FREE FOR ALL
The Magazine That Really Is Free For All
Issue 15 - December 1995 - Part 1
FREE FOR ALL is the only free local group magazine and is run on a non
profit making basis.
*******************************************************
N.B. In its hard copy form this magazine extends to 32 pages, in this
electronic form it is not possible to include the photographic content.
The magazine is dedicated to the Prisoner and other forms of cult t.v.
programs, for this issue the topics have been restricted to Prisoner
related items, if there is any positive feedback we could extend the
range of articles in future issues.
*******************************************************
EDITORIAL
"So here's it is Merry Christmas, everybody's having fun, look to the
future now, it's only just begun." Talking of the future, why not make a
new year resolution to send an article to Free For All. Step Into
Christmas with Free For All, the only free local group magazine.
Guaranteed not to give you a Blue Christmas.
You should be able to notice a few subtle changes in this issue due to
Geoff obtaining some new software. We hope you like it. We have lots of
interesting articles that will have you Walking In The Air and should
stop you being Lonely This Christmas. We have Internet news, Lally Talk,
We Want information, a Quiz, a McGoohan interview, Odds and Sods and even
a Winter's Tale Christmas Story. With so much in this issue you will
soon be saying to yourself Thank God It's Christmas.
This issue see's yet again a wealth of contributors from far away as
France and the good old U.S of A. The first part of the promised article
on Village Of The Damned in this Christmas special will have you saying
"I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday." If that was not enough, the
video event of the year Village Of The Damned is at last available by
mail order in this very issue, which means, you really can have a
Wonderful Christmas Time.
Well the new year looks interesting with the supposed production of The
Prisoner movie starting (see McGoohan interview inside this issue for
full details), a new convention looming and another year of Free For All.
The Prisoner movie is due to hit the cinema in 1997, that really will be
a Saviour's Day. The video of the same will no doubt follow and at last,
we will all get the chance to really compare it with the original series.
With special effects done in a far superior way nowadays, the Rover
scenes should be good. The McGoohan interview also reveals the news that
the film will retained some of the original series and will be filmed in
Portmeirion. Of course anything could happen and we could yet again be
eating our words. If you remember we were all talking about the new
Prisoner movie Last Christmas
Okay, we know this is a corny editorial but it is Christmas and we
thought we should be allowed to be not too serious just once a year. How
to end . . well I could say Happy Christmas, War Is Over or Merry
Christmas Everyone or We Wish You A Merry Christmas . . Well . . . we
wish you all these things but would like to end on our usual Happy
reading.
Geoff Lake/Colin Higham
********************************************************
Free For All is an independent (free) magazine dedicated to the Prisoner
and Cult television. It is produced by Shrewsbury members of Six of One,
the Prisoner Appreciation Society. The Prisoner television series
remains the copyright of (c) Polygram Television International 1995.
Opinions expressed are solely those of the contributors and no reflection
of official Six of One policy is intended or should be inferred. Six of
One can be contacted by send a s.a.e. to P.O.Box 66, Ipswich, IP2 9TZ.
Subscriptions for Free For all can be obtained by sending four 35p stamps
(Overseas readers need to send international reply coupons to the value
of Pound4) to : Free For All, C/O Geoff Lake, 72 Sutton Way, Springfield,
Shrewsbury, Shropshire, SY2 6EH. ENGLAND. Free For all is also available
on the Internet. To find us log on to 'usenet/alt.tv.prisoner'
You can also send any contributions to Geoff Lake at the same address or
e.mail us on 'artie@msn.com'.
The Shrewsbury group of Six of One meet at The Dun Cow (close to the
Abbey), Abbey Forgate, Shrewsbury, Shropshire from 8.p.m onwards. If you
have not attended before please contact group organiser Rob Beale on
01743 365814 (or mobile number 0860 272558) to check confirmation.
********************************************************
CREDITS
Editors : Geoff Lake & Colin Higham
Assistant Editor : Rob Beale
Assistance and contributions from : Alan Beale, Nick Bennett, Rosemary
Camilleri, Patrick Ducher, Arthur & Christine Jacks, Chris Johnson, Dave
Jones, Ian Jones, Dave Lally, Matthew Lock,Carol Ludlow,Ray & Jane
O'Leary, Mandy Phillips, Fred Salles, Geoff Simms, David Stimpson, Andrew
White.
********************************************************
BACK TO THE VILLAGE
PORTMEIRICON'95
THE CONCLUSION
by Alan Beale
It is early December and I have been staring through the window for at
least half an hour seeking inspiration to finish this article. The
winter seems to have taken grip and kicked into life at last, a light
flurry of snow dances across the garden, the incoming flakes collecting
on the windowsill. With the festive season nearly upon us, to the
fastidious it must seem an eon ago that many of us visited that enchanted
place in Portmeirion. In the current sub-zero temperatures it is
difficult to envisage those tropical days back in August, as the country
shivers and life slithers along. Who wouldn't give their hind teeth to
revisit the searing heat of last summer, especially if your journey
returned you to the Village ? It is then, very tempting to embezzle some
old thoughts, denying the starkness of the impending winter and let your
mind drift back into another time... a time that was warm and the air
held a breeze of expectation.
Hercules Hall was flanked in darkness, the end credits and out-takes from
Village of the Damned flickered from the television screens inside the
packed room. I had been preparing flimsy excuses for the poor reception
we expected to receive from the Barry Norman's of the audience, hardly
capable of watching the film in the process. The lights began to
illuminate the hall again and a generous round of applause from the
crowd pierced the air, acknowledging our efforts. The film had been a
success and apart from a few stabs, was very well received and talked
about during the rest of the week end. For the Shrewsbury group and all
the people who helped with production during the last six months, it was
a fantastic moment we would all cherish for a long time. At times the
film drained our enthusiasm, mistakes were made and given the chance to
make the film again, sure things might have been done differently, never
the less, now the dust has settled we have plans for another film
project, possibly for the 1997 convention ? Finally I must give a
mention of thanks to Steven Ricks and Max Hora for their kind help during
the making and staging of Village of the Damned during this years
convention.
We had managed to produce a small supply of limited editions of our film
for members and as people flooded out of the baking environment of the
hall, the Shrewsbury Six of One stall enjoyed brisk business as copies of
the film were snapped up. Also, over seventy copies of this free magazine
were handed out to members attending the convention during the weekend.
This year saw a record number of stalls in the Town Hall with
approximately twenty member exhibitors present at one time or another.
On offer were oil paintings, jigsaw puzzles, clocks, computer games, key
rings, old society magazines and much more. There was an abundance of
Prisoner memorabilia to be had and there was still the customary perusal
of Max's curiosity shop to take in. Co-ordinators Dave and Julie Jones
informed me that every exhibitor at Portmeirion this year, including
ourselves, donated a prize for the raffle draw, which was a nice touch.
WHO . . . GAVE . . . YOU . . . THE . . . MESSAGE ?
It was now 12:20 on Saturday afternoon, the programme directed
conventioneers to the edge of the chess board, on the lawn, where a make
shift boxing ring was hastily being assembled. A new re-enactment was
about to be staged, a boxing match from the episode "The Girl Who Was
Death". The event was being orchestrated by Leicester member David
Stimpson and family, with the assistance of Rick Booth who played the
referee and announcer. We have known Dave now for some years and for a
while he was content to stay in the background, enthusiastically taking
part in activities, you may have come across his chanting ! However his
confidence has grown and with the help of wife Morag and their children,
he has introduced some excellent themes and ideas during the last two
conventions, which have richly improved a sometimes predictable week end.
Barney's Boxing Booth was now complete, the bivouac area would stage the
first Six of One brawl, well official one anyway ! Strange characters
entered the fray, the mysterious "Mr X" - David Stimpson and "Killer
Kominski" - Simon Stimpson, squared up to each other as the ref issued
his pre-fight instructions to the sparring partners. The Killer appeared
rather trim, his bulky 210 pound frame resembled something more like 90
pounds, perhaps he had spent to long inside the Turkish baths. An old
lady, Sonia in disguise - Morag Stimpson, wished Mr X good luck, a bell
signalled the start of the bout and the two boxers targeted each other in
the middle of the ring. The players were dressed authentically for the
part, the re-enactment matching the original episode blow for blow. Many
of the Killer's blows connected with Dave Stimpson's radio microphone,
which spent more time on the canvas than Mr X. The dialogue and action
were well rehearsed and the pair gave a superlative performance which
ended with Mr X knocked to the ground in a daze from an unwieldy blow.
The crowd clearly enjoyed this event and I hope it appears again in next
years programme, it was exciting and more importantly, it was something
new !
The boxing booth dismantled , blood and teeth swept away, rumour soon
spread that a possible re-match was on the cards for tomorrow. But now it
was time for a Prisoner quiz, the chess board was cleared and a new
troupe took over the chequered area to stage "Escape", which was making
its second appearance at a convention. The competition was introduced and
hosted by Rick Booth last year and has grown very popular in a short
space of time. Basically two heats were held with eight contestants
taking part in each heat. Contestants were grilled by Rick and if
questions were answered correctly, the prisoners were allowed to move one
square forward. The first four contenders in each heat to travel up and
down the board were rewarded with a place in Sunday's final, where
ultimately a new "I know every thing about the Prisoner" champion would
be crowned. I have wondered about some of the contestants knowledge on
the series, I imagined that some are in cahoots with a secret friend, who
is transmitting answers via a hidden receiver, covertly concealed in the
contestants ear. Do you know the name of Patrick McGoohan's milkman ?, or
what cat food his dog eats? Well there are people out there that do.
With eight contenders securing places for tomorrow's final, the crowd
dispersed for a short break before the afternoons events got underway.
The sweltering weather unabated had become oppressively hot, sweat glands
were working profusely, it was time to make a swift visit to Hercules
Hall bar for some urgent treatment. We arrived to find the rest of our
group, joined by Liverpool members Alan Jones, Colin Higham and Paul
Bennett, firmly embedded in their annual drinkathon. They had formed a
seamy position in a corner of the bar and were surrounded by more glasses
than an optician's workshop. A non stop stream of ice cold brown ale,
conveyed by local hero and barman Elwyn, did nothing to fortify their
claim that they were parched from the scorching heat and were just
participating in a sociable drink. Actually in defence of this blatant
dipsomania, it must be said that F.F.A. Editors Geoff Lake and Colin
Higham were seen on numerous occasions this year outside the bar. They
took part or helped out with re-enactments, took photographs and at times
it was difficult to get the video camera away from Geoff. I know that
this year was probably their best convention yet and proves there is life
out side Hercules Hall bar.
ANY ONE FOR CHESS .... ?
By 1.45pm most people had rejoined the chess board, in preparation for
the ageless re-enactment of the classic human chess game from Checkmate.
The roles of No.6 and the Queen were recreated again this year by David
Stimpson and Morag Stimpson, Six of One virtuoso Dave Barrie played the
man with the stick. The main actors gave a polished performance and a
classy re-enactment followed. The use of radio mikes has really enhanced
outside activities, making them far more pleasurable and pleasing to
watch, particularly when the acting is so realistic. ( Sorry folks,
minor gripe coming up ) A current problem with the chess game is, that
no matter how proficient the acting is, the whole thing can stand or fall
by the actions of the other chess pieces. Volunteers are usually called
for, prior to the start of the game, therefore there is often little time
available to rehearse the movements beforehand. Perhaps if a 'real'
umpire was used, he or she could shepherd the non speaking players to the
correct place if they failed to initiate a move. This would allow the
game to flow without confusion, maintaining a quality of continuity the
re-einactment has aspired to over the years. Please do not misunderstand
me, the event continues to be a highlight of the convention. Anyway, an
exciting conclusion was reached with the eagerly awaited arrival of the
speeding Mini Moke, complete with guards, to remove the wayward Rook
after his illegal jaunt across the board. The Rook was played by Sam
Booth from Manchester, the two security guards were played by Nottingham
members, Wayne Langford and Andy, whose surname I have forgotten for the
moment, sorry Andy. Phil Caunt was at hand in his gleaming recently
renovated Mini Moke, adopting his usual foot to the boards engine
screaming position in anticipation of whisking the Rook off to hospital.
But not before the sadistic guards beat the offender with their batons
into the middle of next week and bundled him into the back of the
impatient ambulance, accompanied of course, by cheers of delight from the
drooling audience. I know it didn't happen this way but you try telling a
blood thirsty mob ! Fortunately Sam made a speedy recovery and lived to
play another day.
ORANGE ALERT .... ORANGE ALERT !
Dave Lally, renowned village security officer, was ever present with his
policing of the action area and ensured safety standards were adhered to
by all villagers. It was his dubious and unenviable task to personally
interrogate and search all females entering the chess arena and ensure
they came to no harm during the re-enactment. Mind you I seem to recall
Dave doing a spectacular backflip off the end of a speeding mini moke
some years ago, many people thought it was brilliant and were left
admiring his flamboyance, not to mention his severely bruised body, sorry
Dave I didn't mean to let that one slip out again but you didn't pay up
on time !
Wayne and Andy, who played the guards, told me a funny story about their
uniforms. They had sought the far corners of Nottingham, in search of
grey ones and in a last desperate bid found a company who could supply
them with what they wanted. When the day arrived to collect them, they
eagerly returned to the warehouse and a proud storeman handed them their
garments. When the lads opened the package their faces filled with
horror, the overalls were green ! There next followed a heated discussion
with the storeman who categorically assured them that they were grey. The
poor bloke was obviously colour blind, mad, or both. Anyway, Wayne and
Andy managed to get a pair of grey overalls from somewhere else in time
and were spared the total embarrassment of wearing bright green guard
uniforms at this years convention. I'm told they are wearing Kosho
outfits next year !
Time was approaching 2.45pm which meant it was time to return to Hercules
Hall for another indoor event. Described in the programme as "Prisoner
Palace of Fun Presents", hosted by Roger Langley, the show was a collage
of rare video clips, slides, stills and pop film promos. The event was
very well attended, I found myself watching from the back of the room,
stretching on tip toes to catch a glimpse of the show. The captive
audience were treated to a special trip down memory lane which was
enjoyed by everyone, clearly a lot of time and effort went into this
project and hopefully it will get a second run.
At 4.00pm it was time for the last Village activity of the day, a guided
tour of Portmeirion. If you were not hallucinogenic from heat stroke and
your feet were still functional, then this was for you. The tour, a
gentle amble taking in the beautiful surroundings and architecture of the
Village, was conducted by Dave Barrie. Dave was joined on the trip by
Howard Foy, former editor of 'Number Six' magazine and a celebrated
author of a Portmeirion tour guide book. Together they forged an
entertaining partnership and provided an excellent guide, sharing their
wealth of knowledge on Portmeirion history with the touring party.
LOUDSPEAKER: .... ATTENTION, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, ATTENTION. THIS IS AN
ANNOUNCEMENT FROM THE GENERAL'S DEPARTMENT. THE PROFESSOR WILL BE
LECTURING IN APPROXIMATELY THIRTY MINUTES.
Well we had better get a move on then. Time was nearing 6.00pm, villagers
had managed a brief escape from the village and were assembling at the
Tyddyn Llwyn Hotel near Portmadog. There had hardly been time to freshen
up before the evening programme started, we arrived to find the hotel
bursting at the seams. The temperature inside the function room was
probably nearing a hundred degrees and climbing fast. The room is always
pretty well filled to capacity, however this year seemed exceptional,
with bustling bodies forming large crowds in front of the bar. The
expression on some faces reminded me of that great film, 'Ice Cold in
Alex', with people desperately trying to get a cold long drink.
Eventually we reached the bar, got served and retreated into the garden
for a calming breath of fresh air. As we sat back I ran my finger down
the side of my glass of cold lager, a mark of respect I thought, to
Messrs Mills, Syms and Quayle. Meanwhile, Frank Ratcliffe of Polygram
had taken centre stage to talk about latest developments in respect of TV
and film projects. I must confess at this point it was impossible to
attempt re-entry into the swollen room and quite a lot of people were
left outside, struggling to hear his words. I can, however pass on some
information I gleaned later. In short, he confirmed that Polygram's
future policy plans were to make some large screen versions of old ITC
television series. No firm information was forthcoming on the Prisoner
film, except that it was one of these projects and needs careful thought
and preparation. Twelve months ago I recall a wave of excitement filling
the room when Frank told us of Polygrams intentions and I expect many
people thought filming might start this year. I suppose a responsible
attitude has been adopted and it is proper to apply a softly, softly
approach if a successful movie is to be attempted. The presence of Frank
Ratcliffe at conventions has truly been a boost for Six of One, he is a
very pleasant person, informative and it is always a pleasure to see him
attending our event.
This year Six of One were privileged to have actor Peter Howell, who
played the Professor in The General, as convention guest speaker.
Unfortunately I never did manage to get back into the room, despite
dressing up as a heavily pregnant woman in desperate need of a seat. It's
getting tougher every year to get into the room, probably because of the
high calibre of guests Dave and Julie Jones have laid on. So sadly I am
unable to report on Dave's interview with Peter Howell, apart from the
fact that the audience enjoyed it immensely. I am sure a full transcript
will appear in a future "In The Village" magazine and eagerly look
forward to reading it. We did manage to take a few photographs with
Peter after joining the long line of autograph hunters in search of a
signed picture. The Professor was eventually whisked away to the
Coliseum Cinema in Portmadog, to watch "The General" on the big screen.
Those of us that didn't go to the cinema this year, felt we should make
an effort and hold an intelligent conversation about "The General", as a
mark of respect to our departed friends. The discussion revolved around
the idea of speed learn, whether the concept of feeding people massive
amounts of data in a few minutes was even realistic today ? After almost
45 seconds of deliberation we reached the conclusion it was impossible,
so I returned to the bar for another drink. When asked how much I owed
him the barman started telling me about, the treaty of Adrianople in
September 1829, the recognition of Greek independence in 1830, Bismark,
the Prince of Denmark and Freddy of Austenburg. ........ Time for bed !
GOOD MORNING, GOOD MORNING IT'S ........ Shut Up !
Sunday morning arrived between a tussle of tiredness and sleep
deprivation, courtesy of another sticky humid night. In no time at all
we seemed to be wheeling our way back to the village for another days
entertainment. The day seemed to accelerate as event after event flashed
by. At 9.30am the Discussion Group, chaired by Peter Dunne, was underway
and capitulated after surrendering on agreed terms of disagreement. Just
before the chess game started, Rob and I shared a coffee with Jane
Rawson, who was writing this years official convention report for "In The
Village". Jane interviewed us about the making of the Shrewsbury group
film, "Village of the Damned", for a piece in her article.
By 11.15am the second Chess Match of the weekend reached a familiar
conclusion as a cry of "Checkmate" echoed around the Village. The players
gave another superb performance and were treated to a bombardment of
boisterous applause as they left the board. Rover had made a customary
appearance bouncing all over the place at the start of the match and the
poor Rook was dispatched to hospital, for more urgent therapy, after of
course his vicious beating by the notorious Barracuda Brothers.
The show then moved on to the Town Hall where we were treated to another
Steven Rick's archive special with the showing of a film called "Man On
The Staircase". The film was made in 1964 by Roy Cannon, he played the
part of the dead man found washed up on the beach in Dance Of The Dead.
The two lead roles were played by actors John Cazabon, who appeared in
Free For All and Frank Maher who went on to become Patrick McGoohan's
stuntman and stand in. So you can see that the film had a very strong
Prisoner connection and it made very interesting viewing. I understand
the archive slot is likely to become a regular feature at future
conventions and Steven Ricks should be congratulated on his continuing
quest to unearth Prisoner related material for the society.
The midday sun brought a rematch between 'mad dogs' Kominski and Mr X in
the boxing ring and like the first bout, the man of mystery was sent
twisting to the canvas by the Killer. The final of the Prisoner quiz
Escape came next, it was won by Oxford member Glenies McCairns who is
without doubt an authority on the subject. In second place was Isobel
Smith of Norfolk, she has finished runner up for two years now and must
be due for a win. Isobel, I will let you into a little secret, Glenies
uses Speedlearn !
At 1.45pm I set off to meet Howard Foy, who had kindly agreed to do an
interview for FFA. I joined him and wife Kate beside the hotel swimming
pool and enjoyed a very pleasant hour as Howard reminisced about his
interests in the Prisoner and his memories of Six Of One. The interview
WILL appear in the next edition of this magazine, sorry Howard.
Unfortunately I failed to make it back to the Town Hall for the Screening
of Matthew Lock's latest offering, "Transference", which was a video
sequence of stills interlaced with a stereo sound track. I am told the
film was another accomplished piece of work, which we have come to expect
from the talents of Matthew. I do hope I get a chance to view this film
in the future. I did manage to catch the end of Pantha Waterworth's new
film, "April Fool", which was a sort of Prisoneresque drama, my only stab
is, I felt perhaps the film was a little short and to tightly edited,
that apart, it was very interesting.
Attention focused outside again and at 3.00pm the Election Parade, the
final major re-enactment of the weekend, got underway. The colourful
parade left Battery Square with No.2, Sid Jones, promising some immediate
social conversion if the crowd failed to respond favourably to his
telegenic performance. No.6, Andrew Turford, took all this in his stride
and the pair, supported by a cast of thousands, well hundreds, gave an
outstanding display. With Sid's probational period behind him, I hope he
returns to play the role of No.2 again.
FALL OUT: WE HELPED PATRICK McGOOHAN ESCAPE !
Meanwhile the Village debating society returned to Hercules Gazebo for a
final discussion session. The group, chaired by Dave Barrie, gave
remaining die hards one last stir of the cauldron allowing any late
arguments to be added to the ingredients. At 5.00pm the last celebrity
interview of the convention was held at Hercules Hall. Dave Jones spoke
with John S.Smith, editor of three Prisoner episodes, including The
General. A weekend round up followed, with Dave Jones and Roger Langley
thanking all the convention organisers and anyone who helped out one way
or another during the weekend. The list is far to long to reproduce, but
we at Shrewsbury endorse those messages of thanks.
We returned to Portmeirion early Sunday evening, Rob and I joined the
Touring Theatre, hosted by Max Hora. My favourite re-enactment was the
scene from Dance of the Dead, held on the Belvidere outlook, where No.6,
played by Andrew White, is caught by No.2, Joan Booth, while listening to
the radio he found on the dead man. The group of people following the
theatre was so large, three sittings were required to accommodate
everyone. Peter Howell was still about and was more than happy to stop
for a chat and a photograph, he was a very charming man.
Our next and last port of call was the Town Hall for the end of
convention party. The evening kicked off with a brilliant party piece by
the Leicester group, who did a skit on the Monty Python parrot sketch,
but with Prisoner characters. The script and music was written by Steve
Ward with help from Chris Johnson, Andrew Turford, Natasha Neal, Bruce
Goodman, Sarah Ward, Helen Johnson and others. The satire was a huge
success and set the mood perfectly for the evening ahead, expect more of
this zany stuff next year. The rest of the night was indulged in
drinking, dancing and good conversation as the hours wiled away. In no
time at all I found myself sitting alone in the darkness of Battery
Square, waiting for our taxi to drag us away from this self imposed
heaven. The rest of the group had disappeared to a nearby party, I am
normally known as the dirty stop out of the bunch, but this year, could I
get anyone into the taxi. In desperation I went in search of my missing
companions, I found Jane and Mandy demolishing someone's bottle of wine
at a party, while Rob was making a bit of a .... of himself, with his
video camera, by interviewing any poor soul who was unfortunate enough to
enter the room. Eventually, in a drunken stupor, he knocked a pint of
beer over the camera and that was the end of The South Bank Show !
Finally an irate taxi driver insisted we left with him now or he was
p.....g off, some of us left, some stayed. I keep saying this every
year, but this was definitely the best one yet ! Our taxi at last sped
off, I turned back for one last fond look at Portmeirion, my heart
feeling heavy, suddenly the illuminated silhouette of the village
disappeared into an eerie blanket of darkness, almost, almost as if it
had never existed.
So there it is, if you did not attend this years convention I hope this
report has given you a flavour of things. If you did, I hope it brought
back pleasant memories of that brilliant weekend in August.
Have a Merry Christmas, enjoy a peaceful new year and most of all,
Be Seeing You ...........!
*******************************************************
Have you read Parts 2 & 3 of FREE FOR ALL ?
*******************************************************
N.B. The opinions expressed above are not necessarily those of the person
posting this magazine but all comments and suggestions will be passed on
to the editors.
*******************************************************