Authentic Science Fiction Monthly No. 53 — page 98: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

AUTHENTIC SCIENCE FICTION These three gentlemen give the meeting class, and a source of information. The library aforementioned is second to none, and the shilling fee for the use of it at each meeting goes to buy new books, of which we have now quite a collection. As we don’t have a meeting place that we _ can lock up, the usual detritus of models, paintings and so forth has not accumulated, although the suggestion of a display for the next local cinema so unlucky as to be showing a science-fiction film has shown that at least one of the members is a secret space- ship constructor. In conclusion, anyone who cares to come along may do so, and the secretary is always delighted to hear from other societies and workers. NEZFEZ—2 by Don Allen Founded in October, 1953, through the letters column of this magazine, the society boasts forty members, holds monthly meetings, has a li- brary, a fanzine, a club room and plenty of good spirit. It was in October of last year when the first spark of the club originated. My letter in Projectiles asked for N.E. fen 97 to write to me and said that we would try to form a club. One person wrote. He was Mr. G. E. Mason of Birtley. Yes, he was interested in a sf club and he would be only too willing to help out with the formation in any way he could. Little known to him at the time that he was going to scribe letter after letter to N.E. fen, to arrange meetings, and to be secretary of the proposed club! From October, 1953, until March, 1954, Ted and I analysed the problem of how to form a club. Ted had con- tacted fifteen interested per- sons—though over sixty letters were sent out to people known to be readers of sf—and now he wanted them all to get to- gether. But they all lived at such remote places that most of them would have two or three hours of travelling be- fore reaching Newcastle, the proposed place for the club to meet. This, then, was the turning point. The club was originally planned to be a Tyneside group, but no fen could be contacted in that area. Instead, fans from scat- tered places throughout the N.E. were made known. In February, Ted said something had to be done; we had fifteen members all waiting for some- commiclbooks.comn