Jim Mowatt for TAFF!!!!!!
By now, many of you should have received copies of two Tiny TAFFzines from Jim Mowatt. If you haven't received them and would like to (and if you know what TAFF is), please drop me a line. I'm handling the North American mailing, but if you are in the UK I can pass word along to Jim, who is handling the European mailing.
Meanwhile, as one of Jim's nominators, I want to elaborate on why I think you should vote for him. I first heard of Jim when he was going by the nom d'art Jim Trash and was associated with the Leeds Group of fanzine fans in the sunset years of their last heyday. I met him on my TAFF trip in 2003 when I went to the Cambridge pubmeet at the Cambridge Blue, where I also met his lovely girlfriend, Carrie, who was studying at Cambridge at the time. When it arose in conversation that my next stop was Keighley, where I would be visiting D. West and others in Leeds fandom, Jim offered to give me a ride. Brilliant! I happily accepted.
It was a beautiful sunny day, perfect for a drive. As we beetled up the expressway Jim told me about his interest in archery, and we geeked out about Agincourt and the longbow. Was that when I learned where the two fingered salute came from? (Well, legendarily anyway.) We gossiped about the romantic follies of our friends and fellow fans, and he played tapes of a British comedy duo, which I'm pretty sure was Flanders and Swann. It was a highly fannish road trip, all in all.
I think the next time I conversed with Jim (and Carrie) was in the virtual fan lounge at E Corflu Vitus in 2011, where we reminisced about our adventure that day. Jim was becoming more active in fanzines again, and soon he had teamed up with Nic Farey to help him produce the excellent genzine, BEAM. Jim also had his own fanzine, Pips, which he used to promote the TAFF races in 2011 and 2012, publishing interviews with the candidates.
So Jim seems to me an ideal candidate for TAFF. He is active in producing fanzines, which is the traditional qualification, and he has enough connections through fanzines and the social networks to have established interest in him on both sides of the Pond. I can personally attest to his fine geekish qualities and fannish sense of hospitality as well. He has been around long enough to demonstrate a commitment to our subculture that will repay our investment in him. He is exactly the kind of curious and internationally-minded soul who will benefit most from the expansion of his network that winning a fan fund trip will bring. I strongly urge you to vote for Jim Mowatt for TAFF. We will all benefit from it.
Meanwhile, as one of Jim's nominators, I want to elaborate on why I think you should vote for him. I first heard of Jim when he was going by the nom d'art Jim Trash and was associated with the Leeds Group of fanzine fans in the sunset years of their last heyday. I met him on my TAFF trip in 2003 when I went to the Cambridge pubmeet at the Cambridge Blue, where I also met his lovely girlfriend, Carrie, who was studying at Cambridge at the time. When it arose in conversation that my next stop was Keighley, where I would be visiting D. West and others in Leeds fandom, Jim offered to give me a ride. Brilliant! I happily accepted.
It was a beautiful sunny day, perfect for a drive. As we beetled up the expressway Jim told me about his interest in archery, and we geeked out about Agincourt and the longbow. Was that when I learned where the two fingered salute came from? (Well, legendarily anyway.) We gossiped about the romantic follies of our friends and fellow fans, and he played tapes of a British comedy duo, which I'm pretty sure was Flanders and Swann. It was a highly fannish road trip, all in all.
I think the next time I conversed with Jim (and Carrie) was in the virtual fan lounge at E Corflu Vitus in 2011, where we reminisced about our adventure that day. Jim was becoming more active in fanzines again, and soon he had teamed up with Nic Farey to help him produce the excellent genzine, BEAM. Jim also had his own fanzine, Pips, which he used to promote the TAFF races in 2011 and 2012, publishing interviews with the candidates.
So Jim seems to me an ideal candidate for TAFF. He is active in producing fanzines, which is the traditional qualification, and he has enough connections through fanzines and the social networks to have established interest in him on both sides of the Pond. I can personally attest to his fine geekish qualities and fannish sense of hospitality as well. He has been around long enough to demonstrate a commitment to our subculture that will repay our investment in him. He is exactly the kind of curious and internationally-minded soul who will benefit most from the expansion of his network that winning a fan fund trip will bring. I strongly urge you to vote for Jim Mowatt for TAFF. We will all benefit from it.