TAFF Deadline Update

and London Event on 27 May

Announcement from James Bacon, 3 April 2006

By agreement of both administrators and all the candidates, the deadline for voting in the 2006 Trans-Atlantic Fan Fund race has been brought forward slightly to 9 pm British Summer Time on Saturday 27 May 2006. This means the deadline in North America will be 1 pm Pacific Daylight Time (based on the location of the administrator, Suzanne Tompkins). The practical impact for voters who have not yet cast their ballots is simply that you have a few hours less in which to vote. The candidates in the 2006 westbound race are Bug (Bridget Bradshaw), (½r) Arthur Cruttenden and Sparks (Mike Rennie). The winning candidate will attend the 2006 Worldcon, LACon IV, as part of their trip.

This announcement will be posted widely in order to reach all potential voters and you are encouraged to reproduce it to assist with this. Ballot forms posted online for download are being amended wherever possible to reflect the deadline change. The European administrator, James Bacon, is separately announcing a fundraising event for the day of the TAFF deadline to help to raise the profile of the race, celebrate and announce the winner in fitting surroundings, and maximise votes on the day.


Flick and James present...

<plokta.con> pi: The Dangercon

Date: Saturday 27 May 2006. Time: 12 noon to 12 midnight. Place: The Horseshoe Inn, 26 Melior Street, London SE1 3QP. Price: £3 entry fee (£2.50 for students).

This will be a one-day mini-con in aid of the League of Fan Funds, combining the best of the ideas, atmosphere and spirit of previous plokta.con and Dangercon events.

The event is timed to coincide with the close of voting in the 2006 race for the Trans-Atlantic Fan Fund (TAFF), giving attendees in the UK a last opportunity to vote as well as hearing the winner announced on the night. There will be a selection of science fictional discussions on various subjects, as well as more light-hearted items, and a sprinkling of fun throughout. Guest speakers will be announced later. We have booked both indoor and outdoor space at the venue for our exclusive use for the day; there is also a public bar to which we will have normal access.

TAFF was created in 1953 for the purpose of providing funds to bring well-known and popular fans, familiar to those on both sides of the ocean, across the Atlantic. It exists solely through the support of science fiction fandom. The current race will send a European delegate to the 2006 World Science Fiction Convention, LACon IV; the candidates are Bug (Bridget Bradshaw), (1/2r) Arthur Cruttenden and Sparks (Mike Rennie). Some of the funds raised from the 27 May event will go directly to TAFF, as well as all the fees from votes cast in this race.

Dangercon has been run by too many different committees to credit, at irregular intervals for longer than we care to remember, often in Croydon mostly by Robert Newman. There have been three previous <plokta.con> conventions, run by the Plokta Cabal who are sure you haven't forgotten that their fanzine Plokta has won a Hugo Award as well as some Novas. The League of Fan Funds (LFF) is the unofficial umbrella organisation for fan funds operating in the UK (including TAFF); its current members are Alison Scott, Claire Brialey and Flick. The LFF, the Plokta Cabal and the organisers of previous Dangercons disclaim all responsibility for James Bacon, who is the current European administrator of TAFF which therefore can't help it.

The Horseshoe Inn is a short walk from London Bridge station (which is served by the Northern and Jubilee Underground lines as well as national and local rail services). It has a good selection of beers, including draught Leffe (£2 per glass) and Bombardier (£2.50 per pint). The pub also serves a good selection of food, cooked on site and averaging about £6 for a main course, with five vegetarian options on the regular menu. Food will be available from noon until 10pm.

Fans may already be familiar with the pub: the League of the Non-Aligned (LOTNA) and the English Music Session meet there regularly; it was once the venue for monthly meetings of ZZ9 Plural Z Alpha, although it has been nicely refurbished since then.

Programme [announced 18 May; subject to change]

More information about organisations mentioned: