(no subject)

[drplokta]

Rog Peyton was appalled by the togas in the bar on Friday night at Paragon 2. It's not the fandom he used to know, apparently.

No, the fandom he used to know looked more like this photo of the 1957 Worldcon from Efanzines.com. (Click on it for a larger version.)



[(Seated) Dave Kyle, Ethel Lindsay, Ruth Kyle, Alan Whicker]

Comments

[the-gardener.livejournal.com]

For reasons which evade immediate scrutiny, something tells me that the chap on the right may be Ted Carnell. (Or do I mean John Carnell?)

[brisingamen.livejournal.com]

I believe you'lll find that John and Ted were in fact the same Carnell.

[ang-grrr.livejournal.com]

Congratulations to the young lady dressed as a baked potato.

[ajshepherd.livejournal.com]

But in the future, we were all going to wear tinfoil.
And have monkey butlers. Arthur C. Clarke said so.

[akirlu.livejournal.com]

Maybe so, but I don't remember him having anything to say about a majority of male fans having sexual fantasies about eating jacket potatoes...

[numbat.livejournal.com]

Mmmm. . .monkey butlers. . .

[ajshepherd.livejournal.com]

Well, the chap on the right seems to be maintaining a modicum of dignity.
But he's probably got a squirt gun tucked out of sight...

[wag-9393.livejournal.com]

Reminds me of the photo I have of you at your first con :-)

[del-c.livejournal.com]

I'm astonished by what doesn't change in half a century: hotel furniture.

[del-c.livejournal.com]

Somebody apparently complained about the nipplage on show at the toga party, which is fair comment, because Roman men didn't go around flashing their tits either. The notes in the PR4 about wearing a tee-shirt underneath weren't there for nothing.

[ajshepherd.livejournal.com]

Well, there are a lot of people in fandom about who it can be said that the less flesh on display, the better.
Yes, I do include myself in this group...

[akirlu.livejournal.com]

This is how one distinguishes Britain from New Orleans, then.

Memory

[libertango.livejournal.com]

I usually term this, "Parental Amnesia Syndrome," because the most common form is a parent admonishing a child for indulging in exactly the same behavior as the parent did when a similar age. Either that, or a parent protesting that while they may have done such-and-such, and while they may have always been able to do it without their parents knowing, of course their own children never do that, and the parent has complete omniscience of the child's behavior.

Good to see it isn't the exclusive domain of parents, though.

[tamaranth.livejournal.com]

*snort*
I will never feel weird or self-conscious at a con again.
oh ... wait ... I didn't anyway ...

[fjm.livejournal.com]

Alan Whicker?

[drplokta]

Yes, apparently Alan Whicker reported on the 1957 London Worldcon.

[swisstone.livejournal.com]

There's a bit in Peter Weston's book (you may have heard of it) where he talks about the St Fantony thing, a bit of mad fannish theatre if ever there was one. Rog Peyton's chief complaint about them seems to have been that they never admitted him.

[major-clanger.livejournal.com]

Oh yes, fandom always used to be Dead Serious.

We ended up running an item on this theme at SecconD back in '01:

Aliens Stole My DangerCon
Friday, 10 - 11 pm

Wacky conventions dedicated to frantic fannish fun are very popular these days. Is this (a) jolly good fun, (b) a betrayal of trufandom, (c) just another fringe fandom, or (d) a return to the traditions of 1950s conrunning? Martin Easterbook has a suitably weird chat with Guy Dawson and Claire Brialey.

Those who do not remember fandom's past are condemned to repeat it. Those who have managed to forget it just get to bitch about it all over again.

MC

[jamesb.livejournal.com]

actually the gent at the end is James White.

You can see him on this page in the top middle picture in teh same attire
and the glasses and jaw line are distinctive, to me at least,

http://www.efanzines.com/1957WorldCon/WC01.htm

also on page 3, is picture c-11 a room party obviously.

I love these old pics, and know off saint fantony as James was a member, I cannot give an exact history, as its varied, and I was chatting with P. weston and Bill Burns about it, and it changed with time.

anyhow, I used to think Stef and I were doing new things,

then mark told me about the entrails story....


James

[jamesb.livejournal.com]

Not to mention picture F-7 and F-9

that is a lady dressed as a school girl
http://www.efanzines.com/1957WorldCon/WC06.htm

need to come up with new ideas....

james