Since early Feb I have attended some fantastic conventions. I haven’t been to Liverpool for many years and at the MCM event in mid March it was great to discover that the people of that great city have lost none of their fine spirit and humour. I look forward to a return visit. Apparently, there will be more conventions being staged in 2017 than in any previous year. I am not going to be able to attend all the shows I would like to, but I shall certainly be clocking up the miles! The events listed below are confirmed. Others will be added as and when – hopefully with at least a months notice…

28th August – Morecambe
16th September – Northampton Comic Con
7th/8th October – Norcon
27/28/29th October – MCM London
18th/19th November – MCM Birmingham
25th/26th November – Reading Comic Con

As far as I know, Red Dwarf XII will transmit in the Autumn of this year. RDXI seemed to be popular with 99.9% of fans that I have met this year and I am confident that XII will hit the mark as well.

As usual I must apologise for not responding to emails. Thank you so much to all of you who have taken the time to write to me with such positive sentiments. Suffice to say I am most grateful for your kind comments about RDXI and previous shows and I shall endeavour to keep you informed of any news.

I have also received emails requesting my involvement in podcasts but frankly, I am not overly keen to participate. I need to clarify that I do not have Twitter or Facebook accounts, so if you do see or hear of a Chris Barrie on either of the two, it definitely isn’t me. As I have said above, I struggle to keep up with the webmail, without wanting to further disappoint anyone on social media.

My chosen charity for 2017 (and hopefully beyond) is SSAFA (The Soldiers’ Sailors’ and Airmen’s Families Association). SSAFA has been serving the armed forces community for more then 130 years, making it the oldest national tri service charity. Every year SSAFA staff and a team of volunteers help over 60,000 people whether they be WWII veterans or young men and women who have returned from Afghanistan. I recall my father being involved with SSAFA in the 70′s and early 80′s, so when it came to finding a charity to support, the choice was straightforward.

Best Wishes
Chris Barrie