Index

This is SKYRACK 33, dated 14th June 1961 and published by Ron Bennett, 7 Southway, Arthurs Avenue, Harrogate, Yorkshire, England  6d per copy, 2/6d for six issues 35cents for six issues in USA 65 cents for 6 issues sent airmail) where subscriptions should  be sent to Bob Pavlat, 6001-43rd Avenue, Hyattsville, Md. News of interest to SF fans always welcomed. Cartoon by fandom’s answer to Giles, Arthur Thomson

ELLIK FOR TAFF

TAFF NOMINATIONS INVITED

Nominations for a British fan to attend the 1962 American World Convention will be accepted from 1st August - 31st October 1961, writes Eric Bentcliffe before flying off to holiday in San Remo. The usual conditions apply. All candidates must be nominated by three known fans from Britain, plus two from the States, a $5 or 35/- bond must be posted with one of the TAFF Administrators and the candidates must present a signed declaration of their willingness and intention to make the trip, if elected.

The voting period will be announced later.

This does not mean that the current campaign is over.  Indeed, continues Eric, there are still some three months to go to record your vote for either Ron Ellik or Dick Eney. The deadline is 30th September. And, British fans, only 21 votes, a meagre total, have been so far received,

VOTE, VOTE, VOTE !

This announcement does not mean that either Don or Eric considers the TAFF situation to be sufficiently healthy that they can look ahead to having two fans cross the Atlantic under the auspices of TAFF in 1962. They need your help to do it, of course,  (EB & RMB)

ON A MORE PERSONAL NOTE, Eric left for San Remo on 9th June, writing, ”As you know Terry and Valerie Jeeves went there on their honeymoon and I’ve promised to return a few little souvenirs for Terry, like the management are getting low on deck chairs and want the ones back that Terry paid a deposit on.” Enjoy your fortnight, Eric

RE. THE ABOVE TAFF ANNOUNCEMENT there is naturally no official news on which worthies we can expect to be nominated for the 1962 campaign, but there is already some speculation being voiced on the grapevine. It is not expected that Arthur Thomson will stand, but names to conjure with are Eddie Jones, Ethel Lindsay and George Locke  It will be interesting to see how the line-up finally pans out

AVAILABLE ONE-SHOTS

SFCoL COMBOZINE 1961 (1/6d from Ella Parker - address over there by the Atom Anthology) Some copies still available. A qualitative affair with material by everyone who is anybody in London fandom

THE ATOM ANTHOLOGY - Reviewed fully elsewhere this issue

EPITAFF (7/- or $1 from Eric Bentcliffe, 47 Alldis St , Great Moor, Stockport, Cheshire) Eric’s 1960 TAFF trip report, handled in excellent fashion, liberally illustrated by Eddie Jones

COLONIAL EXCURSION (7/- or $1 from Ron Bennett or Bob Pavlat) My own 1958 SolaCon TAFF report, illustrated by photographs and Atomillos.

THE DIRECTORY OF 1960 SF FANDOM  Addresses of over 500 fans, a 6th annual listing. 1/6d or 25cents from Bennett or Pavlat  Cover by Atom

RUNNING FAN FUNDS

TAFF: Voting continues in the campaign to bring over a U S  representative to next year’s convention. SKYRACK supports Ron Ellik who has been nominated in a straight fight against Dick Eney. Votes and contributions to Eric Bentcliffe (address above) or Don Ford (Box 19-T, RR2,Wards Corner Rd, Loveland, Ohio, USA).  Make certain of casting your vote by voting now!

THE PARKER POND FUND  Ella Parker is attending this year’s Seacon and fans everywhere can show their appreciation of Ella’s contributions to fandom and their free board and lodging by helping out. Hard cash to Ted  Forsyth whose address is given under the Atom Anthology and IPSO sections thish

THE WILLIS FUND: A Fund has been inaugurated  to send Walt & Madeleine to the 1962 WorldCon, the 10th Anniversary of Walt’s initial Stateside trip. Around $1000 will be needed, notes Larry Shaw, 16 Grant Place, Staten Island , N Y..  British contributions to Arthur Thomson, 17 Brockham House, Brockham Dr, London SW 2

LARRY & NOREEN SHAW are currently running a newssheet, AXE, which is a bi-weekly thermometer of the WAW Fund treasury and which also presents general news in a readable and informal manner. 13th May issue ran a report of the Washington DC DisClave which sounds a gas. Highlight of the annual get-together was when the sky rained cars. These “fell off a truck carrying a load of junkers to the graveyard “, reports AXE.  Thanks, DisClave attendees for the card. This read  “The other day somebody said you were obnoxious but I really stood  up for you” on the cover, With the interior follow-up, “I said you couldn’t help it”  Bob Pavlat added that “Standing up was quite a job, too!” and the card was signed by Will J Jenkins, Bob Madle, Martin Moore, Harriett Kolchak, Dick Eney, Bill Berg, George Scithers, Roberta Bradley, Phyllis Berg, Dec Evans, Mike McInerney, George Heap (in technicolor), Hal Lynch, Alan J Lewis, Peggy McKnight, Dick and Pat Lupoff, Les Gerber, Don Studebaker, Bhoob Stewart, Ted and Sylvia White, Fred Bernowitz, Cantaloupe Flabbergaste and about 400 others  What, no Alan Dodd?

OMPA June Mailing expected this week  Highlight to the bundle will undoubtedly be the Earl Kemp booklet "WHY IS A FAN?” containing results of a fan-wide survey. This booklet is perhaps a little disappointing in that most contributors evade the question but the survey is still worthwhile.

THE PROSE OF KILIMANJARO 1 (Sgt George W  Locke, 24 Field Ambulance, B F P O  10; April 1961; 16pp flscp) Produced on a flatbed from the parklands of East Africa comes this substitute for SMOKE from London exile George Locke. A few fanzine reviews and a lot of readable chitchat to show that George is still very much with us.

THE ATOM ANTHOLOGY (Ella A  Parker, 151 Canterbury Road, West Kilburn, London N W 6; l08 pp; 7/- to Ted Forsyth, 11 Ferndale Rd , London SW 4 or $1 to Betty Kujawa, 2819 Caroline, South Bend 14, Indiana, USA ) The much publicised, long awaited Atom Anthology has appeared at last and has proved worth waiting for. Superbly presented on Gestetner linen faced paper this publication is surely a volume which should be part of every fanzine collection. This is as thorough a representative selection of the work of Arthur “Atom” Thomson as is ever likely to be published, containing as it does 62 cartoons and 63 other illustrations (headings, fillers, semi-serious items and straight artwork), three articles, and several special cameo pages - all by Atom.  They’re all here, Arthur’s famous covers from  HYPHEN, “ Church, Anybody?” and "Sometimes I wonder why we bother with deadlines”. Arthur’s PLOY column, the GDA-slanted series, the A to Z and 8 pages of FAN BEMS  All neatly wrapped up with an introduction by Walt Willis and a  photographic study of Arthur.  Michelin rated 999 stars.

HYPHEN 28 (Walt Willis & Ian McAulay, 170 Upper N’Ards Rd , Belfast 4, N  Ireland;26pp; l/-  or 15cents, 7 for $1; May 1961) Featured in the latest “-“ is the LXIcon, from Atom’s superlative cover to Ian’s report, one that has been eagerly awaited. “Alldis and Heaven Too” immediately puts Ian into the top line of con reporters with some neat sense of wonder observations in pleasant contrast to the usual line of HYPHEN wry superiority. Ian is ably supported by Bob Shaw, Jimmy White, Walt, Atom and the usual chuckle-worthy bacover quotes  Highly recommended

BUG EYE 7 (Helmut Klemm, 16 Uhland St , Utfort/Eick, (22a)Krs, Moers, W. Germany; 34pp; March-April 1961; Available for LoCs, trade or review) This all-English fanzine shows an international appeal. Rolf Gindorf writes on the Lower Rhineland Con, Burkhard Blum discusses Gerfandom, Julian Parr comes out of retirement, Alan Burns masticates, Mike Deckinger throws in gimmick films and Walt Ernsting praises German sf, forgetting that Germany didn’t exactly start from scratch to catch up with the English speaking countries. Letters and fillers round up an issue which has nothing outstanding about it but which is still made up of some extremely interesting froth.

IPSO FACTO April 1961 is the first combozine of the new British apa, The International Publishers Speculative Organisation (Ted Forsyth & Joe Patrizio, 11 Ferndale Road, London SW 4)and is made up of analytical comments on fantasy apas. Contributors are Berry, Breen, Burn, Busby, Donaho, Ellik, Lichtman, Lindsay, Locke, Metcalf, Moffatt, Patrizio, Pelz, Rispin, Ryan, Johnstone, Meskys and gee, Ella Parker  Quite a line-up!

BSFA Newsletter 8 , May 1961, from Jimmy Groves, 29 Lathom Rd , East Ham, London E 8  Contains a complete listing of BSFA members....Card from Bad HomburgCon signed “B,B ” - Blum? Burn? It couldn’t be Brig...?....We’re still alive, you’ll see. Longest between issues gap caused by lack of newsworthy items and mundanitis like school work and watching county cricket  Fourway birthday party thrown 14th May by SCRIBBLE editor Colin Freeman. Harrogate fandom visited Liverpool 27/28 May  Robin Two Shorrock now World Wrestling Champion....Chaos with Cringebinders – the Stourbridge Gang seems to have split up. Peter “Tea” Davies appears to have left fandom and is now living in Blackpool. Both he and Dave Hale write to say that the cxpected LES SPINGE 6 will probably be the last, though there is a slight chance that Dave might take over the mag from Ken Cheslin.....Many thanks for the $2 money order, remittance No 2-2, 552,519, but whom do I thank?....Harrogate Con 1962 doesn’t look like coming off. Hotel prices are rising and it’s extremely difficult to find a hotel of suitable size with all mod convention cons as it were. Leeds and York have already been tried as well as Harrogate  It would seem that the most otherwise-suitable hotels, especially as regards price, are dry. Reactions to holding the con in an unlicensed hotel are solicited

CHANGES OF ADDRESS,
Lynn Hickman, 706 Scott St , Napoleon, Ohio, USA
Terry Jeeves, 30 Thompson Rd, Eccleshall, Sheffield
Brian Aldiss, 24 Marston St, Iffley Rd,Oxford 44747
Brian Jordan, 86 Piccadilly Rd , Burnley, Lancs.
Peter Singleton, 10 Emily St , Burnley, Lanes

Big SFCoL party May 6/7 at Bruce Burn’s. Among guests were Brian and Frances Varley, married at Easter....Dave & Ruth Kyle again in London after tour on Continent and  cruise on River Medway with Bert Campbell....Terry & Val Jeeves expecting baby in October....SKYRACK boobed - Bruce Burn lives at 36 Warrington Cres , London  W9....John Campbell has joined Liverpool Group - as BASTION 2 will reveal....Ethel Lindsay offering 10/- for sketch for SFCoL to perform at 62 con....SFCoL planning trip to Paris....SFCoL new members Ian & Betty Peters both Scots. Scots now number 7 in the Club, The Scottish Fan Club of London says Jimmy Groves....New pbs on hand are anthology from Weird Tales ”The Unexpected” by Leo Margulies (very good) and  ”Calibre .50” by Sheckley (disappointing Bondish mystery)....First Happy 1962 card in from Val and  Terry Jeeves. Thanks, and you too!