brown@nic_vax.UUCP (03/23/85)
This weekend (March 22-24) Katy Manning was in the states as part of The Doctor Who Fan Club Of America touring festivals. This is her first appearance in the U.S. to have anything to do with Doctor Who. She flew in from Australia, into Los Angeles. Because of the strike, she almost got stranded there. She said that she was reduced to tears because she couldn't get a flight into Chicago. But things were resolved and she made it into Chicago. From there she was driven to Madison by the DWFCA guys, Ron and Chad. Thursday afternoon she was dropped of in downtown Madison, in order to do some shopping. Her six year old twins requested (you know how that goes) that mommy bring some stuff back from where she was going. She spent the afternoon, on her own, shopping and enjoying her stay in Madison. The local Doctor Who fan club, of which I am a member, gave a luncheon for Katy Manning and Terrance Dicks, before the festival started at 2pm. Since this was Katy's first appearance, she was very nervous. But, she was very friendly and easy to talk to. Actually she did most of the talking. The stories about her eyesight are true. She is very short-sighted. Even with her contacts in, she has to get real close to anything to be able to see or read it. This was Madison's, and Wisconsin's, first Doctor Who festival/convention. There were 1462 people in attendance and the DWFCA did make money in Madison. They contributed %15 of the income to WHA-TV. That amounted to $1500. Hopefully the DWFCA will be able to return to Madison this winter. It was a pleasure being able to talk to and be with Katy Manning and Terrance Dicks for those few hours. Mr. Video