Fanderson

Fancy a new adventure?

Posted on by Parker

Tired of watching the same episodes over and over? Fancy a new adventure? Our growing fan fiction page now features ten works by amateur authors, keen to expand the screen adventures!

All stories have been formatted to A5 page size PDF, making them ideal to read on a tablet (even on a phone!), or can be printed at home. Ranging in length from just seven to a mammoth 364 pages, and covering a range of series, you’re bound to find something to whet your appetite.

If you have a piece of fan fiction that’s based on Gerry and Sylvia Anderson’s productions, which you’d like to share with other fans, send it to us (in Word or other text format) at fanderson.org.uk@outlook.com.

New Captain Scarlet 20th anniversary exclusive lucky dip

Posted on by Parker

New Captain Scarlet is 20 today!

Gerry Anderson’s final production premiered on ITV 20 years ago today, and we’re giving you the chance to celebrate with a very rare piece of series’ ephemera.

Gerry was extremely proud of New Captain Scarlet but was disappointed that the £22m series, which employed (at that time) cutting edge motion capture computer generated imagery (CGI), didn’t get the high-profile launch it deserved. ITV chose to split the episode Instrument Of Destruction part one in two and screen it as part of the live children’s Saturday morning entertainment show Ministry Of Mayhem. Gradually, the series went on to get better timeslots, and through repeat screenings and DVD releases has gained a more appreciative, mature audience over the intervening 20 years. Although the CGI now looks quite dated, fans now consider the stories to be superior in many cases to the 1968 original.

To celebrate New Captain Scarlet‘s anniversary we’ve got 20 genuine NCS business cards to give away (gifted to the club by Gerry when production ended and he shut the office at Pinewood Studios). Just buy something from our Shop today* and add this item, and you’ll be entered into the lucky dip.

*Lucky Dip closes at midnight (GMT) on 12th February 2025. Purchase required in order to cover postage of the business card. Spend does not include Fanderson memberships or Silva Screen products.

Virtual AGM – 1st March 2025

Posted on by Parker

Fanderson’s Annual General Meeting (AGM) will be held online at 12:00 (midday, Greenwich Mean Time) on Saturday 1st March 2025.

The AGM is a chance for the committee to report on the club’s status, share results of the recent membership survey and respond to members’ questions, thoughts and suggestions.

All current Fanderson members are eligible to attend, and can register to do so by completing this short form. Incomplete or incorrectly completed forms will be ignored. Registration closes at midnight on Sunday 23rd February.

We will send registered members a link to join the meeting shortly before the meeting itself.

Get ready Canada – your FAB Annuals will soon be on their way!

Posted on by Parker

We’re getting FAB Annual 2025 ready to mail to club members in Canada

Fanderson members in Canada will be aware that we chose not to mail their FAB Annuals in December along with everyone else, due to the effects of the postal strike there. Although the strike was resolved a while ago, we were advised to wait until the huge backlog of post had been cleared and services were back to normal. Canada Post suggested that we should steer clear of January, so we’ll start mailing again to Canada in the next few days, and catch up with FAB Annuals to those who are owed them as part of their club membership.

Have your say in the 2025 membership survey

Posted on by Parker

Tell us what you think about your club!

As we welcome in 2025 we’d like to hear what you think about your club. Our 2021 membership survey really helped shape the membership package that we have today. Your merchandise suggestions and ideas help us understand what we already do that you like, and what you would like us to produce. Your feedback also helps us know what events you’d like in the future, website features you’d like to see etc. Your responses also help us understand how best to run the club. With inflation affecting us all, your input helps us understand how the cost of living might impact you and the club, and how you think we might meet the challenges ahead of us.

So, please take a few minutes to participate in our membership survey, which is open to all current members of Fanderson until the end of January.

It’s also time for you to elect your chairman for the next five years, although no club members were nominated by the Christmas Eve deadline. Nick Williams (the incumbent) is standing again, and it’s important that we understand whether you support him or not.

Nick says “I was surprised last summer to discover that I am the club’s longest serving chairman. Having contributed to Fanderson’s success for 35 years, I’m standing once again to be your club chairman.

When I became Secretary in 1990, I immediately set about ways to make database maintenance and preparing for mailings easier. I also worked closely with the then chairman to bring a more formal, productive structure to committee meetings and records of those meetings. I was asked to take on the additional responsibility of Treasury in 1994, when the club’s finances were in a perilous state. I had a plan to turn the situation around and by 1995 all debts had been paid and we were consistently back in the black. I introduced the card payment facility, and brought in elementary management information to help the committee make informed decisions.

When I became Chairman in 2007, membership numbers were in serious decline. Members told us that sporadic magazine mailings and website updates were giving the impression that the club was closing. The plan was to get the magazine back on a regular schedule and have a website that would be an immediate port of call for anyone who wanted information, news, to buy merchandise or to contact the club. By giving a new, inclusive, direction for FAB we had more members contributing to our club magazine. Membership numbers (and, crucially, membership renewals) immediately stabilised and then started to increase again. 

I don’t have an encyclopaedic recall of every Anderson fact and figure, but I don’t think that’s the role of a Chairman. I have guided and supported your committee, the club and its members well for 17 years. I’ve had to make some tough decisions but, where possible, aim to include members’ comments and ideas in a creative solution that will work. That’s why the results of the last survey were so important in re-shaping the membership package in the face of rapidly increasing costs. I’ve never underestimated or taken for granted the responsibility that this position demands. I’ve never been afraid to stand up and do the right thing for the club and its members – even on occasion that it’s made me unpopular with a minority. That said, I believe I’ve been a positive ambassador for the club, maintaining great relationships with existing partners and building relationships with new ones.

Fanderson has been one of the very best fan clubs for the last 44 years. I intend that we keep everything that’s made it great, though I’ve always got my eye on the future and what’s coming around the corner. I’m incredibly proud of all we’ve achieved in my time, and relish the opportunity to continue. I hope you’ll show your support by voting for me.”

What happened On This Day?

Posted on by Parker

Check out our new feature to see what happened On This Day in Anderson history!

We’ve just launched a new website feature which will tell you all kinds of things, Anderson-related, that happened on this day in history. Births, deaths, marriages, premiere broadcasts, regional broadcasts, guest appearances on other series and films and much more are available – day by day.

This feature will always be a work on progress, so if you’ve got information to share with us and add to coming pages, please drop us a line at fanderson.org.uk@outlook.com now!

Click on the link underneath the blue carousel on the homepage to see today’s page.

 

FAB Annual 2025 on its way in time for Christmas, for most club members

Posted on by Parker

Finally! We can confirm that FAB Annual 2025 has been mailed to Fanderson members today!

Hopefully, this will give enough time for the majority of members to find their annual under the tree this Christmas – certainly those in the UK should and maybe those in parts of Europe too. Unfortunately, due to ongoing industrial action in Canada we’ve been advised not to mail to members there, but we’ll keep your FAB Annuals safe and post them as soon as the action is over and the backlog of mail has cleared.

Together with FAB Express 108, mailed recently, our winter mailing is complete and we can get on with welcoming all the new club members who have been waiting patiently for their membership packages!

Cor blimey, mi’lady, what a whopper!

Posted on by 1266 Nick Williams

Over the last 12 months Fanderson members have helped to raise an amazing £6978.81 for Actors’ Benevolent Fund, from activities including 2023 advent calendar, Summer Solstice Spectacular and special items available for a donation to the charity.

Parker’s on his way now to ABF with a whopper of a cheque!

Alison Wyman, CEO of Actors’ Benevolent Fund, says:

“A huge THANK YOU from the Actors’ Benevolent Fund (ABF) to all Fanderson members who have kindly donated to support the work of the ABF. The trustees of the ABF are very grateful for your support which will enable us to help more actors and stage managers in need.

We know these are challenging times for the performing arts profession, with fewer opportunities for actors and stage managers. This has created significant financial pressures as well as challenges with mental health and wellbeing.

In 2024 we launched a new strategy for the future ‘Acting for Impact, which has the aim of helping more people in more ways to achieve meaningful and sustainable change. So far we have developed new types of grant support and also launched wellbeing workshops and webinars. This year we are on track to directly help more people than last year, and we aim to help even more people next year!

The support from Fanderson members will help us to achieve that, and so from us to you a great big THANK YOU!”

Fanderson has a great reputation for supporting worthwhile causes, and over the club’s 43 years members have raised in excess of £60,000 for the likes of Alzheimers Society, Baby Lifeline, Children In Need, Diabetes UK, The Film And TV Charity, Hearing Dogs For Deaf People, Macmillan Cancer Support, Orchid, Silverline, Terrence Higgins Trust, Wallace and Gromit’s Grand Appeal and many more.

Our 2023/4 fundraising is in aid of Demelza. Our first fundraising even for them is our 2024 Advent Calendar with offers right up to Christmas Eve, and many then running until 31st December.

Special thanks to Chris King for the cheque presentation.

It’s Fanderson Day 2024!

Posted on by Parker

Today’s the day each year when Fanderson, the club and its members around the world, show their appreciation to Gerry Anderson, Sylvia Anderson and the hundreds of technicians who brought our favourite TV shows and films to life.

Puppeteers, writers, composers, designers, musicians, model-makers, voice artists, actors, directors, hair, make-up and wardrobe and many, many more people worked as part of the amazingly talented teams that Gerry and Sylvia recruited and nurtured to bring Thunderbirds, UFO, Stingray, Doppelgänger, Joe 90, Space:1999 and so many more to the screen.

They all deserve recognition for their wonderful work which is why, every year on Fanderson Day*, we celebrate all these very special people. Join us by commenting below** or on social media, or email us at fanderson.org.uk@outlook.com, to tell everyone who (on the Anderson productions) you think is special and why.

*With so many people to recognise, celebrate and honour it’s appropriate to do it on the day Fanderson was formed by Gerry Anderson and ITC, with the explicit intention of celebrating and honouring Gerry and Sylvia Anderson’s productions.

**Comments can only be left by club members, and all comments are moderated.

Location, location, location – a Hole In One

Posted on by Parker

On the weekend of 3rd/4th August 2024, two coachloads of The Secret Service fans gathered to celebrate the series’ 55th anniversary, including a filming location tour.

During a very full Saturday we visited 16 filming locations used in The Secret Service, some never visited before, as well as several private residences to which access is not normally possible:

  • Cliveden House, Buckinghamshire gates (To Catch A Spy)
  • Dropmore House, Burnham gates (Hole In One)
  • junction of Thompkins Lane/Hawthorn Lane, Burnham Beeches (The Cure)
  • junction of East Burnham Lane/Allerds Road, East Burnham (The Cure and The Deadly Whisper)
  • Foxlea Manor, Burnham (Father Unwin’s vicarage, seen in most episodes)

  • Abbey Park Farm, Burnham (More Haste, Less Speed)
  • Saint Michael and All Angels, High Wycombe (Father Unwin’s parish church, seen in most episodes)
  • Sheepcote Manor, Wooburn Green (The Deadly Whisper)

  • Windsor End, Beaconsfield (May-Day, May-Day!)
  • Hall Barn and gates, Beaconsfield (To Catch A Spy)

  • Greensleeves, Gerrard’s Cross (The Feathered Spies)

  • junction of St Huberts Lane/Fulmer Lane, Fulmer (A Case For The Bishop and School For Spies)
  • Fulmer (A Case For The Bishop)
  • Wexham Park Hospital , Slough (School For Spies)
  • Oakley Court Hotel, Bray (More Haste, Less Speed)

Plus, amongst those we also passed en route:

  • The Ferry Inn public house, Cookham (The Saint, The Talented Husband)
  • junction of Green Lane/Curriers Lane/Park Lane/Pumpkin Hill (More Haste, Less Speed)
  • junction of Thompkins Lane/Hawthorn Lane (The Feathered Spies)
  • former site of Wingroves, Hawthorne Lane, Burnham Beeches (More Haste, Less Speed (re-developed since filming))
  • The Crown public house, East Burnham (The Avengers, Killer)
  • the Jolly Woodman public house, Burnham (Carry On Dick, Genevieve)
  • The Green, Wooburn Green (To Catch A Spy)
  • Crowne Plaza, Gerrards Cross (The Persuaders!, Nuisance Value)
  • Bulstrode Court, Gerrards Cross (The New Avengers, The Eagle’s Nest)
  • former entrance to St Hubert’s Farm (To Catch A Spy (re-developed since filming))
  • Fulmer Hall, Fulmer (The New Avengers)

Upon our return to Cookham, where the event was based, we presented a plaque to the manager of The Kings Arms, officially recognising it as the spiritual ‘birthplace’ of Parker in Thunderbirds (voice artist David Graham having been inspired by the waiter there).

 (Click image for more information)

On Sunday we relocated to our final filming location – Maidenhead Golf Club (Hole In One) which is due for imminent demolition – passing the Queen Victoria clock tower (Last Train To Bufflers Halt), Maidenhead on the way.

Throughout the weekend we enjoyed a fun quiz, a charity raffle, episodes of The Secret Service, interspersed with recorded interviews with director Alan Perry, model-maker and special effects technician Alan Shubrook, voice artist and actor Gary Files, voice artist and actor Keith Alexander, puppet supervisor Mary Turner and series’ star Stanley Unwin. Alan and Bridgitt Shubrook also joined us in person for the whole weekend, and Keith Alexander joined us live from Australia on Saturday evening. And, of course, the whole event was a great opportunity to meet and socialise with like-minded people.

Thanks to Andrew Staton, Glenn Hobster and Gary Whittaker for planning and executing such an enjoyable weekend. If any attendees have feedback on the event, please drop us a line at fanderson.org.uk@outlook.com.

Special thanks to Jenefer Farncombe, Sarah Bracken, Gem and Tanya.

Thanks to Mike Burrows for the photographs. Read Mike’s review of the event.

(Click on this image for a larger version)

We have a very limited amount of Supporter’s Packs from the event available in the Shop. The Secret Service Close Up book and Annual have more location details.