Stand Up, Avon's Angels!
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| Title: | Stand Up, Avon's Angels! |
| Creator: | Judith M. Seaman |
| Date(s): | January 1989 |
| Medium: | |
| Fandom: | Blake's 7 |
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| Click here for related articles on Fanlore. | |
Stand Up, Avon's Angels! is an early 1989 Blake's 7 essay by Judith M. Seaman.
It was printed in Avon Newsletter #35.
This essay's topic was The Blake's 7 Wars.
Some Topics Discussed
- the open letter: Open Letter by "Name Withheld By Request"
- many fans feel they know Paul Darrow personally
- Darrow's hard work at cons
- Darrow's charitable acts
- some fans are not gracious
From the Essay
I have just seen a letter which is being circulated containing a serious attack on the B7 actors in general and on Paul Darrow in particular. The accusation is so ludicrous to those of us who know Paul that it would be laughable. . . if it wasn’t for the fact that not everyone does know Paul, or the others involved, and so may not know just how little substance this accusation contains. Those who have met him may feel that everyone knows him too well to believe it, and so ignore it. This is the reaction that could allow slander to spread and be believed. Lies and rumours of this kind are best combated by evidence.
Basically the accusation states that when the B7 guests first started going to the US fan cons they were charming, friendly and eager to meet and talk to the fans. At some stage since then Paul in particular has decided that he "no longer wants to mingle with the fans. (He) just wants to make a buck,” and the best place to do this is at the commercial Creation Conventions. Therefore Paul will attend no more fan-run conventions, and he will have as little as possible to do with fans at any other convention he goes to. So at some point, presumably within the last two years, Paul has had a complete change of character? It is vaguely suggested that this change was caused by success. I find it strange that 'success' should be so much more corrupting in America. Paul hit B7 success in the UK in 1978/79, but it doesn’t seem to have affected his character then so why should it now? However, that is the accusation. What is the evidence?
In 1988 Paul did 10 conventions to my knowledge. DSV1 in January; Omnicon in February; Anglicon in May; Space City (UK), ZenCon (Australia) and ConFederation (NZ) in October, and four conventions across America in November. Three of the final group were Creation Cons, all of the others were fan-run conventions. The only one of these that I attended was Space City, but perhaps people who attended any of the others would like to write and give their impressions of Paul Darrow, especially anyone who was at the odd one out - the fan-run Mini Con in San Diego in November? Also could anyone at those three Creation Cons say how far Paul "mingled with the fans" while he was there?
What about Space City? The preceding week Paul was doing the final venue in the long tour of ARE YOU LONESOME TONIGHT? Some people might have taken the exhaustion caused by a demanding tour, coupled with the fact that he was working on the Saturday anyway, as an excuse to cry-off from the Sunday as well. Paul travelled to the Convention from the theatre. On stage on Sunday he did the opening, most of the auction, his own panel with Janet, the liars panel, the closing ceremony and prize-giving plus a filler while preparations were going on for the next event. Off stage he did an autograph-cum-photograph-cum-walk-about in the hotel grounds which was scheduled (more or less). Unscheduled... well I remember one incident very well. About 10.00 am and a long queue waiting to get into the first event. I don’t know where the rest of the guests were, but Paul Darrow was wandering up and down along the queue, greeting people he knew, people he didn’t know, and passing out information on the coming events. An extra few minutes squeezed in with the fans by a man who was totally exhausted when he arrived and who had a lot of hours of scheduled events in front of him. Strange behaviour from someone who is going to do the minimum amount of work and that only if he is paid for it!
Of course, in England we don’t only see Paul at conventions, when he does theatre his fans turn up at the stage door. I first went to see Paul in 1982 and I’ve seen him on over a hundred occasions since then. I've met him when he is fit, when things are going well, and he has plenty of time. I’ve also met him tired, facing a long drive home after two shows on a Saturday, and even when he's been seriously ill. The first thing I noticed is that Paul makes time for the fans.
Regardless of how he is feeling he is always welcoming, ready to chat, to sign autographs and pose for photos, and he will make this time as readily for the fan who has come for a first visit as for the ones who could be regarded as 'regulars’. This attitude has not changed. He is still generous, welcoming, concerned and interested in his fans. As generous on the last night of LONESOME as he was at TERRA NOVA in 1983. And not only with time. More than one astonished fan has arrived early and somehow found themselves in the theatre coffee shop having tea with Paul... and he buys the tea. As a method of 'ripping-off' the fans this one must be unique!
Paul does other things too. For one thing he plays golf in Cel-Ara matches for a charity called SPARKS (the acronym translates as Sportsmen Pledged to Aid Research into Crippling Diseases of Children). I have attended one of those matches and can report that Paul did a very hard day’s work - despite the fact that those who play for SPARKS receive no fees and no expenses.
There are many reasons why we go to see Paul that first time. There are other reasons why we go back again and again. The warmth of the welcome we receive, the constant assurance that Paul finds his fans important and his genuine desire to make each and every visit 'special'. I'm from an old Yorkshire family who believe in 'value for money’. Paul gives that value, and a generous extra helping.
It would be nice if everyone who has had that welcome from Paul, that extra helping of value, could write and tell us. Paul has stated frequently that he regards his fans as friends. Let’s hear from anyone who knows how true that is?
Stand up, Avon's Angels. The time has come to be counted.