I'm afraid I can't really remember when I started reading 'Zine or even when I started writing in. I do know the genuine feeling of excitement and pride I'd feel when I saw one of my letters printed, it quite emphatically made my day. This may be more of a comment on my pathetic life at the time, but still, the memories it evokes are happy ones.
Since the first paragraph I've done a little bit of digging in my 'sent items' box in my e-mail and discovered that the first letter I sent to 'Zine was sent just over 6 years ago and (thankfully) wasn't printed:
I'm new!
Hello there ziners, I've been reading these fine pages for what seems like one year and 3 months but only now have I acquired the relevant intelligence to send an e-mail. My name is Topper I have arrived and I will never leave you (unlike those long lost Ziners) but beware my wrath, I have an array of weaponary, including a custard pie and a wit as sharp as a blunt butter knife. So anyway buy my book its priced £twelvty two and... sorry I lost my metaphorical train of thought for a second. Bye.
Topper
This letter also seems to suggest that my reading of 'Zine started 1 year and 3 months previously, meaning I started in roughly December 2001...Sweet Baby Jebus! Before I'd even had full sex with a woman!
Anyway, since it became obvious my first letter hadn't been printed I sent my second about a week later and thankfully it was printed, it went something (exactly) like this:
I decided (one particulary boring day at uni) to give my fingers thier own personalities, please appreciate that I was in a 3 hour media texts and cultural contexts lecture at the time:
Thumb: Full of life, happy and friendly.
Index finger: Wise, noble, doesn't mind getting his hands(?) dirty.
Middle finger: Prone to rude behaviour, loud and brash.
Finger in-between middle finger and little finger: Psychological problems, lacks an identity.
Little finger: Sweet and kind, a friend to all, if slightly camp.
Topper.
I had arrived. The 'Adventures of Matt Fatt' series started soon after and looking back they were actually amongst my worst letters, but it sort of helped me create a 'Zine identity, even helping create the 'Townie Tim' copycat series Delorean sent in afterwards.
Meanwhile, I had stumbled upon Martin and Tom's 'Zine orientated website and contributed via my 'Matt Fatt' and 'Fabric Wars' series's (I've struggled with the plural form there, apologies, Colin) and an article, surrealy, about Ruud Van Nistelrooy's striking talents. I got quite friendly with Martin (and to a lesser extent Tom) and had regular MSN convos with them and eventually joined VR, where I met really cool people like Alice, Claire, Joel and Amy who I still enjoy talking to today.
My Stuttercut alias started a while afterwards and I have had letters printed from both on the same day but my Topper alias is always the one I cherish most. To have been voted the best 'Ziner of all time and regularly acknowledged as at least one of the best actually means a hell of a lot to me as I look at the hilarious people who have also regularly contributed (stand-up, Martin, Colin, Barry, other Martin and loads, loads more). I contributed regularly for a good 2 years and then sporadically since. I think the move to Digital may have somewhow, for some reason, contributed to my apathy as let's be honest, it's just not the same seeing it on Digital, is it? I think it's probably the right time for 'Zine to end in some ways, but then again, people like Strawberry, Colin and Baz have continued to make it so great even now and the idea that we could get newbies getting involved and joining VR and making friends is one it'll be sad to lose.