INCA 9 ------Colophon; Incantations (editorial) – Curt Phillips; Rob Jackson ------Inca 9 Contents Page Art, photos Page

Who is the Killer? (guest editorial) Curt Phillips 2 Harry Bell Front cover Incantations: editorial Rob Jackson 3 Rob Jackson (photo) 4 Survival Of The Wettest Rob Jackson Bill Burns (photo) 10 Ted White Randy Mohr 14 Curt Phillips 5 Rob Jackson (photos) 16-18 Alan Dorey Lou Tabakow (photo) 19 Bill Burns Rob Jackson (photos) 22-23 Keep Brighton To The End Grant Canfield, - The Failure of Seacon ‘84 Alan Dorey 12 Jay Kinney The Gift of Memory pt. 1 Rob Jackson 15 (collaboration) 29 So Near, Yet So Far (reprint) Rob Jackson 19 Bill Rotsler 31 The Gift of Memory pt. 2 Rob Jackson 22 Jim Mowatt (graph) 33 Uncle Johnny’s Bazillion and Keith Freeman (photo) 35 Ninety-Ninth Dream John N. Hall 24 Alan Hunter Back cover Circulation (letters of comment) Various 26

Published as usual by Rob Jackson, Chinthay, Nightingale Lane, Hambrook, Chichester, West Sussex PO18 8UH. Email [email protected] . All rights returned to the authors/ artists upon publication. This issue dated April 2013.

Availability: Paper version available for substantial & relevant paper fanzines in trade; letters of comment (which are usually published); contributions; other big favours; or friendship! To be available online via www.efanzines.com through the kind offices of Bill Burns.

Guest Editorial: Curt Phillips

Who is the Killer?

(with introductory comments by Rob Jackson, Graham Charnock & Jim Linwood)

Some recent horrible world events sparked a A man kills his two children and himself because conversation on the IntheBar mailing list which his wife has left him. A man walks into a school in prompted a contribution from Curt Phillips of Connecticut and kills a lot of children. A woman such heartfelt brilliance that at the time I said in straps a bomb to herself and walks into a market in reply: “Wow, Curt. I just wonder at all the Iraq and kills 50 people. A man hijacks a plane millions of people (especially soldiers, politicians and flies it into an office building killing and arms dealers) who ought to read that.” thousands. I think there must some deep solipsist Though ITB is a private discussion forum, there horror at the heart of the human psyche which is are times when what is said in there just cries out the only thing that can account for this, not to be read more widely. With permission from religion, education, indoctrination, or drugs. the authors, I am doing my bit by giving pride of Graham Charnock, December 2012 place in Inca’s editorial slot to them, and chiefly to Curt. A major western country kills nearly 200 children Rob Jackson, April 2013 in drone attacks... Jim Linwood, December 2012

------Inca 9 – page 2 ------Colophon; Incantations (editorial) – Curt Phillips; Rob Jackson ------doubt that anyone else in the long chain of people hen I was a younger man I worked for a who were involved in those deaths have ever given company that made guided missiles that them a thought. It was “a regrettable accident”, W were designed to kill other people. I after all. And I'd rather keep on thinking about didn't think much about that at first; it was for those imaginary bloodstains than to think that “National defense”, and we weren't at war with those people who were killed by that missile would anyone. Eventually I became aware that the ever be completely forgotten by everyone . If those products of my work were being used now and people aren't worth even remembering, then what, then to kill people. I usually didn't understand the really, are any of us really worth? I can't answer reasons for this, and sometimes didn't even that question, so I'll go on remembering. understand why or how our missiles had come to be where they were, yet people still died. And no Facebook is abuzz today with talk of gun control. one could make me understand why they'd had to Nearly all the talk is so polarized right from the die. The tipping point – for me – came when I saw start that I can't see any point in responding to any an engineering report on one of the missiles I'd of it. The point of our lives – or so it seems to me worked on that had been launched at a target in – is not to develop ideas and then cling to them Nigeria –some anti-drug action, I believe – but the with a death-grip or to shout those ideas at anyone guidance control section had malfunctioned and we see. I think the point of being alive is actually the missile wound up hitting “an isolated farm in to think and to learn and to grow; and to try to find the Nigerian jungle” and killing a family. The better ways and better ideas. For everything. report was very detailed in the analysis of how the Forever. I can't see how we can grow or learn as a missile had malfunctioned but no further word people while so many of us are fixed on whatever about that family was mentioned. I don't know if ideas we happen to hold on to. Nothing wrong anyone anywhere ever even said the words “I'm with ideas, mind you, as long as they're good ones sorry” to anyone else over the incident. that work and that result in helping things without hurting others. But I've never found any one idea Sometime later my company closed its local plant that was so good that it was beyond improvement. and moved the work out west. They offered to I don't know that I can ever improve anything for move me out there too so that I could keep on anyone else, but I think that as long as I hold doing what I'd been doing. Instead I looked myself open to the possibility that I might then I'll around for some work that I could do that was as already have improved me . So that's a start. far from building death machines as I could find, and I returned to school and became a Registered Nothing anyone says or does or thinks is going to Nurse. It wasn't easy. Being out of work for two un-kill those children in Connecticut, or that farm years nearly impoverished me and my family and family in Nigeria, or the thousands of soldiers we had two young daughters to raise. But I took a killed in a single day at the Somme in WWI, or any job doing manual labour in a lumberyard, sold our of the millions of other senseless killings that farm – our wonderful, beautiful farm that I still human history reeks of. We can only go forward, miss every day of my life – and managed to get and try not to harm anyone else. That doesn't through that time. The daughters were raised, the seem to me like too much to ask of ourselves, yet family prospered again and I'm much prouder of thus far we as a people have always refused to do the work I do now. And only I can see the blood of live that way. I wish I could understand why we do those unknown Nigerian people that will forever that. stain my hands. In any event, we go forward anyway. Bloodstains But at least I know that those stains are there. No and all. I wonder where we're going? one would ever blame me for those deaths, and I Curt Phillips, December 2012

------Rob Jackson Incantations – a melange This issue After Curt’s brilliantly sober reflections above on unnecessary loss of life, and you have dried out A mix of themes this issue. We start thinking after the fine writing from Ted, Bill and Curt in about the outside world and coping with death and particular surviving storms in Survival of the disaster – but don’t worry; it all lightens up later Wettest, it’s all back to matters fannish. Alan on.... Dorey has very instructive thoughts about how the

------Inca 9 – page 3 ------Colophon; Incantations (editorial) – Curt Phillips; Rob Jackson ------path of true love within con committees does not nobody has any skin problems IntheBar. We’re all always run smooth. smooth as a baby’s bottom. That’s down to the Sudocrem....) Staying with cons, we travel back further to my trip to Suncon, the 1977 Worldcon. I have picked out Fun with FAAns the slides with fun memories, and reprinted an article about some of the scarier moments of my I made sure I voted carefully in the 2013 FAAns, travel that trip. As a taster, one more is below. which as I write will be awarded in a couple of Just before the lettercolumn, we finally visit the weeks’ time at Corflu XXX. So did lots of people – fascinating place that is John Hall’s dreamland, some people are worried that 60 voters is Not Too with friends from his Ratfannish past coming back Many, but as fannish fanzine fandom is now a to haunt him, as well as a policeman with a pretty specialised subset of fandom, I’m rather striking resemblance to John Brunner.... fantisted it is that good. (A much livelier voting bloc than the Novas in the UK, which are nearly Dreams have been called the royal road to the dead on their feet.) Damn good job, Andy as subconscious. We often expose our deepest fears Administrator, and many others such as Arnie in them, and John isn’t the only one whose fears Katz who kept reminding people to vote. tell us stories. On the IntheBar list I recently mentioned that I have passport loss while flying as There has been some discussion in various places one paranoid fear. I told that tale rather matter- about whether there should be a formal instruction of-factly in my Corflu Silver conrep in Inca 4, but to voters not to vote for themselves. Some may let Mike Meara’s imagination went somewhere their conscience tell them not to, but others may completely different: say “sod it” and go for broke. Varies. Statistically, the smaller the voter bloc, the bigger the difference Those ol' flying dreams, eh? It drops out of your one vote can make; I would prefer consistent pocket, you swoop down to catch it, just before advice so there is a level playing field. If I had my you can get to it it gets eaten by a pterodactyl, druthers as Administrator, I would say no voting you follow it, land on a mysterious undiscovered for yourself as editor, artist or writer; but a vote for plateau high in the clouds, where you have lots of a writer, artist, article or piece of artwork you may aggro with Immigration which is staffed entirely have published in your fanzine is OK. by Snapping Turtles, who strip you naked and bite you all over, giving you some horrible However, I am still OK with Andy Hooper (or unidentifiable fever that not even the tank of whoever is that year’s Administrator) having the Sudocrem that you've been carrying on your back final say. Different Administrators can be creative will cure, you stagger around in a feverish daze, with the awards, so they are evolving each year. fall off the edge of the plateau, get caught by For example, the Cobalt committee in 2010 started another pterodactyl, who happens to be the first the Lifetime Achievement Award, and it has lived one's brother... on, though tweaked a bit in format by subsequent Corflu committees. If the alternative to this Was it like that, at all? flexibility is the bureaucratic nightmare that is the Mike Meara, April 2013 fan Hugo categories, I know which I would prefer.... (Don’t worry about the Sudocrem. That strayed in Rob Jackson, April 2013 from a completely different thread. No, no,

Historic fun: Terry Hughes, unidentified woman’s back, Peter Roberts, Tom & Alicia Perry at Suncon 77

------Inca 9 – page 4 ------Survival of the Wettest – an IntheBar compilation ------Survival of the Wettest an IntheBar compilation

Cast in order of appearance:

Rob Jackson, Ted White Curt Phillips, Alan Dorey, Bill Burns

Rain on the Olympic Parade Rob Jackson

On a summer Monday about a month before the Just north of the main road through Bognor, London Olympic Games, I had to make my way where there had been signs announcing the road from the Addaction Worthing (drug and alcohol closure up for a week or two, the traffic came to a therapy) team base to the one in Bognor for a total halt. Drivers ahead of me were giving up and clinic at about 1.45 pm. I knew the Olympic Torch turning round, so I was sure they must have seen procession was going through Bognor sometime they were blocked. My team base is half a mile the early or mid-afternoon, so I rang Paul, the other side of the road, down in the town centre. It administrator at the Bognor team base, to say that came on to rain a bit more definitely. I also turned there might be traffic hold-ups, and tell any round, parked down a side street and grabbed my booked clients not to worry, I'd be there soon. bag and laptop.

Coming west through Arundel on the main South I decided I didn't have time to get my umbrella out Coast trunk road there was a bit of a hold-up of the boot, which was a very foolish decision. As because of extra people parking and walking to the soon as I had got 100 yards down the road, a total main road, presumably to await the arrival of the cloudburst really started. The rain didn't faze the torch. There was an open topped bus going the idiots with the non-stop hooters and flag-waving, other way with "Jesus Saves the Nations" or though. Thankfully there were no barriers up, so I something like that on the front and I could see a did manage to cross the road. happy-clappy guitarist singing away on the top deck. I was very glad I was going the other way. I diverted into a public loo in a small park, partly as I needed its facilities anyway, and partly to wipe Then between Fontwell and Bognor, the level my glasses as I could hardly see where I was going. crossing was closed for about three trains and I A janitor in a hi-viz jacket was mopping the floor, could see four police vans ahead. And it started to repeating "This is a bloody nightmare" to himself spit with rain a little bit. The police vans all and me. I could see what he meant. parked in a side road at a little village called Shripney which was heavily festooned with Though it was less than 10 minutes since the rain bunting. I wondered how much trouble the people had started, the road next to the kerbstones had in Shripney were going to give an Olympic torch- puddles that were turning into minor floods, but I bearer. Or maybe the cops thought it was more could just about see where to put my feet. When I fun than filling in PACE (Police And Criminal got to the one-way street where our team base is, I Evidence Act) evidence forms. found the cops had blocked that off too, as down the far end I could just about hear the actual torch ------Inca 9 – page 5 ------Survival of the Wettest – an IntheBar compilation ------relay going past on the High Street. So I couldn't And I didn't even see the relay anyway. But have got to our car park anyway. perhaps it also rained on the happy-clappy lot on the open topped bus. God has no favourites really. When I got there, Rebecca (project worker) said "Your trousers are soaked!" (**) King George V’s dying words? You don’t know about them? He used to like visiting Bognor I resignedly said "Yeah, I know." She & Paul to take the waters, and enjoyed it so much that he laughed. I guess you had to be there. honoured the small seaside resort with the appellation Regis. About the last honour it has Paul found a fan heater for me to dry off my received, unless you count the arrival of a Butlin’s trousers, which stayed on me, and my coat, which holiday camp/resort or the establishment of a didn’t. After a while there was a significant puddle series of clown conventions as honours. on the floor underneath the two coat hooks on which I spread it out to dry. But I got a nice fug up Cut to the King’s deathbed, surrounded by in that room, with the heater on full blast for two concerned medics and solicitous courtiers. He is hours. And my coat almost dried out, though the basically terminal with pneumonia. One of his cuffs were still a bit damp even after three hours. attendants tries to cheer him up. “We’ll soon have you recovering, taking the sea air at Bognor....” At least the weather was dry by the time I walked back to my car at 5.30 pm, though there were still The King says “Bugger Bognor,” loses huge puddles. consciousness and expires without another word.

Later, the local TV news presenter on Meridian If it’s an urban myth, it’s too good to be untrue. had obviously gathered that the Bognor leg was The town has been trying to live the insult down not the highlight of the torch's round Britain relay, ever since. And not really succeeding. Partly as he made a reference to King George V's dying because of cynics like me who keep ensuring words.... (**) everyone knows the tale.

Rob Jackson, July 2012/April 2013

Lights Out in Falls Church Ted White

Hi, folks. I'm back – from three days in hell. Then the lights went out. A few minutes later they came back on, to my relief. I returned to my porch Last Friday the official, all-time record-setting to watch the storm. The winds were fierce and the temperature here in DC was 104 (F) with rain very hard. (I got almost an inch.) The dewpoints around 75 (genuinely oppressive!). A temperature plummeted from 95 to 75. At 10:37 storm came out of the west that night. At around PM the lights went out again. Simultaneously, I 10:00 PM I checked the weather radar (on a couple saw a red fireball arc out of a pole (supporting of sites – the less interactive one shows lightning wires for power, telephone and cable at different strikes) and saw a band of bright red approaching strata) and over the street. Maybe a transformer. from the west. It was moving at a smart pace and packed a lot of lightning. These sites lag real time The power remained off until 6:07 PM today. by five to ten minutes. I thought I'd check actual Every day – Saturday, Sunday, today – had temps conditions outside, so I went out onto my front in the 90s. Both the downstairs and my bedroom porch, which looks north and east. Just as I air-conditioners were on when the power went off. stepped out, the gust-front came through – a I kept the windows closed to trap the cool air. But strong burst of wind. It pulled a lot of leaves along the temps in my downstairs rooms hovered around with it, and shortly thereafter the rain started. By 80 from Saturday on – and the temps in my then the sky was lit with lightning and thunder was bedroom fluctuated between 81 and 86. I opened crashing all around me. the windows at night, which brought the temps back down to 81 (when it was 78 outside, with no winds), and closed them at daylight, but when I got ------Inca 9 – page 6 ------Survival of the Wettest – an IntheBar compilation ------up a few hours later it was back up to 85 or 86. I them in the wild part of my back yard – the closest, did sleep – with memories of my childhood, when easiest place. Then I got out my small (16" bar) aircon was completely unavailable for my bedroom chainsaw and cut the bigger branches into – butt naked, on top of the sheets, with a fine film firewood lengths, tossing them into my of sweat the only thing covering my body. wheelbarrow. Periodically, when the wheelbarrow was full, I'd wheel the load to my south door, I had no running water, because I have a well and where I stacked it. The last load is still in the the pump requires electricity. I could flush each wheelbarrow, but the stack currently measures 40" toilet once. I did so sparingly and only when it wide and over 30" high. When I had all the seemed dire not to. branches clear, there were still leaves everywhere (mostly from tulip poplars), so I got out my power I coped. Saturday I went out and assessed the mower and mowed all the leaves and sticks into a damage – and was startled by its extent. I heard light mulch for the backyard lawn. on my car radio that the storm had produced 80 mph winds, and I found that completely By then it was early evening and I was hot, sweaty believable. No hurricane had ever done this much and tired – and hungry. So I took my car out and damage – and they produced winds of between 40 drove around Falls Church. The two-square-mile and 60 mph by the time they got to us as city is roughly divided in two by US 29 (the Lee downgraded tropical storms. None of my trees Highway in much of Virginia, but Washington St. had come down, but my back yard was strewn with in Falls Church). I live in the half that lies east of branches. Not little branches, but big ones – 20 to 29. It seemed to me that my half was hit worse, 30 feet long, three to five inches in diameter – with many road closures for downed wires or trees some of them ripped from the trunks of their trees, (or both). I kept having to detour. an 18- to 36-inch strip of the trunk torn off with them. Some traffic lights were working and I heard later they were powered by individual generators. I But I got off easily, compared with my neighbor went over to the far west side of town to visit my whose house is directly behind mine. A locust tree buddy, Ben Zuhl, with whom I'd normally be (**) on city right of way fell, blocking my back playing cards that night. I knew he'd been out path, but its highest branches hitting their house, exploring and hoped he knew where I could get breaking at least one window but doing no real dinner. He did, and asked if he could come along damage to the house. On its way down, the locust with me, which was fine with me. We went to broke the top off a hemlock tree, leaving its bottom Westover, maybe a mile east of me in Arlington 20 feet still standing. Their back yard was filled County. The Lost Cat Cafe was full, but the Lost with large branches, tree tops, and I think at least Dog just up the street a few doors had one table one other fallen tree. And the next house west of left and we grabbed it. I had a satisfying dinner, them suffered worse tree damage, at least two half of which I brought home for breakfast. large trees down, one of them completely blocking Ted White, July 2012 their street. (**) PS, April 2013: The tree that fell across my I spent the afternoon cleaning up my back yard back path was not a locust, as I'd first thought. It (my front yard was relatively unscathed). I was a wild cherry. Big sucker: almost four feet in attacked the fallen branches with long-handled diameter at its base. I cut up the portion on my clippers, snipping off all the smaller side branches, property and in the past month or so I've burned leaving the naked main branches – more than a at least a third of it in my wood stove (having dozen of them – which I piled together. I collected burned most of my sugar maple first). It splits the piles of snipped-off side branches and dumped better than locust.

Survival – the Future Curt Phillips ((Written in anticipation of Hurricane Sandy. – Ed.))

I already foresee that for the next couple of weeks, for this storm to arrive and do whatever it's going all of fandom is going to go through the "has to do is maddening. We all know that some of the anybody heard from...?" exercise again. Waiting storm projections involve some guesswork, but we ------Inca 9 – page 7 ------Survival of the Wettest – an IntheBar compilation ------can't yet know how much. Are we really know for that you put in a bottle of water, some plastic sure is that the next two weeks are likely to be forks, some candy bars somewhat unpleasant for a great many of us, and I'm constantly thinking of family and friends in all o A bag of cough drops parts of the projected storm areas, as I'm sure we o A small flashlight all are. o An Ipod full of my favorite music and podcasts, and lightweight headphone for same Here in Southwest Virginia we expect relatively o Two good paperback books little impact at the moment though high winds, o One of those lightweight blankets they give you snow, and power outages are probable. Liz and I on airplanes stocked up on plenty of food and supplies for the next two weeks, I brought in a second truck load of All of that I've packed in a backpack. Plus in a firewood last night and will bring in another small gym bag in my truck I carry: tomorrow night, and we are as secure here as we can reasonably make it. School will likely be o An extra pair of pants – military BDUs cancelled for a few days so Liz won't have to travel o A pullover wool hat (except that she's supposed to attend a teacher's o A set of thermal underwear conference Thursday and Friday in central Virginia o A sweatshirt – I'm dreading that...) but of course my work never o A light rain jacket with reflective tape stops, so I have a sleepover kit in the truck in case I wind up having to stay at the hospital for a night or – and I constantly carry a cell-phone. two. Some of this is overkill, but I used to be a Packing a "go-bag"; a small duffel bag or backpack volunteer firefighter and I got used to carrying with some essentials for a emergency trip out of some extra stuff in my vehicle in case I got stuck your home might be a good idea for most of us on on a long incident somewhere. I'm going to add to the East coast just now. If there's any possibility at the stuff in the truck a good pair of boots and an all that you even might have to evacuate, why not insulated set of coveralls. I live in an area that's pack a few things today? I suggest: still somewhat rural, so such things could possibly come in handy, and I have them around the house o A change of clothes, plus extra socks and anyway. I will also put a shovel and some other underwear tools in the truck. I don't suggest that all of you o Toilet kit with toothbrush, and so forth pack as much stuff as this, but that backpack part o Any medicines that are needed on a daily basis of this list might be a handy idea. Just think about the small things that you might want with you if Plus, my "go-bag" contains: you suddenly had to leave your house for a couple of days and pack that. Three emergency meals consisting of three Power Bars, three small cans or fruit with pull-top lids, Just thinking out loud, here... several of those small packets of drink flavorings Curt Phillips, October 2012

Snow Survival Alan Dorey

I empathise with Curt over weather preparedness: and gravel, I managed to get out and follow the when I lived in the north of England, I always had only snow plough (or plow as you would have it?) emergency rations and so forth in the car just in for miles around. For years I carried this stuff, but case – and one winter, very much needed them. then I moved back south to deepest, darkest, Nothing as comprehensive as your list, but we Dorset and a mild micro-climate, and finally, my lived quite high up and snow tended to stack up Emergency Stock was abandoned. quite quickly when it came. Driving home from work (city centre Manchester – mild, no bad Two years back, we had some extreme snow weather) the 10 miles north of the city, each mile conditions again, and I kinda wished I'd still kept brought fresh perils. I got stuck in the car for 6 them. Food would probably have gone off a bit hours, but eventually the snow let up enough to get though. it dug out and with copious amounts of cardboard Alan Dorey, October 2012 ------Inca 9 – page 8 ------Survival of the Wettest – an IntheBar compilation ------

Weather Tales Bill Burns

In late October 2012 we had plenty of warning of Although it had been quite warm before the storm, the approach of Hurricane Sandy towards Long by Friday it was starting to get cold at night and we Island. So before the storm hit we consolidated were ready to break out the winter comforter. But our frozen food into the fridge in the basement, on Saturday afternoon, just over five days after the loaded it with containers of water to freeze, and outage began, the electrical repair crews finally stocked up on essentials. We also fuelled up both started working in our area - linemen from upstate cars, and I made room in the garage for my New York, trucks from Massachusetts and (relatively) new Toyota Prius. Pennsylvania - and they kept going even after it went dark around 6 pm. Not long after that our On Monday October 29th, just after lunch, as the electricity was restored, and when the thermostat leading edge of the storm hit Long Island our powered up it showed the room temperature at power went out, not to return until the following only 50F. Saturday evening. As we learned later, over a million households on Long Island lost power We didn't have much damage from the wind, during the storm, and the utility company was except for sections of our back fence blown down totally overwhelmed – to the point of locking the or damaged by (small) falling trees, along with a door of their customer service center so that irate few slates dislodged from the roof. But in coastal customers could not get inside. New Jersey, lower Manhattan, and on the South Shore of Long Island many residents had very bad Fortunately we have a gas stove for cooking and a flooding and wind damage – here the storm surge gas water heater, both of which will run without from the ocean dislodged some houses from their electricity. We also have a small portable fridge foundations, and flooded others above the ground which runs on 12 volts, so I ran this in the car to floor ceiling. Even houses with less extensive keep milk and other perishables cold, and on flooding lost all their furnishings and appliances, Thursday we were able to fill our coolers with ice and had their electrical wiring and circuit breaker from the local American Legion post, where Mary panels ruined by the salt water, and some people is treasurer. were still not back home as late as April 2013, six months after the storm. We then opened the freezer for the first time and found that everything was still mostly frozen, But this wasn't the end of our troubles. The falling which meant the temperature hadn't risen much temperatures were the prelude to a Nor'easter above 32F and the food was safe to eat. We then storm, which sends very cold air down from the loaded the just-thawing food into the coolers full of north and into the Mid-Atlantic region. As this ice, and that kept us well supplied with things to met the large amount of moisture still in the air eat until the power came back two days later. after the hurricane, on Wednesday November 7th it began to snow, and all the lights went out again. I had also bought a portable jumpstarter for the car a few weeks earlier. This has a rechargeable This time I had a Plan B. In the calm between the battery which is kept topped up from the mains two storms, I had bought a small inverter, which electricity, and it then provides enough juice for runs on 12 volts DC and puts out AC power. This several attempts at starting a car with a dead could be used to provide power from any car, but battery. I used this to run a 12-volt worklight in the problem with most vehicles is that the car's the kitchen and then in the bedroom, which gave 12V battery would soon run down. us enough light for cooking and reading – a full charge lasted about two evenings. Mary took it So either the car engine has to be left running into her office one day and recharged it (their constantly (very inefficient) or you have to power having been restored on the Wednesday). remember to start it up for ten minutes or so every Meanwhile I was walking to the library each day to hour to keep the battery charged. check email and keep in touch with my clients. But the Toyota Prius is uniquely suited for this application. ------Inca 9 – page 9 ------Survival of the Wettest – an IntheBar compilation ------We have steam heat – old fashioned now, but it has no air handlers or water circulators and so needs very little power to run. After the first hurricane I had installed an isolation switch so that the steam boiler could be powered independent of the rest of the house. I measured the load with a meter, and the boiler consumed only about 5W when idle, 18W when running. I also checked the cable modem, wifi router, VOIP phone interface, and wireless phone, and these took less than 20W combined. I have several LED lamps (60W incandescent equivalent) which take about 13W each. With the 80 watts available from the inverter I would be able to run all the above plus an LED bedside light, my internet radio, and my iPhone charger. If I turned off one lamp I The Prius has a standard 12 volt battery (although could substitute my laptop charger. smaller than the ones used in non-hybrid cars, as it doesn't have to start the engine). Unlike standard On Thursday, when it became obvious that we cars, the Prius also has a high-voltage, high- were again going to have to wait an indeterminate capacity traction battery which has a number of time for power to be restored, I parked the Prius functions: It can run the car by itself for short by the kitchen door, hooked up the inverter, put distances at speeds below about 30 mph. It the car in Ready mode, and ran an extension cable combines with the engine to provide extra torque from the inverter into the house. We spent the and horsepower when accelerating. It takes and next three days in quite reasonable comfort, with stores power from motor-generators driven by the heat, lights, Internet, radio, and phone. We wheels when applying the brakes or coasting continued to use the ice chests to keep food cool, downhill. It powers one of the generators as a as there wasn't enough power to run the motor to start the engine (which is turned off refrigerator. whenever it's not needed, such as when stopped in traffic, moving in slow traffic, or coasting). And Late on the Sunday afternoon, November 10th, finally, it powers a DC-DC converter to charge the with the power still down, we decided to go out for 12V battery as needed. a meal. On our return, as we turned into our street we saw that the lights were back on, and things This is the key to using a Prius for backup power. slowly started to return to normal. The inverter used to power house lights and appliances is still connected to the car's 12V When I turned off the Prius that evening, it battery, but everything after that works without reported that it had been running for 54 hours and human intervention. had used 0.5 gallons (US) of gasoline, about two dollars' worth. A heavier load using a more The Prius is set to its Ready mode, in which it is powerful inverter might take a gallon or so a day, powered up but with the engine stopped. As the and with this I could run all the essential load on the car's 12V battery slowly reduces its equipment in the house for about five days without charge, one of the vehicle's many computers refuelling the car. detects this and turns on the DC-DC converter so that the traction battery can recharge the 12V In preparation for the next storm, I now have a battery. This cycle repeats as needed, and when 1000 watt inverter with a quick-connect to hook it the traction battery itself drops to its minimum set up to the car, and two five-gallon gasoline storage point (about 40% of full charge), the engine comes cans. I have also modified the electrical wiring to on to charge it back up. The engine might run for our detached garage so that the power from the about a minute once every half hour or less for a inverter can be run directly from there to selected light electrical load, more frequently for a heavier equipment in the house. This also allows the car to load. be locked up in the garage while in Ready mode, and keeps it well away from the house to eliminate How much power can this provide, you may be even the remotest chance of any problems with asking. The maximum is about a thousand watts, carbon monoxide. which will run lights, a heating system (depending on the equipment), and a small refrigerator, along I hope I never have to use this setup again, but the with internet and phone equipment, radios, and an rather too frequent occurrence of "100 year energy-efficient TV. But my little inverter was storms" makes it more likely than not that I will rated at only 80 watts – so how much could this need it before long. possibly do? Bill Burns, November 2012/April 2013 ------Inca 9 – page 10 ------Survival of the Wettest – an IntheBar compilation ------Survival – the Aftermath Curt Phillips

Over here we have military surplus stores which sell – among many other things – "MRE's" (Meals, Hearing all this, our friend began doing quite a lot Ready To Eat), and even those things are actually of cursing at us in between the groaning, so we safe to eat for several years. I keep one in my truck knew he wasn't feeling all that bad, and that most of the time. I've eaten some that were about cheered all of us up considerably. He more or less 10 years old and had no ill effects at all. recovered and was able to appear at the morning formation. I was very glad to see that and made a Admittedly the taste isn't all you might hope for, point of telling him so. Just him showing up for but then they don't taste all that great when they're inspection allowed me to win a $2.00 bet. Oddly brand new either. And when you're hungry, they he cussed me again when I mentioned this to him, taste just fine. I get mine from reenacting friends, so I suppose he was still feeling a bit wobbly on his but there's a shop in Abingdon that has them for pins... $3.00. You just have to learn to avoid the ones Curt Phillips, October 2012 marked "Breakfast, Eggs, Ham", but once you've sampled one of those you never forget to make a point of checking the label routinely. And finally, a different kind The hard bread packets they often contain are excellent. And they'll have packets of lime powder, of extreme weather: chewing gum, chocolate brownies, and various other things. Even toilet paper. If you do eat the "Breakfast, Eggs, Ham" you'll want that toilet Rain isn’t all we are getting nowadays. It may be paper rather quickly so it's nice to have it at hand. global warming when averaged out, but as our weather is more extreme and unpredictable by the Anyway, they can also be found in sporting goods year, perhaps it should be called global stores, although the non-military brands are less randomisation. If the Arctic warms up and the jet- interesting even if they are more palatable. There's stream stays further south in the wintertime, we in probably an equivalent available in the UK, I'd what is laughingly called the temperate latitudes imagine. may get more of this:

I knew a fellow (a reenactor friend and this happened at a WWII reenactment) who once opened and ate the contents of a WWII dated C- ration can. This was about 1990 so it was at least 45 years old at the time. It may have contained corned beef. It looked a little like corned beef after he threw it up about 15 minutes later, but then most foods do under those circumstances.

It gave him a rough night but he refused to go to the hospital and just lay in his tent all that night farting and groaning. (To be fair, farting and groaning were his two favorite things to do anyway, so it may not have been due to the C- ration.) The rest of us sat around for hours just outside his tent loudly discussing how we'd divide Near Haslemere, Surrey, January 2010 up his WWII stuff (uniforms, boots, rifle and so For the full story of a 70 mile trip that took 19 forth) if he actually died before morning. Nobody hours, see my article “Hotel Previa” in Quasiquote wanted the tent due to all the truly Olympic level 9, ed. Sandra Bond farting that was going on so we had to make it a package deal; whoever got the rifle also had to take Rob Jackson, April 2013 the tent. ------Inca 9 – page 11 ------Keep Brighton to the End: The Failure of Seacon ‘84 – Alan Dorey ------Keep Brighton To The End – The Failure Of Seacon ‘84

Alan Dorey

“It’s About Time” was the slogan that promoted us insiders, was our way of putting something back Seacon ’84. into SF fandom, albeit on an informal basis. We didn’t see it as a Big Deal, but something fun and It was a catch-all phrase supporting the drive to involving too. It certainly wasn’t an academic, hold the Eurocon in the UK for the first time. It research-based organisation and although we also had a vaguely convenient SF feel to it – ooh, supported an interest in science fictional matters, time travel – and reflected too on the arrival of there was an element of irreverence in how we did Orwell’s Big Year. Of course, its real meaning things. The trick was going to be to prove to became only too apparent as Easter 1984 various sets of authorities in the communist bloc approached – “It’s About Time People Pulled Their that we were a serious and earnest organisation Weight” – and this was an underlying current that formally inviting writers and fans to a “science ultimately doomed Seacon ’84 to mediocrity. fiction conference”. Looking back, I’m only glad that the internet wasn’t around as our credibility It was always going to be a tough call to make it could quickly have been shot to pieces. work, combining together as it did Eastercon with the unknown quantity of this European arriviste. John Brunner and I met at Yorcon II in Leeds to If the conjoined events flourished and brought talk it through some more. I admit I was intrigued forth a memorable convention, then the gamble by the idea of a Eurocon here in the UK and we would have paid off. But, if they slid like out-of held an informal discussion with a range of fans in control pirouetting skaters, they’d crash and fall in the hotel lounge on the Sunday afternoon. I won’t a heap, an undignified end to a bizarre experiment. pretend there was an instantaneous acceptance of To make it work would require some real the concept, but people were interested and as determination, an experienced team – and not a Eurocons were generally bigger than say, an little bit of luck as well. Eastercon, there was a chance for more Guests to be invited and all that might entail in terms of It didn’t start out like this. interesting programming. Brunner’s big idea was to get Isaac Asimov, although of course he couldn’t The notion for bringing the Eurocon to the UK say this – and that would all depend upon timing came from John Brunner. He got in touch with me and the availability of ocean liner crossings as the prior to Yorcon II (1981) to float the idea. It proposed GoH didn’t fly. But, to Brunner’s credit, quickly became clear that his ambition required it did seem to be a goer and although I was no fan quite a bit of effort in those Cold War days, a time of The Good Doctor’s work, I could see he would when writers and fans behind the Iron Curtain be a big draw. found it difficult to get sanction to visit the West. Brunner said that for anything to work at all, the The test was, could we squeeze a Eurocon into the BSFA would need to help with formal invitations UK schedule somewhere? and “letters to the right people” so that the necessary permissions to visit the UK could be got. There were fans with more of a European If there was any chance of this happening, we enthusiasm than I and Brunner corralled them needed to act quickly. I – for my sins – was then together, leaving me to think about the Chair of the BSFA, an organisation which was then practicalities and the need to find other key largely run by fanzine fans after many years of committee members. Looking back, this was the being a little stand-offish about such creatures. start of the stresses and strains that existed right The BSFA had a membership of about 1100 and to up to the convention. My thoughts were on the ------Inca 9 – page 12 ------Keep Brighton to the End: The Failure of Seacon ‘84 – Alan Dorey ------need to involve fans who could run a convention, Somerset and anywhere else that seemed practical Brunner’s on those who wanted a Eurocon. I still for the geographically dispersed team. Maybe it don’t know how it happened that the proposal for was my experiences with the BSFA or two Yorcons, it to be a combined Eurocon/Eastercon was but the committee seemed to lack cohesion. There mooted, but it was – and that was another issue to was little team spirit and although there were deal with in terms of promotion. I suspect that some very good members with real experience and there may have been concerns about a Eurocon in skills, there were others who were increasingly out (say) the summer extracting fans from the of their depth. Our co-chairmen failed to notice Eastercon which – in turn – would end up being this – indeed, even when I and others discussed smaller than usual, possibly too small to be the issues prior to a meeting, once raised they were sustained. But, there we had it – and it was clear instantly accepted and magically, nothing ever too that although Brunner was a good figurehead, really changed. Increasingly, the burden of work he wasn’t the right person to chair the committee and commitment fell onto a smaller and smaller and make things happen. He accepted this with group, but short of throwing my hands up in good grace and I too knew that my involvement horror and resigning, I persevered. I’m also sure would have to be fitted around my BSFA stuff. But that others saw my constant frustrations as a who could work alongside him as a co-chair? negative too. If this was a regular-sized Eastercon, we’d have been fine – indeed, of the four This was another of those mysteries. Martin Hoare Eastercons I helped run, the real core of activity ended up in the role: Martin was a good tech guy was down to maybe 4 or 5 people with occasional and ran his own computer consultancy, but I felt input from others. But we were running an uncomfortable and uneasy with this choice. But, Eastercon getting in for three times the normal others were happy and – to be honest – I couldn’t size, a Eurocon with a much higher level of admin really evidence my fears, so as Nicholas Parsons and protocol to get right and an ambitious multi- often says in Just A Minute “you can have the stream programme. benefit of doubt”. Besides, there were several good folks involved and 1984 was a long way off: The first major crack was the failure of the fan anything could happen. programme. The one thing which – in those days – was a pre-requisite was crumbling. Without it, In those days, the Eastercon seemed to oscillate our efforts to meld an Eastercon into a Eurocon between Leeds, Glasgow and Brighton, partly a would be much harder as there would be no function of there being decent hotels at each site refuge, no unifying fannish spirit to fall back on but also partly due to the location of fan groups. should the con itself be overwhelming or dull. It With a combined convention, the site choice could should have been noticed and picked up earlier have been difficult, but in the interests of “getting than it was, but the composition of the committee a move on”, Brighton was chosen as it had hosted was such that the concept was never seen as much the Worldcon in 1979. We clearly weren’t going to more than a minor add-on. Some of us raised this approach the 3000 or so members of that august strongly, pointing out that if we got this wrong, event, but had expectations of at least half that then we’d never hear the end of it in fanzines and total. Brighton had some good hotels – and it had future conventions. But, it was getting too late for the Brighton Centre, thus ensuring we had plenty major surgery as it dawned on a few of us that of convention space. It seemed to be a pragmatic probably up to half the committee weren’t pulling decision, but again with the benefit of hindsight, their weight. Oh, they talked a good story, they we had too much space and the atmosphere at the had their allies, they promised this and that and con was – as they say – worse than being on the reassured our co-chairs that all would be fine. We Moon. But, seeing the success of 1982’s Eastercon had our own work to do but, despite that, we at Brighton (Channelcon), any reservations I might picked up further bits and pieces through our own have had were put into abeyance. volition. The pressures increased.

Let’s pause and see how the various players in our There were some potentially useful innovations. little production are placed. John Brunner and Martin Hoare were co-chairs. Hotels were sorted We organised a proper creche, we had a Welcome out. A potential blockbuster guest had been Committee (designated people to help new confirmed. The Eastercon would be combined attendees feel part of the event) and we did draw with the Eurocon. We needed 1500 members. in some fascinating guests. Most of the committee was in place. And I still felt uneasy. But, these fripperies do not a convention make – and the ace in the hole Guest Of Honour Isaac My frustrations increased as we got into the Asimov bailed out, although admittedly heart routine of regular committee meetings. These surgery was a good reason for doing so. Roger were held in Brighton, at John Brunner’s house in Zelazny was slotted in as a replacement and,

------Inca 9 – page 13 ------Keep Brighton to the End: The Failure of Seacon ‘84 – Alan Dorey ------purely from a personal viewpoint, one much more and having a jolly good laugh at my expense. to my taste. But, these things can happen to any These were the self-same people who had talked a convention and the art, as always is to be serene on good story but made little effort to do their own the surface whilst paddling like hell beneath the tasks. water. Serenity, though, seemed to be in short supply. In management speak, the committee So where does this leave us? seemed to adopt a silo-mentality – each interest group knowing what they were up to and about, Ultimately, the pirouetting skaters did clash and but not communicating clearly across to the tumble and Seacon ’84 suffered from being neither others. I’m sure I was as guilty sometimes too, fish nor fowl. The rattling conventions spaces although in my defence m’lud, I at least recognised were not often filled which killed the atmosphere. the fact. The fan element of the programme was poor. The main hotel was less helpful than it had been at Things did get done. I got the PRs done and Channelcon. There was a lack of unity in the posted, issued all the invitations, did the relevant committee. “BSFA” stuff to ensure our friends from behind the Iron Curtain could get permission to attend – and Others may recall things differently. I’m sure the started work commissioning items for the techies had a great time with their walkie-talkies. Programme Book. The programme itself, on I’m sure those buying drinks for the guests enjoyed paper, didn’t look at all bad – and we’d secured the themselves. And, I’m certain there were attendees services of Hawkwind to do a special gig for us, who liked the convention. I suspect this might one of my personal highlights of the event. The sound like sour grapes: it isn’t intended to – but memberships started coming in, although it was short of name-calling and lines of dirty linen becoming clear to me that we’d struggle to get awaiting the washing machine of time, it’s my way 1500 attendees – and the proportion from Europe of recording this aspect of fannish history. didn’t seem at first to be much more than a usual Eastercon would have. This would have a knock- I do remember feeling a lack of elation when it was on effect on budgets and maybe, in a small way, all over. My fannish chums were mostly the fan room failure saved some expenditure. But, supportive, but they and I knew that it hadn’t been the book dealers were supportive, the Art Show what we’d wanted. There was a diminished spirit was coming on well and all those other essential floating about – and I just knew that we could have bits and pieces necessary to the smooth running of done a much better job by being brutal with the a con were mostly in place. composition of the committee at the outset. Several committee folk did a sterling job and But it was that serenity thing again: the mad without them, there would have been no paddling broke out above the surface and was met convention, but others – well, I’m not even sure with a lack of responsibility by those Who Should that they really understood the impact of their lack Have Known Better. of practical experience.

Here’s an example: I was both pleased and pissed- I vowed never to be on a convention committee off having sweated blood to get a good looking again, so of course I was: Yorcon III the following Programme Book designed and created – and its year. cost (some £1200) was more than fully covered by the ads that had been sold for it. But, in an effort But that’s another story for another time. to make the 72 page saddle-stitched A4 production look the part, we’d used a typesetting facility in Alan Dorey, April 2013 Leeds through the good offices of Chris Donaldson: it was based in the company she worked for – and provided I could fit in with their opening times, I could come in and typeset the text ready for pasting up and printing. Being diplomatic, let’s say that the proof-reading was less than ideal – it wasn’t the end of the world, the sort of thing that would pass without comment in a fanzine, but I was disappointed. But, it was down to me and I got it wrong. At the convention, as I expected, a few fans who know me made witty comments about buying a white stick and a guide dog – all par for the course. Disappointingly, certain individuals on the committee took it up themselves to highlight this fact – making badges

------Inca 9 – page 14 ------Cloudy memories of Suncon – Rob Jackson ------The Gift of Memory Rob Jackson delves into the past ------

I recently read Andy Hooper's fanzine reviews in I cast my mind back to when my Dad used to set Flag 3, from which I helpfully gathered that up the slide projector and screen in the sitting Taral Wayne in Broken Toys 13 had been having room and turn the lights off, to show friends the a bit of a grumble at anyone who writes con slides of the swimming pool in my uncle’s villa in reports full of pedestrian what-I-did-on-my Majorca. I used to love these slide shows, as I’d holidays lists of events, menus, fans they met and been there too. Until I nodded off as I was so on. Andy extended this to have a good laugh sitting next to the sitting-room fire which was at the idea of Taral “being forced to read one of rather warm. And heard our friends snoring.... Ron Jackson’s hour-by-hour travel reports. A gift that keeps on giving.” Thank goodness Andy Speaking for Ron, or people like him – or even doesn’t mean me; whoever Ron Jackson is, I for my Dad – I think what they get out of those mustn't copy his bad example. trip reports is reinforcement of their own memories . It’s the same kind of souvenir as Andy’s review also made me have a look at people get from scrapbooks of holidays or Broken Toys on eFanzines; needless to say, there holiday snaps. Though I’m not sure who this is some Damn Good Stuff in there. I haven’t yet person is who has written long, rather factual got Taral on either my paper or even my pdf trip reports with a relative shortage of irony or mailing list for Inca . Something Must Be Done, fantasy, maybe even about trips to recent West especially as Taral used to be very faithful to Coast Corflus, I can guess is that one of his Maya 35 years ago, and has just said some purposes is to ward off fading of the memory. embarrassingly nice things about the issue which won the 1977 FAAn Award (which would have Who was it said “rage, rage against the dying of been Maya 11). the light”?

It is ironic, then, that earlier on in the same issue Good question. Google’s first 10 search results Taral also has a grumble about photos of cons in for “dying of the light” are instructive. Five which long-ago people or events are reprinted mention George R.R. Martin’s novel of that with no context to help spring the people in the name; two mention Noel Gallagher’s song, ditto; photos to life. I am a bit confused now. Do we one mentions Roger Federer not being quite the need information about people and a bit of tennis player he once was; and only two mention context, or do we omit all the boring details? Dylan Thomas.

Perhaps what we need to keep discerning fans http://bit.ly/11dvm6n such as Taral or Andy happy is the character and unique idiosyncrasies of the people we meet and This may be about anger at the ravages of age conventions we attended. rather than loss of memory, but the loss of our pasts is scary for many of us. Let’s see what Taral means. Try this: “When I got to the hotel I met so-and-so whom I hadn’t Is the keeping of souvenirs an acceptable form of seen at all since last year’s con, gave him a firm behaviour, then? And the wish sometimes to handshake/her a hug, and then we went out for share those souvenirs with those who feature in a really nice burger.” Maybe he’s got a point. them, or whom we love? Without boring them to Was there anything truly special about the the point where they fall asleep, claim an person or the burger in that sentence? important hair-washing appointment when asked to view holiday snaps, fail to click “like” on Ri-i-ight. So why do people write what-I-did-on- Facebook videos, or write sarcastic fanzine my-holidays trip reports such as those reviews? perpetrated by Ron Jackson? How do we strike a balance between the comforts of reinforcing our own memories and providing a ------Inca 9 – page 15 ------Cloudy memories of Suncon – Rob Jackson ------creative slant on what we write which entertains you the blow-by-blow detail. You do need to even relative strangers and keeps them reading. know, though, that the slides are 35 and a half “You had to be there” is an admission of defeat, years old, and some of the overexposed parts are really. totally bleached to the point where even Photoshop or GIMP can do nothing to help. So So what kind of trip report is creative? And at you will have to put up with imperfect colour what point does last month’s or last year’s trip rendition, and slightly fuzzier focus than with report stop being new and start to become digital photos. I have ruthlessly cropped the history? photos so the faces are as clear as possible. You may find that the online pdf version is better for And further back, at what point does fan history seeing the photos than the paper copies of Inca 9 start to become archaeology? – I don’t yet know, as this is the first time I have printed out scanned 35 mm slides using this set- Maybe there is a u-shaped curve for level of up. potential interest to the reader, where last week is fresh and new, last year is a bit stale, and 3 Slides can fade to white and memories can fade years ago is deathly dull – but more than 15 years to grey, but put the two together and the slides ago becomes strange and interesting again can reinvigorate the memories – we hope. So because people have forgotten most of what went here goes. on and the facts are buried under a sludge of newer memories and events in the mind of the A brief timeline of the trip is interspersed protagonists. between the photos below. (Peter Roberts’s superb TAFF trip report, New Routes In All of which preamble is a prelude of America, tells the story as far as Suncon far introductory justification for a mad urge I had a better than I ever will, as he & I travelled from few weeks back to reconnect my recent memories London to Suncon together. I also wrote a two- of Corflu trips with much older ones of my first page but one-sentence con-report in Maya 15.) and only trip to the USA to Suncon in 1977, during my first and perhaps most intense period of fannish activity during my twenties. So.... I left my flat in Newcastle on the Saturday before the con, train to London; met Peter in I don’t think we can blame John Hall for this, town; 12 hour hold-up at Gatwick due to a even though I had the idea during a conversation strike, which meant the New York fans’ welcome with him and his wife Audrey while staying with party was extended till 7 am the next morning. them the night before a work commitment not But they were still bright-eyed and bushy- that far from their place in Wiltshire. (A very tailed.... good excuse for a fine fannish evening. Perhaps we should blame the wine instead.)

But the idea of looking back at cons past and seeing what they can tell us, as per Alan Dorey’s piece this issue, reminded me that my Suncon trip photos were still in slides where hardly any of them had been scanned and published for fandom at large. I could also reprint my (relatively) short and focussed report on Brad Balfour’s and my drive back to Cincinnati after Suncon.

So here are some slides from when many of us now of a Certain Age were relatively young, with an implied invitation to anyone else who was at Suncon or otherwise around at the time to contribute their memories, and help identify who was who where we don’t yet know.

I could bore you with chapter and verse about borrowing a scanner from a friend, finding which computer could cope with the elderly software In the Bronx – Jerry Kaufman (left) and Moshe that came with it (hint: XP not 7) – but following Feder (right) hold hands between Gary Farber’s Taral’s and Andy’s advice, I am going to spare legs (don’t ask me why) ------Inca 9 – page 16 ------Cloudy memories of Suncon – Rob Jackson ------

Jerry, Moshe, Peter Roberts (rear), Stu Shiffman, Gary Farber, & Joyce Scrivner

Terry Hughes

(taken in Washington/ Falls Church – can anyone remember if this was at Terry’s or Ted’s place, please?)

Peter, Gary, Joyce and I drove from New York to Miami via Washington in Joyce’s car; Joyce & I shared the driving. We stopped off in DC/Falls Church and hung out with Terry Hughes, Dan Steffan & Ted White among others. We had a day’s tourism to see the White House, the Smithsonian Air & Space Museum, the Capitol and Watergate.

You are spared most of those photos, but we Above: Dan Steffan, Mike Glicksohn, Ted White staged one with Gary as a beggar – see top Next page: right. Comments are left as an exercise to the Top: Lee Hoffman (I hope); Terry Hughes; Tom reader. Perry Second right: group in lounge at Fontainbleau. I Second: ? (Iguanacon); & Linda Krawecke think we know three – from left: ?, ?, Gil Gaier, (Karrh as she was then known) with her first Robert Whitaker, ?, Taral, ? experience of British fans in the form of Peter Weston. This didn’t put her off ------Inca 9 – page 17 ------Cloudy memories of Suncon – Rob Jackson ------

Jan Howard Finder & Joe Haldeman

Only three months after Star Wars was released, this was the first Worldcon at which costumers could inhabit the characters This couple only met at Suncon, but were well matched

Suncon was where the bid for Seacon ’79, the first UK Worldcon for 14 years, was successful. Peter Weston as Chair ensured that the bid party featured the old Brit fannish tradition of knurdling – if you don’t know, this involves holding an empty beer can in each hand and Linda again: on R A Lafferty’s knee. For some inching forward with otherwise only your feet reason I think they both knew how to have fun touching the floor, leaving one can as far away at this stage. from you as possible then hopping back with the other can as your only support ------Inca 9 – page 18 ------So Near, Yet So Far – Rob Jackson (reprint) ------

So Near, Yet So Far Rob Jackson

First published in Gannetscrapbook 3, 1978. Footnotes in red ; quasiquotes in blue. Oh, jolly good, I thought. At least we won't have any bother with the car. It's a much better car than Have you ever tried driving 1,100 miles nonstop in Joyce's scruffy old Ford Pinto, despite the fact that 24 hours immediately after six exhausting and Joyce's car got us here with little trouble. This exhilarating nights at a Worldcon? I have, last should be a smooth journey. But am I going to keep summer. awake? I thought, yawning.

I actually came through it relatively unscathed, in I'm hungry, I thought. Everybody else thought it fact no more exhausted than when I started; though too. We went to a Best Western motel (something there were times when it looked as if I mightn't. like a Holiday Inn, you ignorant Britishers) and I foolishly pigged it at a five-dollar help-yourself I wanted to get to Cincinnati to meet Bill Bowers buffet, and wondered why I didn't feel any less tired and other Midwest fen, as I was disappointed at the now my stomach was full. absence of many of them from Suncon. So during my six days in Miami Beach Lou Tabakow (a It was half-past ten by the time Brad and I said marvellous man, the Elder Ghod of Cincinnati and goodbye to Peter & Joyce and drove northwest into other Midwest fandom) very kindly passed the word the night. around and soon found out that Brad Balfour had a spare seat in his two-seater MGB and was heading "I'm the kind who likes to press on – I’m not keen back to Cincinnati at the right time. on stopping at all," Brad said. "I'd like to get home as soon as possible. How about doing four-hour Brad was active as a teenage fan in the late sixties shifts?" but has done less recently, being more interested in freelance rock journalism in Cincinnati and ”Okay,” I said, stifling a yawn. environs. When I met him he proved to have exactly the right smooth, hip, personable nature for Brad had a pretty fair cassette recorder system in his job, and a very typical ambivalent yet his car, and a collection of cassettes which only occasionally argumentative intolerance for authority partly coincided with my tastes for driving; much of (parental, employers, hillbilly garage mechanics, or it seemed that night to be long tracts of whatever). He was very pleased to have me along, instrumental progressive stuff, interesting but a and arranged to meet me outside Disney World in little soporific for night driving. Of course, the northern Florida at 8 pm on the Tuesday evening cassettes were totally indistinguishable in the dark, after Peter Roberts, Joyce Scrivner and I had toured and it was impossible to get them back into the the place (far too skimpily, as it turned out – Peter glove box (which had originally been tightly packed and Joyce came back the next day). with them).

Brad arrived three-quarters of an hour late. He'd Eventually Brad located the Stones' Beggars’ had some trouble with the car in Miami and had Banquet , put it on, gave me some route instructions had difficulty getting it fixed, but it was all right and after we'd got some petrol (sorry, gas) turned now, he reckoned. over and went to sleep on the pillow he'd brought. ------Inca 9 – page 19 ------

------So Near, Yet So Far – Rob Jackson (reprint) ------

them.) I had already got used to changing gear with my “wrong” (i.e. right) hand – but it was a talent I had Anyway, I drove happily on, refreshed somewhat by little opportunity to use that night. The road droned my catnaps and by the fact that it was now the on and on and on... “EAT”, “EXXON”, “Best natural time for activity. It started to spot with rain, Western”, “Ramada Inn”; and other signs flashed and as we entered the chaotic rush-hour traffic past at varying intervals... The Stones droned on around Knoxville, Tenn., it began to rain much and on... My eyes became heavy... My eyes jerked more heavily. I negotiated Knoxville successfully open... I turned the cassette over and found a long simply by following the signs, but after that the rambling piece of guitar/drum/flute music with visibility worsened and the clouds lowered and I little easily discernible structure or melody... My had to concentrate more and more on driving. This eyes jerked open again... I found it slightly difficult annoyed me, as what little I could see of the to keep the car on the right side of the lane lines... I countryside of northern Tennessee and southern said to myself “Better keep on – Brad wants me Kentucky seemed very beautiful. to”... I started to resort to my occasional post con trick of closing one eye to rest it, and driving with It also became hillier, and the losses of power on the the other (this is only to be tried on quiet roads, but upgrade became more frequent... is really surprisingly successful at keeping me awake)... (*1*) Eventually I pulled off for gas (sorry, Brad took over at 11 am, after I'd driven four hours petrol) and also bought a can of Coke. The bright nonstop. We stopped for lunch at a little country lights alerted me somewhat, and Brad rolled over in eating house. After we dashed through the his sleep. downpour to the verandah and splashed through the deep puddles in front of the door, we found it to “Why have we stopped?” he asked. “Are you tired? be a strange, very rural little hillbilly saloon with I'd like to get on.” gingham tablecloths and preference given to regulars. The menu was also strange; I can "No, no, not at all," I said (*2*). "I'm OK." It was remember having yams. one am. When we set off again Brad became rather worried I drove a further hour and a quarter, slightly by the losses of power. He refused to pass slow- invigorated by the caffeine in the Coke. moving trucks in the fast lane while on uphill gradients, in case we lost power, slowed down and Eventually I pulled off the road, woke Brad up and another truck or car ran into the back of us. But he he took over. I arranged the pillow and went to didn’t want to stay behind the truck and lose speed, sleep. An hour later I was woken by a drop in the either — so he had only one alternative. tone of the engine. He passed the trucks on the hard shoulder. “I can't go on any longer, I'm too tired,” Brad said, pulling onto the hard shoulder. Poor you, I thought. He did it quite a few times. I know how you feel – and I wondered if I'd pushed myself too hard before. Still, we hadn't come to any What those truckers must have thought of this crazy harm. We both slept a couple of hours, and hippie passing on the hard shoulder I don't know — eventually Brad woke and drove on. it would have been interesting to listen on CB and find out, if it were possible to understand what they At 7 am, in the unreal grey light of a new morning, I were saying. took over again. We were now in Tennessee and the country was not as totally flat as it had been further Eventually Brad pulled into a garage to peer under south. As the car pulled up some of the inclines I the bonnet. He decided he needed a metric wrench felt a slight loss of power. I didn't say anything, as I to tighten or adjust something or other (the MG didn't want to wake Brad; but he woke anyway and being one of these crazy foreign cars, it was also in muttered: “It was doing that before. I wonder if it's these crazy foreign measurements) and we began a feeding gas properly.” (*3*) tour of the service stations in the little hillbilly township we'd stopped in to borrow one... “Or it's not firing too well — maybe it's the distributor,” I said. “Or the alternator.” "Sorry. Try Deke's up the road.”

(I hope Brad will excuse any inaccuracies here — I Brad, on returning to the car: “Fucking hillbillies!” can't precisely remember the tentative mechanical diagnoses we made, except that there were a lot of “Sorry. Try Matson's up the road. They get these ------Inca 9 – page 20 ------

------So Near, Yet So Far – Rob Jackson (reprint) ------crazy foreign cars.” Then we made our way out to the northeast. The Brad, on returning to the car: “Fucking hillbillies!” roads became less modern and less well designed for smooth flow. Half a mile short of Brad's parents' Brad also got some of the mechanics to look at it. house there was a level crossing with a small steep All the people who had a look had their own ideas. hill just beyond. Eventually a consensus was reached that it was something vaguely electrical. This diagnosis was “There better bloody not be a train,” Brad said . “I'm strengthened slightly when the thing wouldn't turn not going to bloody well stop and lose power no w.” over and needed push-starting – evidently the battery was kinda flat, and when the car was Do I need to tell you whether there was in fact a running it was firing on current from the alternator. train or not? Yes, of course there bloody well was a bloody train. Eventually Brad decided to drive on to the next town with a real live MG stockist, about 80 miles on Brad cursed and swore, revved and throttled as we and 60 miles short of Cincinnati. So we push- waited in the line of cars. Eventually we negotiated started it and nervously got back onto the road. By the crossing itself successfully – but as we started this time Brad wouldn't let me drive just in case up the little hill the car stalled. Cursing, Brad pulled something Nasty happened. off the road onto the grassy verge, killing the car's remaining impetus. It would not start again. Brad also decided that if the car lost power for a short time it would be most likely to restart if it took So much for the trouble-free journey I had expected as long as possible to coast to a stop, and he also the previous evening! It was sheer luck that we said he'd noticed that it tended to fire best if it was managed to get so close to our destination. And the run at as high an engine speed as possible. At least I next day when Brad had the car examined it proved think that was his rationale... to have an absurdly simple fault – a loose connection on the battery was preventing it Anyway, the result was he decided he had to drive as charging up. fast as possible. We did a steady 75, slowed only by hiccups in the flow of power or in the traffic, for 50 Brad and I walked to his parents' place and his miles. mother brought the family station wagon down to Brad's abandoned car to pick up our luggage; then “COP!” I said. at Brad's parents' place we were fed royally on steak, I was able to have a shower and I was able to There had been a Kentucky State Police car parked contact Bill Bowers, who reacted with delight to my on the central reservation. presence and immediately invited me to stay at his place while in Cincinnati. (*4*)

As I turned round to gaze back at it, it turned and Message to Bill and the rest of Cincinnati fandom: moved off after us and its blue light started to flash. the journey, despite its slight vicissitudes, was well >worth it. Brad slowed sharply down to below the speed limit Rob Jackson, January 1978. of 55, as he didn't feel like a chase. Footnotes, March 2013: The cop rapidly gained on us. (*1*) Definitely don’t try this at home! I was damn It passed us, blue light still flashing. It just kept on lucky to get away with it. beyond us, still doing 80 or so, and pulled up another car ahead of us. (*2*) – read “lied.”

“Wow! Thank God for that!” Brad slowed down. For (*3*) I used genuine quasiquotes in the original. a while. Historic fannish usage: a combination of an inverted comma with a hyphen underneath. Used Eventually he decided just to press on to Cincinnati. to indicate a rough quote with no guarantee of the We made our way down the Interstate as it wound exact words. its way down to the south bank of the Ohio River Not easy in MS Word though: “ – ordinary inverted opposite Cincinnati just as the evening rush was commas in bold and underlined? beginning, and crossed into and through the centre of Cincinnati without needing to slow down or stop, (*4*) Reprint dedicated to the memories of Bill despite the density of the traffic. Bowers and Lou Tabakow: great Cincinnati fans, both of them. ------Inca 9 – page 21 ------

------Cloudy memories of Suncon – Rob Jackson ------

Mike Resnick in the grounds of his home (I think the Resnicks ran a pet motel at the time, which would explain the rural setting)

? (possibly Lesleigh Luttrell?); Rusty Hevelin

After Brad and I arrived in Cincinnati, Lou Tabakow acted as guide though I stayed with Bill Bowers. Lou took the photo of me which heads So Near, Yet So Far: the Ohio River is behind.

Carol Resnick (or is it Bea Ma- haffey?), Lou Tabakow

Dinner with Cincinnati fans: sadly bleached photo, but visible – I think – are (clockwise round table) Bill Bowers, Lou Tabakow, Brad After a couple of days in Cincinnati with Bill & Balfour, Mike Resnick, Carol Resnick (or Bea others (including my baptism to The Rocky Mahaffey?). Please correct the identities if I am Horror Picture Show), I flew back to New York wrong! for one final party. The flight was only a third more expensive than a Greyhound but 24 hours quicker. More partying possible then....

------Inca 9 – page 22 ------Cloudy memories of Suncon – Rob Jackson ------

New York party group: Mike Meara; Jerry Kaufman; Joyce Katz; Arnie Katz (not Brian Burley as in the print edition!); ?; Suzle Tompkins; ? (red shirt)

Ira Donewitz (we think); Mike Meara (I remember writing in Maya 15 that he had “drunk a whole bottle of something very evil the night before”); Sue-Rae Rosenfeld; Stu Shiffman (Thanks to Bill & Mary Burns, Mike & Pat Meara, Jerry Kaufman, Suzle Tompkins & John D. Berry for help with people-spotting, April 2013)

? (possibly Sylvia Starshine), Graham Poole

Arnie Katz (not Brian Burley!), Andy Porter

And finally – Andy Porter diplomatically greets the cameraman; Joyce looks elsewhere

Amendments in red, like this, are for the PDF edition; the print edition contains the original entertaining errors! ------Inca 9 – page 23 ------Uncle Johnny’s Bazillion and Ninety-Ninth Dream – John N. Hall ------Uncle Johnny’s Bazillion and NinetyNinety----NinthNinth Dream

John N. Hall

It is a boiling hot day in West London, but despite The policeman tells her he hasn't a clue who that Mary Reed, as she was circa 1975 or so, is still Michael Moorcock is, nor has he ever heard of walking about in an Afghan coat, while Graham Ladbroke Grove, even though Johnny knows they Charnock and Johnny are attempting to show her can’t be more than a mile away from the place. around notable sites of fannish London – but, just The policeman bears a strong resemblance to John hold on, we say, before we start on this guided Brunner, and I am sure he has a lecherous look tour, we just have to find a betting shop, because about him as he answers Mary's questions. Johnny has to put £10 on a horse in the National Eventually, the Brunnerish policeman walks off, Gold Cup Derby which is a dead cert and will win only to stop and pick up the pile of pennies and him loadsamoney. So we wander about and here threepenny bits Johnny has left on the pavement. we are at the top of the Golborne Road, and there is a bright shiny twenty first century betting shop, “No. Stop!” cries Johnny. “That’s ours.” and Johnny goes in, fills in his form and passes his money over the counter, but for some strange “You can have them,” says the Brunnerish reason gets back quite a large piece of paper policeman, “but she will have to take her knickers instead of the usual computer printed slip. But not off.” to worry, the paper gives the number of the horse, the time of the race, the odds and the stake, albeit Mary slaps the Brunnerish policeman. Johnny written in pencil, but all is well. So out Johnny gasps in horror. The Brunnerish policeman arrests goes into the blinding sun to find Charnock Mary and drags her off screaming. Not knowing sweating and pale as several varieties of ghost. what else to do, Johnny goes back to the pub where he has dropped Graham into the cellar. “What’s wrong with him?” he asks Mary. Graham is sitting at the bar, covered in blood, but with a bottle of vodka in front of him, and he is “He hasn't had a drink,” she replies, although now perfectly well, apart from all the blood frankly she doesn't seem to care all that much. dripping off him. Johnny tells him what has happened to Mary, but he only larfs. “Oh, find an off licence quick!” begs Johnny. “We must get him a bottle of vodka.” “Well, that makes life much simpler,” he says. “Here, lend us your shirt, so I can mop some of “But you have just put our last £10 on that horse,” this blood up.” Graham points out, as he fall to the pavement with the shakes and is obviously too ill to get up. Johnny takes off his shirt and Graham mops up Johnny asks Mary if she has some money for a some of the blood, but there is still a big pool of it bottle of vodka. She rummages around in an spreading around the stool he is sitting on. enormous bag, and eventually produces a pile of money in old pennies and threepenny bits. “Anyway,” says Graham, “isn't it time for you to go Johnny piles this up next to Graham's pale and and collect your winnings on that horse running in shivering body on the pavement. the National Gold Cup Derby?”

“Look, Graham, look! Is this enough for a bottle of “Yes, it is,” says Johnny, and pulls the strange vodka?” Johnny asks him pleadingly, but he betting slip from out of his pocket. Looking at it, doesn't reply, just lies there shivering and shaking. he notes that the pencil written betting details on it have now mutated into ancient Egyptian “Quick!” says Mary. “Hide him – there's a hieroglyphs. He shows the slip to Graham, who policeman coming!” doesn't notice the hieroglyphs, and just shouts “I saw that race on the TV over there. You have won Miraculously, Johnny notices the delivery doors of you bastard! It’s not fair! Go and get your money, an adjacent pub set in the pavement, opens them and come back and buy me a drink! Fuck off!” up and with a lot pushing and pulling manoeuvres Graham, who is a dead weight, through them, and So Johnny runs out of the pub, but he can’t he falls like a stone on to a cellar floor far below. remember where the betting shop is. He wanders Guiltily, Johnny shuts the doors and walks back to around, the streets not so familiar anymore, even Mary who is asking the policeman for directions to though it is still very hot. Just by chance Roy Michael Moorcock's house in Ladbroke Grove. Kettle is passing by on the other side of the road. ------Inca 9 – page 24 ------Uncle Johnny’s Bazillion and Ninety-Ninth Dream – John N. Hall ------

“What are you doing?” he asks. Johnny tells him “Alright then,” says Brosnan, sullenly, and pushes all about Graham and Mary being arrested, and the wrapped shirt at Johnny. how it will all be okay if only he can find the betting shop where he placed the winning bet Johnny runs outside and tears all the plastic shown on the slip. However, now the writing on wrapping off the shirt. He struggles to put the shirt the slip has mutated into cryptic ideograms, like on, but there are still pins in it which keep sticking something out of the I-Ching. in him or get caught in his stitches. As he pulls the pins out of his skin, the stitches start to come apart “Well, I'm sure you have won thousands.” agrees and godawful pus and black looking blood start Roy. “But you can’t go into a betting shop like pouring out of him. He is still walking along that.” and it’s still very hot. He bumps into a line of people standing at a bus stop. Mike Meara is one “Like what?” asks Johnny. of them and he helps Johnny to put on the shirt. With it half on and half off, Johnny notices he has “You haven't got a shirt on, and your chest is left the betting slip at the checkout in Marks & covered in livid surgery scars.” Spencer. He screams in terror and anxiety.

Johnny looks down and finds his bare chest is “Hang on,” says Mike. “You haven't got your arm covered in red suppurating wounds stitched up in the other sleeve!” crudely with dark string. They look something like the marks on the betting slip. But Johnny cannot move anymore, he has become stuck to the pavement with all the black blood and “What shall I do?” asks Johnny. pus congealing around his shoes. He tries to move his arm towards the shirt sleeve Mike is holding “Well, put a fucking shirt on, of course!” shouts for him, but it won’t move, his chest has opened up Roy. “You are so bloody thick!” into a huge suppurating hole with gallons of blood pouring out, the pain is amazing, he starts to “But I haven't got a shirt.” scream......

“Go and buy one.” ------

“I haven't got any money.” “I think I'm having a heart attack,” says Johnny, finding himself standing by the bed clutching his “Here. Take this pile of old pennies and chest with most of the duvet on the floor around threepenny bits I found.” him.

Johnny is overwhelmed with gratitude and “People don't usually have heart attacks while thanking Roy, runs into a Marks & Spencer's jumping up and down in the bed like a mad thing!” across the road, tears streaming down his face. He asserts Audrey, angrily trying to pull some of the takes a wrapped shirt which is in large blue and duvet back towards her. white stripes to the checkout. He gives the checkout person the pile of old pennies and Eventually, order is restored to the bed and threepenny bits. Johnny and Audrey once again compose themselves for sleep. “What’s this?” asks the checkout person, who has dark glasses, an Australian accent and strange “My chest does hurt a bit,” remarks Johnny. hair. “We don't take old coins, you know.” “Nothing you haven't had before,” says Audrey. “It Johnny stands there unable to move. There is will be because you have been lying in the wrong blood leaking from all his stitched up wounds. Roy position and buggered up your back and shoulders. approaches the checkout, dressed now as a shop When do you go to Rheumatology again?” supervisor, in a jacket and tie. Johnny thinks about it, but can’t remember. He is “Just give him the shirt,” he says. dozing off once more.

“Why?” asks John Brosnan (for it is he). “Shit!” says Audrey, throwing back the duvet. “Now I've got to go to the loo again!” “Because I said so,” says Roy. “Besides, he is bleeding all over the floor.” UNCLE JOHNNY (after a bad night)

------Inca 9 – page 25 ------Circulation – locs on Inca 8 ------

((Before we start on Inca 8 comments, here is one http://goo.gl/maps/BtUA . The supposed someone did earlier, as the UK-based saying goes – prohibition on drive-throughs was me repeating Robert eventually unearthed this loc on Inca 7 after the info Jeanne & Alan gave us. It could very well finding he wasn’t in Inca 8 and sent it, much to my have got to them via Chinese whispers.)) gratitude:)) On page 13 you write of hiking “down another Robert Lichtman Welcome to the much- hundred feet on a street that consisted mainly of delayed letter of comment stairs,” I wondered if you meant the famous Filbert on the rather delayed Inca #7. It’s been at the Street steps, where the stairs are wooden, make bottom of the little pile of Read Fanzines sitting on their way through lush gardens planted and top of my scanner, and when last week I finally maintained by the residents, where there are wrote a LoC on Uncle Johnny’s Motorway Dreamer ancient Victorian cottages on one side, and off of #7 (a fanzine over a year older than yours) it was which were two walk-only side dead-end side streets exposed to my view for the first time in ages. with similar housing. If so, I wonder if you noticed from one vantage point partway down the “yard” of Reading Rob Holdstock’s short piece leading off the a rooftop penthouse on a tall building down below. issue, followed by Garry Kilworth’s, Chris Priest’s and your own, I lament that I never really knew him And then you mention a street with “another hill in the fannish sense — only as the author of various designed to test car clutches to oblivion” — which books I never read. My loss, surely! could be any number of streets on Telegraph Hill — and “finally up a sequence of about 12 brick Your trip and convention report forming the solid staircases, each of which had another path leading heart of this issue was an entertaining read, off sideways to someone else’s front door.” which I especially the parts where you’re writing about guess to be the Greenwich Street steps, one block to people and places familiar to me. For instance, the north of Filbert Street and accessible from the without having to read forward I know the parking lot for Coit Tower. ((I think your significance of the lady’s wear shop’s name you refer geography is correct on all three counts.)) to in the “Great Night Bird” section. And I’m glad that you got to spend extended time with Jeanne Your visit to St. George’s Spirits reminded me our Bowman on this trip. As you may know, I got her own some years earlier, having in common Spike as into fandom in the first place, the best recruit I tour guide and British visitors as part of the snared since Calvin Demmon back in 1960. company — Christina Lake and Doug Bell in that instance — and the “pickled yellow citrusy things.” When you write on page 11 “Once past South Bay Unlike Mike and Pat Meara, we didn’t make faces as and the very exclusive Sea Cliff neighbourhood, with we watched the bartender/tour guide its expensively manicured residences,” I’m not sure demonstrating how to prepare and drink absinthe, what area you’re referring to by “South Bay. And as and we quite enjoyed it. for Sea Cliff it’s not true that “you are not supposed even to drive through if you don’t live there” — that ((I much prefer Mike’s christening of those yellow only applies to tour buses. I’ve driven there many a pickled objects as Graham Charnock’s brain in a time, starting back in the mid-‘60s when my jar.)) girlfriend Margo took me to see the mansion in which one of her relatives lived. We haven’t yet made it to the quilting museum you visited, but would like to someday. When I lived on ((South Bay is the name I read on Google Maps for the Farm, there was a lot of colourful hand-woven the actual bay which Sea Cliff faces, to the south- Guatemalan fabric there. When the destructive west of the Golden Gate Bridge: see 1976 earthquake struck in the highlands, the ------Inca 9 – page 26 ------Circulation – locs on Inca 8 ------community sent crews of its carpenters down there In the letter column, I wouldn’t agree with Mike to help in a major rebuilding effort funded by Meara writing “Have you ever considered doing a Canadians. Over the next couple years some of the blog, Rob? Because your own contribution to the Mayan Indians occupying those remote areas visited content of Inca seems to me to be more suited to the Farm, and yards and yards of that fabric also this form of fanac.” He’s right in a certain sense — made the journey. A shirt I once had wore out ages the diary style you employ in your trip reports could ago, and these days my sole physical specimen is a easily be entries in a blog — but to me they’re better small piece about the size of a sheet of A4 that I preserved when included in a fanzine that gets have on display on one of the bookshelves in my printed and one can save for rereading without office devoted to artwork and family photos. having to find the link to a blog and cross fingers and hope that part of the blog hasn’t bit the dust. I smiled at your description on page 24 of the “decrepit hovel of a village called, I think, San Ardo” Jerry Kaufman is just wrong when he writes, with its “ancient gas station and general store,” regarding printing a British fanzine, “And with a having memories of that place from back in the day zine formatted, as yours is, to fit a size of paper we before the completion of Highway 101 as a limited- don't have in the US, I suspect if I did print it out, it access dual carriageway. Back then the stretch of would not work very well.” As a matter of fact, road from somewhere north of Paso Robles to Adobe Acrobat is quite adept at making the minor somewhere south of Salinas was a perilous two-lane adjustments needed to print the A4 format onto blacktop with insufficiently occasional passing standard US quarto. The end result will be a lanes, and it went smack through the centre of San narrower text block on the page, but all perfectly Ardo. Even then it was nothing much as a town, but readable. the bypass turned it into the near-ghost town you encountered. The place to stop along that stretch Sandra Bond is spot on in describing Sunnyvale as for restrooms was King City, which also had an “an unexceptional part of the amorphous cityscape A&W Rootbeer drive-in as food oasis. that is the southern Bay Area from San Francisco all the way down to San Jose.” All the many cities and I’m glad you finally got to see Pismo Beach, perhaps towns making up that urban sprawl used to be my favourite place to stop along all of Highway 101. much smaller and had open space between them. There used to be a great and inexpensive taqueria That’s how I remember them from my first visits to there back in the day, now gone, but the surf shop the area back in the early ‘60s. But thanks to with the cars on high platforms and, of course, that population demands and the willingness of lovely pier were still there the last time I visited. developers to carpet over everything with streets, IDEKWTM, though, about it being “Bognor-sur- houses and shopping centres, only the changes in California.” signage and perhaps in the quality of the pavement provide clues that one is passing, for instance, from ((For non-IntheBar denizens, I should explicate the San Bruno to Burlingame to San Mateo and onward. acronym: I Don’t Even Know What That Means. The reference to Bognor implies a sense of down- ((Back to Arcade Fire, and Mountains Beyond at-heel fadedness as in the PS to my piece in Mountains: “Sometimes I wonder if the world’s so “Survival of the Wettest”; however I may be unfair small, that we can never get away from the sprawl. to Pismo Beach, as this was a cold and windy Living in the sprawl the dead shopping malls rise February day.)) like mountains beyond mountains, and there’s no end in sight. I need the darkness, someone please A correction you’ve probably already had: Jeanne cut the lights!” and Alan live on “Hill Road,” not “Hillview Drive” (unless the latter is a name they’ve given the long But by contrast....)) driveway back to the house). ((Thanks for the reminder. I did have it right on my mailing list.)) Of Death Valley she writes, “the feeling of alienness was genuinely touching and scary, and it would We were glad you and Pat & Mike liked the take-out have been easy to imagine oneself on a different curry you and I slogged down through the rain to planet – Mars, or some even more alien and remote bring back, not to mention Carol’s great photo dust-ridden sphere. It certainly doesn’t resemble albums and having to no doubt overcome an urge to Earth as I know it much, except for the bits with spend hours poking through my fanzine collection. tourists in.” I’ve never been to Death Valley, but I know the feeling. My own terrestrial sample of that Of the three parts making up “The Door Bell Rang,” particular sort of desolation would be the Bonneville Curt’s is by far the most entertaining. I was happy Salt Flats, through which one drives on I-80 passing that my little post leading it off led to his and Dan’s through the western side of Utah. pieces. ((A feeling revisited in Inca 8, both in my own brief ------Inca 9 – page 27 ------Circulation – locs on Inca 8 ------mention of the quasi-lunar landscape between Tuba City and Cameron AZ, and by Marc If I look back and list what I've been up to, it would Schirmeister in his visit to desolation.)) make me exhausted just thinking about it. Promoting bands. Writing and publishing I remember Espanola, the town in which she spent newsletters. Running websites. Managing a concert the night, only as a place along the road from venue and associated bars and restaurant. Doing Albuquerque to Santa Fe where one could get radio work. Being involved in national politics. Oh relatively cheap gas and then get away as fast as - and for much of that time, working as an possible. “Despite my notes,” she writes, “I got Operations Manager for a FTSE 100 company. thoroughly lost in Santa Fe.” When we approached it from the south in 2006 on our way to visit my son The common factor is "doing something", the need living outside Taos, we got off the freeway in hopes to try and be creative and tie my interests into of finding the downtown square and did exactly the something that pays the bills. So, in that regard, same. The town’s street system suffers from a there was no time for fandom. In other ways, it had serious inadequacy of advisory directional signage, become less interesting – can't quite put my finger and it was with some effort that we found the on it, but whereas at one time cons and fanzines and freeway again and continued on our journey. One Tun meetings always used to fire up a degree Coming back a few days later from the north with a of excitement, competing interests started taking cram course in the city map under my belt, we had on an altogether more attractive hue. better luck. But if there is something I have picked up with Inca I was happy to read that even though Sandra and the recent reconnections with some of the old “preferred Rhyolite to Calico,” she did visit the latter crew, then if s the conviviality linked to caustic wit at my suggestion (as a major fanhistorical site) and and intelligent discussion. That happens that even though it was pretty touristy she elsewhere, but it does seem to be more concentrated concluded her brief account with “I can’t say I didn’t in elements of fandom and almost instantly, that 15 enjoy it.” year gap melted away and the good bits started getting exciting again. I can’t sign off without adding how much I enjoyed the many photographs adorning this issue. Which brings me back to Inca , this freshly produced fanzine gently imploring me to turn its pages and ------write whole paragraphs of erudite and amusing comments. ((Now we get up to date, with locs on Inca 8:)) Lord Bruce Of Townley writes a fine piece of Alan Dorey Who would have thought it, "Victorian adventuring" as you put it in your eh? introduction. Before steam-punk was even given a name, I've always had a fascination for the Some 33 years after I write The Mortician's Gallery unbridled lust for progress and exploration that for Inca #1, here I am with issue #8 sat enticingly on took place during that era. Of course, with our my desk. They say that time flies, but it sometimes more detached world-view, it was very far from a feels like time has been wrapped up in a protective noble cause, but the mechanical, engineering and cover and fired down a cliff by the most powerful scientific aspects are a marvel. Railway, cannon known to mankind: plenty of parallel construction, civil engineering projects, exhibition activities went on during my interregnum, but it’s a venues – all created and delivered in double-quick bizarre experience scribing this Loc. time and with a solidity and aspiration that rarely exists in the modern day. Reading War Of The Of course, I'm supposed to write thoughtfully about Worlds at a young age was a sound start, and thus the hand-tooled cover and the exciting array of reading the Travails Of Twillington, Esq is a clever articles and pictures contained within this A4 wad and entertaining pastiche of a piece that might have of stapled paper that is Inca. But I keep being seemed at home in the pages of Pearson's or The drawn back to what's gone on since I last went to a Stand Magazine. convention (1997) and wrote something for any sort of fan publication. Did I lose interest? Did I stop I did enjoy the amusing use of fannish names for the writing? Did space aliens descend to our back various manufactories in Bruce's tale, and should I garden here in deepest darkest Dorset and whisk me ever need a mechanised servitor, then a queue shall away for scientific study? It feels like the latter if be formed at the gates to the Jackson & Son & only because I seem to have been busier than ever Daughters Motorised Man-Servant Emporium. during that time, and I can't pin the whole blame Even if I end up with the exclusive Mauler model, on the usual work responsibilities taking me away which I am assuming is the more sporty version of from this fandom thing. the recalled Farber edition which, complete with ------Inca 9 – page 28 ------Circulation – locs on Inca 8 ------its 397 page instruction manual, seemed doomed to not have anyone to take it in and give it a home. And speaking of fine fannish stuff lurking, I have to Bruce captures the spirit of the age well, writes with say that Harry Bell's cartoon banners are first class. rare style and humour and I'd be happy to see Great to see them in colour and I was highly further instalments in the future. impressed by the inventiveness of their content. I am envious of artists as, at one time, I was keen on And I did enjoy Crank-0 seeking revenge on the producing pieces of my own. I had one of those rare "organic oppressor". creatures at school, a teacher who truly inspired – and I spent several years in my teens drawing and Your own contribution telling tales of thespian painting, including a few exhibition items. I even daring-do was diverting – chiefly because in years briefly considered art college following my A Levels past, I worked part-time in a theatre and much of (A in Art & Art History amongst the others), but what you said rings very true indeed. deep down I really knew that I always found it difficult, technically challenging – and Geography & I'm aware that Graham Charnock of this parish has Economics was something I found easy in observed that there's an element of "travelogitis" comparison and that's how I ended up at Leeds and inhabiting fanzines these days. Having been out of so a fannish existence was forged. Seeing Harry's circulation for this 15 years or so, Lightning Visits work just reminds me of what I wanted to do in and On The Sand And Glitter Trail did – at first times past – and I'm pleased to see work of such glance – seem to be very much infected by this quality in Inca . ailment. But – and this is a positive, so pick yourself up and pour another drink – I did find So, Inca #8: well designed (no change there), good myself enjoying them, catching up on the real life of artwork, interesting "travel" pieces and a terrific fans and families. In some ways I feel this adds a piece of writing from Bruce Townley. Is it a fanzine dose of ordinary life to the proceedings: just as long as I remember them? No. Is it worth reading? Yes. as there is some solid fannish stuff lurking in them Do I want the next issue? But of course. Will I in unexpected places. write something for you? There are limits – but stranger things have happened.

------Inca 9 – page 29 ------Circulation – locs on Inca 8 ------Gary Mattingly Many, many thanks for his first wife and had very little to do, as far as I Inca 8. Marvelous front know, with the child he had with her, which seemed cover by Dan Steffan! quite sad to me.

Marc Schirmeister's bacover, "The Ashes of Llano I have some knowledge of a few other people from del Rio" has a nice illustration and was an high school I hung out with but really pretty interesting story too. miniscule. I don't really have friends at work, never really have. The only friends I seem to have are fans Lovely picture of Dulcie with Alexander Mascord on and Wiccans and even there my contact is rather the inside front cover too! ((I’m going to do the limited. With fans, mainly via email and once in a typical Grandad thing and say he’s grown a bit great while gatherings in San Francisco or possibly since then – he’s had his first birthday, in fact. I only at conventions, primarily Corflu. With the could witter on about how he’s a child of his time Wiccans just full and dark moons, mainly. Guess and learnt from only a few months old that people I'm not much of a social being. I'm wandering a bit, pointing black rectangular objects – iPhones – at eh? him was welcome attention, and he is very good at looking at the iPhone, er camera....)) With respect to this issue, I also think it would have been marvelous had Stu Shiffman not had a stroke Incantations – Well, I never went to an upper class and had been able to illustrate Bruce's "Travails of school so I guess I don't have to worry about such a Twillington, Esq." gathering. Still, sounds like you went to good schools. I've only gone to one reunion of my high "Travails of Twillington, Esq." was an interesting school. It was okay but nothing fantastic. I believe and enjoyable adventure. Nice clip art from it was organized by former high school bigredhair.com on page 9 and another very nice cheerleaders. For some I wonder if that was their illustration by Marc Schirmeister on page 11. glory days. Can't say that I've ever had glory days, really, but certainly fairly good ones here and there. "Thespians at Home" was an interesting and There were some people who seemed to be trying to enjoyable tale about the Jacksons. Sounds like a lot appear as if they had done well. Mainly I was just of effort to produce a play . trying to stand back and watch. My grade school or junior high never had any such gatherings. I ((Most plays are produced by a large team, but suppose there may have been gathers of people Hugo and Dan were doing pretty much everything from where I went to University but I never went to from set designing to props supplies to make-up to any of those. I think they gather at football games directing and starring – you name it....)) and that is just not for me. Wandering off a bit I had a full beard for a number I had some friends in high school and some of those of years but I didn't mind it at all. I remember a continued through college but really don't exist any young lady stroking it as I lay on a radiator in the more. I have only spoken with one person from hall waiting for our Modern English Grammar high school over the past ten years. After finishing course to start. Foolish me did nothing but lay there high school he earned a degree in engineering and sort of astounded. Weeks later I saw her walking on then, later, somehow decided to become a psychic campus with another bearded male college student. and also move to the San Francisco Bay Area. Now Seems she had a thing for beards. Geez, where was I think he makes money doing as a psychic and also my mind? Of course the other thing about my beard I think he may work with some businesses or groups was that my father hated it. I had not told my of people through his Life Insights Classes, parents about growing a beard and one weekend whatever those are. they drove several hours from home to the house I was renting with others in Manhattan, Kansas. My Another high school friend went on to get a Ph.D father entered the house, saw the beard, from Stanford in astrophysics and something else immediately walked out and he and my mother left and then become a director or somesuch at the Jet moments later. Propulsion Lab with NASA. However he can't talk to me because in his second marriage his wife is a I was in several community theater plays while devout Christian with two daughters they were living in Detroit with my first wife. She and her raising together. He thought his wife wouldn't want sisters had been in local community theater for a him having anything to do with someone who had number of years and I sort of fell into a couple of Wiccan/Pagan beliefs (me). She's a scientist too at parts while we lived there. Why, in one I even had NASA so I guess all scientists are not very broad- to have a British accent, which I probably minded. Me, a lowly electrical engineer, just wasn't massacred but nobody complained. It was fairly up to par. Or maybe he just thought I was a bit too entertaining but not something I continued in later crazy to hang out with. Funny though since he left life. ------Inca 9 – page 30 ------Circulation – locs on Inca 8 ------sometimes be used in a friendly way.” However the Then we're on to the marvelous color artwork by Urban Dictionary says that in Australia it means Harry Bell. Many thanks to Harry Bell for creating either a troublemaker or a mad woman, and in all this lovely art and you for reproducing it in Spain a friendly but unpredictable girl. And in color. It is awesome. (Thought I'd throw in a little America, nothing very much at all so far? Chris Garcia imitation there.) Surprising variation.))

"Lightning Visits" shows that you are a busy fellow Really an enjoyable issue. and must like entertaining guests. We haven't had people stay with us for many, many years. Wm. Oh and meanwhile you obviously know that the Breiding has occasionally stayed here. Lucy 2014 Corflu won't be in Arkansas which I think Huntzinger lived with us for a while. Sharee Carton would have been interesting but will be in stayed a few days with us but I cannot immediately Richmond, Virginia. Then I see talk of one back in remember any other fans staying with us other than the UK in 2015? ((Indeed.)) some overnight stays on New Years' Eve by local fans. Sounds like you had great times with one and all and visited fascinating places. Lovely phoots also!

Fascinating lines of, um, wisdom(?) by the InTheBar collective on "The Bleezer or How to Keep Warm in Winter".

And then on to Circulation, locs on Inca 7. I agree with Graham Charnock that some of the phoots are a little small, particularly for my aged eyes. At least the print is still large enough that I can read it without a magnifying glass. Some fmz have very tiny font size, very tiny.

I enjoyed your "On the Sand & Glitter Trail" and accompanying phoots. You must take a lot of notes or have a very good memory. ((A bit of both.)) Maybe I will take notes on my train ride to and from Portland and maybe even some at the convention. However, maybe I will take a lot of pictures too. We shall see. Any idea why Singh ((who grumbled about the delay in disembarking at Heathrow)) was called a ratbag? What's a ratbag?

((I didn’t realise the word wasn’t universal. The British definition is (from the Macmillan site) “someone who is unpleasant to other people. This word can ------Inca 9 – page 31 ------Circulation – locs on Inca 8 ------Milt Stevens Congratulations on your new grandson. It all goes Your account of your son Hugo’s involvement in a to show that mimeo isn’t the only way for fans to production of Pinter’s The Caretaker in January reproduce. 2007 was strangely coincidental as I saw my first live performance of the play, together with my In your editorial in Inca #8, you talk about your daughter Eleanor, at the Richmond Theatre just a status in society and your feelings about it. That is a few days later. I’d first heard the play on the radio in topic that could fill quite a bit of space. Social status the early 60s and was chilled by Aston’s account of passes from generation to generation just like a his ECT “treatment”. I later saw the definitive film genetic defect. Here in the land of opportunity, version with Donald Pleasance (Davies), Alan Bates 90% of Americans die in the social class to which (Mick) and Robert Shaw (Aston). The Richmond they were born. Of the other 10%, most move Theatre production was excellent with David downscale. Bradley as Davies – almost typecasting as he his best known for his role as Hogwarts’ caretaker My father was living in the great depression up until Argus Filch in the Harry Potter films. Mick was the late sixties. He pinched every penny. In later played by Nigel Harman, an actor I hadn’t heard of, life, he convinced people he must be really rich who was greeted by swoons of affection by teenage because of his very irregular lifestyle. He was still girls on the front row – I later found out he was a very cheap about things that didn’t interest him, but heartthrob currently in Eastenders. Con O’Neill was he would spend money on things that did interest Aston and he went on to play Joe Meek in the him. Because of my father’s cheapness, my college biopic. choices were limited to closest/cheapest and closest/cheapest. With a cheap college degree, I The house in The Caretaker is based on one where was able to get a naval commission, and that Pinter and his then wife, Vivien Merchant, rented a improved my financial outlook considerably. two-room first floor flat, not in the East End as generally believed, but nearby here at 373 Chiswick High Road. The owner was a builder and his brother a former mental patient. One night they brought a So what is my social status? I know when tramp back home…. politicians talk about soaking the rich they are looking at me. It’s not that I’m really rich. I’m only http://www.flickr.com/photos/brighton/754891955 sort of well to do. Politicians are owned by the 8/in/photostream/lightbox/ really rich. They aren’t going to offend their patrons. However, their usual program includes Eleanor is a great fan of Pinter’s and had the honour taking from the not rich enough to give to the not of being in the same queue as Harold to collect a poor enough. I’m not in favor of the whole thing. degree from Sussex University in 1990 – hers was real, his honorary. There was a Pinteresque moment In “On the Sand and Glitter Trail,” I have this sense when the MC mispronounced his name as “Pint – of déjà vu about the nuclear testing museum. I’ve er” when handed his degree. read about it before and made a wiseass comment about it before. I probably commented that we used The photo on page 53 had me gobsmacked as I to blame everything on nuclear testing. I suppose appear to be sitting next to Ted White during Corflu we might have blamed most of the bad sci fi movies Glitter and reading the text discovered it was you. of the fifties on nuclear testing. Without nuclear It’s my trademark chequered shirt that had me testing, Hollywood would have had much more fooled – can I have it back please? trouble producing all those big bugs. ------Before reading Marc Schirmeister’s article, I’d never heard of Llano del Rio, even though it’s only about Nic Farey Warm & fuzzy thanks for 20 miles from where I live. Of course, there are a Inca 8 which arrived couple of mountain ranges between here and there. Saturday with a disturbingly large amount of California seems to have more than its share of odd stamps on it (Five quid! Blimey!). places to visit. Apart from the highly satisfying egoscan, the ------highlight is obviously Graham's loc.

Jim Linwood Many thanks for another A little additional musical info for yer: the first song excellent ish of Inca with done at the Suspects bash was a version of the Small its great portfolio of artwork by Harry and front Faces' "Song of a Baker", here repurposed as "Song cover by Dan plus the ingenious steam-punkarama of a Plummer", it being one of M Strummer's by Bruce. favorite tunes, though possibly now not one of ------Inca 9 – page 32 ------Circulation – locs on Inca 8 ------Claire's since the lad had apparently been practising breakfasty liquids. It may have been even more fun it daily for 4 weeks in preparation for the gig. I tho' if they had dispensed breakfast too. A sausage hadn't, and quickly decided I was – er – too pissed emerging from a tap in the wall would surely be a to wing it well enough, so just did the vocal; Mark's thing of wonder. familiarity with the piece was obvious, as was, I'm told, his single-minded dedication to banging out It seems I also missed your discussion on fanzine the slice without cracking up (he was not privy to writing where Ted told Claire that she would the lyrics beforehand, other than the fact I'd improve her writing by using shorter paragraphs admitted to him that I'd thought it best to omit the and sentences. (Hmmm, Jim draws quick graph) shagging references). "Werewolves" as an "encore" (you make it all sound so grand) is an obvious and popular choice, but, as I hope most people were too pissed to notice, was somewhat truncated as I was – er – too pissed to remember all the lyrics with any accuracy.

You mention the attendance of other guitarists, but of course there was only the one guitar (thanks to Theresa), so it wouldn't have exactly added up to the fannish Lynyrd Skynyrd in there. Mind you, did have a very nice jam with that John Harvey at the So, the ideal sentence length is zero so maybe Ted is cookout the following weekend... trying to get Claire to shut up.

PS I missed John D B's "f"! What, no phoots? ------

((That was my point. I missed phooting it too. Jerry Kaufman The cover just knocked me We’ll try and get him to do it again in Portland. I out. Not only did Dan do a smell Corflu program item....)) wonderful piece of art – including the lettering – but he also captured the crazy mixed up spirit of ------Bruce's story. And Harry Bell's mole skin drawings are lovely things. He does very nice work with Jim Mowatt Firstly, thank-you for a colours. I've always enjoyed his heavy black beautiful looking fanzine. It outlines, too. To me, that shows a natural certainty struck me immediately as a labour of love. about where he wants his lines to go.

Secondly, what a lot of fans there are in it. So much other colour, in your photos, that I'm glad you're willing to put the money into your print Thirdly, Gosh, what a lot of travelling. copies.

Fourthly, stop all the counting Jim. This isn't Now back to Bruce's story – anachronisms abound, Sesame Street. but then it's steampunk, so Bruce can get away with mixing in tech from any time he wants, and he can The Jackson family cottage seems a delightful place call it an alternate history, or even a parody, which indeed – full of fannish fun and dishwashers. I was is probably closer to the mark. I enjoyed the twist of much amused by the mention of the service station having Crank-O write the last section. at Tebay. This place is always a regular stop for me when negotiating the M6. It claims to have won I also enjoyed your travelogues – you visited places awards but I've never seen it on the ballot form at both in our home country and in mine that I would Novacon. love to see for myself. Not sure if I will ever get to them, but I won't rule it out. We are taking a cruise I attended Corflu Glitter myself but did it without to Alaska waters in September, hitting several any driving, motels or actual attendance. I stared interesting-sounding ports like Juneau and Sitka; into a computer screen watching all you folks and we expect to be back in Britain in 2014, though having fun and telling myself I was having just as mainly in London and environs. So trips to the much fun but in a cheaper, more eco-friendly way. southwest US will not happen for years at best. Obviously it wasn't as much fun as being there but I did enjoy being on the fringes of the convention and You have such interesting conversations InTheBar. interacting with all the other virtual convention attendees. Of course, I missed out on such classy I look forward to next year, when there may be establishments as La Quinta which, it seems, had another Inca (though there are other reasons to taps that protruded from the wall dispensing ------Inca 9 – page 33 ------Circulation – locs on Inca 8 ------look forward). Perhaps you'll hand it to us in got to give, and I always say I don’t want them all, Portland. just one will do.

((Perhaps I might....)) ------

------Murray Moore Dan Steffan's illustration of the Steampunk Olympics Lloyd Penney Dear Grandpa Rob: which illuminates the cover of Inca 008 is timely. Also, I am reassured by the numbering style: you Congratulations on the new designation, and thank appear to be aiming for at least 100 issues. I am you for this newest zine, Inca 8. A great agreeable. Dan is our Anti-Rotsler: the quantity of steampunky cover, love the POed articulated e- ink used on this single illustration would have lasted butler having to chase after his clueless master. Rotsler a year. The scope of our fan artists is vast. Bertie and Jeeves for the modern age. Now for what’s behind it all… ((It was Dan’s choice to use the two zeros. He is being optimistic – assuming you want me to keep I’ve been to a couple of reunion events…high school going, that is.)) reunion 11 years ago (didn’t go to the re-do last year), plus a university reunion last year. At the If you were wondering if the expense of the Harry high school event, few from my graduating year Bell in colour portfolio was good value, I for one were there…most still lived in town, I was told, and enjoy you spending your money in this manner. most didn’t care to come over for a visit. University Starting with the second piece I wondered if Harry reunion…I haven’t had the best career, but found was doing illustrations for a children's book; the out it was much better than just about all the people third piece suggests a contribution to a book about at the reunion. Mixed signals here… Guess I’ve the Village People, that is, the New York singing been more successful than my peers, and that feels group, not your neighbors. very strange. We (Mary Ellen and I) enjoyed our two-weeks-less- Indeed, Stu Shiffman’s stroke was a shock, and a-day road trip in June which included a stop in Andi’s been keeping us updated as to his recovery Abingdon and a meal with Curt and Liz. I don't via Facebook. I hope he knows we’re all pulling for mind driving long distances especially when those him, hoping for the best. driving days are interspersed with attending cons and visiting friends and seeing planned sights and The cover said it all re Cuthbert Twillington, Esq., making serendipitous discoveries. and that he is a complete nit, alive only by the efforts of his robotic batsman Crank-O. And Crank- Three hundred and fifty miles from your home to O has his piece to say as well, and good for him. your family cottage: isn't that distance an extreme Well, looks like Twillington WAS around… I, for distance to drive in England? We measure distances one, welcome our new robotic overlords. Crank-O, I by hours. can think of a few more fleshy beings I could envision you tossing into the Reichenbach Falls. ((I try to persuade Coral that I don’t find motorway/freeway driving all that difficult. She While we aren’t from Thespia by a long shot, our keeps telling me that I should break my journey interest in steampunk has gotten us back into overnight when I do the 350 miles from our home costuming as we were in the 80s, although not to to Newcastle to see my father and brother, and the extent we were. Our main interest is wardrobe, quite a lot of the time I do; but as it is only 6 hours and we have found that local men’s wear shops have driving time, and not really any more stressful tried their best to cater to the new demand for than US/Canadian driving, it doesn’t wear me out French-cuffed dress shirts, matching cufflinks and too badly.)) tie-clips, vests with ascots, and more. My contact at my nearby shops says they’ve filled requests that Two days ago we drove all day, home from some of the older salesmen and tailors at the shop Columbus Ohio and a pulp magazine convention, say they haven’t had in decades. It has been fun, and PulpFest, from the centre of Ohio, northwest to we have a special event coming up this weekend Lake Erie, east through a bit of Pennsylvania, that will allow us to attend a fancy ball with our continuing around Lake Erie and crossing the steampunk/Victorian dress. border at Buffalo.

My loc…I have had some great interviews lately, but Finding a non-fast food chain franchise eatery is not I have yet to hear anything from them, so easy along that route, but we found one, in a tiny unfortunately, I am job-hunting still. Something’s community beside the interstate. I am thinking the meals you describe in Inca 008 were better, though. ------Inca 9 – page 34 ------Circulation – locs on Inca 8 ------in the kitchen and a fireplace in the living room. I was most taken while reading "The Bleezer" by (Coal is unheard of in present day SF, but back then, Roy Kettle saying he buys coal for his fireplace. there were neighborhood coal yards.) But I don't Coal! – in these modern times. I don't however want think we had as much as a cord of wood on hand at to be felt that I am putting a damper on the one time. My uncles would go around the discussion. neighborhood scrounging for discarded wooden boxes, construction ends and pieces, and the Did you Rob consider titling your letter column occasional fallen tree limb. Lack of stored wood CircumLoCution instead of your choice, wasn't much of a hardship, because winters were Circulation? much milder than in the East. I also don't think we had a damper that worked. The e-mail address that you give for me Rob is defunct: [email protected] is my only So -- thanks much for sending it. I'll be looking for eddress. the next one on Bill's newsstand, and I hope I'm not too late with this. ((Circulation is the original loccol title I used in Maya , and I stuck with it. Though yours has quite ------a nice punny quality.)) WAHF: Keith Freeman: “Attached the proof (?) ------that the fame of Inca is spreading. Of course, being Greeks, they couldn't spell it correctly (in our Jack Calvert The first thing that caught alphabet) - but then what do you expect of a people my eye in Inca 8 was Harry that has "Welcome to Vrisse" at one end of the Bell's portfolio of Moleskine foldouts -- they're village and "Thanks for Visiting Vrise" at the other?” engaging, colorful, energetic. But no, actually they were the second thing that I focussed on. The first was, of course, Dan Steffan's magnificent front cover. I'm a sucker for pen drawings and I spent an enjoyable time appreciating that one, discovering more and more detail as I looked. In fact, number 8 was a good issue for artwork generally -- I also liked the Marc Schirmeister drawing on the bacover. I had to check the credits to see if it was his, since I'd only seen his cartoon work. It's a strong drawing, and a good illustration for his evocative piece on Llano del Rio.

And I read the traveller's tales with interest, yours and Squire Twillington's. Egoboo to Bruce Townley for bringing us the latter. Except for an occasional venture to Corflu, my own travlin' days are just Garry Kilworth; Jay Kinney; Bruce Townley about done, so travel stories fill that gap for me -- and they save me from the hassle that go with actual Contacts: sneakers-on-the-ground visits to exotic places. (I did sort of cringe at your account of things going Robert Lichtman - [email protected] ; wrong on your return flight. After my last flight, I Alan Dorey - [email protected] ; Gary Mattingly – made a resolution never to do *that* again. But I'm [email protected] ; Milt Stevens - planning to fly to the Portland Corflu -- except for [email protected] ; Jim Linwood - the Airport Thing, that should be okay. It's just a [email protected] ; Nic Farey - hop up the coast from here. [email protected] ; Jim Mowatt - [email protected] ; Jerry Kaufman - I particularly like the interlude at Hadrian's Wall. [email protected] ; Lloyd Penney - That's a place I would visit if I could. Long ago, I [email protected] ; Murray Moore - spent a couple of years stationed in the Campi [email protected] ; Jack Calvert - Flegri, not far from Naples, and had a fine time [email protected] ; Keith Freeman - exploring the Roman and Greek ruins there when I [email protected] ; Jay Kinney - wasn't tending to Uncle Sam's radio transmitters. [email protected] ; Garry Kilworth - [email protected] ; Bruce Townley - Bruce@e- The discussion of Ted White's cord of firewood sfo.com brought memories of my childhood in 1940s San Francisco to mind. We had a coal-and-wood stove ------Inca 9 – page 35 ------