All events start at 7.30pm unless otherwise specified. A summary is also available in calendar format.
See also the semi-detached events page.
| Saturday 18 January, 7:10pm | Film trip: The Two Towers | Warner Cinema | ||
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| Joint trip with the Cambridge Tolkien Society to see the latest Lord of the Rings film (the middle of the trilogy). It is strongly recommended that you book your ticket beforehand - this can be done online at the Warner website. We will meet in the area just inside the cinema, where the ticket collection posts and food counters are, at 7:00pm. Comparable to Tolkien at his best. | ||||
| Sunday 19 January | Discussion: Virtual Worlds | 38 Lensfield Road, Room 9 | ||
| Virtual Worlds are everywhere in SF. From Tron to The Matrix, Permutation City to cyberspace and the metaverse, SF has a lasting fascination with worlds which exist only inside a computer. What do these worlds tell us about ourselves and our relationship with the real world we live in? What is the real world anyway? And with science bringing true Virtual Reality closer, should we be afraid that so many SF virtual worlds are dystopias? | ||||
| Tuesday 21 January, 8:30pm | CTS Discussion: The Two Towers | T4, King's College | ||
| After you've been to see The Two Towers, join the Cambridge Tolkien Society for a discussion of its merits. Loved it? Hated it? Go along and argue your position. It will certainly be a charged debate! | ||||
| Thursday 23 January, 9:10pm | Film trip: Star Trek Nemesis | Warner Cinema | ||
| Join us for the latest in the long line of Trek films. It is strongly recommended that you book your ticket beforehand - this can be done online at the Warner website. We will meet in the area just inside the cinema, where the ticket collection posts and food counters are, at 9:00pm. There will also be a group of CUSFS people meeting in the Free Press pub before the film (from about 7:30pm) for food and a drink or two. | ||||
| Sunday 26 January | Discussion: Marion Zimmer Bradley | 44 Lensfield Road (middle floor doorbell) |
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| Marion Zimmer Bradley is best known for her Darkover fantasy and sometimes SF-crossover series. Do you like the series? Is the matrix magic/technology believable? Are the books best before the Terrannan turn up? Also, find out about some of MZB's more obscure works... | ||||
| Saturday 1 February 8:30 onwards |
Jómsborg Wake for the Old Year | 11 Atherton Close | ||
| And so another year of Jómsborg the New ends. Join the Reeve, Companions and Jómsvikingar in our preparation for the New Year. The Jómsvikingar purify themselves by staying up throughout the night, helped along by a selection of games, reading, sparkling conversation, and anything else that comes to mind. Oh, and probably a fair amount of coffee. The particularly devout meet on top of Castle Mound at sunset to bid farewell to the Old Sun, which is due to finally wind down at 16:46 on the 1st. Distractions will include... | ||||
| Saturday 1 February, 9:00pm | Discussion: The Quest | 11 Atherton Close | ||
| The Quest is one of the central themes of fantasy writing. Has it been over-used, or is there still life in the old meme yet? Come along and discuss what makes a quest story good or bad, and to speculate on what's really at the end of the rainbow... | ||||
| Sunday 2 February, dawn | Afmaelisdagr | Castle Mound | ||
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The host of the Jómsvikingar march, as one, to the hub of the Universe (known
simply to mortal folk as the Castle Mound). There, the Reeve, assisted by the assembled
throng and a large quantity of mead, raises the New Sun, gives it form, and sets it
circling for another year. We will try to organise breakfast for those interested
(and still awake!) after the Afmaelisdagr. NB. As all true Jómsvikingar know, the Afmaelisdagr falls on 31 January, the first day of Jómsborg's year. And so it will this year too. For complex and arcane reasons, the relevant period has fallen out of the normal temporal sequence this year. Please complain to your calendar manufacturer. |
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| Thursday 6 February | Reading Evening | New Hall bar | ||
| Bring along a dramatic short piece of Science Fiction and Fantasy Literature (either a (very!) short story, or an extract from something longer) to scare, impress, or entertain the company. Introduce us to someone new, or convert us to an old favourite. Alternatively, come to listen to what others have brought to read, and be enlightened, amused, horrified, or just confused. | ||||
| Sunday 9 February | Discussion: New Authors | J1, Cripps Court, Selwyn | ||
| So what's been happening recently? Whether you've discovered the next Arthur C. Clarke, or think everything published in the last year is rubbish, come along and tell us what to look out for and what to avoid (and see what everyone else recommends!). | ||||
| Tuesday 11 February 9:00pm |
Film: Dogma | Keynes Hall, King's College | ||
| In association with King's Films. | ||||
| Sunday 16 February, 7:30pm | AGM | Wilkins Room, R staircase, Downing | ||
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Bring games. Play them. Enough said. Election of new committee members will also be taking place. The posts of Chairbeing, Secretary, Treasurer, Membership Secretary, Librarian and TTBA Editor are available, so if you think you might be interested, contact the committee for more information, or to talk to the individual current officer. Some details of the committee posts are also in the constitution. |
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| Sunday 16 February, 9:30pm | Games Evening | J1, Cripps Court, Selwyn | ||
| Bring games. Play them. Enough said. | ||||
| Thursday 20 February | Writers' Workshop | TBA | ||
| Details to be announced nearer the time. | ||||
| Saturday 22 February, 8:30am | Picocon trip | Imperial College Students' Union | ||
|
Picocon is a
one-day SF convention, run by ICSF, the Imperial College SF and fantasy
society. The guests of honour this year are Gwyneth Jones and Dr Jack Cohen - each of
them has a slot in the programme where they will talk about something that interests
them, and take questions from the audience. There will also be a dealers' room, with
second-hand booksellers etc., and various events throughout the day (past Picocons have
included dalek racing, quizzes, a LAN games room, juggling lessons and "destruction of
dodgy merchandise" auctions, among other things). The programme (now up on the
Picocon website)
starts at 10:15am and concludes with a showing of Twelve Monkeys at 5pm. Entrance costs £5.00 for students (with ID!) and £8.00 for others. A CUSFS group will be going to Picocon, by train, travelling on the 08:45 to King's Cross. If you're interested, please join us at the railway station (look for the orange scarves) by 8:30am - this should allow enough time for buying tickets. (The recommended ticket is the One-Day Travelcard (about £15), which includes a day return to London and unlimited travel on the Underground. Discounts are available with Young Person's and Network Railcards.) If you have lectures on Saturday morning and can't meet us at Cambridge station, do consider coming along later for the afternoon events - it's usually a very enjoyable day. |
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| Sunday 23 February | Discussion: Brian Stableford | J1, Cripps Court, Selwyn | ||
| Best known for his Hooded Swan books, Brian Stableford has been publishing intelligent hard SF since the mid-1960s. Today he is both a very active writer (and one of the few SF authors around who can tackle genetics convincingly) and an SF historian, having (among other things) contributed heavily to the Encyclopedia of SF. Come along to eulogise, rant, or find out whether you want to read more... | ||||
| Thursday 27 February | Semi-detached games evening | Castle Inn, Castle Hill / 155 Gilbert Road |
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| An occasional and unofficial gathering for food at the Castle followed by games and coffee at Relativity (155 Gilbert Road). More details on the semi-detached events page. | ||||
| Sunday 2 March | Discussion: Gene Wolfe | TBA | ||
| A discussion of the works of fantasy author Gene Wolfe. | ||||
| Thursday 6 March | Cocktails Workshop | 155 Gilbert Road | ||
| Join us for our annual foray into cocktail invention. For a small fee (to be determined) we provide ingredients for your mad schemes. Previous concoctions can be found in the CUSFS drinks list. | ||||
| Sunday 9 March | Discussion: Brian Aldiss | TBA | ||
| A discussion of the works of science fiction author Brian Aldiss. | ||||
| Tuesday 11 March, 6:00pm | Book launch: Finding Helen by Colin Greenland | Heffer's, 20 Trinity Street | ||
| Come and meet Colin Greenland who will be launching his new book, Finding Helen. This is a ticketed event only. Tickets are free and can be obtained from the Literature Department at Heffer's, 20 Trinity Street, or by telephoning Sean Flinn on 01223 568520. | ||||
Last recorded update: 24 June 2004, by Mark Waller
Status: awaiting checking against missives
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