E-zines tend to be more frequent than paper fanzines (there is one I get weekly), and I decided that the best solution was a separate page for e-zines.

Fanzines most recently received are at the top of the list. Links from the title will take you to a website, and from the names of authors should be an e-mail address. I've also produced a very brief FAQ.

Finally, if you know of an editor whose fanzine I have reviewed but who does not have, or cannot read, the website, I produce a paper version of this weblog now and again, entitled Carved on Dead Trees. It is not generally available.

December 2000

1 December 2000

So, what happened to September, October and November? Well, I've been looking after Jonathan, who is just delightful, and we got an issue of Plokta out for Novacon, which took pretty much all my fannish energy. I'm supporting (and have nominated) Victor Gonzalez for TAFF, and have produced some campaign badges for him. You can see the designs on his TAFF campaign page, and you can buy them from me for £1.50 each or £5 for 4 postpaid in the EU, or $3 each or $10 for all 4 postpaid to the US. In any case, I strongly encourage you all to vote, for whichever candidate you like (they're both very suitable in my opinion). This is a relatively short TAFF race, with no major fannish conventions happening during it, but this should not prevent you from voting.

I've also been taking advantage of my maternity leave to improve my cultural understanding. I've been to exhibitions at the Tate, Tate Modern, V&A, National Gallery, and the Natural History Museum. And only a few days ago I spent a very long and tiring day at the much-reviled Millennium Dome. Which, in case you were wondering, is pretty much a splendid day out for just about anybody. I had lots of fun, I learnt some things, I went ooh and ah a reasonable number of times. And I went to watch my brother conduct the University of Warwick Brass Band in the National Brass Band Championships at the Albert Hall. My little brother! Conducting in the Albert Hall! I am almost unbearably delighted by this.

Harry Turner wrote a long letter, explaining much about his fanzine recycling project, and enclosing several helpful reprints from old fanzines. He illustrated his loc with the colourful covers of wartime fanzines (asking "Whatever Happened to the Colour in Fanzines?", and I've taken the liberty of scanning them and including them here, He answers all my (mostly rhetorical) questions, as follows:

Am faintly baffled that you say you find yourself full of questions over N&T and the RFV&SDS. I fancy you'll find several of the points you raise clarified in the Glossary of Esoteric Names, words and phrases included with the first compilation issue (hopefully) to make life easier for our growing audience. Rob Hansen seems to have got you confused over the two Erics. While Eric Bentcliffe used to be a regular visitor to Romiley, it was usually to scrounge some artwork for his own zines; he was not on the N&T editorial team. My co-editor was Eric Needham, who provided most of the words (though there was so much interaction and improvisation when an issue was put together that authorship often became confused) while I did the artwork, with occasional help from the likes of Pat Lyons and Atom.

A surprisingly persistent interest in Widower's ad jingles over the past few decades meant many trips to the local newsagent to copy the original file copies to answer queries raised. So when I first got a computer I formed vague plans to reissue the material in some form, but never got around to doing anything useful (mainly because the initial gear wasn't up to realising my mad ambitions). A new computer and lots of peripherals revived the dream, hence the arrival of the recycled fanzines; it seemed better to repro the material in near-facsimile, rather than tart it up. Which is why A4 sheets have been cut down to better fit the original layouts.

We have indeed lived at 10 Carlton Avenue these past 46 years. A few years after we moved in, the other half of the semi was put on the market and we acquired that too, so my parents could join the family. Eventually, no. 12 provided accommodation for our teenage students and their friends, as well as giving me sutdio space and allowing a welcome overflow of books and records. We've thought about moving several times in the past, but developed a morbid fear that the walls would collapse once the many bookcases and shlves were ever emptied and moved.

You've still got several issues of N&T and associated material to come, when I get round to it, though a pensioner's life is full of distractions so I can't forecast when they'll appear.

Intrigued when you say that there are no fanzines like N&T in circulation today, and that it's "alien" to your expectations of a fanzine. Both Eric and I started out in prewar fandom, saw all the wrangling of factions in the SFA over control of organised fandom, and were heartened when fans continued to keep in touch nationwide after the SFA dissolved with the outbreak of war. Fanzines and flyers played a large part in the process, eventually focussing on Mike Rosenblum's Futurian War Digest (FIDO), which became a distribution centre for many fannish outpourings. And we were part of the fanarchist movement that resisted when Mike tried to organise us all over again, through the BFS, in 1942. I was called up for the RAF in that year; Eric Needham preceeded me by several months. We eventually lost touch, and didn't meet up again until after Mancon in 1953. In general we reacted against the sercon attitudes we found prevalent in postwar British fandom and attempted to cultivate a more relaxed attitude to fanning.

Your reactions to the timebinding aspects of getting a fanzine from the mid-fifties are interesting. Makes me realise what a different world we lived in then. Black & white TV, the Goons and Hancock on the radio, the Bulmers back from their TAFF trip entertaining us with tapes of Tom Lehrer, budding fan publishers still cutting stencils on typewriters, printing on duplicators, with the blessing of cheap postage costs. If the process had been reversed and you'd slipped in a time-bomb of Plokta #20, complete with cover CD, from the distant future of 2000, it would have provoked consternation... all those photo pics and typesetting... must have cost a bomb to produce! And the text... all these http's and coded addresses... still a few familiar names in the lettercols though -- Art Widner, Harry Warner Jr., John Berry - but too many missing. And what's that combined tv-cum-typewriter, linked to a mouse, on the cover supposed to be? Ane we could have but vaguely guessed at what the record-like thing enclosed is supposed to do... (Gee, what's a Data CD?) "Dr Plokta's Lonely Hearts Club Band" suggests it has some music buried somewhere, but how d'you play it when there's no groove to drop your stylus into? Makes a colourful drip mat, though, apart from the hole in the middle.

Actually, CD Roms remind me mostly of the datacubes with books and movies on them that appear in much of the SF I read as a child.

I also heard from EB Frohvet; a letter containing much of interest, but all marked DNQ. What a shame.

And while this has all been going on, the fanzines have stacked up. So much so that I'm going to list them all now, and then, over the next few days, aim to review those titles that I haven't previously written about. Of course, a quick count identifies 27 titles I haven't previously written about, and I don't imagine I'll be able to do all those. Hmm.

• Ansible (various), Dave Langford, 94 London Road, Reading, Berkshire, RG1 5AU. 2pp A4 Available for SAE, or at various fannish gatherings, or by email.


• ABV 2, Amanda Baker, Dept Physics & Astronomy, PO Box 913, Cardiff University, Wales CF24 3YB, UK, Bridget Bradshaw, 19 Hill Court Road, Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, England GL52 3JJ, UK, and Vicki Rosenzweig, 33 Indian Road, 6-R, New York, NY 10034, USA.
• Aztec Blue 1, Murray Moore, 1065 Henley Road, Mississauga, Ontario, L4Y 1C8 Canada. 14pp letter, availability not mentioned.


• Banana Wings 16, Claire Brialey, 26 Northampton Road, Croydon, Surrey, CR0 7HA, UK and Mark Plummer, 14 Northway Road, Croydon, Surrey, CR0 6JE, UK. 58pp A4, available for the usual.


• Barmaid 10, Yvonne Rowse, Evergreen, Halls Farm Lane, Trimpley, Worcs., DY12 1NP. 20pp A4, availability not mentioned.


• Bob 17, Ian Sorensen, 7 Woodside Walk, Hamilton, ML3 7HY, UK. 14pp A4, availability not mentioned.


• Cloud Chamber 109, Dave Langford, 94 London Road, Reading, Berkshire, RG1 5AU. 4pp A4, apazine for Acnestis.


• Connection 3, Simon Ounsley, 47 Birkdale Drive, Leeds, LS17 7RU. 44pp A4, available for the usual.


• Derogatory Reference 96, Arthur D Hlavaty, 206 Valentine Street, Yonkers, NY 10704-1814, USA. 6pp letter, available for the usual, or $1 ($2 outside USA). E-mail version is available on request.


• Dinosaur Spit 2 & 3, Murray Moore, 1065 Henley Road, Mississauga, Ontario, L4Y 1C8 Canada. 4pp SAPSzine.


• Erg 151, Terry Jeeves, 56 Red Scar Drive, Scarborough, YO12 5RQ, UK. 16pp A5, available for the usual.


• Everlasting Lamentables 2, Elizabeth Billinger, 1 Long Row Close, Everdon, Daventry, NN11 3BE. 16pp A4, availability not mentioned.


• evil evil evil 1.2 Aaron Jacks, um, somewhere in Australia. We think. 20pp A5. Hint for Angry Young Faneds: just because you're an angry young faned doesn't mean it's a good idea to leave the colophon off your fanzine.


• Fanzine Fanatique (3 issues, all un-numbered), Keith & Rosemary Walker, 6 Vine Street, Lancaster, LA1 4UF, UK. 4pp A4, available in trade for your zine or editorial whim.


• File 770 134, 135 & 136, Mike Glyer, 705 Valley View Ave, Monrovia, CA 91016, USA. 30pp letter, available for news, artwork, arranged trades, or by subscription ($8 for 5 issues). 2000 Hugo winner.


• FOSFAX 200 , c/o FOSFA, PO Box 37281, Louisville, KY 40233-7281, USA. 84pp letter, available for the usual or $3 sample copy.


• Gloss 2, Lilian Edwards, 39 Viewforth, Edinburgh, EH10 4EJ, UK, and Victor Gonzalez, 9238 4th Ave. SW, Seattle, WA 98106, USA. 16pp A4, Availability not mentioned, but I'm pretty sure the usual is what they're after.


• Green Stuff 11 & 12, Murray Moore, 1065 Henley Road, Mississauga, Ontario, L4Y 1C8 Canada. FAPA zines of various sizes.


• Guffaw 4 & 5, Paul Kincaid, 60 Bournemouth Road, Folkestone, Kent CT19 5AZ, UK. 24pp A4. Guff newsletter, available for 'postage and a small contribution' to GUFF.


• Head 2, Christina Lake & Doug Bell, 12 Hatherley Road, Bishopston, Bristol, BS7 8QA, UK. 24pp A4, available for the usual.


• It Goes on the Shelf 22, Ned Brooks, 4817 Dean Lane, Lilburn, GA 30047-4720, USA. 22pp letter, availability not mentioned.


• Nichevo 1, Nic Farey, PO Box 178, St. Leonard, MD 20685, USA. 28pp A4, available for the usual or $3. A new "fandomcentric genzine".


• Nonstop Fun is Hard on the Heart, dwain Kaiser, 645 E Baseline Road, Claremont, CA 91711, USA. 2pp & 18pp A4, availability not mentioned.


• Nova Express Vol 5, No. 3, Lawrence Person, PO Box 27231, Austin, Texas, 78755-2231, USA. 42pp letter, $4 single copy or $12 for 4 issues, but more abroad. And it is certainly available in trade for some zines.


• Nowhere Bound, Kev McVeigh, 30 William Street, Millhead, Carnforth, Lancashire, LA5 9HE, UK. 18pp A4, available for the usual.


• Opuntia 46.5B & 46.5C, Dale Speirs, Box 6830, Calgary, Alberta, Canada T2P 2E7. 16pp folded letter, available for the usual or $3 sample copy.


• Sansevieria 37, Dale Speirs, Box 6830, Calgary, Alberta, Canada T2P 2E7. 16pp A4, an apazine for Point of Divergence, an apa specialising in alternative histories.


• SF Commentary 76, Bruce Gillespie, 59 Keele Street, Collingwood, Victoria 3066, Australia. Available for the usual or $A15, or by .pdf. 120pp A4 small type; I am overwhelmed.


• Skug 14 & 15, Gary S Mattingly, 7501 Honey Ct., Dublin, CA 94568, USA. 60pp letter, available for the usual.


• This Here 6, Nic Farey, PO Box 178, St. Leonard, MD 20685, USA. 32pp A4, available for the usual.


• The Thought Police Gazette, uncredited but we suspect Steve Green, 33 Scott Road, Olton, Solihull, B92 7LQ, UK. 1 page A4 handout at Novacon


• Three Minute Access, Kev McVeigh, 30 William Street, Millhead, Carnforth, Lancashire, LA5 9HE, UK. 2pp A4, availability not mentioned.


• Tortoise #9, Sue Jones, Flat #5, 32/33 Castle Street, Shrewsbury, SY1 2BQ, UK. 18pp A4, available on editorial whim (ask nicely and enclose postage).


• Twink #19, EB Frohvet, 4716 Dorsey Hall Drive #506, Ellicott City, MD 21042, USA. 34pp letter, available for the usual.


• Vanamonde 358-377, John Hertz, 236 S. Coronado Street, No. 409, Los Angeles, CA 90057, USA. 2pp letter, availability not mentioned.


• Wabe 2, Bill Bodden, PO Box 762, Madison, WI 53701-0762, USA, Tracy Benton, 108 Grand Canyon Drive, Madison, WI 53705, USA and Jae Leslie Adams, 621 Spruce Street, Madison, WI 53715, USA. 18pp letter, available for the usual.
• Xyster October 2000, Dave Wood, 1 Friary Close, Marine Hill, Clevedon, N Somerset BS21 7QA. 10pp A4, available for the usual, I'm pretty sure.

Previous months' logs

August 2000: Connection 2, Trapdoor 20, Twink 18, Xyster 2000, Now and Then 5, WABE 1, Dreamberry Wine, Steam Engine Time 1, ...and stuff 4, This Here 3, 4 and 5, International Revolutionary Gardener 3.

July 2000: Erg 150 and Tortoise 8. Not a very productive month for me, though more productive than September, October and November.

June 2000: WeberWoman's Wrevenge 55, Opuntia 45 & 45.1, FOSFAX 198, Vanamonde 353-357, Ansible 155, No Award 7, Napartheid, Gloss 1, Head! 1, Bogus 4, The Squiggledy Guide to <plokta.con>, My Kind of Neighbourhood, Lofgeornorst 59, and Connection 1.

May 2000: Baloney 1, Eira & SMS's wedding newsletter, Gegenschein 87 & 88, Derogatory Reference 95, Squiggledy Hoy 4, Dreamberry Wine, Quasiquote 2, Challenger 11, This Here 2 and Mimosa 25.

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