Simon McConway

If you have a story to tell send it to my email and a photo or two would be nice.

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My interest in 8mm really started with film making on Super 8, something I continue to do to this very day. Hearing about Amateur Cine Enthusiast in around 1994, I decided to subscribe and it was there I discovered a whole new world. I immediately wrote off to a company called Derann to find out what they were selling, my first purchase being some of the last Agfachrome Super 8 film, plus a couple of 6v 10w editor lamps. On arrival, my order included a film sales list, so then I discovered there were sound prints to be purchased and I was hooked. I now needed a decent Super 8 sound projector, so got in touch with LGP Cine when I saw that they had a used Eumig S912 GL for a reasonable price. This I purchased and could now enjoy filming on Super 8 sound, plus the delights of Super 8 cartoons, cutdowns and even the odd feature.

I subscribed to as many dealer’s lists as I could; Perry’s, Independent 8, and the odd private dealer that you could find in the classified adverts in ACE magazine. Every month, I’d eagerly await Derann’s list and then begin the process of hitting redial on a Monday morning with the hope of getting through to the sales department to secure that rare print. I can still remember my customer number which was 3731, though after a few calls, Ged and other staff started to recognise my voice. Many people think film when it comes to past purchases from Derann, but I also remember some superb projectors I bought. One was a Eumig 940 (the one with the mixing desk on the front) which literally was in “as-new” condition…it still had that new electronics smell, all of the original packing and was totally mint. Although I bought this one October, Ged kindly brought it to Blackpool for me to collect. How we miss that level of super service.

From this, I was attracted to the adverts for Blackpool and so in February 1997, I made my first visit and have not missed a single one since! That first visit was very memorable; I was first astounded at a room with so many projectors all running at the same time. The whole atmosphere was electric for me and that remains present to this day. Never did I think I would part of a team of seven in 2023 organising this excellent weekend. It’s now a three-day event (almost!) beginning on the Friday night with the 16mm feature. Blackpool welcomes everyone and no collector is any better than anyone else…in the past, some collectors fancied themselves as something special and would do anything to draw attention to themselves starting with being very “loud” at the film collectors’ dinner on the Saturday night, but those days of such people have thankfully gone.

Blackpool continues to develop thanks to the very firm foundation that Derann built over the years. What will happen in the subsequent years? Who knows, yet one thing is for sure, the event can only continue as long as it receives the level of support it currently has. Ged Jones attends each year- another excellent reason to come along!