R.I.P. DACON
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Okay, well someone has to post this and it pains me greatly, but I think it must be me.
DaCon has been cancelled. All those who have paid out for this event will have their money refunded asap. Regrettably only 14 people chose to sign up for the weekend and as there is no way of putting together a half decent con with less than 100 and the chances of us reaching that figure were next to nothing, I advised Graham and Ian that it was better to pull the plug now, rather than later. I am hoping that Graham will be able to recoup most of the money he put down as a deposit on the hotel. I will be doing my best through the club to find ways of making sure that he is not out of pocket when all is said and done.
It is a great pity that this event came to nothing but perhaps a sign of the times. I will be having a meeting with Ian some time soon to discuss what future, if any, this club has. I fear perhaps its days are numbered.
Your thoughts?
Doom and Gloom 
Bloody banks have a lot to answer for
If the club is struggling what about donations?
One off signed merchandise?
Downloads/digital content?
It’s a cheaper option to do web based stuff than trying to get a Con off the ground.
EDIT and start charging P&P on all items
2nd EDIT
And I think raising nearly £300 for a proof in this age of financial fear just shows how supported you and the club are.
OK I will stop the edits now
There's a jolly little ditty on YouTube that sums this up, I think. I shan't post a link to it here, because it's so incredibly sweary and filled with filth that my feet won't touch the ground, but if you search on that fine site for "F***sticks" it's the #1 hit.
(I'll pause for a second while everyone goes to check, and those with filthy childish minds like mine stop giggling)
So, on the basis that I sprung for the "no refunds under any circumstances" hotel room... are there any single, attractive, sane females of the forum that fancy a weekend out? 
(if not, I'll have to settle for Andy 
)
This seems to be the way of cons at the moment. Albacon 2010 has also been cancelled. The Scottish SF convention just couldnt get enough members, which I found both unbelievable and deeply unsettling. It begs the question of what the hell has happened to fandom in the UK?
This is just a blip - honest
Yes, things are a bit tight at the club and the losses from cancelling Dacon will not help but plans are afoot and we will "Stay Calm and Carry On". The fall out from this is being dealt with at the moment and I will be personally contacting those who did join up to arrange refund of fees and do the very best the club can by these people.
We are, hopefully, putting together a less grand club do on the same date(s) as Dacon (at least the Saturday) to celebrate the launch of Robert's new book and hope to, for a much reduced cost, organise some entertainment and food to make a party of it...... More details to follow.
In the meantime, if any of you are around the London area on the 17th-18th July then do pop along to the LFCC where Robert will be one of the Guest - As will THE SHAT (yes, James T. himself - I'm a little excited by that 
) And I'm sure the opprotunity for a couple of beers and some toot will raise its head.
Finally....
There are a lot of you out there due to renew subs at the moment - if you have enjoyed your membership and the magazine then please support the club and rejoin.
And really Finally....
The Proof raffle is still going well, 36 tickets sold to-date. I hope to keep these up for sale until the LFCC where the draw will be held so if you haven't got a ticket yet you know what to do
Cheers Ian, 36 tickets sold! Excellent stuff, we are getting there.
An unsettling thought occurred to me this morning, that I am in part to blame for this. Because I was lazy and thought "I'll get the ticket later, plenty of time", I'd like to apologise for helping to stuff it up this year.
Oh Woe!
I was looking forward to that!
It is an unfortunate truth that people do hold off buying tickets to events until the last minute, quite often turning up on the day clutching the folding I have been this person many a time myself
Unfortunately with an event the commitment size of Dacon there is a point at which you have to decide if there are 100 people out there who are going to pay up and come along or are you going to end up £2000 out of pocket (we had 5 days to cut and run before we would be paying half the cost and then another month and it would have been the full amount).....
No apologies required Nick 
In fact I should add to my apology to those that had joined and include those who had intended coming but had yet to buy a ticket for letting them down as well 
Sorry Helen
It'll just have to be a monster piss-up somewhere else. I think as a group we have "previous form" in this respect?
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