The Discworld Beer Festival 2005 - In conjunction with the Hogswatch event in Wincanton, organized by the Cunning Artificer, we are delighted to announce the first Discworld Beer Festival. BursarVixen Enterprises and the Heart of Wessex branch of CAMRA are holding the festival in the Wincanton Sports Pavilion and, as well as the Discworld Beers, there will be a selection of Real Ales from selected local breweries. We Brum Group News are also hoping to launch two new Discworld Beers. The beers are spectacular - we have tasted samples smuggled from both countries and their flavour is almost enough to make The Free Monthly Newsletter of the you want to join up. Festival Details: Tickets are £5.00 each, available from www.BursarVixen.com. The ticket cost gets you admission to both days of the Festival and BIRMINGHAM SCIENCE FICTION GROUP a free souvenir glass featuring the Festival's logo. Venue: The Maddocks Pavilion, December 2005 Issue 411 Wincanton Sports Ground, Moor Lane, Wincanton, Somerset, BA9 9EJ. Time: 11.00am Honorary Presidents: BRIAN W ALDISS, O.B.E. – 11.00pm Saturday 3rd December, 11.00am – 10.30pm Sunday 4th December. Details & HARRY HARRISON from Paul Kruzycki, BursarVixen Enterprises, http://www.BursarVixen.com/ Committee: Vernon Brown (Chairman); Vicky Cook (Secretary); All details are correct to the best of our knowledge, we advise contacting organisers before travelling. Always Pat Brown (Treasurer); Rog Peyton (Newsletter Editor); enclose a stamped, self-addressed envelope when writing to any of the above contact addresses. Tim Stock (Publicity); Jinnie Cracknell & William McCabe; Any information about forthcoming SF / Fantasy / Horror events are always welcome - please send to me NOVACON 35 Chairman: Tony Berry at [email protected] website: www.bsfg.freeservers.com email: [email protected] FUTURE MEETINGS OF THE BSFG January 13th 2006 – Annual General Meeting / Auction of Books Friday 2nd DECEMBER February 10th – SF/Fantasy author Ian R MacLeod March 10th – SF author and SF historian Brian Stableford THE CHRISTMAS SOCIAL th April 7 – Horror/Fantasy artist Les Edwards Christmas? Christmas! Is it really that time again? When did we start th May 12 – Fantasy author Storm Constantine having two a year? th June 9 – SF/Fantasy artist Jim Burns Christmas - time to party, folks! Once again we’re having our Christmas Party/Social ONE WEEK EARLIER than the usual second Friday of the Newsletter 411 copyright 2005 for Birmingham SF Group. Designed by Rog month. And once again we’re skittling. This year’s Christmas Social will be held Peyton. Opinions expressed herein do not necessarily reflect those of the at the Selly Park Tavern, 592 Pershore Road, Selly Oak. where we have hired committee or the general membership or, for that matter, the person giving the the Skittles Room for our own private use from 7.00 to 11.00pm. To get there ‘opinion’. take a 45 or 47 bus from Corporation Street. Ask for Selly Park Tavern – it’s Thanks to all the named contributors in this issue and to William McCabe who about 15 minutes ride. sends me reams of news items every month which I sift through for the best/most There will be prizes for individual games – you don’t have to know how entertaining items. to play skittles because we have our own variants of the game designed to give everyone a chance, none of which would be allowed at Competition or any other level. There will be a free half hourly raffle, crackers and, to judge by the answers to the questionnaire circulated after last year’s Social, a good time to be had by all. Hopefully you’ve purchased your ticket – if not, it’s now too late – 15th ABOUT US... The Birmingham Science Fiction Group meets on the November was the cut-off date. You can always ring me on 477 6901 to see if second Friday of each month. Membership is £16 per year per person (or there are any cancellations/spare tickets but it is unlikely. RGP £21 for two members living at the same address). This includes the 12 free issues of the Newsletter plus reduced entrance fee at each meeting. Cheques should be made payable to ‘The Birmingham Science Fiction Group” and JANUARY 2006 MEETING – The Annual General sent to our Secretary, 5 Greenbank, Barnt Green, Birmingham, B45 8DH Meeting at which you get to have your say and VOLUNTEER. Followed by a book auction. 16 THE SCIENCE OF ALIENS by Vernon Brown the world. Everyone adored her, and there was far too much heavy emphasis on some sort of relationship between her and the Doctor - even with a kiss at the end Q. When is science not science? - which just looked and felt wrong! However both did put in good performances, A. When it’s an exhibition called ‘The Science of Aliens’ at the Science Museum and put their all into a series which has now been revived in the public London. imagination. It will be interesting to see how David Tennant interprets the role - after all, there aren’t many regenerations left so he’d better be a good one! Over the half-term Pat and I managed a couple of days in London where we visited the above-titled exhibition expecting something commensurate THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL with the status of the Museum, something science-based and systematic, perhaps THE DAY THE EARTH CAUGHT FIRE with a link to SF. We didn’t expect degree level stuff as it’s aimed at the public, Next on our list was THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL (DESS) but certainly something to demonstrate a few basic rules of life and apply them to (from a short story by Harry Bates, as I should have known at Novacon 35). We what is, or is not, likely to be found on other planets, like the relationships that actually received the DAY THE EARTH CAUGHT FIRE (DECF) shortly govern the upper size of land and air animals everywhere. But ‘twas not to be! afterwards and it was interesting to compare the two films. The only guide available was an A4 sheet folded to make an DESS does appear more dated - I really thought DECF was a better advertisement leaflet that told us that there were four different zones to explore; film overall - only a few years later and filters were starting to be used, which the ticket collector told us to ‘just walk around’. Not a good start. impressively conveyed the extreme heat as the Earth gradually approached the The first zone consisted of display cabinets full of photos and artefacts Sun. In both it was very noticeable that a good film could be made without from various sci-fi (sic) films from Dracula and Frankenstein onwards. In one resorting to big battles and even bigger special effects. corner was a model of an ‘Alien’ and in another a screen showing short clips from Even though DESS looks dated (even with the obligatory damsel in the films. A little later on was a mask/mirror device to show how one looked with distress who faints away on occasion), it does carry important contemporary different heads and a few small models of aliens including a set of Clangers. Then messages, which still ring a bell with modern audiences. For those who don’t there was a display about the bigheaded brown aliens that abduct people and a know the plot, an alien visits Earth and warns that we will be destroyed unless we film of one being dissected. Except for the latter and Alien I have the same or stop nuclear development and all the wars. The alien, Klaatu, does seem at times similar stuff myself. a little bit of a Saviour-style figure, and it did seem a bit odd that he comes to The second zone was several light-up displays and a varied collection of preach peace then threatens to blow up the Earth if they do not obey. The preserved specimens of life here on Earth to show that the aliens are already science seems rather dated too now - for instance he says at one point that he has around us. Not only does this confuse two meanings of the word ‘alien’ but any travelled 250 million miles, which does not seem enough. Klaatu (Michael decent secondary school could deliver a similar show. Rennie) is however quiet and graceful, and suitably otherworldly, and there are Zone three was worse! A number of scientists have ‘constructed’ two several other characters who light up the screen and add substance to the film. planets for the exhibition and designed life forms to fit. Unfortunately there DECF does what it says in the title - lots of H-bombs are set off, which appears to have been a breakdown in communication between their concepts and tilt the Earth thus causing it to move towards the Sun. Suspend belief and, like the museums constructions. Photographs of the life forms have descriptive texts DESS, what works is that it is simply made and with warm characters. Peter that are sometimes misleading, appear to have omissions and are, in places, Stenning is a flawed character - a depressed journalist with alcohol problems and inaccurate. For example, one ‘plant’ is described as ‘eating’ carbon dioxide and divorced with kids, but like Klaatu he has a certain dignity, and you can really using sunlight to convert it to sugar. Making molecules containing carbon, feel for him as the film goes on. Again the background characters help make the oxygen and hydrogen from molecules containing only carbon and oxygen is quite film believable (despite the rather odd plotline).