K51

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K51, a Mar. '95 APAzine for Pieces of Eight, from A. Vincent Clarke, 16 Wendover Way, Welling, Kent, DA16 2BN

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UPDATE

Remember the small debate in PoE about the use of 'gay' as a substitute for 'homosexual'? I was reminded of it the other day when looking through a copy of REALIST, which is a sort of American PRIVATE EYE with fangs. It had the following little item:

The Northwest Herald in Crystal Lake, Illinois, published an article about a controversy concerning the Smithsonian Institution's exhibit of the B-29 Superfortress that dropped the atom bomb on Hiroshima in 1945 – the Enola Gay, named after the pilot's mother, Enola Gay Tibbets. However, the headline for the story was: "Atomic Bombers Criticize Enola Homosexual Exhibit."

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JUNK MAIL

Junk mail drifts in occasionally – intricate computer stuff, hard-porn video ads., new windows, insurance, etc. – which go straight into the WPB. But something unusual sometimes sticks out. T'other day had an envelope marked:

V.I.P. GOLD CARD DETAIL ENCLOSED

and inside a Diamond Jubilee Gift Cheque for £60. And an offer of another 10% or even 20% off.

Off what, you ask?

A personalised hearing aid, is what.

Only trouble was, nowhere in the technicolour trash was any statement of how much the whole thing would cost.

The WPB gapes.

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MEMORIAM

Had a US published booklet in from Mike Ashley, who wrote it – I'd been some help on fanzine details. It was THE WORK OF WILLIAM F. TEMPLE. The late WFT was a pre-war fan, and helped churn out the first fanzine in this country, NOVAE TERRAE, along with other people such as Arthur C. Clarke. Bill had a great sense of humour, and his series 'The British Fan in His Natural Haunt' told of visits to half-a-dozen of the leading fans of the day, and is packed with detail. He was still writing the occasional article for HYPHEN in the '50s.

Bill was partly successful in prozine writing after the war, and his 'Four Sided Triangle' was made into a ghastly film, but he doesn't seem to have had that essential passion for authorship. Bad luck overcame him. His fan career tailed off and so did his pro-writing.

Mike Ashley has produced what appears to be a complete annotated bibliography and checklist, with a preface by Arthur C. Clarke and pieces by Forry Ackerman and Bill's widow, Joan. The booklet is published by Borgo Press, same people who did Vultures of the Void concerning post-war SF up to about '57, but unfortunately no price is mentioned.

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FAREWELL & HELLO

You may have noticed that the reproduction of the last dozen or so 'K's has been very spotty. This was partly due to the copier, which was bought second-hand about six years or more ago. And copiers have about the same shelf life as computers.

Anyway, ye olde Sharp copier has gone, and I'm awaiting the delivery of a Ricoh, which appears to be in the bloom of youth tho' still second-hand. However, the thing is still up-country, and until it's delivered you are seeing a rare phenomenon – an electro-stencilled and duplicated 'K'. Wish me luck.

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COMMENTS ON FEBRUARY MAILING

OFFICIAL STUFF – Ros Calverley

Sorry to hear of departure (for the time being, one hopes) of John and Tanya. PoE won't be so good without them. With only 19 members (at the moment) you're going to get smothered with spare copies!

FROM THE DESKTOP OF KEITH WALKER – by him

Pelmanism? Used to be popular – scrub that, well advertised – in the '30s. Haven't heard of it for years. Most of the therapies mentioned seem very dodgy. Feel your piece would have been better if you'd concentrated on good and bad points of one or two of them. Merely trotting out about ten names may sound impressive – but ain't.

THE STRUTHIAN PERSPECTIVE – Theo Ross

RYCT Darroll: Harbor/Harbour – seems a bit of a quibble to me. Anyone who's collected stamps will know that even names of countries are commonly anglicised by us.

Good point to John M. about possibility of getting something nasty done to people responsible for breaking lottery win confidence. Had occurred to me. Re. 'bugger', you'd hate, then, a recent acquisition – a filk song based on Pratchett-lore,

The Hedgehog Song (as sung by Nanny Ogg!) – 19 verses with at least 3 uses of That Word in each verse.

Couldn't find your "above average" quote either – reckon they make quotes quicker than collections to record 'em.

ALL AT SEA – Pauline Plant

Re. recommended books/authors, since the last 'K' I came across Connie Willis's DOOMSDAY BOOK, which you might like if you're interested in olde tymes. The heroine of this book goes back via time machine to the 1300s, and there's finely detailed descriptions. I made what I consider a valiant attempt to read all 500+ pages in one session, which shows what I thought of it.

2E1COE etc. – Brian Jordan

Yes, I heard that story many years ago that dealers could get 'old' stamps at trade price. I suppose it makes sense – if a book can be remaindered by the publisher, why not stamps by HMG? No, stamps were in 'p', not 'd'!

RYCT Jenny: Avedon Carol & Rob Hansen, now on the Net, are making a huge proselytising effort to get Chuch Harris to 'convert'. We went around to their house, and Avedon showed him 9 letters received from the US in the previous 24 hrs. saying he should join, by various fan friends. To someone who can't use the phone (no hearing), it looks like an interesting extension to normal mail.

Congratulations on getting Helen Sharman to talk to your society. Don't want to join your competition as such, but have a fleeting curiosity as to when and why she first had the ambition to go into space.

COLD IRON – Ros Calverley

Fascinating essay which won't get here the sort of reply it deserves 'cos I haven't got that kind of mind. I shudder away from tabloid newspapers and turn off football, but couldn't help hearing of the Cantona incident from radio – there's a 24hr. news channel in London, so the thing came up every 15 minutes for a couple of days.

My immediate reaction was that the spectator, who had apparently moved from his seat so that he could ensure that Cantona heard him, had asked for every bruise he received.

But what punishment, if any, should Cantona get? Professional footballers are not tested for their calm philosophic outlook to life, and provocation is a good defence. In a game which has given the world 'the professional foul', one doesn't look for saints. Whatever penalty he receives, I reckon there'll be an air of hypocrisy about it.

Incidentally, Cantona was being sent off for a foul, a common occurrence. I wonder how common it would be if instead of a red card the offender's side had a goal awarded against them?

I am, you'll notice, more or less backing Ros's stand, though not so well expressed. But then she goes on to drag the popular Press into the equation. I suppose that, like the old saying about government, we get the Press we deserve, but what I was waiting for Ros to point out was that Macaulay's 'fourth estate of the realm' has become simply and solely a business. Once upon a time there may have been other purposes to publishing, such as trying to ensure the political party the owner of a paper favoured should be presented in the best light, but nowadays you sell papers or you pack it in.

How do they do that? By peddling popular morality. Almost every aspect of life, even science, can have philosophic overtones, and if you can express as loudly as possible some moral value in sheerest black and white, and aim it at people who's IQ is measured in double figures, that's it. You'll be an editor, my son.

RUBBLE – Mike Gould

Right at the moment I'm with Maureen on the Lottery debate. I haven't been in for it yet (which is – how much? £12? – saved) and I don't know quite why. I don't think it's due to some old ethic, that one shouldn't obtain money without working for it. I reckon it's just that the odds are daunting for any sum worth while. Sure I'd like enough cash to, for instance, put a new roof on 16WWW, but not betting on a 200,000 to 1 chance.

Yes, there's a lot of interest in all the pseudo-sciences. Have you noticed that in the public library the relevant shelf – which is very early in the system – is growing even faster than the computer science books which are, ironically, right next to them in order of indexing?

THE THINGY IN THE WOTSIT – Brian Stovold

Diary type 'zine (you'll be able to look at it in years to come when you've completely forgotten the day out) made interesting by the 3-D type map insertion. Wish more folk would include maps in their travelogues.

THE MOON-DRENCHED SHORES – Darroll Pardoe

Glad that Ro had a fairly satisfactory Christmas, hope she is now getting better fast.

RYCT me: Yeah, your bit on St. Ursula sounds like the story I dimly remember – wish I knew where. Ta.

RYCT Theo: there's photographic evidence that self and other fans (including Derek Pickles who was in PoE for a time) were at the Festival of Britain, but I think I remember most vividly the stuff in Battersea Gardens, where Guinness had erected a beautifully crazy clock. When I get the copier working I may try reproducing a photo from that time.

RYCT John: 'Berm' would certainly puzzle me – I suppose it's an acronym? I have a genuine Funk & Wagnalls dictionary of '46 and it isn't in there, so presumably coining came with growth of highways. Odd about 'bugger' – most times I've heard it it's been in almost an affectionate context, such as "He's a funny old bugger". Not said about me, by the way.

AVC