Concern (Now Age U.K), Northumberland.
  • Galileo Cartoons by Lee Lloyd
  • Front Cover of booklet by Lee Lloyd and Wendy Hodgson
  • Tribbles by Robin Hill
  • Inside back cover ‘Rumour Con’ by the Galileo Con, Committee.
  • Convention book compiled by Catherine Richardson and Tina W. Pole. Copyright 1982 for Galileo con ’82 Committee. All Star Trek stills are copyright Paramount Pictures.

Guests:

Roll of Honour: Our Special thanks go to the following for services above and beyond the call of duty…:

  • Ted, Jayne, Judy and her husband Takis, for coming so far.
  • Anne Page for being our voice of command.
  • Chris Chivers for his technical attributes amongst other things.
  • Janet Quarton and Sheila Clark for not only providing the Star Trek episodes on film and showing them but for giving us good advice when we needed it most.
  • Rog Payton for being auctioneer and just being here!
  • Tim Roadribb for projecting in all the right places.
  • Dave Cluett the Alnitah vet, and believe me this shouldn’t happen to a vet…but thanks anyway for help with the pet show.
  • Chrissie Chrzan and Carol Collins for looking after the guests and judging most of the competitions, so don’t blame us, blame them…
  • Chris and Jill Ripley for trusting us with their precious Star Trek video tapes.
  • The UFP Con Committee, especially Kim Knight, for letting us see behind the scenes at their convention.
  • Sol III Con. Committee, who’ll be seeing behind our scenes and adding a few extra pair of hands.
  • George and Sylvia Billings for looking after the stewards while we were too busy.
  • Sue Toher and Fran Ball, their help also did not go unnoticed (Bet you thought you’d gotten away with it!)
  • Dot Owens for boldly duplicating where no duplicater has gone before….
  • May Jones for being our biggest supporter and for believing in us when we didn’t.
  • Wendy Hodgson our latest recruit, for putting up with endless committee meetings and supplying her artistic talents when necessity called.
  • Lee Lloyd, former crew member, who grabbed the only parachute aboard, but not before we grabbed his… (no, not that you fool!) illo’s for this con book!
  • United International Pictures for kindly donating posters and stills for the charity.
  • Judith Richardson who couldn’t be here this weekend but who donated £10.00 towards the charity.
  • To all our families for putting up with us over the last two years.
  • Fellow officers and crew of the Newcastle Flag ship the U.S.S. Hood for acting as billboards, you may have seen them at previous cons.
  • To Norman our mascot for being a suitable distraction during times of crisis e.g. Bursting in to announce the dinners ready at the most inopportune moments!
  • The Special Duty Stewards for being our shoulders to cry on.
  • And last but not least all the staff of the Crest Hotel, especially Janice Knight the Banqueting Converence Co-ortinator.
  • We hope we’ve got everybody in.
  • Sorry Uncle Cobbly but we didn’t have room for you.

The Stewards:

  • Lee Smith, Carol McFarlane, Paul Rowe, Rod Summers, Kathy Shiel, Pam Clarke, Julie Perrin, Julie Maggs, Melaine Holt, Miri Rana, Carol Bennett, Keith Cook, Carla Salveta, Linda Watt, Susan Taylor, Catherine Taylor, Carol Hume, Marie Griffiths, Stuart McGregor, Stephen Mortimer, Karen Blackadder, Chris Hinchley, Ray Dorsett, Kate Lach, John Field, Robin Davies, Sheila Whittaker, Moira Russell, Katherine Wright, Tony Earnshaw.

1982: Con Reports

We did have a good time. The hotel was efficient, friendly and very comfortable, The con itself was very well run and if the crowds were slightly smaller than UFP, at least there were no problems seeing everything and breathing at the same time. Galileo proved to be an enjoyable, easily paced weekend with time to sit and chat, watch videos and see those parts of the programme that looked interesting.

Theodore Sturgeon is an impressive speaker. He and his wife kept the audience spellbound with a mixture of gentle humour and great charm for a discussion that ranged from technology, to religion, to education, to writing, to Trek.

[Some quotes] from memory: - 'Writing is like calling out of a midnight window "Is anybody there?"'

- 'Celia Lovsky is a fine actress but she was too tiny and delicate for T'Pau. She should have been a very large, tough lady.'

- 'You must ask the next question and the one after that and the one after that... if you stop you are dead. If you go on, you will discover the truth and you will find that it is a process.'

- '"After a time you may find that having is not so pleasing a thing after all, as wanting. It is not logical, but it is often true." These lines were almost cut from the final version of 'Amok Time'. "

I managed to miss Judy Blish's talk but as I came in afterwards, I noticed that she had had a similar effect on her audience. At the closing ceremony she revealed an idea plus half a story for a Star Trek ballet...

It was shortly after this that I shot and fatally wounded a custard tart. (I didn't mean to, honestly, I was just trying to see how the photon torpedoes worked. I said the staff were friendly.)

There were two rooms with videos, including one with a large screen, so that an almost continuous programme of episodes ran alongside the main programme, - "No, I'm watching this. I've never seen 'Plato's Stepchildren' before" ...good grief...

Events on Saturday and Sunday extended far into the night. Unfortunately, I lacked the stamina and determination to keep up with this and retired to bed with a pile of zines. A rather smaller pile than usual. Has zine production started to go out of fashion?

Which brings me to the auction. As with UFP, prices were slightly lower than the National Debt, which encouraged me to unchain my purse. For examples- Nome 1 - £9; Captives - £6; Deathdance - £3.50; Alternative 1 - £11; Sun and Shadow - £8; Contact 7 - £15; Thrust - £20; Spock Enslaved - £32; T'hy'la 1 - £32; Night of the Twin Moons - £3; Interphase 4 - £15.

There was a writers and editors panel held in the main hall just before this auction. It was interesting but rather drowned by the vast open space. Small discussion groups need small rooms. These panels worked so well at the recent Writers' Workshop, it would be nice to see a few more happening at future cons.

Monday morning arrived all too soon, along with that rather flat feeling that usually accompanies the end of a con. Another thirteen hours would pass before we saw the civilised end of the country again....

- "I could give you a lift as far as Kettering..."

- "Are you kidding? That's not a car, it's a motorised roller skate."

- "Four of us, plus luggage. In there?"

- "Get your, elbow but of my..." [1]

1984

August 24 to 26, 1984, in Newcastle upon Tyne at the Leicester International Hotel.

It was the 18th British Star Trek convention.

The convention hosted a fiction contest and some of the fiction was published in the Galileo Shuttle Logs .

The chair was Catherine Richardson.

The guests of honor were Gene Roddenberry and Majel Barrett Roddenberry.

The entire convention program book is here.

1984: Program Book

1984: Con Reports

Newcastle, that outpost on the edge of the spiral arm, was the venue for Galileo Con 84, the 18th Official Star Trek Convention. The temporary H.Q. of Star Trek fandom turned out to be the Crest Hotel, the management of said establishment being very helpful and really entering into the spirit of the thing. Alan and I arrived on location early Friday afternoon, having been detoured via Hadrian's Wall by a sense of history. In doing this, we missed the Press Conference and the chance of a quiet chat with the guests... We settled into our room and then made for the nearest bar, knowing that our fellow B.S.F.R. colleagues were likely to be there. Our assumption was correct. Galileo Con will forever have a special place in my memory. Fourteen years ago, when I was a new fan of Star Trek, I said to myself that Gene Roddenberry was the one person I would love to meet. The creator of Star Trek had to be very special and I wanted to find out for myself if that was true. My experience at Galileo Con did not disappoint me. Gene and Majel were lovely people. They joined in the fun not merely as guests, but also as attendees. They were approachable and affectionate and I'm sure they could feel that same affection coming across from the rest of us there. I don't know why they've never been asked over here before, but I sure hope they come back to us again. With Gene and Majel came a copy of The Cage - the original pilot which had never been seen in Britain before. So many pilot films try to put too much into too little time and the strain often shows, but not The Cage. I'm not surprised it won an award. The Network must have been crazy to have rejected the premise after seeing that. Well, I suppose we all know about programme planners and studio executives, don't we?! Majel also brought with her, after a delay at Manchester Airport, boxes of merchandise from Lincoln Enterprises - memorabilia and other items we never see in Britain. My bank account is now rather embarrassed! Early on in the proceedings, shortly after the opening ceremony, for which Gene and Majel received a standing ovation, I presented Gene with the latest draft of our own movie script [2] and a copy of my first Trek story. He received them gracefully and gave me a kiss, for which I was totally unprepared! I hope he finds time to thumb his way through our efforts. Anyway, the giving was my pleasure. On Saturday, we presented him with two tee shirts with Federation Funny Farm printed on them. We all had our own and thought it would be fun to print up two more. Saturday evening saw the Fancy Dress Competition and the disco. Pete and Mark did their version of Spock's Brain, called 'Brainstorm'. Alan and Bernie did the modelling and pyrotechnics. The result was a real laugh which continued right through until the awards ceremony, when Pete presented Gene with his pointed ears. They won a prize, by the way. The Fancy Dress was the best I've seen so far - funny and very clever. I shall have to think of something for our next Con. Sunday came around only too quickly. To have the closing ceremony then instead of Monday morning was a bit of a disappointment, but I suppose the committee had their reasons. Alan and I were too exhausted to go on the Run, so we sat and watched Whom Gods Destroy instead. The water pistol I'd brought came in handy to embarrass Chris Chivers which was a delight in itself! I, fortunately, have had a quiet week at work in which to recover from the weekend; a convention is like being on another planet- It takes time to re-adjust when you get back. I have one last thing to say: welcome to the ranks of B.S.F.R. Gene and Majel - we love you! [3]

It must have been a good Con, it's taken me a week to catch up on lost sleep-As is becoming regular, I was a steward and managed to miss both screenings of "The Cage". Friends tell me it was terrific folks! I did see 'Genesis II", one of Mr R's early creations and found it 'fascinating.' Although obviously dated, being 2 decades old, it still conveys Roddenberry's powerful imaginative talents, dealing with the re-birth of civilisation after a global holocaust. The leading lady is "Zarabeth". Majel has a small part and "Ruk" a rather longer one!

Mr Roddenberry himself is terrific. We couldn't have asked for a more amicable guest, for he wandered around the hotel (scotch in hand) and would talk to and pose for photographs with anyone. Both he and Majel are hoping to be asked back to this country again, so come on you con committee people! Majel brought along boxes and boxes of Lincoln Enterprises goodies and business was brisk to say the least. I'd have loved a black ST III bomber jacket but at £23 would probably have initiated divorce proceedings. Some good friends managed to talk sense into me. All was made up for when the Great Bird himself autographed my UFP cap. The Roddenberry's are obviously extremely open minded people (as if you didn't know already) as was evident in their guest spots. Perhaps this had something to do with the extremely relaxed atmosphere that lasted all weekend (on the other hand maybe it was due to my inebriated condition). Gene talked of the 3 movies, expressing his opinion that ST II was too violent and ST III more on the path of true Trek, He liked the friendship aspect. I asked him that one* He told us Leonard Nimoy will direct No IV and that the Enterprise will return. Just how, you ask? Even he's waiting on that one. He does believe, however, that No IV will be a fresh start, a complete break from the previous two. At the moment he is preoccupied with an extra-terrestrial character called Gaan with whom he is in the process of writing a book. I'm sorry to say I missed Majel's talk but will make a point of hearing it next time. As always there were many familiar faces at the con and as usual not half enough time to talk. Apologies to all those I never did manage to catch up with. I must mention a few names before I close. Pete Wilson and Mark Whitfield's entry in the drama doing a rip off of Spock' s Brain should have won; and another winner in my book should have been Caryl Sibbett's beautiful artwork. There were a number of new and different attractions such as the display of photos from 10 years of ST Cons; the singing of slightly rude Trek songs before the disco and the art and craft display held in a sauna!

Finally I'd like to say thank you to the Con committee for a really good Trek weekend. Even the local TV station called us Trekkers! [4]

I arrived in Newcastle early on Friday evening, to find that events were already underway, as there were many people around in the foyer. After checking in, registering, locating my room and unpacking, I wandered down to the hotel bar for a drink, to start the weekend off in a manner befitting the occasion. The waitress behind the bar was already organised for the weekend, she had a commander badge and her laser weapon at hand — we knew what to expect if" we didn't pay for our drinks.., at once! With my usual sense of timing, I missed the interview with some con members on the local TV news, I gather it went very well.

Saturday morning, after a jaunt round the city to find a cash—card machine, the sales room was open and I spent my usual small fortune on zines and books — the sale room was very well stocked this time.

The guests at the con were Gene Roddenberry and Majel Barrett; Mr Roddenberry brought along the tape of "The Cage" — much as I would have liked to watch it, the hall was packed, and I never was at my best in a crowd. I did go in to listen to Mr Roddenberry's talk, which was really interesting, he ranged far beyond Star Trek, and everybody was kept quiet for an hour or more. He also answered the many questions asked with humour, tact and understanding.

The evening's entertainment was, I confess, disappointing and boring, and I only stayed long enough for the fancy dress, which was the exception in the evening, and was its usual high standard; it's nice to see people go to a lot of trouble and take a lot of care - the audience, especially yours truly, certainly appreciated it. Some of the costumes not in the competition were good as well — my personal 'best' vote went to a "Fifth Columnist" from "V",

I forgot to mention 'The Night of the Lupus", an extremely gory and rather stupid film, I wonder how DeForest Kelley got himself involved in such a turkey!!!

Sunday was the cue for another trip to the sales rooms, where I finally gave in and bought an enormous poster of Harrison Ford in a white tuxedo - sigh!

Majel Barrett spoke on Sunday afternoon, she cares very much what happens to Star Trek and is looking forward to seeing the next movie. Miss Barrett brought a lot of Lincoln Enterprise merchandise to sell, lovely stuff, but most of it terribly expensive.

'Catlow' was on offer Sunday afternoon, as it was the uncut version, there was no way I was going to miss it. I stayed over until Monday morning, and watched a few episodes, including the banned one I hadn't seen 'Whom Gods Destroy' - one of the best, as well.

This wasn't the best con I've ever been to, though I'm not sure I can really say why, it was well organised and it had many high spots, but the usual 'spirit' of a con wasn't there for me, which is a pity. I don't know how others felt who attended the Con — any comments? [5]

1986

August 22-25, 1986 the Crest Hotel, Newcastle Upon Tyne, Guest Bjo Trimble. Organisers were Lesley Wood and Catherine and Margaret Richardson.

It was the 22nd British Star Trek convention.

Convention logo artwork by C. Sibbett.

1999

August 27-30, 1999, Heathrow Park Hotel, London.

It was the 48th British Star Trek convention.


External Resources

References

  1. ^ from Communicator #8 (Dec 1982)
  2. ^ the fan film described in some issues of Voyager
  3. ^ from Voyager #7
  4. ^ from Beta-Niobe November 1984
  5. ^ from Beta-Niobe November 1984
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