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Geoff Lindsay
The old guard of fan faces here in London has virtually retired to the
sidelines. We still run into well known fans from time to time at the
Globe on the first Thursday of the month, but the old place is no longer
a weekly rendezvous of pros and fans. It's probably sad to see people
like Ted Tubb and Ken Bulmer, who have done so much for fandom, drift
away to the outer fringes, but it's generally conceded that they lost
heart with fannish affairs after the London Circle rows toward the end
of 1959. The Ratigans are active only in OMPA and the Buckmasters are
now living in Scotland, where Ron is at present stationed. Daphne is
keeping the fannish flag flying, however, with an excellent sercon
discussion magazine called Esprit and she is also the OMPA Association
Editor this year. There has been little activity since the Easter
Convention from Mike Moorcock and Sandra Hall who were engaged early
in the year and Ivor Mayne is now living it Sweden. The most active
London fans during the past three or four years were the Inchmery group
and it will be know that they split up in extremely sad circumstances.
Little has been since heard or seen of Vince who seems to have lost heart
with fandom completely.
This is not to say that London fandom is either dead or dying. Far from
it. On the credit side of the ledger there is the Science Fiction Club
of London which is an extremely active and thriving group. The Club meets
twice a month at the home of Ella Parker, a lady of uncertain age who was
unknown in fandom three years ago. Ella is a fabulous personality in
everything she does and she must take much of the credit in gathering round
her a bunch of enthusiastic and energetic young fans. Amongst them are CRY
letterhacks George Locke, Ted Forsyth and Joe Patrizio. Jimmy Groves and Bruce
Burn are members of the gang, whilst other members include Ethel Lindsay,
Arthur Thomson, Ken and Irene Potter and Brian Burgess. Ella, Jimmy and Ted
seem to be the centre of two groups, actually, for Ella holds open house
every Friday evening to members of the British Science Fiction Association
who either live in or around London or who happen to be visiting at the time.
Obviously the Parker Penitentiary is the subject matter for a full length
article in its own right.
If London is once again stepping out in front as the leading British fan
group, the provinces are certainly not inactive. There are still the two
main socially inclined fan groups in Cheltenham and Liverpool whilst over
in Northern Ireland the wheels of Irish Fandom are by no means dead, as
the recent issue of Hyphen showed. Ian McAulay of Eire has now moved up
to Belfast and his ready wit is an acquisition to this group which is
already by no means lacking its humorists. John Berry has cut down his
output of late and appears these days to be writing regularly only for
three or four fanzines.
- CRY OF THE NAMELESS #146
Lindsay's full report on the state UK fandom at the turn of the year
can be read here:
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