GUFFAWE FIVE


GUFFAWE is published on an irregular basis by the Australasian GUFF administrator: Irwin Hirsh, 2/416 Dandenong Rd, Caulfield North, Victoria 3161, AUSTRALIA; phone: (03) 527-2402. The European administrator is Eve Harvey, 43 Harrow Rd, Carshalton, Surrey SM5 3QH, UK. This issue is published in April, 1988. Vote in GUFF


GOING OUT with this issue is a copy of the 1988-89 GUFF ballot. The winner of this race will travel Down Under to attend Swancon XIV, the 28th Australian National Science Fiction Convention, in Perth, Western Australia, 24-27 March, 1989. Vote, as they say, early, and often.

A BIG THANK YOU must go to the editors of THYME, who have agreed to allow this issue of GUFFAWE to accompany the next issue of their fanzine. By their actions LynC and Peter Burns have helped save the postage on about 100 copies of this newsletter and increased its circulation by about 150.

To those people reading this is in THYME: if you're replying to anything in these 2 pages do not send them to the editors of THYME; send them to me at the above address. Peter and Lyn, and I don't regularly cross paths and you'd be risking the chance that your message won't get to me if it is sent to THYME.

IF YOU DON'T LIVE in either the UK or Australia your participation in GUFF is most welcome. By all means vote, spread the word, etc. However if you are sending money please don't send a cheque payable in your own currency – the amount will most probably be too small to be worth cashing. If you can't send a cheque or cash in Pounds Sterling or Australian Dollars, just send an equivalent amount of cash of your own currency. Thank you.

KINKON 3 held this past Easter was a very successful con, GUFFwise. The coffers were swelled by a grand total of $289.

$280 was raised at the fan fund auction on the Sunday afternoon, while Marc and Cath Ortlieb donated the $9 from the sale of Bob Shaw's SERIOUS SCIENCE, the collection of Bob's speeches from the British Eastercons of 1982-84. My thanks to the Kinkon 3 committee and to the Ortliebs for their help.

In addition, Kinkon 3 saw the premiere of my GUFF slide trip report. In a touch over 100 slides the audience were able to get a Hirsh-eye view of Conspiracy, a Wellington meeting and a Harvey-hosted party. People seemed to like the presentation; at least no-one told me that they didn't like it and I've got great faith in the sincerity of those people who said they liked it.

The only bad bit about Kinkon was that I didn't have any GUFF ballots to hand out. When setting the nominations deadline Eve and I thought two weeks would be enough time for Eve to produce the ballot and get a copy to me. Turned out not to be so. Next time we'll allow for a longer gap when trying to make a specific event.

LAST ISSUE I put in a request for donations to GUFF. I'm pleased to say that David Grigg, John Foyster and Merv Binns have made some very healthy donations. Thank you to the 3 of you. I am still on the lookout for further donations – books, fanzines, etc – and I'll do my best to acknowledge all that comes GUFF's way.

THE BY-MAIL AUCTION Starting in this issue is the first in a series of by-mail auctions. The bidding deadline for this first auction is the 26th of November, 1988. However, I intend to publish a progress report in the next issue of GUFFAWE, which will appear in August or September. (The second auction will start in the next issue, too.) Please make all bids in Australian dollars. (On_the current rates of exchange one Aussie dollar is worth 40p UK, 73¢ US, and $1.13 NZ. If the total of your winning bids per auction is less than $20 I'll be asking you to contribute a dollar or two to the postage and I may be willing to accept payment in US or NZ $. (People who live in the UK may as well send their money to Eve, what?) And the items for auction are:


FANZINES FOR SALE I have close to 2 metres of fanzines for sale, which slowly will be listed in these pages (that is, if I don't put them in the fan fund auctions at conventions.) Starting off the sale are:

The price on each of these is $2. When ordering please specify alternate selections as these are available on first-come-first-served basis. Make all cheques payable to GUFF, and include money for postage on the following basis: 1 or 2 fanzines: $1, 3-5 fanzines: $2, mare than 6 fanzines: $3. Thanks.