TAFFlon Tudor #4

June 1998

The final newsletter from the out-going European TAFF Administrator

1998 TAFF RESULTS: EUROPE TO NORTH AMERICA

Maureen Kincaid Speller has won the 1998 TAFF race to North America and will represent European fandom at Buccaneer, the 56th Annual World Science Fiction Convention, in Baltimore, Maryland, USA, 5-9 August 1998.

The full results were as follows:

                 Total       N. American   European     Other
                 1st Place   1st Place     1st Place    1st Place
                 Votes       Votes         Votes        Votes                            
           
Chris Bell         53          12            41
Bridget 
 Hardcastle        41          14            27
Maureen Kincaid
 Speller          121          42            76           3
No Preference       8           7             1
Total ballots     223          75           145           3

Maureen is thus the clear first-round winner, with an absolute majority of initial first-place votes. No eliminations and reassignments of second-place votes are required, since these cannot change the result. Congratulations to Maureen and many thanks to Bridget and Chris for a fine race.

Thanks also to the following voters for taking part: Tom Abba; Michael Abbott; Justin Ackroyd; Jennie Albinson; Paul Allwood; Chris Amies; Sarah Ash; John Ashbrook; K V Bailey; Amanda Baker; Cherith Baldry; Paul Barnett; David V Barrett; Andrew Barton; Chris Bell; Rowan Bell; Tony Berry; Elizabeth Billinger; Paul Billinger; Pamela Boal; Sandra Bond; Robbie Bourget; Simon Bradshaw; Claire Brialey; T Brown; E D Buckley; Roger Burton West; Andrew M Butler; KIM Campbell; Robbie Cantor; Mike Cheater; Cat Coast; Edie Cochrane; Jack Cohen; Richard Coleman; Noel Collyer; Dave Cox; Chris Croughton; 1/2r Cruttenden; Tony Cullen; Benedict Cullum; Kenneth M Dalglish; Gary S Dalkin; John Dallman; Steve Davies; Guy Dawson; Sue Dawson; Lilian Edwards; Sue Edwards; Doug Faunt; Tommy Ferguson; Mike Ford; Susan Francis; Alison Freebairn; Steve Glover; Victor Gonzalez; Simon Grant; Roy Grant; Ann Green; Steve Green; Judith Hanna; Bridget Hardcastle; John Harold; Alun Harries; C R Harris; Lesley E Hatch; Julian Headlong; Dave Hicks; Douglas Hill; Dave Holmes; Tom Holt; Valerie Housden; Tim Illingworth; Rhodri James; Steve Jeffery; Sue Jones; Paul Kincaid; Christina Lake; Dave Langford; Eira Latham; Alice Lawson; Steve Lawson; Erhard Leder; Frank Lunney; Meredith Macardle; Ian Maughan; Catherine McAulay; Mark McCann; Pat McMurray; John Meaney; Yvonne Meaney; Melusine; Farah Mendlesohn; Cheryl Morgan; Chris Morgan; Carol Morton; Tony Morton; Jim Mowatt (Trash); Caroline Mullan; Chris Murphy; Janice Murray; Joseph Nicholas; Ulrika O'Brien; John Ollis; Omega; Simon Ounsley; Arwel Parry; Harry Payne; Greg Pickersgill; Phil Plumby; Mark Plummer; Anetta Pirinen; Pekka P Pirinen; Andrew Porter; Chris Priest; David Redd; Peter J Redfarn; Patricia Reynolds; Trevor Reynolds; J F W Richards; John D Rickett; Roger Robinson; Mic Rogers; Yvonne Rousseau; Andy Sawyer; Alison Scott; Mike Scott; Moira Shearman; D M Sherwood; Linda Shipman; Pat Silver; Cyril Simsa; Patrick James Smith; SMS; Kate Soley Barton; Maureen Speller; Michael Spiller; Andrew Stephenson; David Stewart; Geri Sullivan; Bryan Talbot; Mary Talbot; Ian Taylor; Kathy Taylor; Jennifer Tibbetts; Dave Tompkins; Paul Treadaway; Frances Tucker; Nancy Tucker Shaw; Colin Tuckley; Martin Tudor; Jan van't Ent; Peter Wareham; Pam Wells; Janet Wilkins; Madeline Willis; Walt Willis; Alan Woodford; Ben Yalow.

MONEY, MONEY, MONEY!

Many thanks to all the voters listed above and to everyone who has bought stuff at auction and/or donated material to auction, and to those who have donated cash or helped in a million and one ways during my time as TAFF administrator.

Special thanks to Alison Scott and her team who ran several auctions at Novacon and Intuition.

Having passed over some spending money to Ulrika O'Brien during her very successful trip and paid for her accommodation at Intuition, European TAFF was still able to hand over £1,143.00 to incoming administrator Maureen Kincaid Speller. Not bad considering we started with minus £2,700. Many thanks to everyone for their generosity!

Unfortunately, apart from an initial payment in November 1996 of £200 Abigail Frost, a former Administrator, has not repaid any more of the £2,700 she admits to misappropriating from TAFF.

After much consideration I decided it was not practical or profitable to take Abigail to court. I know this decision has annoyed a number of people and I can only suggest that if you are one of them, you contact Abigail yourself to seek redress for whatever money you paid her in the 1996 race. The last address I have for her is 95 Wilmot Street, London, E2 0BP.

FANZINE AUCTION

Vicki Rosenzweig has declared the Auction of Chuch Harris' Fanzines closed. In a message posted on rec.art.sf.fandom in May she said: "Thanks to all bidders; I haven't done the final math, but we've raised over $1500 for the Trans-Atlantic Fan Fund, and I want to take the opportunity once again to thank Chuch Harris for his generosity." Many thanks to Vicki for her time and efforts. Vicki can be contacted at vr@interport.net or check out her web page at http://www.interport.net/~vr.

LAST AND FIRST TRIP REPORTS ON SALE

Copies of my completed 1996 TAFF Trip Report, HAVE BAG... WILL TRAVEL, are available from me, Martin Tudor, 24 Ravensbourne Grove, Willenhall, WV13 1HX, for just £5.00 (or the equivalent of £8.00 overseas) inclusive of postage and packing, all proceeds to TAFF. Believe me the covers and interior illustrations by Dave Hicks are worth the price on their own!

TAFF TALES the 1955 TransAtlantic Fan Fund Trip Report by H Ken Bulmer is available for a mere £5.00 from Dave Langford, 94 London Road, Reading, Berkshire, RG1 5AU, all proceeds to TAFF. In this case the cover and interior illustrations are by ATom - need I say more?

THINGS TO COME

Nominations opened, on 1st May, for the 1999 North America to Europe TAFF race. The winner will attend Reconvene, the 50th National British SF Convention (Eastercon) 2-5th April at the Britannia Adelphi Hotel in Liverpool.

Prospective North American candidates should ensure that signed nominations (two from Europe and three from North America) reach the Administrators by midnight on 25th July 1998, along with their 100-word platform and £10/$20 bond. Bond cheques should be made out in the name of the administrator they are sent to. TAFF also gratefully accepts freely given donations of money or auction goods - such donations have sustained it for over 40 years.

The European Administrator is Maureen Kincaid Speller, 60 Bournemouth Road, Folkestone, Kent, CT19 5AZ, England. North American Administrator is Ulrika O'Brien, 123 Melody Lane, #c, Costa Mesa, CA 92627, USA.

WHAT IS TAFF?

The Trans-Atlantic Fan Fund was created in 1953 for the purpose of providing funds to ring well-known and popular fans familiar to those on both sides of the ocean across the Atlantic. Since that time TAFF has regularly brought North American fans to European conventions and European fans to North American conventions. TAFF exists solely through the support of fandom. The candidates are voted on by interested fans all over the world, and each vote is accompanied by a donation of not less than $2 or £1. These votes, and the continued generosity of fandom, are what make TAFF possible.

This has been the final news bulletin from one-time TransAtlantic Fan Fund Administrator, Martin Tudor of 24 Ravensbourne Grove, Willenhall, WV13 1HX. Phew! It's all over....