Dear Jim:

Now that I’ve responded to Beam, it’s time for your own zine PipsIX. It’s been a great Christmas, followed by a job loss, so this season has had its ups and downs. Mostly ups, though. Hope your Christmas was as memorable as ours.

Good luck with the TAFF run! We had thought to run for 2014, but health concerns stopped our hand…the race around Britain visiting folks might be more than we can handle. Still, we hope to go to London for Loncon, but the job loss mentioned above is another hurdle we have to cross. Good thing I still have my evening job.

I don’t have a laptop or iPhone or tablet, so getting a zine as a .pdf is pretty well necessary for me for portability. I can carry a lot of zines to locon a small USB drive. Maybe one day I can get a tablet to read and loczines as I travel, I’d like that a lot, but as always, so many demands and only so much money.When it’s time for the big conventions (Worldcon, Novacon, CanVentions here), the good clothes come out…suits, dresses, gowns. All I can say is that we can clean up nicely when we feel we need to. I haven’t seen Lilian Edwards in a long time; same goes for Yvonne Rowse.

I know some people would never stoop to run conventions, and others try it, and don’t like it. My wife Yvonne and I have just retired from running cons for 30 years. It’s been fun, it’s taken a lot of time, but it has also given us valuable business experience, and we even put it on our resumes. Everyone gives their feedback to con committees, but when you are on the committee, you can make your own feedback happen.

Corflu…I’d like to get to more of them, but it’s the same excuses. Also, they seem to be some distance away from where I am. Not as far as you are, but… I’ve been to Corflus in Toronto and Las Vegas, but I suspect that those two will be it. I have no doubt my possible candidacy for TAFF was discussed at the most recent Vegas Corflu, and was found wanting, but that’s okay. I am finding interests my are expanding and changing, so there may be new things for me in the new year. I was a little disappointed at not winning Best Letterhack at that Vegas Corflu, but there are other years yet to come, and fanzine fandom shall not get rid of me that easily.

I have just about done my page, now I have to dig up that past issue of Beam to get your e-mail address. I don’t see it here. No matter… Yvonne and I wish you a very happy 2013 and we will see you there.

                                                                       Yours, Lloyd Penney.

[JM]I was sure I had put my address on the last Pips but having checked I find that it had been pushed off the edge of the document and I hadn’t noticed. Shame on me. I shall check this one twice.