Those Were The Days

From: Joy Green
Newsgroups: alt.fan.pratchett
Subject: [F]/[I] Filk - Happy birthday AFP
Date: Wed, 25 Sep 2002 20:33:01 +1200

As the tenth anniversary year of this esteemed newsgroup draws on towards its close, I offer the filk below as my tribute to a decade of...

of...

well, afpishness.

WARNING: may contain traces of fluff.

Hope you enjoy it.

Tune: Those were the days, as performed by Mary Hopkin.

Once upon a time there was a newsgroup
Where we used to while away the hours -
Annotations, bread-threads and proposals
All signed with ASCII hedgehogs, codes or flowers.

Those were the days, my friend
We thought they'd never end
We'd cast the books forever and a day.
With James Earl Jones as Death
Mentioned in every breath
For this was new and we were not blase.

Then the tides of time and man rushed by us
And gradually new notions had their day
Meets, conventions, cheese wars - and a T*mpl*,
And twisted, bitter old farts slipped away.

Those were the days, my friend
It was beginning's end
When schisms birthed the Drum and ABP
But though some friends moved on
The group still chugged along
As ever was, and ever yet may be

And thus we saw a change of incarnation
Nothing seemed the way it used to be,
Casting changed to filking and Debarcles
We sadly waved farewell to Terry P.

Then one dark day, an end
We lost a much loved friend
Tears took the place of laughter for a while
But as we shared our thoughts
We found strength and support
To not forget, but look back with a smile

And now a post will prompt familiar laughter
Though marriage might have changed the poster's name.
For marriages we've had - and even children,
But still, the group's essentially the same...

These are the days, my friend
Things change, but never end
As we evolve who knows what we will see?
So raise a glass, and cheers
To this, the first ten years
And many more, so long live AFP!

Joy Green

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