Penpals

Fanclub Magazines (1977 to 1992) So I've been interested in computers, programming and all things related ever since I first discovered the Internet back in the early 90s. It all happened after my parents signed me up for the Official International Queen Fan Club. Yep, that was (and still is) a thing - with one of its main features being a full-colour print zine, posted quarterly to its members. In one of the very first issues I received I saw this odd thing written on one of the pages. It was something along the lines of "Check us out on the world wide web on h-t-t-p://w-w-w.queen.com". http-huh?! ww-whatnow? After some time (well I couldn't exactly Google it, could I?!?), I eventually figured out what it meant and learned that I could go to something called a "cybercafe" to look at this World Wide Web thing. So that's exactly what I did, and I think we can all agree that things have never really been the same since the Internet came along. Back to the fanclub first for a moment though. I remember my very first issue. It was around 1992 and, despite the fact that Freddie had only recently died, this epic band was only just starting to become my absolute obsession. One of the sections in the zine that instantly stood out to me was the penpals section. Each issue had a page or two upon which messages, thoughts and requests for penpals were printed out. Good god this excited me - so much so that I wrote my own little message, got my parents to help me to stamp and address it and sent it off to the fan club - and then I patiently (and very eagerly) waited to see if it would be accepted and printed. To my joy (and amazement), there it was in the next issue! Little 10(ish) year old me was published! Little did I know how large the response would be - literally hundreds of letters came my way from far and wide, all from fellow fans reaching out and wanting to connect with this kid all the way on the ass end of Africa. It was absolutely exhilarating!

Little Mark and his collection I ended up with a few long-term penpals - from places like Italy, UK and Brazil. Even one from closer to home in Durban. They were all quite a lot older than me, and I felt kinda like I was being taken care of in this new exciting community. We wrote each other regularly and shared thoughts about our favourite songs, photos of ourselves and our ever-growing merch collections, and stories about our favourite shows. I sadly never had the chance to see Queen with Freddie (...though I did go on a pilgrimage years later with my dear friend Paul to see them play with Paul Rodgers in 2005. I'll save that story for another time). Being a part of that community at that age made me feel really special. ...and I think that's partially because barrier to entry was high. It cost money. It took time. It was infrequent. Communicating like that required patience, and it took time and effort to remain connected. I really do miss this type of thing in my life. I miss that sense of community and belonging. I miss the patience it required. I miss the fact that I was so incredibly excited for the letters and zines to arrive. I miss the connections it created. It actually felt like something! I sometimes catch myself wondering why I still love the Internet so much, because I can't help but feel that it has taken (...and continues to take) away so many simple joys from the years past.