Friends of Octocon

James Bacon

What can be said about the redoubtable James Bacon that has not been said about him before, and probably by himself? Lord of all he surveys at SproutLore, founder of the prestigious James White Award, co-founder of SciFiClub, his convention experience includes numerous Octocons; Aliens Stole My Handbag, not to mention the forthcoming Damn Fine Con. We are delighted, privileged, and not a little scared at having James help out with programming at this year's Octocon. We're even giving him a room all of his own to play with. Any of you who made it to Aliens will probably know what to expect. Otherwise, we can safely say that it will be boldly going where no sane convention has gone before.

Anne M Kletcha

Dave Lally

What can I possibly say that will do justice to the living legend that is Dave Lally? A Dublin man living in exile in London, Dave has run the video room at Octocon since the beginning, and is our greatest ambassador abroad. As our UK agent, Dave organises the payments from members over there, and spreads our membership forms before him wherever he goes, not just in Britain, but in France, Sweden, or wherever his extensive travels take him. Dave's true passion in life is The Prisoner, and it is no accident that we always keep membership number 6 free for him. This also explains the ever-present straw boater, though not the bad jokes. Lock up your daughters if Dave's in town.

Anne M Kletcha

Robert Neilson

There is no doubt that a convention needs help of all sorts. Bob Neilson (bless his cotton socks), does two very important things for Octocon. He allows us to use Yellow Brick Road, his extremely wonderful bead and crystal emporium (it's on Bachelors Walk, if you're curious), as our official mail address, and he processes our credit card payments. But there's another thing. Bob is probably the most amiable shopkeeper in Ireland. He always has a good word and a smile on his face, and seems to have legions of loyal customers. When he's not travelling the world in search of the perfect bead, he is also part of the editorial crew at Albedo 1, and has had a couple of his plays produced on RTE radio. We love him.

Anne M Kletcha

James Shields

If we were asked to name the person who does most to help the committee to run these cons, we would automatically point to James Shields. If you're reading this on a computer screen, then he put it there. If you found your way to the Octocon site through the Sproutlore site, the James White Award site, or especially through LostCarPark, then you've already seen some of his work. If you find yourself looking at virtually any of the Octocon programme books over the past ten years, or any of the twenty-five (so far...) issues of the Brentford Mercury, then he did those, too. Add to this a virtually mutant ability to do sums in his head, and his astonishing snowboarding technique, and you have the best technogeek a con could wish for!

Anne M Kletcha