On Saturday, July 28th, twenty-two eager fans arrived at Damon' s in Asheville for the annual WNC EastEnders Fanatics Summer Gabfest! Dave Horne, President of the North Carolina EastEnders Fan Club, and his fiance, Linda Fineman, joined us all the way from Raleigh. We also welcomed our newest member, Jon (Roger) Drought. Audrey and Eric Ziller, and Dave and Janice also attended. It was wonderful to have all of you there with us!

After introductions were made, we all settled in around the telly to watch a video of "GMTV." The program was broadcast live from NYC to the UK a few months ago, and featured interviews with friends from Judy Hirsch's AOL EastEnders newsletter. The Western North Carolina EastEnders Fanatics received an on-air nod from Tim "the Treacle" Wilson. (Thank you, Tim!) WNC Fanatics are UK famous now!

We also watched "The Queen Vic" video, a reminder of just how special the EastEnders Early Years episodes were. Jane Hewitt passed around a petition for everyone to sign, urging BBC America to reinstate the older episodes.

My apologies to everyone who thought the Trivia Quiz was too hard.... Congratulations to Dee Brennan, who won a copy of Martine McCutcheon's "Perfect Moment" CD for having the most correct answers!

Our club T-shirts arrived; and they look FANtastic! Sweatshirts, tote bags and caps will be available this Fall.

It was announced that Judy Purdee will be the acting WNCEEF Librarian. Thanks, Judy. We know that all of our treasured EastEnders items are in great hands!

We had a wonderful time catching up with regular members and getting to know the new attendees. And the bakery cake, decorated with the club logo, was delicious!

If you didn't get to visit with us this time, make sure that you join us in October. The date will be posted on the "wnceastenders.com" home page as soon as it is announced. If club funds allow, we may meet at the Asheville Brewing Company; details will be posted when they are finalized.

chEErs everyone!
Melissa

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