Katemas MN,USA report

[Bryan Dongray <btd@cray.com>]

Hello all,

Karen <kln@a.crl.com> asked:
> Reports from this past weekend's parties anyone?

OK, a few Minneapolis dwellers visited, we'd met before, so we swapped
tapes (eg demos, LH/TTI video collections, and other rare stuff).
We were (of course) listening to a random selection of the rarer CDs I
have (choice made by my CD player), reading some Kate books, and ate
some snacks (veggie) and dips, then over to the TV to watch some of
the tapes, and also my montage of some UK views (landscapes and
buildings) with a soundtrack of "Oh England, My Lionheart", followed by
my video of East Wickham, including the Fanny on the Hill pub, and of
course Kate's gate, but it's just a minute long so the soundtrack I
used was "One Last Look Around The House Before We Go" - perfect.
I also played my Kate Interview, that isn't on any of the LH video
collections (done for the TRS release, but has many extracts from
earlier interviews, which I've not seen elsewhere). If you're interested
it was on a late night UK TV program called "New Music".

Pity there isn't a Kate Video collection this year (apparently), as
I was pleased that someone said the East Wickham video should be a
must for the next collection. Oh well. Perhaps next year.

OK, we then had pizza, and talked and watched TWS and TSF (those that
aren't on TWS). I was amazed that MPLSkyle had not seen most videos,
including Cloudbusting and ExpIV, my favourite ever music video tracks.
Then we watched the Dec 79 BBC "Kate" TV program.
Around this time a couple of the people had to go. So they missed out
on the BBQ (sorry midwesterners are mostly meat eaters), and a great
chocolate dessert, which was ok for veggies, and very appropriate as
Kate's diet when she first became veggie was just chocolate (ok, for
about two weeks).

I demo'd some of my MIDI files of Kate music, well received, and I
unfortunately played (keyboard) from "Kate - Complete". Ouch, do
I need to practice! No, perhaps I'm a little too hard on myself, as my
wife (who's not too much of a Kate fan) when she heard "Hammer Horror"
recognized that it is what I've been practising. So I can't be that bad.

Well I guess I can win the prize for least travel. 0 miles!
BUT, since I actually come from England, which is 4000 miles away,
does that count? BTW, 4000 miles = 6400km, which is better than the
impressive 2400km/1500mile round trip done by Rhys Jones in New Zealand.
Well done, what a fan.

I was a little dissappointed that apart from one person (who at the last
moment couldn't make it), no one from anywhere nearish (like Chicago)
contacted me, nor made the effort. I know the most of Minneapolis folks
were ready to go to Chicago, if there had have been one there.
Oh well, your loss.

			Bryan Dongray