Who's 7

Convention
Name:	Who's 7
Dates:
Frequency:
Location:	England
Type:
Focus:	Blake's 7 and Doctor Who
Organization:
Founder:	Henry G. Eggleton
Founding Date:
URL:
Click here for related articles on Fanlore.

Who's 7 was a fan-run Blake's 7 and Doctor Who convention.

Supposedly, Redemption cons (which started in 1999) grew out of "Who's 7" cons.

1992

October 30-November 1, Telford Moat House Hotel, Telford Shropshire, England

Henry Eggleton was an organizer.

GOH: Gareth Thomas, Jacqueline Pearce, Colin Baker, Peter Tuddenham, and Sheelagh Wells. The convention raised a sum total of 627 pounds for charity, broken down as follows:

Citizens Advice Bureau: 300.00

People's Dispensary for Sick Animals: 300.00

Talking Books: 27.00

1992: Convention Report

In 1992, a fan posted a convention report to rec.arts.drwho:

"I attended the Who's Seven (a joint Dr.Who and Blakes 7 organization in the UK) convention held at the #60/night Telford Moathouse, in Telford, about 40 miles west of Birmingham. Telford has the intention of becoming some sort of Silicon Valley, with completely new shoppes, offices, houses, etc.---in stark contrast to the rest of the midlands countryside.

Guests: Gareth Thomas (Blake), Colin Baker (Dr.6), Jacqueline Pearce (Servalan), Sheelagh Wells (makeup artist for Dr.Who, B7), Peter Tuddenham (voice of Orac, Slave, Zen), Sheila Tomlinson (Dr.Who, B7 film editor).

I didn't spend much time there, but here are a few noteworthy tidbits:

• Colin Baker and Nicola Byrant (sp?) star in a production called "The Stranger" which features an alien traveller (Baker) and sidekick (Bryant) with "an unnamed time machine around the corner." The intention is to start where Colin's Doctor left off, yet at the same time not violating the BBC copyright. To date, three episodes have been produced. Two are already out on video for #10 each. It was the hope of the small production crew to have the third in time for Christmas, though Baker feels it is now unlikely to make it in time.
• UK Gold, a new direct satellite broadcast pay channel, debuted on November 1. Old programs from the ITV and BBC archives will be featured, including Dr.Who. According to Baker, the actor's guildis preparing to sue the BBC due to the low royalties UK Gold is paying them.
• Pearce strongly dislikes the term "low budget" and has some harsh words for the Blakes 7 production effort. In particular, she strongly refered by implication to the out-of-hand ego of Darrow's (Avon).
• It is unlikely that the Dr.Who plays will return. The production failed to return money, and the original financer has gone into bankrupcy recently."[1]

1994

The event was held 28th-30th October 1994.

From an online flyer posted to Lysator on Feb 28, 1993:

"The title says the bulk of it. This is a preliminary announcement to let people know that WHO'S SEVEN 2: THE RETURN OF THE SEVEN is in the works. As with the first WHO'S SEVEN, it will be held in England on the last weekend of October 1994. The convention committee is in the last stages of selecting a hotel. They are planning to have two B7 and two DW guests. There will be a B7 video room, a DW video room, a video room

for related science fiction, two writers' workshops, an art show, a dealers' room, filking, an auction, a fancy dress/costume show, probably an acting workshop, possibly a theme-related pantomime, and other events to be determined.

Until the end of 1993, registration for all three days is 25 pounds sterling or the current equivalent in U.S. bank notes by registered mail (no U.S. dollar checks, please). As of 1 January 1994, registration will be 30 pounds. Registration forms and information updates can be obtained by sending a stamped addressed envelope or an addressed envelope plus 1 International Reply Coupon (available from your local post office) to:

[address removed]

One-day and two-day memberships will be available as well. Write for more information. Tell them you heard about it on the net. I'm trying to convince them of the efficacy of electronic communication. (Replies to email won't do you much good as that's all the information I have at the moment, but I will post updates as the news reaches me.)"

Progress Report

From the first Progress Report posted to Lysator on October 14, 1993:

"WHO'S 7 1994 is a joint BLAKE'S 7 and DOCTOR WHO Convention. We hope to have at least two guests (possibly more) from each of the shows, and a full programme of events that we hope will be of interest to fans of both shows. Confirmed guests so far (subject to professional

commitments):

BLAKE'S 7 DOCTOR WHO

Gareth Thomas (Blake) Jon Pertwee (third Doctor)

Sally Knyvette (Jenna) (subject to contract)

Jan Chappell (Cally)

With the new convention comes a new programme, and naturally we need new ideas and participants. This is your convention and we want you to enjoy it. If we think up all the programme items, something you want to see might be left out. So please, please, don't hesitate to give us YOUR ideas about what you want to see at the convention, and why not volunteer to run something yourself; a workshop or a panel maybe - we won't be offended, honest - we need all the help we can get!

GUESTS

There will be guest panels/question-and-answer sessions running on each of the three days of the convention, each of which will be followed by autograph sessions. Depending on the weather we may also have an outdoor photo-call. Our guests will not be "closeted" with the Committee when not on panels, but free to wander the convention and join in as they wish. Therefore, please treat them with courtesy and respect, and don't crowd them too much.

VIDEO PROGRAMMES

We have three separate video programmes, which will run 16 hours per day, one dedicated to DOCTOR WHO, one for BLAKES 7, and the third will carry interviews and other SF-related programmes that we hope will be of interest to you. [If you have any ideas or suggestions for shows we could add to the programme, please contact us and let us know. Or better still, if you have anything "rare" that you would be willing to let us show, please, please GET IN TOUCH!]

We would like to show fan-made videos, so if you have any that you would be willing to let us show, please contact us.

WORKSHOPS

A major part of our programme will consist of workshops. These are small (10-25 max), intensive "classroom" sessions with which we hope to entertain and educate you. Some of our guests will be participating in these. (As an example, last time, Gareth Thomas ran two acting workshops, and Sheelagh Wells ran two makeup workshops - as a result of which there were rather a lot of "vampires" wandering around the hotel that weekend!)

We hope next year to be able to offer Acting Workshops, two Fan Writing/ Professional Writing Workshops, a Scriptwriting Workshop and another Makeup Workshop. We would like also to run a Fanzine-Producing workshop and also another Costuming workshop if we get volunteers to run them (hint, HINT!!!). More workshops will be added to the programme as we confirm the people to run them.

If you think you would like to run a workshop on a particular subject that might be of interest to your fellow con-goers, please let us know. The more the merrier!

DEBATES/DISCUSSION PANELS

Another integral part of our programme are the Debates/Discussion panels. For instance, would you be interested in debating the question: "Is the Master really the 12th incarnation of the Doctor?" or "What would have happened if Avon had thrown Vila out of the airlock?" "Are K9 and Orac related?" We are looking for a number of different discussion panels, and if you have a theme you would like to discuss, why not tell us about it and we will schedule time for it in the programme.

We will also be writing to the BBC to see whether they would be willing to send us a representative for a panel entitled "What is the BBC's attitude towards Science Fiction? Is this a valid genre?" We will keep you posted on their response.

THE QUIZ

Last year's quiz was a little confusing, but for 1994 we have a new set-up and brand new questions:

A special "audio-visual" quiz contest: BLAKE'S 7 versus DOCTOR WHO. If you have the nerve and the memory for it, please volunteer for one of the two teams. Special marks may be awarded to teams for their use of creative cheating, sign language, histrionics and Very Large Bribes, and individual prizes may or may not be awarded for individual performances. If this sounds like your sort of quiz, sign up today - and start swotting up tomorrow, 'cos the questions are dead difficult! [Just kidding...]

VARIOUS

Apart from the above, which will make up two full programme streams, we will also be offering a fanzine/audiotape library, open from 9 am to midnight during the convention.

There will be a special charity auction on Sunday afternoon to raise money specifically for the con charity. If you have any items you would be willing to donate (an original Liberator teleport bracelet perhaps, or all ten episodes of "The Dalek Masterplan" on video), we would be very grateful to receive them. Save your pennies for this one and spend, spend, spend on the day!

Our Art Show is open to all, both for competition and display. If you would like to enter, just send us an SAE and we will send you an entry form. There are three categories for competition: DW, B7 and SF, and three prizes in each category.

In addition to the Art Show, we also hope to have a display of original and recreation costumes from B7 and DW - as well as people on hand to talk about them or answer questions on the various costumes.

We have a large dealers room that we hope will offer you a vast range of merchandise covering both fannish and professional "stuff".

If you have merchandise you would like to sell, but don't want to take an entire dealers table, we will also have, in the Dealers Room, an "Orphan Zine Table" where you can place zines/videos/whatever that you would like to have sold on your behalf. The Convention will charge 10% of the price of the item when it is sold.

There will be "special people" walking around the convention awarding "on the spot" prizes for hall costumes, so remember to pack that Timelord costume and wear it on the day!

We have also invited the "Conspiritors" to come back again and run our "Games" panelling. They will have a number of role-playing and interactive games going on over the weekend. More on those in the next PR. In addition, Kin Ming Looi has volunteered to run a number of games that will start at specific times. Again, more on those in the next PR. There will be a number of "theme" parties over the weekend and a Fancy Dress competition - any ideas for particular "themes" you would like for the parties?

As with last year, we are happy to announce that we will once again be furthering peaceful interstellar relations by inviting representatives from the Dalek and Cyber races. If you see them at the convention, please come up and talk to them - but do remember one thing - NO THREATENING MOVES, please - for your own safety! (NOTE: If any Movellans are planning to attend the convention, please contact the ConCom ahead of time - in the interests of peaceful co-existence...)

One of the proposed panels was on the topic of slash. On March x, 1994, a volunteer posted the following to Lysator:

"I was asked by a committee member of the Who's 7 convention to extend this invitation to those attending the convention. Would anyone willing to participate in a 'panel' entitled "Slash: a feasibility study........"Currently, they have plenty of volunteers to argue in favour of slash, but they are suffering a dearth of those willing to argue against. However, they are interested in hearing from anyone regardless of their position on the topic."

a small flyer in Bill Hupe's 1993 zine mailer

Panels

And as many more panels/discussion subjects as you can think of to add to the list. If you have an idea, PLEASE tell us about it!

The PANELS are discussions or debates, & require at least two participants (one for & one against), an audience to heckle/cheer/agree/disagree/throw rotten cabbages, & often a mediator to keep the peace/wipe up the blood. They also need subjects for discussion in addition to the ones above. If you are an expert on anything, or would like to talk about something or have an idea you would like to hear discussed, we'd love to hear from you. Please get in touch. [Bear in mind that if no-one "volunteers", the Con Press-Gang may be in operation again - you have been warned! Volunteer now - before it's too late...]

1. THE SF COMEDY WORKSHOP: Step up to the mike! The Who's 7 Broadcasting Corporation, in association with the DTs, proudly presents episode 30 of their SF comedy serial "A Stitch in Time". Only trouble is the cast have all buggered off to the pub, locked themselves in the loo with a crate of Albanian lager & refuse to come out! Are YOU brave enough to step into their size seven & a halfs at the eleventh hour to save the world from yet another repeat of "Just a Minute"? ("A Stitch in Time" will be featuring in the Cabaret on Saturday & is preceded that afternoon by the Comedy Workshop, of which it is a part.)

2. THE WRITERS WORKSHOP: There will be two 2-hour workshops on creative writing; plotting, dialogue, story development & so forth. We may also put together a "convention fanzine" from the work produced at this Workshop. A MUST for all writers.

3. THE MAKEUP WORKSHOP: Last year it was vampire fangs & Klingons - Who knows what the artists will create this year!

4. THE MODELLING WORKSHOP: Not that sort of modelling, Naomi! Liberators, Daleks, hand-phasers, Tardis's & Starship Enterprises - that sort of modelling...

5. HOW TO PRODUCE A FANZINE WORKSHOP: A MUST for would-be editors & masochists...

6. HOW TO RUN A FAN CLUB: Horizon is one of the better run & more successful of the clubs. Its president, Diane Gies, tells you why & how it works.

7. HOW TO RUN A CONVENTION: Would YOU like to help run the next Who's 7? It really is a truly wonderful & fulfilling experience: just ask any of the current Convention Committee for this convention... (*WHIMPER!*)

The Panels: These are the ideas to date - give us more!

• A writing panel made up of professional & amateur authors talking about how & why they write - also tips on how to sell your work.
• Fight Scenes on TV - a talk by a martial arts instructor.
• The Making of Blake's 7 - the video that never was.
• Whatever happened to Turlough? Who knows? Who cares? You do?!?!?
• Women in Blake's 7 - Trip and Scream?
• The Future for Blake's 7 - Has it got one?
• Just Who was Rassilon anyway?
• Behind the Scenes of Blake's 7 & Doctor Who.
• Keynote Panel - Explain Fandom to your mum.
• Roj Blake: Man, myth or monster? What do you think of our little rebel leader?
• Slash - a Feasibility study. Yes, "/" rears its ugly head again. If you like it or loathe it, come along & say so.
• What if Dorian had become one of the Seven? (Who would have ended up in the cellar?) ("Tarrant! Tarrant! I vote Tarrant goes down the hole...!" - CAROL)
• Whatever happened to the Terra Nostra? (There is no truth to the rumour that they are alive & well & running Convention Security... they're just running the party on Sunday night [and the gaming tables...])
• Just how effective a fighting force was UNIT? (Pause while Carol laughs herself silly...)
• Did Leela live happily ever after on Gallifrey? (Temporal/Timelord marriages: can they work?) (As an afterthought what effect did Leela have on Time Lord Society & how many Jamis Thorns did she have left?)
• If DW#2 was a "Clown" & DW#3 was a "Dandy", how would YOU describe numbers 1, 4, 5, 6 & 7? (This is your chance to say what you think about the various Doctors Who.)

Door Decorating

CHAMELEON CIRCUIT MALFUNCTION COMPETITION (Door decorating competition at the Queens Hotel) Q: "When is a door not a door?" A: When the Chameleon circuit on your Tardis has malfunctioned. Your Tardis is currently cunningly concealed as an ordinary 20th century hotel room, BUT the door to your "Hotel Room" has NOT disguised itself as a hotel door. It has been transposed into SOMETHING ELSE. What that something else is, is up to you. The Rules for this competition are simple. Turn your hotel room door into something else. Prizes will be awarded for originality, ingenuity & plain silliness. The only restrictions are DO NOT DAMAGE THE DOOR OR ANY PART OF ITS SURROUND. The ONLY adhesives you may use are MASKING TAPE or Blu-tack. No pins, tacks, nails, superglue or sellotape. The Room Number must remain visible and you must be able

to open the door. Have fun...

Tea Party

THE MAD DICTATORS OF THE GALAXY TEA PARTY This will be a "proper" High Tea/light supper on Saturday evening, probably about 5-6pm, in the Hotel restaurant. The cost will be in the 5-10 pound range, depending on whether or not there are enough people to make it work. How would you like a cup of Earl Grey & a cucumber sandwich while discussing the best way to deal with pestersome rebels? If you are interested, please contact Carol. We need at least 20 people interested & willing to pay

in advance in order to arrange this.

Fanzine/Tape Library

HE FANZINE/TAPE LIBRARY As we did last time round, we will have a quiet room set aside with Fanzines/Books/Audio tapes on "Doctor Who" and "Blake's 7", plus other fandoms. If the pace of the convention gets too hectic for you, you can always retreat to The Library for some peace and quiet. (We are on the cadge to borrow fanzines/books/tapes for the library - if

you have any you can offer, please contact Carol.)

Mystery Tour

THE B7/DW MYSTERY LOCATION TOUR This has been suggested as an independent venture on Monday Morning following the con. We have a volunteer to plot out a location tour of the South East & London for both Blake's 7 & Doctor Who. Now we need to know if anyone actually wants to GO on this tour! Are you interested? It will probably begin at 10am at the Hotel & finish at about 4-5pm at St Pauls, London. Cost will be in the region of 15 pounds per person (depending on numbers: the more people going, the lower the price!) IF YOU ARE INTERESTED IN BOOKING A PLACE ON THIS TOUR, YOU NEED TO TELL US BEFORE 1ST OCTOBER so that we can arrange for the Coach. If we do not get a large enough response (minimum 12) we will not be able to run this. Anyone interested in adding their knowledge of locations & acting as a Guide for the Tour? ["I wanna go! I wanna go! We need more people! Contact

Carol!" - Micky]

Party

THE FUNERAL OF KERR AVON - ALSO KNOWN AS "THE WAKE THE DEAD" PARTY A quiet, sedate, dignified WAKE for our favourite psycho on Friday night, to be held in the Celtic tradition with a ceilidh band & dancing.

Assuming you survived the Opening Ceremony and The Funeral Service...

A fan wrote in Avon Club Newsletter #59:

Some of us Americans in attendance were pressed into service as mourners at 'The Funeral of Kerr Avon.' Yes, we were guilty of shameless overacting. At the end these 'wailing women in black' gleefully nicked the 'corpse'. (Necrophilia in B7 -- naaah!) Lee Motoka go this all on video!

Dealer's Room

THE DEALERS ROOM We have both amateur & professional dealers, selling a large range of merchandise. Whatever you are looking for, either DW or B7, you will probably find it here. We will also be running an "Orphan Zine Table" where we will sell zines and other merchandise on your behalf in return for a 10% commission on the price... & when you have

finished in the Dealers Room, you can pop next door to...

Food

HE FANNISH CAFE - Our own private cafeteria serving soft drinks & CHEAP food throughout the weekend. The perfect place to sit & chat over a

glass of soma & a jelly lizard!

Art Show and Fancy Dress

RT SHOW Our Art Show is open to all for competition & display. If you would like to enter send us an SAE & we will send you an entry form. There are 3 categories for competition: DW, B7 & SF, & 3 prizes in each category. In addition to the Art Show we also hope to have a display of original & re-creation costume/props from B7/DW as well as people on hand to talk about them/answer questions on the costumes.

THE FANCY DRESS - On Saturday night - come one come all, as whatever

takes your fancy. Contact Carol for an entry form.

Writing Contest

THE FICTION/POETRY COMPETITION A must for all budding authors. Your

chance to win BIG prizes (or something like that...)

Cabaret

THE FAN CABARET - This is an idea we would like to see work, but without

your active support, it can't. We need people with talent, for reading funny poetry for instance, or singing, or juggling or anything else that might entertain/amuse your fellow fans. If you can help (please! PLEASE!) contact us & let us know what your talent is & we will see how

much support we can get for this idea.

Game

THE "RE-GENERATION GAME" - The Federation versus the Time Lords. An

"ALMOST anything goes" game where the teams have to carry out very difficult assignments to gain points (well, would YOU waltz with a Dalek or try to rebuild the Liberator out of matchsticks in five minutes?). Virgin DW writer David McIntee (his latest book "FIRST FRONTIER" is out now - go buy a copy!) has volunteered to captain the DW team, now we are looking for the rest of you. We need 2 teams of 4 for Saturday night: one "Dr Who", one "Blake's 7". Your objective: to win the game. The time: straight after the Fancy Dress (probably). The methods you may

use: anything you can get away with! Interested?

Filking

FILKING - Filking is the singing (???) of SF inspired folk music, & is

great fun. There will be space set aside every night for filking at the con, & if you want to take part you are more than welcome. Bring an instrument if you can play one (or even if you can't!); bring yourself & a bit of enthusiasm, & join in the circle! An ability to sing in tune is not necessary as most of the filkers will be out of tune anyway! (We usually sing in the fannish key of "off"...) If you want to hear the song about the Tardis & the Grandfather Clock, or Servalan's Lament (aka

"Studs & Black Leather"), this is where you will find them.

Stewards

Q. Would you like to mix with the guests at an elite party? Q. Would you like to be "in" on the running of the con? Q. Would you like 5 pounds back from the convention after it finishes? If you have answered "yes" or "maybe" to any of the above, read on... You can never have enough stewards at a convention we think, so guess what, we are asking for more. What, you may be wondering (or not, as the case may be) is a steward? What does a steward do? Stewards are the lifeblood of the convention. It cannot run without them. Jobs delegated to stewards normally include looking after rooms, watching over equipment, helping the organisers with many varied tasks, locating guests, going to the bar for guests, watching over the artshow, working on the registration desk etc, etc. Don't think "Oh I'm too shy/ inexperienced/disorganised/whatever". No-one will expect you to make momentous decisions or handle enormous problems: we have command structures for that sort of thing [translation: pass the buck back to Operations! - CAROL]. All we ask of our stewards is that they perform the tasks delegated to them & don't hesitate to ask for help/advice/ reassurance if they need it. Easy! In return for giving up a few hours of your con time to help us we lay on a special stewards party which only stewards & guests attend, & when the con is all over, we'll give you 5 pounds of your registration back. How's that for a good deal? Interested in giving it a try? If so, write the convention address to request a stewarding form. You see, it's simple. Money for old rope -

honest!

The Charities

THIS YEAR'S CONVENTION CHARITIES ARE:

CITIZEN'S ADVICE BUREAU - a worthy charity, & one that we supported last year. CAB acts as an advice centre & voice for those who cannot pay a solicitor & have no-one to listen or talk to.

CROYDON WELCARE (Independent Social Work Agency) - An organisation based in Southwark to help those who slip through the Social Services net: mainly single & homeless mothers, battered wives & children, & related problems including child abuse.

Both these charities help the most disadvantaged people in society. Please help us help them by giving generously at the con.

We hope that you will all lend your support to these very worthy causes. As she did last year, Carol & her "Coke Bottle" will be prowling the con looking for donations. One thousand 1-pound coins would quite nicely fill up her bottle & be a very welcome boost to CAB & CW's finances. Please give generously. In addition to this, all profits from the convention will be handed to our charities.

In addition to the above CONVENTION CHARITIES, Louise Jameson will be raising funds on Sunday for Romanian Orphans, so please spare some money

for this very worthy cause as well.

Telephone Calls

Telephone Calls: Some of the Committee's numbers are well known in

fandom. The main convention number is: [redacted] (Carol can be contacted on [redacted] in an emergency). But please, please, if you call us be prepared to talk to an answering machine. Leave your name & address & tell us your question & we will write to you with a reply. We cannot afford to ring people back unless it is very urgent & important, & if we have to we may well want to reverse the charges! Beware! The answering machine keeps your phone bill down as well as our costs. We don't mean to be unfriendly but it is not always possible to take calls about the convention; we may be in the bath or have visitors, so please

bear with us.

The Concom

YOUR CONCOM FOR WHO'S 7 1994 are the following:

RUTH SAUNDERS - Registrations, Hotel Liaison, chief guest-cuddler & Chairman CAROL KEOGH - Programming, Enquiries, advertising, thefts, Acquisitions, Secretary & tryper-outer of forms, PRs etc. CLARE GOODALL - Technical wizardry, Masquerade, Filking & unusual methods of recruiting assistants... (don't ask...!) JUDITH ROLLS - Stewarding, Deputy Chair (when the Chair is asleep or under a table), running the con & general thuggery.

JULIE PRITCHARD - DW Fandom liaison, Deputy Stewarding, general assistance & convention mathematician.

The Convention Skit

BLAKE - The Musical ("Grease is the Word, but Blake is the Man...") A

musical extravaganza not in association with Andrew Lloyd Webber, which will receive its WORLD PREMIER on Saturday night at the Convention. See Blake as you have never seen (or heard!) him before. This Mega-Bankrupt Production is up and running, but there are a few SMALL things still needed that YOU can help out with: Small props (Liberator guns, bracelets, Federation costumes, an almost working ORAC...) and costumes (main characters, Federation uniforms, Servalan-type cossies) are still needed to add to the dramatic effects of this work. If you can help with any of the above, or anything else you think Blake needs in order

to vanquish the Federation, please contact:...

1994: Convention Reports

We arrived at the hotel at 10 a.m. and were told the room wouldn't be ready until after 2. So we carted our sleep- deprived, jetlagged selves to the bus stop and took a bus to Forbidden Planet bookstore (71 New Oxford Street)....

When we returned to the hotel, con registration was in progress and after a long discussion with the hotel personnel about why they should not have cancelled our reservation, we were finally given a room. The less said about that, the better.

The slash panel: The two women at the ends of the table (Naomi something and another woman whose name I've completely forgotten) were wonderfully articulate and I agreed with everything they said. I just wish I could remember what they said.

I do remember thinking the panel topic was silly (Slash: a Feasibility Study) since feasability is rarely a basis for fan fic as far as I can tell. Why should slash be held to a higher standard? Start limiting stories to what's feasible and 95% of the gen stuff can go out the window, too. Beyond that, I know someone had to ask the Male Question: is there any female.female slash. Now, think about this...99% of slash writers are women and the vast majority are straight. Female/female stories are not going to be very high on the agenda, are they? That was rhetorical, btw. I also remember someone waving a copy of Science Friction about as an example of bad slash but being too tired to say that IMO it isn't slash at all since it was written for a gay male sensibility and not a female one. Not that the two are completely incompatible, but it isn't a title I'd hold up as a generic example of slash.

Dealers room: Horizon had more photos and paraphernalia than you'd find at their table at a US con. It was a good chance to get a look at the items you can buy through the newsletter and I'll be filling out an order form soon, I think. I didn't notice any zines that US fen can't find here, which was sort of reassuring and meant I could blow most of my funds on prints from the art show.

The art show had several costumes. I'm not sure if the costumes were originals or part original, part reconstructed, or totally reconstructed, or a mix of all of the above. There were also several prints, most notably (for me, anyway) a set of Suzie Lovett prints I've lusted after for years and despaired of ever seeing for sale again. Compared to the US cons I've been to, both the dealer and art rooms were very small. OTOH, Who's 7 was a smaller con than all but the most intimate US con I've been to.

The Blooper Reel: It's almost all 4th season (Tarrant fans will be pleased) and features a lot of scenes of guns not firing when they were supposed to, or firing when they weren't supposed to, Space Rats unable to start their bikes, and Verlis and Servalan flubbing their lines, and the infamous teddy bear scene (which ends, frustratingly) just as Paul Darrow is starting to crack up).

It was different from other blooper reels I've seen because of the way it was edited. For example, there would be a clip of Jackie Pearce blowing a line from "Assassin" and cursing fervently, followed by a clip from "Blake" of Vila, Soolin, and Dayna running with their hands over their ears--like they were running and covering their ears at the nasty language. The editing made it seem less spontaneous than it might have, but there were some good laughs in it.

Chris Boucher and Joe Nazarro, Stephen Greif and Jan Chappell: Anyone know when the tapes will be available from the con com? Anybody who has audio or video tapes of their won: transcripts posted here would be a real community service. About all I remember is CB and JN ragging on Space Precinct, and then SG announcing in his panel that he was going to be in an episode of Space Precinct. Aside from that, a few general impressions have stayed with me: SG is very good-looking and an excellent con guest who answers questions well. JC was pretty much the way she was at Visions last year. I need to either carry a tape recorder or start taking notes at panels so I can remember what the hell was said.

Overall comparison to US cons: Panels were about the same, the dealers rooms were smaller and got as packed with either dealers or buyers, and the guests didn't seem to be as heavily guarded. The main difference to me, though, was the site. Compared to an American hotel, there was a shortage of public space and not as much hallway traffic or as many room parties. But that might just have been our area of the hotel.

1995

October 28-31

1995: Convention Reports

It was the first media con I had been too.

It was a fun event, and it was interesting to see the differences between Media and SF cons. For a start the media guests appear to work much harder, they seem to do more major items - talks/question & answer sessions than SF guests who do maybe one major item and several minor items. They had a good guest list - John Pertwee, who did an excellent one man talk show, Colin Baker, both Travis's (Travii?), Jan Chappel and Louise Jameson who was excellent. Apart from listening to guests I had interesting conversations with various groups of people, and spent far far too much in the dealers room.

When we returned to the hotel, con registration was in progress and after a long discussion with the hotel personnel about why they should not have cancelled our reservation, we were finally given a room. Here's a travel tip. Never EVER stay at the Queens Hotel near Crystal Palace. Our room was filthy, the toilet worked about every 5th Hush, and the beds felt like they already had people sleeping in them.

The slash panel: This was held Friday night and we were all unaccountably still awake, so we went. I don't remember any of it, except that the two w omen at the ends of the table (Naomi something and another woman whose name I've completely forgotten) were wonderfully articulate and I agreed with every thing they said. I just wish I could remember what they said. I do remember thinking the panel topic was silly (Slash: a Feasibility Study). Start limiting stories to what's feasible and 95% of the gen stuff go go out the window, loo. Beyond that, I know someone had to ask the Boy Question: is there any female/female slash. I also remember someone waving a copy of Science Friction about as an example of bad slash but being too tired to say that IMO it isn't representative of slash as a genre since it was written for a gay male sensibility and not a female one. Not that the two arc completely incompatible, but it isn't a title I'd hold up as a generic example of slash.

Dealers room: Compared to the US cons I've been to, both the dealer and art rooms were very small and there was almost no room between the tables. In fact, two people standing side by side couldn't. It was also disappointing because the range of stuff was so dinky and I'd really been looking forward to getting hold of stuff I've never seen here. Horizon had more photos and paraphernalia than you'd find at their table at a US con, but that was about it—mostly it was the same photos, zines, and stuff you'd see at Visions, but a lot less of it.

Chris Boucher and Joe Nazarro, Stephen Greif and Jan Chappell: About all I remember is CB and JN ragging on Space Precinct, and then SG announcing in his panel that he was going to be in an episode ol Space Precinct. Aside from that, a few general impressions have stayed with me: SG is very good-looking and an excellent con guest who answers questions well. JC was pretty much the same damper on conversation she was at Visions last year. We spent a lot of the Boucher-Nazarro panel making rude comments about Sheelagh Wells judgment in marrying Nazarro. I kept thinking of Jill Ireland leaving David McCallum and ending up with Charles Bronson. Sheelagh is very sweet and I do hope she didn't overhear our whispering, especially the time I nudged Catherine and said "she's slept with Gareth!" Well, that's a paraphrase, really.

Costumes:

We missed the masquerade for a play, but ran into the winners when we got back: Servalan and a trooper. I'm sure the reason they won was that David, who dressed as Servalan, was a dead ringer for Jacqueline Pearce—same height, same hair cut (darkened tor the masquerade), and a very accurate costume (made by his friend Peter who dressed as the trooper).

1996

October 26-27, 1996 at the Ashford International Hotel in Kent.

a flyer for the 1996 con

Two of the guests were Paul Darrow and Gareth Thomas; this was only the third time they appeared at a convention together.

See some photos at Steve Rogerson's web pages.

1996: Convention Reports

[snipped, see full report at original cite, includes a super photo]

I've never seen zines go so fast. In fact I was selling them hand over hand all morning until things suddenly went quiet. After I'd recovered from the shock, I looked at the programme and realised the obvious: Paul Darrow was on in the main hall. The day developed into a juggling routine between managing the table, catching sessions I wanted to watch and joining in any that I was actually doing.

Kelvin - remember him? I passed him in the course of the morning. His fancy dress outfit was a vorlon constructed over the previous week by him and his dad out of an amazing collection of wire, cardboard, curtains from Oxfam and lots of paint. Looked good too, even if it was heavy to wear. The vorlon appeared to have teamed up with Psi Corps (being from the same Babylon 5 universe) and was now backing the Psi Corps bid for their leader to be elected as "Ruler of the Universe" against stiff competition from Servalan, the Master and the Red Dalek. (Thanks, Ming. You added greatly to Kelvin's enjoyment of the con)

At some point I joined my fellow contestants for the "Anorak Mastermind". Specialist subject: Blake's 7: the aired series. Other contenders had subjects including Red Dwarf, Eroica, Avon and Dr Who - The Pertwee era. Poor souls never stood a chance. I'd spent the last few months editing and proof-reading Neil Faulkner's Blake's 7 encyclopaedia. After surviving that, a set of B7 mastermind questions was almost a relief. Modest, that's me <grin>. Anyway, I am now the holder of the Golden Anorak Award!

Later in the day was a panel discussing whether Blake would have been a good president. The voice proved to be an asset in an unexpected way here. As is my usual habit with debates, I offered before the con to take either side. I got given the 'Blake would be a bad president' side of the debate. As I knew in advance that I might not be able to talk, I spent some time writing up a list of notes for Val, in case she had to do it. As it turned out, I was able to croak well enough to do the session (I sounded rather like Katharine Janeway) But I had the advantage of all the notes I'd done. So, after happily ripping Blake to shreds, we more or less left it up to Gareth to try and justify Blake. In Gareth's own words (as well as I can remember) it was virtually the first time he'd ever had to take a really deep look into Blake and try to decide exactly why he did what he did, and how he felt about it. What emerged was a man with a very strong sense of commitment, a strong sense of right and wrong. A man who didn't want power himself, a statesman rather than a politician. A man who felt guilt for any deaths he might cause, but who could see no other way for achieving freedom for the oppressed masses. A man who gradually became bitter and twisted by the time of Gauda Prime as he realised that he could not win. He also commented that Blake might have (on some level) wanted to be a martyr by the time of GP. It's a way out, an escape, and leaves you with the illusion of having achieved something.

I wish massively that this session could have gone on longer as it was becoming absolutely fascinating (I'm not the only one who found it so - several people spontaneously said the same to me), but unfortunately the room was needed. If anyone made a recording of this session, could they *please* contact me, as I know I haven't remembered all of it and it was extremely interesting.

More zine selling, more things to do. In the evening there was the cabaret. Firstly, Gareth and Paul auctioned each other off for breakfast the following morning. The bidding, surprise surprise, went beyond my meagre budget, - Gareth went for £90 and Paul for £140. Paul did his Henry V extract that he did at Visions with the help once more of Sophie Aldred. That had some suitably hilarious moments with Paul hamming like mad. Gareth did a bit of Hamlet, but to my frustration I had to miss that as I'd been roped into the masquerade. (We're short of entires, would you like to take part?) Nothing ventured, nothing gained. I went on first as Blake, then while the others were taking their turn, I did a quick change act and came on last as Avon. No, I didn't win that, but Kelvin did (and on his own merits too, as the costume made him look so tall that he got counted in the adult section) The performance prize went to David as Servalan.

The general standard of the entries was excellent. The other winner was Will Blight with a borg style Travis. After that came a wonderful fan musical following the fortunes of Blake and his crew (Blake with his curly wig had a flipover name tag hanging round his neck and changed into Tarrant half way through the show). Avon was particularly well voiced and it was obvious a lot of work had gone into this performance. After that came the slash turkey read late at night, followed by the even later filk session. I think the filks were my downfall in retrospect. I cannot resist a filk session as anyone who knows me will testify. Unfortunately, singing when you have almost lost your voice, tends to complete the process. After the filk session ended, I seem to recall talking to Neil and Russ until around 4 in the morning. I was at the scribbling notes on pieces of paper stage by now, but it was fun anyway. Staggered off to bed with another anti-histamine tablet.

By morning, I'd recovered enough voice to be able to whisper. I may not have got Gareth in the auction, but my breakfast stand-in sportingly managed a passable Welsh accent. Thanks Steve. More zine selling. Sold out of several titles, managed a brief visit to Horizon shop to stick up on memo pads, photos, etc. and to drool over original Liberator which was strategically placed in the window.

Time for 'Just A Minute'. The con committee (Claire in particular I think) had somehow achieved the impossible and managed a microphone for a session that hadn't originally had one. Necessary, by this time, as a whisper doesn't carry terribly far. David, Mark, myself and Angela attempted to speak without hesitation, repetition or deviation for an entire minute on subjects ranging from Avon, and slinky dresses to Damon Hill. We had a ball! My favourite memory is of David having to talk on astrophysics - a subject he freely confessed to knowing nothing at all about. By unspoken mutual agreement, the rest of the panel left him to flounder. Not one of us blew a whistle or rang a bell in spite of numerous hesitations, deviations etc. until eventually one of us took pity on him. In the spirit of the original radio programme, challenges were made for all sorts of interesting and technically illegal reasons (David: I'm bored). Ruth our chairperson handled those in suitably arbitrary fashion by allowing them if they appealed sufficiently to her or the audience. I still reckon it's unfair to challenge someone for giggling though. <grin> I can giggle and whisper at the same time... In turn, we all dealt in the traditional manner with subjects we knew nothing about (Judith: Damon Hill is the name of my son's budgerigar). Angela stunned us all by managing an entire minute non-stop talking on the subject of cream cakes, but this wasn't enough to get her out of bottom place. Who won? Erm, me actually <immodest grin>

Later on I did a fan writing workshop. That finished off the voice totally and utterly. By the end of the session I was relying pretty heavily on Neil and mainly acting as chairman by banging a bottle if anyone waffled on for too long. We got through a fair bit of interesting discussion on ways of developing plots, handling points of view, etc.

The evening's discussion was 'Sex in Space'. I'd roped Neil into this as backup and a good thing too as I couldn't speak a darn word, microphone or no microphone. We discovered an unexpected bonus in that Gareth was allocated to us (he had been mooted as a possible when the panel was first proposed, but I had thought the idea had been dropped), but he was fairly late as he was signing autographs. Nothing deterred, we discussed whether the Doctor was allowed to kiss his companion, what was possible/desirable in a free fall environment and then moved on to discuss relationships on the Liberator. Gareth arrived about ten minutes later and managed to achieve the almost impossible feat of embarrassing me totally. I was split for choice between collapsing in giggles and diving under the table for cover. (Don't worry, it was entirely my own fault) Sadly, just as the conversation was getting interesting, it became rather curtailed by the formation of the queue through the room, for the event in the main hall next door. The presence of children isn't exactly ideal for discussions of that nature. However, ignoring numerous, interesting side tracks, Gareth's basic opinion on Blake was that he was celibate as he was too focused on his cause for anything else to take on a major role in his life. I walked right into his original reply, though - I asked who Blake was sleeping with. Gareth promptly replied: "The make up lady!" (He was married to Sheelagh Wells at the time)

My pile of paper was running low by now. Do you know how frustrating it is to have a witty reply for something and by the time you've written it down and passed it to someone else to read aloud, the moment has already passed? Still, it was fun. I'd be hard put not to enjoy myself with Gareth around.

After that, I sold a few more zines and then packed the rest away as the dealers' room was due to shut. Besides, I'd sold out of five titles by then. If I'd known so many people wanted 'The Totally Imaginary Cheeseboard' and 'The Other Side of the Coin', I'd have printed more. I thought nearly everyone already had them, but I was wrong. I'll be doing another batch shortly for anyone who wants to mail order them. Refractions #1 is now out of print in the UK. 'The Road to Hell' and 'Sevencyclopaedia' will be back down the copyshop as soon as I've caught up on my sleep.

The closing ceremony was fun. I'd won two prizes, so I got to be hugged by both Gareth and Peter Tuddenham. Peter's getting on though. I had to catch him when he stumbled.

After that came the Rocky Horror Show. I dipped out on that, although I did see some great costumes passing through the bar. Given that I was only actually drinking water (a. because I object to hotel booze prices, and b. because anything else would probably have irritated my poor throat even further), what was I doing in the bar? The answer is fairly obvious to any regular con goer. If you are looking for Gareth Thomas at a convention, you look in the bar. (And that conversation is definitely on the other list too). I also caught up with Neil and Russ and Val and Nicoline and Monique and happily discussed women in B7 and other B7 topics into the wee hours of the morning. It is so nice to be able to discuss your main obsessions in life with other people who share them. I'm an anorak, and at cons I'm a *happy* anorak.

Overall, this was quite simply the best con I have ever been to. The guests were great. The hotel was excellent (the foyer layout was particularly suited to casual gatherings of fans. The bar was well ventilated (if you're an asthmatic, Gareth Thomas fan, this is a serious consideration) The food was good. The con programme had loads of variety and lots going on. I was never felt bored for moment and that counts double given that I was totally unable to talk by the end.

Many thanks to all those who organised and took part in it.

Well here goes, i should point out that this is identical to the report that i posted to space city and vice versa depending on where it arrives first, Zynet have *very* peculiar systems methinks <grin>

Who 7 Strikes Back 1996

I have to say that this was my very first con apart from a very small trek one years ago which i had all but forgotten about until mum reminded me, anyhow i digress <grin>

I was never sure that i would be able to go only that i really really wanted to go this time, i missed out on the 94 one as i was either in hospital or working, this time despite the endless teasing from my workmates and boss in particular who thinks that i am *very* weird, "Blakes what???" can be heard quite regularly , i am not ashamed of being a fan but in the end I resorted to "it's a british Sci fi convention" and left it at that.

I decided to con (excuse the pun) a friend into coming with me on the basis that it was a nice hotel and that if she really hated it she could sit in the bar all day and night and only have to stagger as far as the room to bed <grin>, this went well and we shared the drive from Devon to Kent, just as well considering i only passed my driving test a week before! i really am rambling here, on with the report..

We arrived at the hotel and it was super, i was surprised at how big it was and there was car parking!!

Decided to find room first after asking Ruth when registration was open, i have to admit that she looked a little worried, i don't know whether there had been a hold up or not but they were obviously waiting for the badges etc to arrive, The hotel rooms were great I slumped on the bed and read my Grand Prix 96 magazine for a while and rested then went to *explore*, wandered around finding out where all the rooms were and wondering where everyone was, having never been before i was a bit worried what it was all going to be like.

I had been determined that i was going to know what someone looked like and thankfully Judith had put her pictures on the web page, and i saw her wander past in the evening, often deep in conversation (or should that be whisper with friends (Sorry Judith- how is the voice now?) so i didn't get a chance to speak to her until the saturday.

i think the first place i went after the bar was the first timers meeting at about 7 oclock, Ruth chaired that with some help from another Judith i think, i have to admit i didn't ask any questions as i had brain failure , i wanted to know so much but forgot everything, it was comforting to know that there were at least 40 other people in that room who were as new to all this as i was!

It is that sort of feeling like on the first day in a new job, everyone knows everyone and you feel left out and i always feel that i will do something really stupid and clumsy like drop my drink all over someone important <VBG>

I am a terrible people watcher and after some food and a few bacardi's i was happily watching the world go by in the main foyer, i fell in love with the dalek and could have taken him home, I was in hysterics everytime i heard it speak, Sandra (friend who came with me!!) thought i was totally nuts, i loved all the Drwho things and always wanted my dad to build me a K-9 <grin>) anyway i caught my first glimpse of Gareth, he was consuming vast quantities of amber coloured liquid from a pint glass, with said glass being refilled several times an hour!, i am not saying that he can drink but i will leave you to your own conclusions!, i am still surprised how accessible all the guests were, i guess i had heard how nice they all were but until you see it in the flesh, anyhow i can now see why judith says she adores him (not a direct quote i hasten to add), he was warm and friendly, i told him that my eye was his Blake look from 'Blake' (anyone that didn't meet i should point out that i have a badly damaged eye which looked and still does a bit like the eye that Gareth sported during the last ep,) Gareth very kindly said that no i was much prettier than Blake, which will endear me to him forever <grin>

Anyhow i am shattered by this point and added to the fact that i have had several bacardi's i took myself to bed and fell asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow

Saturday dawned bright and wonderful. Breakfast was wonderful, well maybe if you stay in hotels all the time it was pretty ordinary i don't know but as i usually have a bowl of coco pops it was great...

Sat at breakfast and decided what to do for the day, Opening ceremony first, I finally put some faces to names and saw PD in the flesh, i felt like a big kid in a sweetshop with all my favourite things and none of the horrible coffee creams that get left till last <vbg.>, i was with over 400 like minded people and i didn't have to back to real life until Monday -

Martin Bower's talk was really good, i loved seeing the shots of all the models and seeing the Liberator in the flesh so to speak! he had slides of the liberator in various stages of repair (or disrepair if you like to call it that!)

It seems from Martin's talk that he spends most of his life rescuing models from skips and mending them, he loves his job and that enthusiasm is infectious, very entertaining, although maybe not something everyone would enjoy I sat riveted to Paul and Gareth, it was meant to have been Pau'ls panel but Gareth gatecrashed, i think with a bit of encouragement, they were brilliant, i laughed and i cried, they are so good together i could have listened to them all day,taking the mick out of each other and teasing like mad, i guess to anyone that has seen all this years ago thinks i must be mad but for me it was like, well i can't describe it really, just brilliant for want of a better word, one of the quotes of the con for me was when Gareth answered a question, i think on what did he think of Blake?, "Well the guy was a prat wasn't he" replied Gareth with a huge grin, or words to that effect, i think he called Blake a poof and a git amongst others during the weekend, that's nothing to what he called Paul Darrow mind you!! I guess a lot of you have heard them together before but it sort of gave me a clue as to why the Blake/Avon thing comes across so well on screen, it is the sheer personalities of PD and GT that made it and this reinforced my opinion of them,I have 'loved' Blake and Avon (and all the others) for years but know i could happily listen to either of them do almost anything,or talk about anything as they were so entertaining.They happily answered questions on almost anything for well over the hour and i didn't want the panel to finish, i think actually Gareth dragged Sheelagh up on stage at one point to answer questions on Neverwhere or something.

I missed the Blake as president debate as i was starving, i wished i hadn't though :(, sounded like fun.

Anorak Mastermind was next on the agenda, I hadn't seen Judith because she was hiding behind the questionmaster <grin>, the first contestant (who's name escapes me!) answered pretty well on questions on Avon in Blakes 7, i got a few right but nowhere near all of them, other subjects were Red Dwarf, Dr Who the pertwee year and something which i had never heard of, Eroica or something , apologies to fans if i have got it wrong, i think the contestant got nearly all the questions right though, Judith did really well, i think she was 2nd going in to the general sci fi round, it was fun to watch and Judith won by a point i think and was awarded the 'Golden Anorak' !

Next, having seen the queue for autographs with gareth and martin Bower i decided to have a drink before Sheelagh and the blooper tape, which i have to say was very funny, i had never seen it before, although i had heard a lot about it, I can't be over the top enough about Sheelagh, she was superb, so funny, entertaining and approachable and she obviously does so much for the fans network. She showed us then ew cover for the book about Blakes 7 that she has written, due to be published next year i believe by Virgin Publishing, she had the cover there which was auctioned on the sunday in the charity auction, it will be rare as the Liberator is flying upside down in the photo, The BBC had provided the shot and she told us that if she has done nothing else for Blakes 7 she has ensured that the Liberator will be flying the right way round from now on, she went to the BBC and made the guy turn the transparency the right way up!, also news on the Together again 2 tape, it will be PD, GT and Mike Keating, apparently loads more anecdotes about life on board the Liberator and more mickey taking!

Another panel, this should have been Gareth's but Pauls gatecrashed this one i think! 1st Question was from Judith and i almost laughed out loud, it was a question about Morgans Boy and fitted exactly in with the story she is writing, i guess there is no point in having Morgan/Blake there and not getting his viewpoint on things <grin>, that is not meant to be sarcastic btw, i thought it was interesting to hear his take on the character that Judith has brought to life for us all. Discussion got a little heated at times, especially when Paul decided to wind people up about the fact that Man Utd lost 6-3 to Southampton at Football :), Shakespere came up several times and the merits of that versus modern writers, Paul and Gareth agreed on this and spoke of their love of his work, as i said earlier i could have listened to them all night, we were kicked out of there so they could set up for the cabaret, etc.

So it was off into Ashford for something to eat, i had by this time met Ellie and Harriet and Steve, so they came with us into town, and had to put up with my dreadful driving round the horrid one way system <grin>

We thought we had missed the guest showcase etc bu things were running behind, Gareth and Paul auctioned each other (i think) for breakfast, i couldn't see a great deal as i had snuck in at the back and it was a bit of a squash!, they did the masquerade and i will just echo what everyone else has said they were all brilliant... (A friend did some camcording and i am hoping that and the cabaret is on there) The cabaret was excellent, the final song was my favourite it was set to the words of Abba's Waterloo and i can't remember all the line but it was hilarious to watch, Avon was standing there with two signs one saying LOST IT and the other MAD which he waved at the appropriate points, i wonder if anyone has the words? The other high point was a song about tarrant and hair, very very funny,i was laughing so hard i was crying!

I am knackered by this point so i collapse in the bar and the few hours after that are somewhat of a blur, i remember talking to several people and smiling inanely at PD at the bar, Collapsed into bed about 1 am or something and that was saturday over :)

Sunday, we got a extra hour in bed, because the clocks went back to signify the end of British Summer Time, another great breakfast and then i decided to hit the dealers room and Horizon with a vengeance and i I did!, just as well it is pay day this week is all i can say, i picked up my Sevencyclopedia and Jabberwocky from Judith, then spent a happy hour ploughing my way though all Janet Ellicott's zines and Photos's, bought a couple of Gambits and a few odd ones that looked good and i recalled some of the authors names from talk on the lists, the only thing i regret not buying was the Program and Ghost ones which i saw and thought i'll go back for them!, and them promptly forgot <grin>

I met Tanya (hi Tanya hows the reading going?) in the line for autographs and had a great chat, it was great because we were almost at the front and didn't have to wait long, got everyones autographs, Sophie Aldred wanted to see Pauls's book that i had asked him to sign, and feigned surprise that he had actually written a book <vbg>, Paul mentioned again that it should have been listed for the Booker prize at which point Gareth muttered under his breath something that sounded suspiciously like " the bollocks prize more like!" and Paul glared back!

I stupidly managed to miss the Blakes Legend trailer as i was engrossed in the auction and watching everything going for far more than i could afford. :(

All the B7 crew were back on a panel at 3pm, again very entertaining but i won't bore you all with it.

Rulers of the Universe election at 5pm, they were all great especially the Dalek, i personally voted for Servalan (Sorry Ming, grovel grovel!), it was huge fun and something different , the baiting going on (all in good humour) between them all was worthy of the houses of parliament! if not better!

You all know the Dalek won overall, even though as Paul pointed out (with great glee) he still couldn't get up the steps to the stage!

I missed Sylvestor McCoy as i had to go get something to eat. and i managed to miss Judith's 'Sex In Space which i misread the time on the programme, it sounds like a good time was had by all in that though <grin>

Closing Ceremony, all guests bar Gareth and Peter Tuddneham had had to go but it was sad to hear Ruth say this would be the last one that committee would do, it must have been a horrendous amount of work for everyone but i still wish they would reconsider (grovel grovel, beg beg ;) ) (i will offer my help in a few small ways if it would get another one off the ground, i don't mind paperwork or anything really if it is of anyhelp,,so if anyone is thinking of trying a con put my name along side Judith's if i can be of any use..

All the prizes were handed out by either Gareth or Peter Tuddenham, and then that was it it was all over, well for me anyway as i had to head home (4 hours drive) and work the next day.

i had one of my best weekends ever, it was something i had always wanted to do, i met some new friends and people who had only every been names on the bottom of e-mails, everyone without exception who i met was friendly and i don't really know what i was every apprehensive about, thanks to everyone who took part and made it a great time for everyone,also apologies to those who i didn't meet and wanted to and sorry for not saying goodbye to most of you as i had intended to :)

A first timers adventure at Who's 7, its' all over but i will always have the memories and the photo's and film to remind me, i doubt if the excitement will be quite the same next time, i hope so but i guess there is nothing quite like the first time <grin> !!!

Ashford is a long way from anywhere - well, it is if you live in Lancashire, and between you and your goal are the M6, Ml, M25 and M20 - eight hours of travel. However, with a convention at the end of it.... well, just close your eyes and think of 'Blake’s 7'. At least the hotel was easy to find, just off the motorway, so even I couldn't get lost. And it was worth the trip. The convention was well organised and for a Blake's 7 fan the guest list could hardly have been better. Mr. Paul Darrow, (Saturday a.m. He was a little late due to taking the scenic route to the hotel - in other words, he got lost! to Sunday). Mr. Gareth Thomas (Friday to Monday). Mr. Peter Tuddenham (Sunday). Along with Ms Sheelagh Wells (make-up - Friday to Sunday) and Mr. Martin Bower (models - Friday to Sunday). As well as these guests, the convention also boasted Mr Sylvester McCoy and Ms Sophie Aldred, both from 'Dr. Who' and Mr. David Mclntee, a writer. Also throughout the weekend the four candidates, The Master ('Dr. Who'), The Psi Corps ('Babylon 5’), The Red Dalek ('Dr. Who') and Servalan ('Blake's T... and in this case a man), spent the weekend talking to the electorate, and occasionally, by accident, innocent members of the public, canvassing for votes. Methods of canvassing varied greatly. Not for our candidates the subtlety of the 'demon eyes' campaign. Servalan and The Master went for seduction and persuasion. The Psi corps determined to prove they knew what was best for you before you did, and The Red Dalek used pure intimidation. The winner? You'll have to wait to Sunday to find that out. Saturday began with the opening ceremony introducing the guests, explaining the weekend and so on. The guests were then split up, going to panels or to sign autographs in various locations throughout the hotel. The dealer's room was open and well stocked with all manner of things. Most of the professional merchandise consisted of 'Dr Who', 'Star Trek' or 'Babylon 5' related, as usual. However, there were some new zines and some lovely photos for the 'Blake's 7 fan. The Horizon fan club had it's own shop set up along the hotel's main 'street', the Boulevard. Here you could have your hair done, buy naughty underwear and visit Diane Gies all in the space of a few yards. There was even a model of the Liberator displayed proudly in the window, puzzling hotel guests who were just looking for something for the weekend. There were video rooms open showing all of 'Blake's 7', selected 'Dr Who' and one room showing miscellaneous programming, including The Legend of Robin Hood’, with Paul Darrow as the Sheriff of Nottingham. An art show with models and costumes from 'Blake's 7' and 'Dr Who' ran alongside fan's own art work. Even a games room where old fashioned board games had been converted to more appropriate competition. Paul Darrow's guest panel was early Saturday afternoon. He was joined on stage by Gareth Thomas and a most enjoyable and lively hour or so ensued. The two gentlemen traded insult for insult, compliment for compliment and answered questions from their audience. They proved to be two people who knew one another very well, the epitome of the perfect convention guests - witty, articulate, ready to answer questions and follow each others lead, be the subject serious or frivolous. This was a very funny panel indeed. For members of the audience who had never seen these two together, and there must be many as the last time they were at a British convention together was at Space City 1988, the panel must have been a revelation. The pair were silenced finally, no easy feat, to give someone else a chance to hold court and they were led away to further tasks. Gareth's guest talk had been scheduled for later in the day. Paul returned Gareth's gesture and joined him on stage. This proved to be a very different panel from the first. As enjoyable, but more serious, discussing as it did violence on TV and the teaching of Shakespeare in schools. It provided a fascinating insight into both men's love of the subject, and their general enjoyment of language and fuelled many fan's desire to see them both on stage. Paul had decided to present a little of the BT Shakespeare evening he has been doing recently, as he did at the Visions convention last year. This was to take place prior to the fancy dress competition on the Saturday evening and, as at Visions, Paul has raffled the part of Princess Katherine's maid. The ticket was drawn during the panel.

Saturday evening's entertainment began with the auctioning, for breakfast, of Gareth Thomas by Paul. He sold for £90. And Paul Darrow by Gareth - he sold for £140. Now, before anyone complains that this was a little steep, Ruth, the lady who bought Paul, received a kiss from Mr. Darrow immediately after the auction, a kiss on stage as she became Sophie Aldred's body double for the climax of the courting scene (Sophie didn't want to kiss Paul - time travel addles the brain perhaps?) - breakfast on Sunday and Sunday lunch. Personally, I think the lady made a very good buy. It also gave Paul the opportunity for a very bad pun.... Going to breakfast with the lady would, he claimed, be very good for him as he would no longer be Ruthless! Paul then gave the fans the chance to see a little of the BT Shakespeare evening, or at least a tongue in cheek, play it for laughs, version. Paul and Sophie, with the aid of the lady who won the raffle, treated us to the courting scene from *Henry V\ Shakespeare didn't write it that way, although maybe he would if he'd seen Paul, but it was fun all the same. Gareth then gave us the chance of hear the To be or not to be’ soliloquy from 'Hamlet' - a complete change of pace, but no less enjoyable. Finally, the two gentlemen assayed the roles of Hamlet, Mr G. Thomas, and a grave digger, Mr P. Darrow, with, as Yorick's skull, a photo of Tom Baker. Totally ludicrous, but very much appreciated by the audience. Once the actors were removed from the stage, space was made for the masquerade. Ten entrants in all, well, nine actually - one had two costumes, all of which were of a very high standard. Special mention should be made of the Vorlon and the lady who almost wasn't wearing any costume at all. Two children took part and both received the acclaim they deserved. It is a pity that all entrants cannot win, but the main prize went to Servalan - a candidate for Ruler of the Universe, you may recall. Servalan appeared in a very tight dress and mimed to the song 'Fever1. Now anyone who can walk round in those shoes, dressed like that all day deserves our admiration, but to mime that song... bravery indeed. The masquerade was followed by 'Krantors Cabaret'. Clearly the result of a great deal of hard work on the part of the cast and writers, it was a delightful and very funny surprise. The story of all 52 episodes of 'Blake's 7 condensed into a very enjoyable half hour show. A number of well known songs were wickedly rewritten and the cast, even the cardboard Gan, were wonderful. All deserve our heartiest congratulations. Sunday was a busy day for the Dr Who guests, both Sylvester McCoy and Sophie Aldred having panels and signing sessions. The 'Blake's 7 cast were not left alone, however, they were to be found signing things in an official session, helping out in the auction where the poster Woollies gave away with one of the video tapes, sold for over £100 - it had been signed, of course. Paul Darrow's convention guest badge went for £40 - it too was signed, eventually... there was some difficulty finding a pen that would write on the plastic coating. Later in the day Paul and Gareth were again together on a panel along with Peter Tuddenham, Martin Bower and Sheelagh Wells. The afternoon continued with the election of the Ruler of the Universe. The four candidates were given the chance to present their manifestos, which varied from \ve can read your mind so we know what you want even if you dont' (The Psi Corps). *We will exterminate you if you dont vote for us, and probably if you do' (The Red Dalek). To' I've got a cellar containing Kerr Avon and a number of whips and chains, vote for me and you can come play* (Servalan). The electorate were given the chance to question those on stage, or as in the case of the Dalek, those standing on the flat ground in front of the stage. The vote was taken and the winner is.... bet you cant guess... The Red Dalek. It seems everyone had nightmares about them as a child and voted out of pure fear. A lesson for Mr Major perhaps?

The closing ceremony was brief many of the guests having had to leave. Those who were still there made it clear they had enjoyed themselves meeting the fans and all had made sure they were available for fans to talk to, throughout the weekend. It was clear from the reaction of the audience that the convention had pleased them and that the guests had made friends. There was, however, one sad note - the committee made it clear they would not be running another convention, three being the limit they could stand and remain sane. There are those who think that agreeing to do one throws serious doubts on your mentality - they may be right. So this is the end of’Blake’s 7 conventions in Britain... OR IS IT?

This was a fairly hectic con, as I had to get three new zines edited and printed in time. I managed them all just about a week beforehand, printed what I thought was going to be enough copies, and promptly sold out of two of them before the end of the convention. Just to add to the fun, I lost my voice - a bad reaction to some medicine prescribed for my asthma. As I'd volunteered for five panel sessions, this was not a trivial problem.... I roped in some friends, pleaded for a microphone wherever possible and crossed my fingers.

On Friday night, my son Kelvin and I staggered into the con hotel with a massive pile of boxes containing zines, several fancy dress outfits and not a lot else. I distinctly recall getting changed into fancy dress and setting up my table in the dealer's room, but most of the rest of that evening has become a blank. I do recall meeting several e-mail friends -1 always wear fancy dress at cons; it's fun and helps people recognise you. The cry of: 'Are you Judith Proctor?* was heard to echo down several corridors.

Next morning it was breakfast and zine selling. I've never seen zines go so fast In fact I was selling them hand over hand all morning until things suddenly went quiet After I'd recovered from the shock, I looked at the programme and realised the obvious: Paul Darrow was on in the main hall. I headed that way myself, but only managed to catch the tail end of the session. Frustratingly, I was to miss most of Paul's sessions, because his next one coincided with the fan-writing workshop which I'd offered to run. However, I did manage to catch him on a couple of occasions and was able to sit back and watch my favourite double act of Darrow and Thomas. I love watching Paul and Gareth together, I like the way they bounce off one another. Individually, they are very different, perhaps why they go so well together. Paul is the more formal one, always dressed smartly and generally a bit more of the gentlemen. Gareth always dresses casually and tends to be more extrovert. I love them both.

Kelvin - remember him? I passed him in the course of the morning. His fancy dress outfit was a vorlon constructed over the previous week by him and his dad out of an amazing collection of wire, cardboard, curtains from Oxfam and lots of paint Looked good too, even if it was heavy to wear. The vorlon appeared to have teamed up with Psi Corps (being from the same Babylon 5 universe) and was now backing the Psi Corps bid for their leader to be elected as "Ruler of the Universe" against stiff competition from Servalan, the Master and the Red Dalek. The Red Dalek eventually won, but it was a great contest.

At some point I joined my fellow contestants for the "Anorak Mastermind". Specialist subject: Blake’s 7 : the aired series. Other contenders had subjects including Red Dwarf, Eroica, Avon and Dr. Who - The Pertwee era. Poor souls never stood a chance. I'd spent the last few months editing and proof-reading Neil Faulkner's Blake's 7 encyclopaedia. After surviving that, a set of B7 mastermind questions was almost a relief. Modest, that's me <grin>. Anyway, I am now the holder of the Golden Anorak Award!

Later in the day was a panel discussing whether Blake would have been a good president The voice proved to be an asset in an unexpected way here. As is my usual habit with debates, I offered to take either side. I got the 'Blake would be a bad president' side of the debate. As I knew in advance that I might not be able to talk, I spent some time writing up a list of notes for Val, in case she had to do it. As it turned out, I was able to croak well enough to do the session - but I had the advantage of all the notes I had done. So, after happily ripping Blake to shreds, we more or less left it up to Gareth to try and justify Blake. In Gareth's own words (as well as I can remember) it was virtually the first time he'd ever had to take a really deep look into Blake and try to decide exactly why he did what he did, and how he felt about it What emerged was a man with a very strong sense of commitment a strong sense of right and wrong. A man who felt guilt for any deaths he might cause, but who could see no other way for achieving freedom for the oppressed masses. A man who gradually became bitter and twisted by the time of Gauda Prime as he realised that he could not win. He also commented that Blake might have (on some level) wanted to be a martyr by the time of GP. It's a way out, an escape, and leaves you with the illusion of having achieved something.

I wish massively that this session could have gone on longer as it was becoming absolutely fascinating (I'm not the only one - several people spontaneously said the same). Unfortunately the room was needed. If anyone made a recording of this session, could they *PLEASE* contact me. I know I haven't remembered all of it and it was extremely interesting. I would dearly love to see a similar session that analysed Avon in depth. Many of us newer fans have a problem in that Paul has been asked the same questions about Avon so many times, that if you ask about Avon in a panel session, you get a short glib answer and a change of subject. Of course, those who have heard Paul talk about Avon in the past probably don’t want to hear it all again, so it's understandable from that angle as well. Maybe at some future convention, we could have one session dedicated to Avon and his philosophy and personal beliefs. I for one would love to see it.

More zine selling - more things to do. In the evening there was the cabaret. Firstly, Gareth and Paul auctioned each other off for breakfast the following morning. The bidding, surprise, surprise, went beyond my meagre budget. There was an amusing moment when the bidding for Paul was won by a man, but it was soon revealed that he was, in fact, bidding on behalf of a lady friend.

Paul did his Henry V extract that he did at 'Visions', with the help of Sophie Aldred. (I think it was Ginny who got the part of the maid this time). A change this time in that Sophie insisted on using a 'body double' for the kiss, so the lucky girl who'd won Paul for breakfast also got to substitute briefly for Sophie. Gareth did his Hamlet, but to my frustration I had to miss it, as I'd been roped into the masquerade. (We're short of entries, would you like to take part?) I went on first as Blake and shot Paul with a Liberator gun on general principles, then I did a quick change act and came on as Avon. No, I didn't win the fancy dress, but Kelvin did (and on his own merits too, as his costume made him look so tall that he got counted in the adult section) along with Will Blight as a borg-style Travis. The performance prize went to David in drag as Servalan. After that came a wonderful fan musical following the fortunes of Blake and his crew (Blake with his curly wig had a flipover name tag hanging round his neck and changed into Tarrant half way through the show). Avon was particularly well voiced and it was obvious a lot of work had gone into this performance.

Later on came the filk session. I think the filks were my downfall in retrospect I cannot resist a filk session as anyone who knows me will testify. Unfortunately, singing when you have almost lost your voice, tends to complete the process.

By morning, I'd recovered enough voice to be able to whisper. More zine selling, then time for 'Just a Minute'. The con committee had somehow managed a microphone for a session that hadn't originally had one. David, Mark, myself and Angela attempted to speak without hesitation, repetition or deviation for an entire minute on subjects ranging from Avon, slinky dresses to Damon Hill. We had a ball! My favourite memory is of David having to talk on astrophysics - a subject he freely confessed to knowing nothing about Not one of us blew a whistle or rang a bell in spite of numerous hesitations, deviations etc., until one of us took pity on him. In the spirit of the original radio programme, challenges were made for all sorts of interesting and technically illegal reasons (David: I'm bored). Ruth, our chairperson, handled those in suitably arbitrary fashion by allowing them if they appealed sufficiently to her or the audience. In turn, we all dealt with subjects we knew nothing about... Angela stunned us all by managing an entire minute non-stop talking on the subject of cream cakes, but this wasn't enough to get her out of bottom place. Who won? Erm, me actually. < Immodest grin>.

Later, I did a fan writing workshop, which finished off the voice totally. By the end I was relying pretty heavily on Neil and mainly acting as chairman by banging a bottle if anyone waffled on for too long. We got through a fair bit of interesting discussion on ways of developing plots, handling points of view etc.

I managed to catch Paul during the auction. I never go to auctions to buy as there's rarely anything I want and if there is, it tends to go for a price I cant afford, but I do like to watch the auctioneers in action. I never cease to be amazed at Paul's ability to extract several times the value of what something is worth. Good thing it's for charity!

The evening's discussion was 'Sex in Space’. I'd roped Neil into this as I couldn't speak a dam word. I passed him notes whenever I wanted to make a point or ask a question. Gareth joined us later. His opinion of Blake was that he was celibate, as he was too focused on his Cause for anything else to take on a major role in his life. I walked right into his original reply though -1 asked who Blake was sleeping with. Gareth promptly replied: "The make up lady!" (At the time he was married to Sheelagh Wells).

I sold a few more zines and then packed the rest away as the dealers' room was due to shut. The closing ceremony was fun. I'd won two prizes ('Mastermind' and one for the writing competition), so I got to be hugged by both Gareth and Peter Tuddenham. Paul had already left <sigh>.

After that came the Rocky Horror Show. I dipped out on that, although I did see some great costumes passing through the bar. I also caught up with some friends and happily discussed women in B7 and other 7 topics into the wee hours of the morning. I had to conduct all of my end of the conversation on pieces of paper, but I still enjoyed it It’s so nice to be able to discuss your main obsessions in life with other people who share them. I'm an anorak, and at cons I'm a *happy* anorak.

Overall this was quite simply the best con I have ever been to. The guests were great. The hotel was excellent - the foyer layout was particularly suited to casual gatherings of fans. The food was good. The con programme had loads of variety and lots going on. I was never bored for a moment and that counts double given that I was totally unable to talk by the end.

Many thanks to all those who organised and took part in it.