Wellington Chapter Meeting 24^th November 2006

I’ve come to enjoy the rejuvenated pub meets of the last couple of months, they’ve become a great opportunity to catch up on news, new releases, website gossip and what people get up to outside of the club (Yes, there is life beyond the sofa) Murphy’s is a good venue with a relaxed atmosphere, decent sized snugs, sport on the big screen for those awkward moments and a house band (if you’re lucky). They also offer a reasonable menu for those wanting food for thought (or is that the other way around?) Though running out of ice cream is the best excuse I’ve heard for not receiving the dessert I ordered (particularly given it was an ice cream sundae) however I settled for a discounted Apple Pie instead.

The second to last meeting for 2006 managed to drag seven souls out of the blazing sun and into the cooler climes of the resident snug where season three was definitely not on the agenda. Foo got the merchandise distribution out of the way early on (calendars and DVDs under the Christmas Tree makes for happy fans) and it was into the first discussion of the evening the merits of office Christmas party locations (I never knew there was a bowing alley in the Wellington CBD), followed by Torchwood (seven episodes down and is it any good?), the U2 concert (why weren’t YOU there?), upcoming TSV articles (After hearing his description of it, I’m hanging out for part two of David Lawrence’s BBC EDA retrospective) and whether Blake’s 7 has stood the test of time (it hasn’t).

ZeusPlug 7 was duly received and perused – another well balanced mix of the serious and sublime (The idea of Battle of the Seasons was an unexpected surprise). The Eds are to be commended for constantly getting it out on time each month, only one more to go guys and then you can take a breather (Though I still think a bumper A2 Christmas special could be a nice tie-in with this year’s Christmas Invasion And it got ‘freed out’ in one sitting which makes a nice change. Highlights of the evening for me were: David’s conspiracy theories regarding whether Matthew Jones actually exists (or is RTD under another name), David Tennant’s acting abilities (or is he really playing up the Doctor’s manic depressive side?) the none-too-subtle plugs for RTP (particularly the interview Dave gave them, which I really, really want to read – not-so-subtle hint can anyone out there hook a guy up ) series one versus series two (and an interesting conversation around the structure and ongoing character development of series one vs the lack thereof in series two) and of course how can we overlook Simon Granville finally being able to make an appearance (Welcome back mate!)

At nearly four hours it was one of the more lengthier and energetic meetings we’ve had this year, I wonder if the final one will top it? Here’s hoping.

Report by Tim B, Posted by Peter A

Whilst we weren’t quite at our attendance record (13), the eighth Auckland pub meet of the year took place on Saturday the 11th of November at the Muddy Farmer with a good turnout of 9 (much better than 6 the month before!).

As usual, there was the five-minute silence after ZEUS PLUG was presented. It’s always interesting to watch how people read it – some have the quick skim saving most for later, Jon P usually jumps straight to the cartoon, and others do the full read through.

Highlights of the night included:

• ZEUS PLUG presenting Paul with his very first spoilers for series 3 (we?re good like that!).
• Farewell to Adam McGechan who leaves the comfort of the snug for the vicious and potentially health-threatening world of UK fandom.
• A different (and possibly libellous) take on ‘companion autograph’ collecting
• Anthony Ainley, god rest his soul, and the decline of the Master over the latter years
• Those behind-the-scenes rumours that never get published
• Reminiscing about the old Traken / WhoCon days (yes, I admit! I did walk out on Pertwee’s Q&A session to watch Keys of Marinus!)

We did however miss out on the much-hyped fat-o-gram that was apparently arriving for the 30th birthday bash on the other side of the bar. Shame.