Checkpoint 58

CHECKPOINT is published by Darroll Pardoe, 24 Othello Close, Hartford, Huntingdon PE18 7SU, England. It is available for news or trades, or for 10/60p (Overseas: Belgium 10/60F, France 10/6F, N. America airmail 10/$2.00, Australia airmail 8/$1.00. No foreign cheques, please). Free sample on request. This issue is dated January 8th 1975. Our phone number is 0480-56072. A.91

WELCOME TO 1975 and, with Christmas safely out of the way, I can get back to publishing CHECKPOINTs. Most promising news this time is that Gray Boak is thinking seriously about organising a small, no-programme convention, probably in January or February 1976, and probably in Blackpool. Gray says, that if fifty people write to him and express their support, he'll go ahead and set it up. So write!

I'm right behind Gray on this one: our two established conventions have both got disadvantages when it comes to getting together with one's friends for social chatter. The Eastercon has become too large; there are so many people about that there are always a lot of fans I'd like a quiet talk with, but never get around to. The Novacon is better, but (at least in the Imperial) suffers from a lack of space for sitting about in: we often end up sitting on the stairs, which is hardly comfortable. What does that leave? There's the 'One Tun', but that is mostly limited to fans living in London. So a convention planned as a meeting of fans, and nothing more, would fill a real need. Only provided it's kept small, to active fans only.

LOST: ONE BSFA. LAST SEEN IN NEWCASTLE, EASTER 1974 It hasn't turned up again yet, but Keith Walker has sent some information on his proposed 'Operation SF'. It appears that this is not so much a rival organisation to the BSFA as a ginger group to stir up some action in the BSFA itself. With this laudable aim I can but agree, though I fear the rot has gone too far. Anyway, though the BSFA needs fandom, fandom can undoubtedly survive without the BSFA.

NESFIG got off to a good start (according to Harry Bell and, Don Allen, who both wrote about it) with its first meeting on Nov. 8th, when Brian Aldiss was the speaker. At the second meeting on the 29th, Bob Shaw gave a highly amusing account to an enthralled audience of his introduction to SF and fandom, and the effect it had on his life. The majority of the membership know nothing at all about fandom, but Bob is such a master of deadpan humour and fannish ploys that he soon had them in stitches.

If you want to know about meeting times and so on, Harry Bell is the man to get in touch with (9 Lincoln Street, Gateshead, Tyne & Wear NE8 4EE).

FANZINES RECEIVED ... and good grief, how they've piled up over Christmas!

INSTANT MESSAGE 160-163 (NESFA, Box G, MIT Branch Station, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA) ($5.00 a year)

*FANEW SLETTER 16,17 (Leigh Edmonds, Box 74, Balaclava, Victoria 3183, Australia) (10¢A)

SON OF THE WSFA JOURNAL 155-160 (Don Miller, 12315 Judson Road, Wheaton, MD 20906, USA) (9/$2.00)

*KARASS 7,9 (Linda Bushyager, 1614 Evans Avenue, Prospect Park, PA 19076, USA) (usual or 4/$1.00)

OOFTA (Roger Sween, 319 Elm Street, Kalamazoo, MI 49007, USA) (usual, I think)

*DYNATRON 60 (Roy Tackett, 915 Green Valley Road NW, Albuquerque, NM 87107, USA) (usual)

FLAGULETTE 3 (Robert Jackson, 21 Lyndhurst Road, Benton, Newcastle-upon-Tyne NEI2 9NT, UK) (a ROMPA-zine)

INFERNO 6 (Paul & Cas Skelton, 25 Bowland Close, Offerton, Stockport SK2 5NW, UK) (usual)

KYBEN 9 (Jeff Smith, 1339 Weldon Avenue, Baltimore, MD 21211, USA) (3/$1.00)

SIMON I (Sue and Ronl Clarke, 32 Spurwood Road, Warrimoo, NSW 2775, Australia) (usual)

STARFIRE 4 (Bill Breiding, 424 Central Avenue, San Francisco, CA 94117, USA) (usual)

*STARLING 29 (Hank & Lesleigh Luttrell, 525 W Main, Madison, WI 53703, USA) (50¢ or usual)

*THE NEW MILLENNIAL HARBINGER 11,12,13 (John Bangsund, PO Box 357, Kingston, ACT 2604, Australia) (FAPA, ANZAPA and some others)

*THE WITCH AND THE CHAMELEON 2 (Amanda Bankier, 2 Paisley Ave. S Apt. 6, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada) ($3.00 Canadian/6)

GODLESS 8 (Bruce D. Arthurs, 57 Trans. Co., Ft Lee, VA 23801, USA: but see CoA) (usual or 3/$2.00)

SFINCTOR 2 (Craig Miller, Elliot Weinstein, and Glenn Mitchell, 9115 Beverlywood St., Los Angeles, CA 90034, US4 (8/$1.00)

FORERUNNER 34 (Sue Clarke, address above, for SSFF) ($3.50 Aus. for membership)

WILD FENNEL 9 (P.W.Frames, 105 Grand Avenue, Bellingham, Washington 98225, USA) (usual or 50¢)

TABEBUIAN (Dave and Mardee Jenrette, Box 330374, Grove, Miami, FL 33133, USA) ($3.00 or usual)

MAYBE 38 (Irvin Koch, 835 Chatta Bank Building, Chattanooga, TN 37402, USA) (usual or 75¢)

*IT COMES IN THE MAIL 12 (Ned Brooks, 713 Paul Street, Newport News, VA 23605, USA) (usual)

ZYMUR-WORM 20g (Dick Patten, 2908 El Corto SW, Albuquerque, NM 87105, USA: and Bob Vardeman, Box 11352, Albuquerque, NM 87112) (usual or 50¢)

NOTES FROM THE CHEMISTRY DEPARTMENT 9 (Denis Quane, Box CC, East Texas Station, Commerce, TX 75428, USA) (usual or 30¢)

TREPONEMA PALLIDUM 4 (Richard Bartucci, KCCOM, Box 369, 2105 Independence Bvd, Kansas City, MO 64124, USA) (usual or 50¢)

DON-O-SAUR 36,37 (Don Thompson, 7498 Canosa Ct., Westminster, CO 80030, USA) (usual or 25¢)

*TANDSTIKKERZEITUNG 8 (Don Markstein, PO Box 53112, New Orleans, LA 70153, USA (SFPA, SAPS or usual)

PREHENSILE 13 (Mike Glyer, 319 Pike Street, Bowling Green, OH 43403, USA: and Milt Stevens, 14535 Saticoy, #105, Van Nuys, CA) (usual)

KYBEN 10 (Jeff Smith, address above) (3/$1.00)

PHOTRON 12 (Steve Beatty, 1662 College Terrace Drive, Murray, KY 42071, USA) (usual or 40¢)

VORPAL 3 (Richard Brandt, 4013 Sierra Drive, Mobile, AL 36609, USA.) (usual or 35¢)

*TILL THE COWS COME HOME 3 (Elke and Alan Stewart, 6 Frankfurt 1, Eschenheimer Anlage 2, Germany) (usual)

RUNE 41 (Minnesota SFS Inc., 343 East 19th Street, Apt. 8B, Minneapolis, MM 55404, USA) (usual or $1.00 a year)

DEFENESTRATION 14 (David Singer, Buck 21- Box 264, RPI, Troy, NY 12181, USA) (35¢ or usual)

KNIGHTS OF THE PAPER SPACE SHIP 11 (Mike Bracken, Box 802, Fort Bragg, CA 95437, USA) (usual or 75¢)

*LOG OF THE STARSHIP ANIARA 3 (C.Howard Webster, 413 N. Belmont, Richmond, VA 23220, USA) (6/$1.50)

DE PROFUNDIS 73 (Barry Gold, 2471 Oak St, Santa Monica, CA 90405, USA for LASFS) ($3.00 a year)

LOCUS 167 (Charlie and Dena Brown, Box 3938, San Francisco, CA 94119, USA) (15/$6.00 US, 15/$12.00 foreign)

SOG 32 (Box 4268, Tower Grove Branch PO, Saint Louis, MO 63163, USA) (trade or GRAFAN membership)

FRACTURED MONGOOSE 6 (Mike Kring, PSC#1, Box 3147, Kirtland AFB, NM 87115, USA) (last issue)

There were so many this time I'm afraid I didn't have room for the usual comments: I've marked some of my particular favourites with a star, though, as partial compensation.

SEACON The 1975 British Easter Convention, had 251 members as of November. The place is the De Vere Hotel, Coventry: the time is March 28th to 31st 1975: and the person to write to is Malcolm Edwards, 19 Ranmoor Gardens, Harrow, Mddx., HA1 1UQ. Registration is £2.50.

SF MONTHLY was mentioned on the BBC radio programme 'Start the Week' on January 6th. Peter Nicholls was also on the programme. Incidentally, SF Monthly has been getting deeper into fandom lately; the December issue had a full page interview with Peter Weston, and the January one with Lisa Conesa. I don't think they really understand us, though.

THE BRITISH FANTASY SOCIETY is holding a one-day meeting on Feb. 22nd in conjunction with its AGM in Birmingham. They haven't finalised their programme yet, but the location is the Imperial Centre Hotel, familiar from Novacons.

THE TUCKER FUND Stood at $2,142 on November 26th, a most successful outcome. Any excess funds over those required for Bob Tucker will be divided between DUFF, and the Aussiecon GoH (Mike Glicksohn and Susan Wood).

HUGO NOMINATIONS were distributed with the third Aussiecon progress report. To nominate you have to be a member of Discon or of Aussiecon, and the deadline is March 15th. Aussiecon membership is £1.50 from Peter Roberts (6 Westbourne Park Villas, London W.2).

DUFF (The Down-Under Fan Fund) is now open for voting to send a fan to Aussiecon. Nominees are John Berry, Jan Finder and Rusty Hevelin. We're supporting John Berry, a fine fan and most worthy of your votes.

COA Gary Grady, USS Dewey (DLG-1k), FPO New York, 09501, USA
John D. Berry, 1749 18th Street, Washington, DC 20009, USA
John Brosnan, Simone Walsh and Greg Pickersgill, 4 Lothair Road, South Baling, London W.5
Bruce D.Arthurs (from Jan. 23rd) 2401 W.Southern, B-l36, Tempe, Arizona 85282, USA
Mike Glyer, 319 Pike Street, Bowling Green, Ohio 43403, USA
P.W.Frames, 105 Grand Avenue, Bellingham, WA 98225, USA

BACK NUMBERS Peter Roberts (address above) now has copies of most of his issues of CHECKPOINT available at 5p each or 3 for 10p. That covers issues 1 to 46. I have copies of 55 to 57 for a 4½ p stamp.

POSTAGE RATES in Britain are due to rise in March by an enormous amount (about 50%: the internal first-class rate from 4½ p to 7p, and the second-class rate from 3½ p to 5½ p).

PHIL PAYNE was married last year and is now Philip Stephensen-Payne. His address is 28 Woodfield Drive, Charlbury, Oxford. Congratulations, Phil and Philippa.

THE TOLKIEN SOCIETY is holding its AGM on February 22nd at the Bloomsbury Centre Hotel. Priscilla Tolkien may be GoH.

WARK 2 will be out very shortly; it may even be out before this CP. Wark is Rosemary's fanzine: trade fanzines sent to our address and addressed to Darroll and Rosemary Pardoe get a trade from both of us.

TAFF Nominations for the next campaign are open till April 1st. Voting forms will then be sent out. This is to send a US fan to the 1976 British Eastercon, wherever that might be.