Newcastle Meet, Sunday 2 March, Noon

As you may be aware, Blue, Urban and I are trying to ressurect the Newcastle meets. We have had reasonable success in the two meets we have arranged so far so we have decided to run a regular north-east meet. These will take place on the first Sunday of every month and will start at 12 noon.

In the future, we are hoping to take the meets on a tour around the north-east, meeting in Newcastle, Durham and Middlesbrough on a three month rotation. That is something for further down the line though and the next two meets (March 2 and April 6) will be in Newcastle.

It would be great to see you down there and if anyone has any ideas in how to shape the meets then please let us know. Equally if anyone knows any furs (particularly newbees) in the north-east or Yorkshire who would be interested in attending then please pass on my details to them.

This Sunday, the Meet will gather at Newcastle Central station at noon. Due to work commitments I won't be able to make it until slightly later in the afternoon but Blue and Urban will be there and I'm sure they'll look after you. I look forward to seeing you there :-)

Newcastle Meet, Sunday 2 March, Noon

As you may be aware, Blue, Urban and I are trying to ressurect the Newcastle meets. We have had reasonable success in the two meets we have arranged so far so we have decided to run a regular north-east meet. These will take place on the first Sunday of every month and will start at 12 noon.

In the future, we are hoping to take the meets on a tour around the north-east, meeting in Newcastle, Durham and Middlesbrough on a three month rotation. That is something for further down the line though and the next two meets (March 2 and April 6) will be in Newcastle.

It would be great to see you down there and if anyone has any ideas in how to shape the meets then please let us know. Equally if anyone knows any furs (particularly newbees) in the north-east or Yorkshire who would be interested in attending then please pass on my details to them.

This Sunday, the Meet will gather at Newcastle Central station at noon. Due to work commitments I won't be able to make it until slightly later in the afternoon but Blue and Urban will be there and I'm sure they'll look after you. I look forward to seeing you there :-)

This E4 Documentary

There has been a lot of talk lately regarding the documentary that E4 are proposing to make about the Fandom. This followed on from the mass mailing that Mint Media, the production company, did on the UK Fur Forums a week ago. This has, in turn, caused a great deal of division in the Fandom, with some being for and some being against the making of the programme.

I have never been a fan of division and I also believe that this proposal needed considering deeper. I believe that it at least deserved the chance of an explanation. This is why over the last two days I have spent three hours talking to the production company. I did this because I want to be as objective as possible regarding any opportunity we have to promote or support the Fandom.

However I must point out that at the moment I can see the pros and cons in participating and as yet I am undecided on what to do myself.

My general consensus though has remained unchanged. If people want to appear in the documentary then I think they should be given that opportunity whilst if people don't want to appear in it then that decision should be respected.

The fact is that the documentary is going to go ahead. They already have footage of a London Meet and enough other material to fill the show. This means that from a Northern fur perspective, the decision to appear on the documentary appears to be a wholly individual one as even if you're not in it, the show is still going ahead.

I know that they are keen to recruit some Northern furs and in some ways it will be a shame if we are not represented but again, I think the decision to appear in the documentary should be that of the individual alone and whatever that individual decides, that decision should be respected.

Because the documentary is going ahead the onus has shifted as the question of "Do we want the publicity?" has now been rendered irrelevant. There is no doubt that appearing on TV will attract people to the fandom so the aim now is to show the fandom in as positive a light as possible. The only way this can be done is if we do that for them. However if you do appear on camera, then that is an admission that you are into furry and locally this could attract some of the less tolerant people in society to be vitriolic against you.

Added to this is the question of how much you have to lose. In my own case, if I appeared on camera it could damage my career and this is why I am as yet undecided whether I will participate or not.

After my conversations with Kitty, I am as sure as I can be that this show is not about yiff. The remit of the documentary is to show how the Internet has brought communities and subcultures together. This show is part of a series and this makes it less likely to be about yiff. The other subcultures they are focusing on are not sexual and Kitty has reassured me on numerous occasions that there is no point making a yiff show because a) it's been done before and b) it's not what they want to achieve. However, I know the media can lie and sex sells but in this case, I don't really think that's the case. They are not going to shift the time of one show in a documentary to a later slot just because they want to film yiff.

HOWEVER THEY WILL FILM WHAT WE ALLOW TO BE FILMED. THIS MEANS THAT IF YIFF IS INVOLVED IT IS OF OUR OWN CAUSING AND NOT NECESSARILY THEIRS. I personally don't think it will come to that.

Ultimately the question you have to ask yourself is this. E4 is a major satellite TV channel and if the series is popular, it may move to Channel Four. So picture the scene; you're round at your granny's house and you're idly flicking through the channels. Suddenly, she sees you on TV dancing with a giant panda. How would she take that? If the answer is fine then go ahead be involved, if not then I'd consider your options.

As part of the social side of Furry the makers are interested in talking to people about their experiences. This includes charity work and fursuiting but they also want to talk to people who live in a furry house. They are also after couples where one person is a fur and the other is not. The impression I am getting is that they want to make as positive and as constructive a programme as possible. But as yet, I am still undecided on what my own contribution will be due to my own doubts regarding revealing my identity to the national media (I am also trying to figure out what editing rights and rights of veto the community will have). I think that is the crux of the debate here.

If you want to find out more about the documentary then by all means give Kitty a ring. She's nice, down to earth and willing to answer any questions you might have. Either that or drop me an email and I will do my best to answer your questions.

I'm doing this because I believe that the opportunity should be evaluated and discussed. As yet I am undecided if I will participate at all but this could potentially be a good opportunity to promote the good side of the Fandom. Either way, I am just trying to come to a decision whilst being as objective as possible about things.

This E4 Documentary

There has been a lot of talk lately regarding the documentary that E4 are proposing to make about the Fandom. This followed on from the mass mailing that Mint Media, the production company, did on the UK Fur Forums a week ago. This has, in turn, caused a great deal of division in the Fandom, with some being for and some being against the making of the programme.

I have never been a fan of division and I also believe that this proposal needed considering deeper. I believe that it at least deserved the chance of an explanation. This is why over the last two days I have spent three hours talking to the production company. I did this because I want to be as objective as possible regarding any opportunity we have to promote or support the Fandom.

However I must point out that at the moment I can see the pros and cons in participating and as yet I am undecided on what to do myself.

My general consensus though has remained unchanged. If people want to appear in the documentary then I think they should be given that opportunity whilst if people don't want to appear in it then that decision should be respected.

The fact is that the documentary is going to go ahead. They already have footage of a London Meet and enough other material to fill the show. This means that from a Northern fur perspective, the decision to appear on the documentary appears to be a wholly individual one as even if you're not in it, the show is still going ahead.

I know that they are keen to recruit some Northern furs and in some ways it will be a shame if we are not represented but again, I think the decision to appear in the documentary should be that of the individual alone and whatever that individual decides, that decision should be respected.

Because the documentary is going ahead the onus has shifted as the question of "Do we want the publicity?" has now been rendered irrelevant. There is no doubt that appearing on TV will attract people to the fandom so the aim now is to show the fandom in as positive a light as possible. The only way this can be done is if we do that for them. However if you do appear on camera, then that is an admission that you are into furry and locally this could attract some of the less tolerant people in society to be vitriolic against you.

Added to this is the question of how much you have to lose. In my own case, if I appeared on camera it could damage my career and this is why I am as yet undecided whether I will participate or not.

After my conversations with Kitty, I am as sure as I can be that this show is not about yiff. The remit of the documentary is to show how the Internet has brought communities and subcultures together. This show is part of a series and this makes it less likely to be about yiff. The other subcultures they are focusing on are not sexual and Kitty has reassured me on numerous occasions that there is no point making a yiff show because a) it's been done before and b) it's not what they want to achieve. However, I know the media can lie and sex sells but in this case, I don't really think that's the case. They are not going to shift the time of one show in a documentary to a later slot just because they want to film yiff.

HOWEVER THEY WILL FILM WHAT WE ALLOW TO BE FILMED. THIS MEANS THAT IF YIFF IS INVOLVED IT IS OF OUR OWN CAUSING AND NOT NECESSARILY THEIRS. I personally don't think it will come to that.

Ultimately the question you have to ask yourself is this. E4 is a major satellite TV channel and if the series is popular, it may move to Channel Four. So picture the scene; you're round at your granny's house and you're idly flicking through the channels. Suddenly, she sees you on TV dancing with a giant panda. How would she take that? If the answer is fine then go ahead be involved, if not then I'd consider your options.

As part of the social side of Furry the makers are interested in talking to people about their experiences. This includes charity work and fursuiting but they also want to talk to people who live in a furry house. They are also after couples where one person is a fur and the other is not. The impression I am getting is that they want to make as positive and as constructive a programme as possible. But as yet, I am still undecided on what my own contribution will be due to my own doubts regarding revealing my identity to the national media (I am also trying to figure out what editing rights and rights of veto the community will have). I think that is the crux of the debate here.

If you want to find out more about the documentary then by all means give Kitty a ring. She's nice, down to earth and willing to answer any questions you might have. Either that or drop me an email and I will do my best to answer your questions.

I'm doing this because I believe that the opportunity should be evaluated and discussed. As yet I am undecided if I will participate at all but this could potentially be a good opportunity to promote the good side of the Fandom. Either way, I am just trying to come to a decision whilst being as objective as possible about things.