At
one point we held one meeting of somewhat greater
importance, at which we decided it was time for radical
change. Despite the undoubted quality of the contributions, the format and
general appearance of the Black Lion were,
we felt, a bit (or more than a bit) amateurish and
rather resembled a propaganda broadsheet
than a proper magazine. Issue 3 looked exactly the same as no. 1! But perhaps
our biggest advantage was the fact that our expectations as
regards the proceeds had been wildly exceeded (No. 3 had like the others
sold out), and we now thought we had enough resources to put the
whole project on a more
professional footing, even though a further bit of financial aid from Chris
would still be required.
We
decided to make the following major modifications for
No. 4 - in the direction of minimalism. The page size would be
halved, only a small black lion would appear in the middle of the cover, without
"1721", and "No. 4" would appear towards the bottom
of the page. Depending on the amount of
material available the number of pages in future issues would be 12 or
16. Perhaps most importantly though
the whole project would be handed over to Farleys the printers in West
Street, who would also ensure that a decent uniform type face was used instead
of our having to rely on the ancient typewriters bashed
into service by Entwhistle's mum, Brian Cariss and Andy Neal.
At
some stage the venture would
also be officially named
"Black Lion Enterprises" to give it a veneer of respectability.
When no. 4 came out in July we were very
proud of the new slim, elegant format. Unfortunately I cannot at least
for the moment locate any of the issues from no. 4 onwards
(should I be able to unearth them a sequel will follow), but I
recall that the topics dealt with were broadly the same as those covered by
the first three, so the "alternative" element was still very much in
evidence. I also recollect that
we sold out most, if not all, of our print run, so
we were still popular. Chris once said something to the
effect that boys evidently enjoyed being called morons ....
Chris
then never seemed to have much time for the Editorial Board, as he was
invariably just popping down to Farleys for the latest discussion
whenever we wanted to ask him something. Sometimes I'd also bump into him
trudging up Trinity Street, armed with Black Lions, as I was on the way
home after school. These meetings were clearly fruitful: by December we
had also got no. 5 out, and we could then
with some justification look back on a highly successful 1969.
We had produced four issues of the magazine, of
which nos. 4 and 5 were in the new format, our financial situation was
rosy, and at last we had a decent
amount of new material coming in (a highly promising poetic talent, Alan
Hill, was now making major contributions), together
with plenty of editors to keep things ticking over.
This was the time when I left
Price's and later went to university, meaning that contact with the editors
was invariably lost. However, I heard that by the end of 1970 the Black
Lion had reached issue no. 8, so the momentum created by the first
issues had clearly been sustained. On the occasion of the 250th anniversary
celebrations in July 1971, which I made sure of attending, a
stand was set up to sell no. 9, the "250th edition", and interest
certainly still seemed to exist. But whether or not any further issues ever appeared
I cannot tell: if anyone can shed any light on the history - or lack
thereof - of the magazine post-1971 I'd be very pleased to know!
As for Chris Bard, the 1969-70 6th Arts Upper (or
"Tarts" in Black Lion circles) photo on the website shows
that he may well have made his peace with Eric Poyner, sitting as he is
in the front row just four places away from the said headmaster instead
of skulking at the back somewhere. But the sullen, rebellious
Black Lion look is still there ....
Looking back, whether we were able to go very far towards
achieving our ideals of shaking up stodgy old Price's and the outside
world is more than questionable, but at least at the time we really
believed in what we were doing and - not least - had a lot of
fun in the process. To quote from somewhere:
"You don't live unless you live for something" - which from 1968
to 1971 would have been a fitting Black Lion Enterprises motto.
Thanks: Thanks are due to all those who contributed to the first three
issues along with Chris Bard and Mr. Johnson, namely:
Issue 1: K. Beaumont, M.A. Seeley, "R.W.S.", C. Williams, "T.S.B.", Alan
Hill, Ken Giles, R. Long, G. Martin, K. Bundell, Brian P. Cariss, Chris
Retzler, Grant Blakely and yours truly.
Issue 2: A.N. Reid (2A), Dave Cummins
(6 Arts Upper), Thomas DuBoyce (1A), Tim Hancock (2A), "P.M.W.H."
(a.k.a. Paul Martin Wilson-Hawes), Brian Cariss, "Vigilante".
Issue 3: Dave Cummins, A.L. Smith,
Kevin Day, I. Bundell, M.A. Seeley, Ian Kenway, John Newton, Brian Cariss,
N.P. Astley, "als" (probably A.L. Smith again), and "Mary
Nekklis".
Issues
1-3: Mrs. Entwhistle, Brian Cariss, Andy Neal (typists who went well beyond
the call of duty) committed to
webspace by robin ward on behalf of black lion enterprises, november 19,
2001