Supporters Must Join NOW!
If you are a supporting member of the convention, now's the time to pay up the balance of your membership. At the time of writing only 45 members remain supporters, so if you are one of the other 117 people who has paid in full, many thanks!

The reason we decided to do this is mostly about YOU, the member, having a good time. Usually conventions allow people to pay the balance on the door of the convention, and there is obviously a gamble as to how many supporting members will convert, and, in many cases, how many will just show up on the day and pay.

As a con runner, this is an atrocious situation in which to find oneself! I have been involved with conventions where I watched fellow committee members fret, hoping that we get enough people in on the day to meet our budget. This is all arse-about-face, in my humble opinion.

So, here at They Came and Shaved Us, we'll know a full two months before the con exactly how much money we have. We've already budgeted for the hotel and guests, obviously, but there are many things that we can spend your money on, and by knowing how much we have before the convention, we are in a position of strength and confidence.

It means we'll have money to spend on weird, wacky and wonderful stuff. Everything from kites to Wallaby salami costs money. And we'll also be leaving a few spaces free on the programme, so that in September if we want to we can stick in an item that may cost us more money than usual.

Taking money in at the door is also time-consuming and difficult. Problems arise; missing cheques, credit card payments gone askew, currency issues to name but a few. Then there is the security aspect; minding the money and looking after something that should either be spent or in the bank. Guess who usually gets slung with this job? That's right, people like you! Having people at a registration desk is vital, and hard work, but once there is no money involved the hassle is greatly reduced.

We hope that you get this PR around the middle of August, and we expect that you will send us the balance of your outstanding membership, as soon as you can. We do have a deadline of the 1st of September.

If you feel you cannot make the convention, please let us know; this is important information, and it is helpful to know what money we don't have!

I hope you agree that we are thinking on a lateral basis here, and although I know it may seem a bit harsh, if you put yourself in our shoes you'll see that it makes sound bloody sense!