KateMas Talk... from Linkoping, Sweden

[Andreas Bjorklind <abj@IDA.LiU.SE>]

KateMas Eve and KateMas Day meetings in Linkoping, Sweden
---------------------------------------------------------

Since we first listened to Kate Bush's music we knew it was special.
Yes, we discovered her together in 1984. But it took us some time to
realize she was good all the way. When people ask us why we're so
"fanatical" about Kate, we usually reply: she is the only --- the only
--- artist both of us love from the beginning to the end; alpha and
omega. We both listen to Prince, but he has created awful pieces as
well as good ones. Andreas sometimes listens to Depeche Mode, which
Carina doesn't like too much. Sometimes Carina finds Sisters of Mercy
enjoyable, while Andreas seldom do. Kate Bush is the only one we both
love everything by, all the time, and together!

But, we digress.

It was not until late 1987 we understood there was a thingy called
Kate fandom. We already knew science fiction fandom, but this was new
to us.  Since then we have slowly assimilated all the KTlore
available, and this year we felt ready to host a KateMas, which at the
same time would be our first one.

Our first action was to place the date in the local sf club's
calender. By doing this in the early spring we both got some
attandees, and managed to convert a few non-KTists. We also posted an
invitation to the net (but, no one from outside Linkoping came...
strange!). To those who asked we told them we'd start somewhere
between 1800 and 1900 on the 29th, so they all came then. All in all
we were seven fans, apart from ourselves there was Tommy Persson,
Lennart Staflin, Lars Johansson, Per Westling, and Roger Klein (who
unfortunately had to go earlier, since he at the moment is an army
dreamer).

Carina worked all afternoon to create a special Katie Kake. Of course
it was in the form of the KT symbol we all love. Apart from being
wonderful to look at (we have it captured in black-and-white for the
future to see), it tasted wonderful! Meanwhile we listened to Katie on
CD and vinyl, watched her appearance on Saturday Night Live, and
discussed. Andreas told everyone about the wonderful news about Kate
Bush Con and about the CD Box. Lennart said he perhaps needed to get a
CD player in time for Christmas, then... All the time Katie watched
us. You see, we had on the day before bought a frame for the beautiful
b/w photo you get as a member of the Kate Bush Club, and we placed it
so that she could see all the participants and what we did. We did
not, though, try to feed the glass encased face of Ms. Bush with
birThday Kake...

The festivities ended somewhere around 2300, and the attendees walked
home. But we didn't end the activities there! No, when the time seemed
ripe, we picked up a copy of C'n'V's KateMas invitation, checked out
their telephone number, and phoned them! Lo and behold! A feminine
voice answered, and Andreas asked her if there were a KateMas party
going on over there. It was... we had the right number! Ms. Mapes got
Chris to the phone, and he told us we just caught them watching the
famous Infant Kiss video! Lucky you NTSC people... Then we spoke a
little, as coherent you can via a trans-Atlantic cable (isn't there a
strange cutting sensation when calling the other side? Or is it just
the Swedish telephone monopoly...). After wishing each other a happy
KateMas, we closed the connexion. For this time. We went to bed, on
KateMas Day, happy in spirit and soul!

In our invitation we wrote that we would celebrate the 30th, too. That
is the real birThday, right? But, there was a minimum of interest from
the participants on the 20th to come on the 30th as well. Even when we
told them there would be bubbly wine. Anyway, we didn't let them put
us in a bad mood on such a day! During the day we went to another of
the Swedish monopolies: Systembolaget (where you get bubbly wine, and
other alchoholic stuff), where we found a nice bottle white bubbly
wine called Cordoniu. Later that evening  we gave Kate a toast, and
swept the contents of the bottle.

Our first KateMas has passed, and we hope we'll attend or host many
more!

This electronic edition of the report doesn't include photos from the
event. The pictures are of the Kake and of the attending KTians. If
you're very keen on seeing the shots, please drop up a line, and we'll
see what we can manage (KTMas photos at the Gaffa archives???).


Carina and Andreas Bjorklind
(abj@ida.liu.se)
Troskaregatan 53
S-583 30 Linkoping
Sweden
+ 46 (0) 13 21 46 00