Join the Derek Lacey Appreciation Society - On Facebook, Now!! Firstly an apology, I said we'd still be in a play-off place when I signed off last month. What do I know, eh? Well, I never claimed to be more than a normal fan prone to the same errors of judgement as everyone else.One thing I used to love about fandom was the fanzines that circulated in the eighties and nineties. Carlisle had their fair share including some absolute winners; The Cumberland Sausage, The Foxy Ferret, So Jack Ashurst Where's My Shirt and Reeves is Offside Again all come to mind. Sure, you'll still see Hit the Bar on sale at games but the era of the fanzine is gone from football. I like message boards and the instant access to news offered by the internet but with progress we've gained a lot and lost a few precious things along the way. The things fanzines always did better than message boards was develop some wonderful off the wall fixation and flog it for all the comedy value and sheer enjoyment of sharing the joke. Certainly CUFC Online can still pull the same stunts, Friday Bewers anyone? But the problem with a message board is the tonnage of information that forces these little flights of fancy to the bottom and stifles them. When fanzines hit on a subject and gathered converts they could be very good. Frankly, we needed them when the start and end of the last decade brought little cheer on the pitch. The grim and ironic jokes were a tonic. The picture of the newly signed Eric Gates on one fanzine cover with the words; 'The Messiah' underneath made me laugh out loud. It's no accident that where fanzines still flourish they do so because a group of people unite around a common cause and need the support of each other. Hit the Bar is a magazine for Cumbrian exiles, often read on long train journeys returning from Bournemouth, Gillingham or wherever. One of the best fanzines currently in circulation belongs to Maidstone United, despite existing on the edge of the football radar and pulling crowds that would depress Workington their Show Me The Way To Go Home is a great magazine, celebrating the faith of a die-hard support reduced to watching their heroes play on a former training pitch in the shadow of a dog track over 20 miles from Maidstone. But one thing that - for me at least - has replaced fanzines and offered the chance to unite around the weird and wonderful things they did best are the pages arriving on sites like Facebook that dedicate themselves to the aspects of football that give it colour, life and laugh out loud fun. I've recently joined a couple of Facebook groups that remind me of the days when you could turn a fanzine page and rely on a chuckle, or some development of a running joke. The beauty of Facebook groups of course, is that they tend to stay where they are and not get forced away by people posting on other subjects. I'll confess to being a member of Sausage Fingers Kev - Queen of CUFC Online - a self-explanatory title for a group dedicated to our most prolific poster and a character seldom bettered for forthright opinions. Of late I've also become a member of The Derek Lacey Appreciation Society, a group rapidly increasing in numbers as we swap favourite stories about the great man and celebrate one unique and matchless talent that opposing teams struggle to match. I'm still hoping someone will see sense and start work on that Best of Derek CD, until then the moments on which we exiles often depend can be discussed, relived and celebrated with like-minded people on Facebook from all over the world. Hell, there are links to interviews and the video of a day in the life of the living legend was also linked to the page. Jayne Mccluskey deserves some recognition for starting the whole thing and making sure Derek's many fans have somewhere in cyberspace to meet. You may just find a few more laughs and the odd fond memory added to your week if you decide to join up. Not everything on Facebook is brilliant but every time I drop in on Derek's page, or SFK, I'm reminded of the way I felt reading those long-lost but well remembered fanzines. I'm not about to make any rash predictions about our league position a month from now. I do predict - however - that the 65 members of the Derek Lacey Appreciation Society will find some new friends and a lively series of new posts in the next few weeks. Be seeing you! Carlisle United London Branch : http://www.carlislelondonbranch.org/ Neil's site : www.neilnixon.com Neil Nixon |