Unicorn
Unicorn Magazine
YOUR LOCAL FOLK MAGAZINE
  Editors - Alan Creamer and Theo Thomas
ENTER
Unicorn Magazine is a FREE quarterly publication for Folk Music, Song and Dance enthusiasts in the area of Hertfordshire, Bedfordshire and the nearer parts of the surrounding counties.
The magazine contains regular items, such as our comprehensive Club Diary, the invaluable Morris Diary, and vital details about music and song sessions.
We publish informed articles, and reviews of albums and books by local artistes by our panel of experienced appraisers.
Club Focus is where you will find the latest news about your Folk Club, and our Regular Chatterbox page features snippets of information about events and happenings in the folk world.
We also regularly feature a song, tune or dance from the very best writers and composers in this region.
ISSUE 92  - OCTOBER, NOVEMBER & DECEMBER 2005
 The Club Diary 
The Morris Diary
Sessions
Articles
Reviews
Club News
Chatterbox
Copy Dates
Advertisements
How to get hold of a copy
About the Unicorn Team
Contact us!
 
                                                                                    UNICORN CEILIDHS
                                                                                                              Dates and Bands
 
 Will you be at The Big Ceilidh - New Year's Eve, Hitchin Town Hall?
with calling from Barry Goodman and Fee Lock
 and Time of Your Life
Tickets available NOW - call 01582 733113 / 724261 to reserve yours!
 
 
 
 
In the Latest Issue!
(No. 92 - October, November & December 2005)  -  NOW AVAILABLE!
All the regular features, including -
 
Club News - from Walthamstow Folk, Ampthill Acoustic, Baldock & Letchworth Folk Club and Heartsease Folk Dance Group.
Sessions - Our Guide features open music and song sessions for nearly every day of the week!
Chatterbox - full of snippets of news, gossip, forthcoming dates etc.
Unicorn Ceilidhs - Dates and bands for the Autumn 2005 Season at Hitchin Town Hall.
Shall We Dance? - our regular easy-to-use guide to a dance near you.
 
PLUS CD Reviews, Book Reviews, Advertising, Dances & Sessions in 2005, and much more....
 
 
 
 
 Back to top
 
 
The Club Diary
 
 26 Clubs are featured in the Club Diary this issue!
Each issue contains our comprehensive Club Diary, which lists meeting nights and booked guests or activity details for clubs that meet regularly.  We also compile a Club Directory with an index of  featured clubs.  This gives details of club location and a contact telephone number.
If you're visiting a club for the first time, it's wise to contact the organiser to check that the details are still correct, and to get instructions on how to find the club!
To get your club featured in the Unicorn Diary, contact us now.
Price - only £12.00 per quarter, giving FREE entry in the Club Index, plus a supply of magazines for your members.
Payment in advance, please.
 
 
Back to Top
 
 
 
 
The Morris Diary
 Letchworth M.M. at Cottered & Ashwell
 
During the two summer quarters (April - June and July - September) we include the invaluable Morris Diary, which lists where and when you can see your local (or favourite) Morris team dancing in public. Again, we include an organiser's telephone number for you to get further information.
If you want your sides' Morris dates in the Morris Diary, give us a call.
Price - only £12.00 per quarter for one entry per week for 13 weeks, plus FREE entry in the Morris Index. This service is only available for the summer issues.  A supply of magazines will be provided for your members. Send your money with your details.
Back to Top
 
 
 
 
 
Sessions
Music and Song Sessions are rapidly increasing in popularity.  There are many different types, most of them held regularly.   We try to mention every session we know about, but they are a bit ephemeral and often stop, start or change venue at very short notice.
Many sessions are run without a recognised contact, but if we have contact information, we will try to print a telephone number, space willing.
If you are planning to visit a session for the first time, be prepared to find that it has stopped, or moved to a new location.
Our current Sessions Diary (with contact phone numbers) contains details of loads of them in this area over the next three months.
 You will be assured of a warm welcome, and a good session will encourage you to join in, whatever your abilities.  It's a great way to try out new-found skills, and learn a new song or tune.
 
Session Organisers - contact us and let us know your latest details, and we will publicise them for you.  This is currently a FREE service! Please send us details for each issue of the magazine as we require confirmation from organisers before we publish details.
 
Back to Top
 
 
 Articles
 
We welcome articles provided by our readers, on any subject relating to the folk world.
Call us for advice if you have written, or would like to write for Unicorn magazine, either on a one-off basis or something more regular. Please keep articles to a maximum of 700 words (less if you wish to include an illustration).  We can also accept photos and illustrations as part of an article.
 
Please note that we cannot accept articles that are a substitute for an advertisement, and we generally do not report on past events.  In all cases, we reserve the right to accept or reject articles, and to shorten or amend as necessary.
 
We also encourage local artistes, song- or tune-writers to let us publish their work.  If you wish to see your song, tune or dance in print, please contact us.  We prefer camera-ready copy, but we can now set your hand-written music notation for you. Please include brief biographical details to let our readers know a little about you.
 
We cannot be responsible, however, for manuscripts lost or mislaid in the post.  If you would like your work returned, please enclose a stamped, self-addressed envelope of a suitable size.
 
 
 
 
 
Back to Top
 
 
 
 
Reviews
 
We review only albums or books by local artistes, those generally working, living in or based in the Unicorn region.
We use a panel of reviewers to ensure an unbiased, fair assessment of your work.
We cannot guarantee insertion of a review in any particular issue.
Please send us your CD, tape or publication, together with some brief biographical details, and information covering the product's availability and price (including postage if applicable).
If you are not sure if you qualify for a review, give us a call, we will try to be flexible.
Please don't send us unsolicited reviews of your favourite artiste's work, particularly if it falls outside the categories listed above.  Better still, ring us first to discuss what you'd like to do.  We will consider any contribution if it meets our guidelines.
 
Contact Us
 
Back to Top
 
 
 
 
 
Club News
 
In each issue we pass on news from the clubs in our 'Club Focus' feature.
We print news about new clubs, changes to venues, meeting nights, or contact telephone numbers (
very useful as many people are switching to cable!)
 
Many clubs are involved in extra activities, and we will pass on details of these on this page.
If your club has any information to publicise, or any changes to the club itself that your audience ought to know about,
let us have that information now.
 
To get your club mentioned in 'Club Focus', call us!
 
 
 
 
 
 Back to Top
 
 

 

 Chatterbox
Contact Us
 
Display Advertisements
Back to Top
 
 
 
 
 
Unicorn Ceilidhs
 'High Energy Ceilidhs for Discerning Dancers of all Ages'
 
Click here to visit the website
 
 Our 2005 Season  continues with
--------------------
Friday 25th November - All Blacked Up - "A band towards the Peeping Tom side of the English Ceilidh Band spectrum. Something of a Rock Ceilidh band feel when live - to the extent of a four-square rhythm although not the excess of decibels."   (Webfeet website)
 
--------------------
 
Will you be at The Big Ceilidh - New Year's Eve, Hitchin Town Hall?
with calling from Barry Goodman and Fee Lock
 and Time of Your Life
Tickets available NOW - call 01582 733113 / 724261 to reserve yours!
----------------
Regular Friday night ceilidhs start again on 27th January
with LAUGHING GRAVY
----------------
 
Entry to all these ceilidhs, which are  held at Hitchin Town Hall, Brand Street, Hitchin,
costs only £7.50 (under 14s, £4.00) (except NYE) - tickets on the door, and we welcome all comers.
 
DON'T FORGET - WE MEET GENERALLY ON THE LAST FRIDAY OF EVERY MONTH
(EXCEPT JULY, AUGUST & DECEMBER)
Doors open at 7.30 for an 8.00pm start, and there's a REAL ALE Bar!
Don't miss these great dances!
More information is available from 01582  733 113 or 724 261
or www.unicornceilidhs.org.uk
 
 
Back to Top
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Copy Dates
 
'Copy Date' is the latest date we can accept any information, adverts, articles etc. for the forthcoming issue.
We set the date as late as possible, and anything arriving after this date will probably not be published, unless it is booked in beforehand.
The magazine is now so popular, and space is limited, that information  may not get
published if the magazine is already full!
Everything we receive is date-stamped to ensure we include your information on a first-come first-served basis.
Don't leave it 'till the last minute!
We work on a limited budget and time scale, so please do not make us chase you for final details.
 
 
Issue No. 93, covering JANUARY, FEBRUARY & MARCH 2006 -
COPY DATE - Friday 18th November 2005
Don't wait; send your information to us as soon as possible to ensure insertion in the appropriate issue.
 
Where do I send it?
 
Back to Top
 
 
 
 
 
 
Display Adverts
We welcome display advertising, and can offer the following sizes: (NOTE NEW RATES!)
Full Page                        7.75" H x 5.25" W   (197mm x 133mm)            £45.00 per insertion
Half Page Horizontal       3.75" H x 5.25" W   (95mm x 133mm)              £28.50 per insertion
Half Page Vertical           7.75" H x 2.50" W   (197mm x 64mm)              £28.50 per insertion
Quarter Page                  3.75" H x 2.50" W   (95mm x 64mm)                £18.00 per insertion
Please Note - these sizes are MAXIMUM.  Please measure your 'camera ready' artwork before despatch.  Incorrectly sized artwork will incur additional charges and will take second place to correctly supplied artwork.  Artwork should  also be BLACK on WHITE, not grey photocopies.  Tints should be 100 lines screen maximum.  Poor quality artwork will also take second place to good quality originals.

Give your page extra impact!   The Back Page is specifically available for an extra £15.00, and inside covers for an extra £9.00.  Please call for availability.
We can professionally typeset your text, and insert logos etc., if supplied.  Charges are from £8.00 per quarter page, about half commercial rates.

If you have any queries regarding artwork or advertising,  please call and discuss things with Alan during working hours, at the number shown.

Please don't forget to send your cheque for the full amount with your advert. If you are not sure how much to send, call us. Please note we review our charges annually, with changes usually coming into force at the beginning of each year.

We cannot offer credit facilities.  Local Councils etc. who require an invoice may be subject to an extra charge to cover invoicing and administration.

We can now also accept Artwork digitally.  Files created in QuarkXpress 4.1, Photoshop (TIFF/JPEG), Illustrator (EPS), Freehand (EPS) and Acrobat (PDF) can be accepted at a resolution of between 300 and 600 dpi. All fonts must be embedded or made into outlines/curves. QX users must supply the fonts. Files can be sent to us on 3.5" Floppy discs, CDs or 100/250Mb ZIP disc. Files can be E-Mailed to us at unicorn.mag@btconnect.com. Please also send a print, with your payment, by post, and please indicate in the body of the E-Mail all details i.e. size, position in mag (inside back cover etc.), which issue etc. DO NOT SEND Word, Excel, Corel, Powerpoint or Paint files as these will be unusable!

SAVE MONEY!  Claim a 10% reduction in charges if you book and pay for four or more issues in advance!

Contact Us
 
Back to Top
 
 
 
 
How To Get a Copy
We print in excess of 3200 copies each issue, and getting hold of a copy is quite simple.
Participating song and dance clubs and Morris sides will receive sufficient copies for all their members.
If your particular club doesn't receive a batch of magazines, it is because they don't feature in either the
Unicorn Diary (centre pages) or the Morris Diary (seasonal).
We regularly distribute to most major libraries, and some smaller branches.
We also supply some music shops in the area.
If you see either Alan or Theo at an event, ask for a copy, we usually have some secreted about our person!
 
Copies by Post
If you would like a copy sent to you by post, send us an unused, gummed A5 envelope, stamped and addressed to yourself.
Write the issue number you want to be sent in the top left-hand corner, and we will mail you that issue when it is published.
You can send us more than one envelope, but remember to write the different issue numbers in each left-hand corner.
 
Back to Top
 
 
 
 
The Unicorn Team
 
Unicorn's Co-Editors are ALAN CREAMER and THEO THOMAS.
We are ably assisted by Christine Creamer & Barbara Thomas;
Martin Dent, Jennie Thomas and Janet Strapp assist with the finishing and distribution.
You can contact us at the numbers listed below.
 
Back to Top
 
Contacting Us
 
By Phone                Luton (01582) 733113    during working hours        Alan
                                Luton (01582) 724261    during evening hours        Alan
                                Luton (01582) 882831    during evening hours        Theo
         By Fax:                     Luton (01582)404151
                      By E-Mail:                unicorn.mag@btconnect.com
 
By Post                         Serif House, 10 Dudley Street, Luton, Beds LU2 0NT
Personal callers welcome, but please call first.
 
Back to Top
 
 .............................................................................................................................................................................................
 
 DISCLAIMER
All the information in these pages, and Unicorn Magazine itself  is, to the best of our knowledge, true and accurate.
We cannot be held responsible for errors and omissions. Always check details before setting out.
We reserve the right to accept or reject copy sent to us, and we also reserve the right to edit or amend as we see fit.
Prices are correct as of 1st October 2005, but are subject to change without notice.
 
DATE OF LAST UPDATE         1st Oct 2005
Copyright © Unicorn Magazine 2005
 
Neither the contents of, or any part of the contents of these pages may be reproduced in any form without our prior written permission.
Reproduction of any part of Unicorn Magazine in any form is not permitted without our prior written permission.
If you want to quote from us, please ask!