(...)
Hat Jim derzeit Kontakt zu Ceri und John?

Hi

I must admit to finding it a little strange that this week was described as "another relatively quiet week on THE TRIPODS front"

For those that may have been unaware I flew to meet the German Fan Club on Friday 7th and spent a truly magical weekend with them.

I was given the use of a modern 2 bedroom apartment, furnished in a modern style with all the comforts of home, and a fridge full of drinks and snacks and a laptop to go online and keep in touch with people at home etc.

The first day was spent travelling really. Upon arrival at Sven's home town I was introduced to all the locals and taken to a BBQ in the shadows of a truly magnificent castle, this went on into the small hours as we chatted and ate German sausages and salad and drank beer.

The following day was a little rainy and relaxed but the morning was filled by recording commentaries for the official German DVD release of series one and two. I recorded commentaries for 5 episodes. Along with all the other extras I think the German release will be the full and rounded box set the English fans had hopped for. In the evening I attended the official fan meeting where people as far as Munich and Berlin had travelled to meet me, we ate, drank beer and chatted about Tripods for hours, it was a very warm and relaxing atmosphere.

On the Sunday we walked around the castle "Burg Hohenzollern" close to Sven's home town. (google it) A really lovely old castle which had all the hallmarks of a classic German building. We ate "mouse-bags" in the evening, which are far nicer than they sound! and the conversation strayed to all subjects, life, art, music and I learned more about my hosts.

The Monday was taken up by travelling to Tubingen which is a 15th century town with a central market. And then on to Stuttgart where we strolled around the centre of town window shopping and absorbing the atmosphere. On the way back to the airport we stopped in Baden Baden and had an early evening meal. Baden is an old spa town with classic German architecture and it was the perfect backdrop to close a perfect weekend.

I had an absolutely wonderful time and made friends with many people and cemented relationships that I never want to loose. I was made to feel so welcome, and treated with warmth and kindness at every step. The main core of the German fan club were the people who joined us in Brighton.

Sven Vucenovic.
Rainer Bartolome.
Evelyne Rachus-Hamlin.
Nicole Crawford.

All of whom bent over backward to make me feel welcome and looked after me so well. Thank you.

Thanks also to the locals from Sven's home town of Hechingen, who were all friendly and welcoming and of course the others who attended the meeting on Saturday, with a special mention to Thomas who must be the most dedicated fan as he collected my signature about 30 times I think!

For those on Facebook, pictures and comments about each day will follow over the next few days, so for me this was an extremely interesting and exciting week on the Tripods front.

Best wishes to you all

Jim.

The following day was a little rainy and relaxed but the morning was filled by recording commentaries for the official German DVD release of series one and two. I recorded commentaries for 5 episodes.

We ate "mouse-bags" in the evening, which are far nicer than they sound!

das haste schon richtig erkannt wir haben die kommentare für 5 episoden aufgenommen und an koch_media weitergeleitet.

das haste schon richtig erkannt wir haben die kommentare für 5 episoden aufgenommen und an koch_media weitergeleitet.

(...)
scheint so als wenn die Deutsche Box etwas dicker wird als die englische Box.

Greetings Freemen.
Yet again our membership numbers are holding at 431 as it has been nearly a full month since any new additions came knocking at our door!

The main news this week has to be the trip to Germany by Jim Baker (Henry Parker) to record commentary for five different episodes to be included as just one of the Bonus Features in THEIR version of THE TRIPODS DVD Boxed-Set.

The German TRIPODS Fan Club, fronted by Sven Vucenovic and based in the beautiful town of Hechingen were the perfect hosts, providing a two bedroom flat for Jim to stay in and ensuring that every moment of his stay was full of wonderful memories to treasure forever.

When the German fans attended our first costume and prop exhibition in Brighton in 2007, they stunned Jim by presenting him with a specially commissioned painting entitled "Henry's Finest Hour," depicting Jim in the role of Will's brave cousin, sitting on the dome of The City Of Gold, clutching the bomb that would ensure the end of the Tripods' rule over our planet. (a scene that, as you all know, regrettably never got played out).

To return the compliment, Jim took with him an original TRIPODS poster from the first ever print-run in the 1980s and a beautiful publicity shot of himself with John Shackley and Ceri Seel (Will Parker and Beanpole) which he had colourised and printed on canvas at his own expense. (you can see this beautiful gift in our Photo Files, accessable through our home page).

Over the next few days Jim will be chronicling his glorious weekend for Facebook subscribers to read.

We would like to extend our thanks to the German TRIPODS Fan Club for their wonderful hospitality and for taking such care of someone who (to us), is a true National treasure.

Wherever you may be and whatever you may be doing, have a wonderful weekend.

Best wishes
ADRIAN