Posted by Marc Martin on
URL: https://www.shado-forum.com/Marc-s-Century-21-Convention-Report-Part-2-The-Fans-tp1490023.html

Hi All,

While I'm sure you'd all rather hear more about convention guests,
the exhibition room, or other parts of the official convention program,
I wanted to stress one part of the con that I personally enjoyed
more than any of these things -- meeting & chatting with other fans!

I've been a longtime fan of Gerry Anderson productions, and have
read most of the back issues of various Gerry Anderson publications
(SiG, Fanderson News, Century 21, FAB, etc.). As a result, I'm familiar
with lots of names involved with Gerry Anderson fandom, although
I've never actually *met* any of them! Also with the Internet, there's
a newer group of fans who I've come to know via the various Gerry
Anderson mailing lists and private e-mail. But again, I've never met
any of them!

Well, this convention certainly changed that! I was simply amazed
at the number of people I met at this con who I'd previously only
read articles by or exchanged e-mails with. I guess it never
really occurred to me that so many people I knew of would come,
especially since not all of them lived in England! And I suppose
that many of them were equally as surprised (if not more so) to
see me there!

So for me, some of the best parts of the con were spent in the
bar, in a restaurant, or just in the hallway, chatting with other
fans.

Also, I really enjoyed it after some people I didn't know made the
mental connection between me & my UFO website, they exclaimed things
like "I visit that site every day!" or "I'm not worthy!"
(okay, so that was an extreme case). I'm used to receiving
such thanks via e-mail, but in person it leaves a much stronger
impression, and I must say that after being somewhat exhausted
from the website during the past year, I came out of the con feeling
re-energized!

--
Marc Martin, [hidden email]

P.S. Besides exchanging stories & discussing all sorts of things
with other fans, I learned some news -- Phil Rae told
me that Sci-Fi & Fantasy Modeller magazine will soon be having
a special UFO issue, and Jeff Smart told me that part 1 of
his "Future Was Fantastic" video is nearly in its final edit,
with a running time of 1 hour 40 minutes. He hopes to record
the narration sometime this month, using either Ed Bishop or
someone else well-known to Gerry Anderson fans.