Paragon2 is sofa-ed by Fran Dowd, supported by James Bacon, Julia Daly, John Dowd, Nigel Furlong, Sabine Furlong, Alice Lawson, Steve Lawson, and John Richards. There's a brief introduction to all of us below.

If you would like to help publicise the convention, you can download a pdf of an A4 flier for your local book or specialist shop, library, or work noticeboard. If you would like bulk copies, please email sofa@paragon2.org.uk

NEWS

Paragon2 Souvenir Merchandise Shop Launch 

We’re experimenting with something new for Paragon2 souvenirs - T-shirts, mousemats, tote bags and the like. We have joined forces with a US company called CaféPress, who produce a wide range of products and print them individually with our designs to your order. These products are only available through the souvenirs shop here on the website. This does mean, though, that you can have a choice of T-shirts from 6-month baby size up to 4XL, and we’ve also got a special design for people who prefer to have an image between their boobs and not across them. You can even have Paragon2 undies! The service is fast, and they take credit cards. The greatest benefit for all of us is that we have not had to tie up your membership money in merchandise stock. 

Paragon2 Masquerade 

You may have heard that we’ve announced that we’re not going to have a Masquerade. This isn’t quite true, we have not yet made the final decision.

Alice Lawson, who’s our committee person responsible for special events, has been running Eastercon Masquerades for quite some time. She has been watching the number of entries slowly decline. At Seacon03, there were very few entries, and none who notified her in advance. Concourse (04) cancelled the Masquerade in advance, and then reinstated it on the day. Alice is monitoring the response to this.

We will notify you in the next PR (November 2004) and here as soon as the decision is made. We have a range of ideas to replace it if we do cancel, and will do some of these even if we go ahead with the main event. These include the increasingly popular Hall Costume Competition, an Easter Bonnet Parade, an Alter Ego Costume Ball, and the audience participation costumes for Richard III. There will be the usual capable support of Chaos Costuming.

We are also thinking of running some workshop items on Masquerading, to support people who are thinking of entering the Worldcon Masquerade later in the year.

If you have any comments or queries about this, please email email sofa@paragon2.org.uk.

Paragon2 Richard III Project 

Paragon2 is proud to announce that our programme will include the World Premiere of Richard III for the audience, to the audience, BY THE AUDIENCE!, as featured in Jasper Fforde's "The Eyre Affair" and starring Jasper Fforde as "Richard III". During the next year the Richard III Project will need: scriptwriters to cut the original and devise the audience script; and cast members for the main characters. If you are interested in the Project, check out the Project pages and get back to us.

COMMITTEE

James Bacon
Tá James fíche octht blian d'aois agus tá an t'úfas obair finsceálíocht eolíocht gaothraniocht deanta aige thár deich blian. Bhí sé ar coiste comhdáil Octocon 1993, agus de bhí sin an thuas den oibre. An Blian seo, tá sé ag obair ar They Came and Shaved us, comhdáil i Dundalk, i mhí Deireadh Fomhair. Tá Paragon 2 an ceád am do James a bheith ar comhdáil Cascá.


Julia Daly
Warped from an early age by bed-time stories from John Wyndham, and watching Dr Who, Blake's 7 and The Tomorrow People (to name but a few), I had no choice but to gravitate to SF conventions via ZZ9 and Octarine. Deciding to get more involved I offered to help with a convention called Inconsequential and found myself on the committee for all 3 Incons.

Sucked kicking and screaming into the orbit of Sheffield fandom, I awoke one day to discover I was now on the committee for Paragon 2. I think my job is to fix James Bacon with a Grenfellian steely gaze and say "James - don't do that ..."


Fran Dowd
I too was sucked kicking and screaming into Sheffield fandom, but as I was also marrying one of them at the same time it didn't seem too bad. That was nearly 14 years ago and we've nearly catalogued the joint library - not including anything we've bought since, of course. 

I'm the Sofa (and the Page 3 girl), you can spot me at conventions as I wear the Kimono of Power. I was Sofa for Intuition (Eastercon 98) and Assistant Editor for newsletter and website for the original Paragon.


John Dowd
Reading SF as far back as I can remember (Kemlo stories and those yellow covers in the adult library) science fiction has always been an important part of my life. I remember the first appearance of Doctor Who rather better than the death of President Kennedy. Fandom I discovered at university, joining CUSFS and visiting The Globe in Hatton Garden. I have been involved in the Sheffield group for more than 25 years fannishly going to the pub and talking. My claim to fame is sailing the only mono hull yacht to the Brighton Worldcon.

I enjoy working on conventions and have run publications, newsletters, merchandise and hotel liaison. This time I have the money and the members.


Nigel & Sabine Furlong
Hello. We are Nigel and Sabine Furlong and we are a team. Our collaboration began in 1995, when we met during a security shift at Intersection. We decided that the European Video mountain and the British book lake should find a home together in a two bed in Didcot and got married in 1996. Our unit is made complete by our four year old daughter Karen. Her first word was Doctor Who_honest! We both work in emergency planning and have experienced the odd incident during our work.

We both started working at conventions by volunteering for operations and gophering. We got hijacked into conrunning by Alice Lawson who invited us to join the Paragon 2001 committee. Sabine was head of programming, Nige organised operations. We have since been involved in smaller cons and are now back for Paragon 2005, where we will be joint heads of operation.


Alice Lawson
My name is Alice Lawson. I live in Sheffield with Steve Lawson. I have been going to conventions since Conspiracy in 1987. Since then I have been on various committees from Novacons to Worldcons and various stops in-between although not normally all at the same time till now. I guess I am just insane or a control freak. Or perhaps I am just bossy although no one would say that. No really!

The real reason is that I enjoy seeing people happy and having fun. If I can help make that happen then I enjoy myself. Selfish really.


Steve Lawson
Hi my name is Steve Lawson, I've been attending conventions since 1977. I found that I liked to help out and organise them, so I've been doing that for some time now.

I'm not that good at writing, so my main problem on a committee is writing bits and pieces for the Con publications, in this case information for the PR. So up until now I've managed to get other people to write them for me, that is getting more difficult since David T Cooper moved away, his pieces were more interesting, especially the shrub thing... But that's 100 words.


John Richards
Oh Glory, it's the brief introduction to the committee time again. How the Hell am I supposed to sum myself up in 100 words without sounding either terminally pompous or completely incapable of intelligent communication?

Still, I suppose having spent a year writing up CVs before moving up to Yorkshire wandering into a pub in Sheffield and finding myself on a Con Committee again I ought to be used to it. The problem is, as ever, deciding what is relevant and what is not and the level of detail to which one should go. Space is also a major consideration ...

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