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07 February 2003Sailing the Clyde - November 2002 / December 2002 / January 2003 The behind-the-scenes newsletter for Interaction, the 63rd
World Science Fiction Convention
Welcome to the Second issue of "Sailing the Clyde", the behind-the-scenes newsletter for Interaction. As you know we aim to publish one around every other month in the early stages of the convention, providing a means for those who are interested to keep track of how the con is developing. This one is slightly late, but we all needed to recover after the New Year so hopefully you will forgive us! Paul would like to thank Sparks who put together this issue.
Happy New YearWe all hope you had a good festive season, Santa was good to you all and you had a good Hogmanay (not TOO sober!) and we wish you all the best in the year to come. Over the holidays Vince was in Australia enjoying the warm weather on the beaches, but even there he managed to undertake Interaction business - meeting up with some Australian fans to discuss the convention. Meanwhile Sparks was in Glasgow, where inevitably he was asked about our plans for 2005. Local fans were supportive and keen to get involved with the convention (though that might be the alchohol due to it being Hogmanay at the time). Obviously we are glad of this support and will be liaising with local fans throughout the life of the con.
Get TogethersThe next Interaction Glasgow Open Meeting is scheduled for the 15th March at the City Inn. The room rate will be UKP65 including breakfast per room. This is the first Open Meeting since winning the bid, and the agenda will include a visit to the Site (if there is enough interest) and an evening social event. We are also planning to run a summer staff weekend - also the first - which will replace and use the same dates and location as the nascent conrunning con Construction. We want these events to enable anyone interested to discuss what we are doing. Anybody interested in the convention will have a chance to contribute ideas about the shape of the convention and the way it will be run. All are welcome to attend.
Credit Card PaymentsAfter a delay in sorting out credit card payments, due to the banks changing the rules post Enron, Dave Cooper is busy processing the last of our credit card payments. We apologise for any inconvenience this may have caused. Unfortunately Fandom doesn't exist in a vacuum and the corporate concerns of the real world sometimes gets in the way. If you have any queries concerning a credit card payment you have made to us please e-mail Dave at finance@interaction.worldcon.org.uk.
New Additions to the Interaction FamilyAs well as sorting out the credit card payments and other financial dealing on behalf of Interaction congratulations must be given to Dave Cooper and his wife Jane who have just announced a forthcoming addition to the family. Mother and baby are fine and the new addition is due in August. So just in time to help processing all the Torcon memberships at the finance office then! Also Cuddles (Michelle Drayton-Harold) our Disability Advisor, announced the birth of twins just before Christmas. Xavier and Xanthe although slightly premature are now both doing fine. It seems that this convention has a strange effect on the people involved in it. Since the start of the bid, Colin, Bjorn, Vince and Sparks have all managed to produce offspring. This may bode something for fandom in the future. Good or bad we'll have to wait and see...
Organisation and StaffingOur current organizational structure is published on our website at http://www.interaction.worldcon.org.uk/staff.htm. We have an increasing number of volunteers coming on board now and we welcome them all. Sadly however, we have also had a staff member stand down. Andrew Adams has stepped down from the post of Head of Publications and Promotions due to work commitments. Currently Paul and Colin have split the role, ably supported by Steve Cooper, but we hope to appoint a permanent replacement soon to build on the solid ground that Andrew has given us in this area. We wish Andrew all the best and hope to see him back on the staff list when his work load has diminished a bit!
Situations VacantAs was mentioned in the last Sailing the Clyde, the first year after the vote is in many ways relatively quiet, however,there are still some jobs to be filled. At the moment we are still looking for the following:
Anyone interested in these jobs should email volunteers@interaction.worldcon.org.uk in the first instance. Of course anyone who is interested in working with us, at any level, is welcome to get in touch (via the same address) at any time. We have a staff email discussion list and a staff website through which we intend to build up the real community and team spirit needed to make the convention a success - why not get involved ?
SmofconWe had a strong contingent at this years Smofcon in San Diego, with Vince, Kim, Bjorn, Margaret and Ben all making the trip to meet up with other conrunners from around the world. From reports back in the office they seem to have spent most of their time out at dinner, although it's claimed there were also some serious discussions on the topic of running Worldcons. Part of being a sitting Worldcon is that we need to attend the Smofcon question and answer sessions. Rumour has it that our representatives handled the grilling well. Whilst they were there Vince received $10,000 in pass-along funds from ConJose. If you want to see the smile Vince has when he is handed large cheques pictures are available at http://www.conjose.org/Gallery/gal3.html.
News From Our AgentsThe Nordic agents will be meeting Paul and Bjorn in Stockholm on February 8-9 to discuss marketing and recruitment in the Nordic countries. Bjorn is also working on the new agents pack which is scheduled to be available by the end of February.
Electrical EggsWe are pleased to announce that Electrical Eggs will be advising Interaction on disability issues. In the UK, Interaction has a legal obligation to provide reasonable access to its events for people who have disability. Electrical Eggs advises Conventions on this matter as well as keeping a database of requirements of individual members. Individual membership is free. At the time of going to press we are still awaiting details (partly since Cuddles who runs the service is a bit busy at the moment - see additions to family above!) however, you can request information in the interim from Sparks at sparks@lspace.org. All enquiries will be dealt with confidentially.
MerchandiseWe hope to have a new range of Interaction merchandise available over the next few months, starting withour first batch of items to be launched at Eastercon. Thanks to Sharon Lewis for sorting the merchandise out. In the meantime we're also gearing up to dispatch the last of the Bid merchandise to those Friends who joined at Conjose and have not yet received their gift - apologies to those in this situation for the delay.
MembershipsThe latest figures for memberships (as of 29th November 2002) are available, and are as follows Attending (inc. Children): 806 Total 2,134, spanning 27 countries. A detailed breakdown is available on the website at http://www.interaction.worldcon.org.uk/demograp.htm for anyone who wants to know more.
ConventionsThese are the forthcoming Conventions we will have a presence at: Boskone 40 (February 14-16, Boston) - http://www.nesfa.org/boskone/ - Vince will be at this one! Concave 23 (February 28 - March 2, Cave County, Kentucky), and Vince is fan guest and gets to give his speech in a bookshop lounge apparently! :-) Redemption '03 (February 21-23, UK) - http://www.conventions.org.uk/redemption/ - We will have a table at this con and Andrew Adams will be giving a talk on Worldcons, with Colin Harris giving 15 minutes on Interaction. Picocon 20 (February 22, London) - http://union.ic.ac.uk/scc/icsf/social/events/picocon.html - As we seek to be in two places at once (Redemption falling on the same weekend) Pat will be running our desk at Picocon - but more help will be greatly appreciated. Jack Cohen and Gwyneth Jones are the Guests so why not visit the Con and help us out at the same time ! Seacon 03 (April 18-21, UK). http://www.seacon03.org.uk/ We will be having a table and looking for Volunteers to help staff it. Steve Cooper is arranging this one for us and can be contacted at http://www.interaction.worldcon.org.uk/Steve.Cooper@jet.uk We are also sponsoring an event and any suggestions would be welcomed by Steve.
Addresses and E-dressesConvention Office - General Queries - info@interaction.worldcon.org.uk Con Website - http://www.interaction.worldcon.org.uk/ "WSFS", "Worldcon", "World Science Fiction Convention" and "Hugo Award" are registered service marks of the World Science Fiction Society, an unincorporated literary society. --
© UK 2005 Ltd, 2002-2004. All rights to content
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Page last updated 26th July 2004
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