CONGRATULATIONS Easties!

Congratulations, YOU DID IT! The call went out to all Easties, to help WLIW raise the balance needed to pay the BBC's licensing fees for another year of EastEnders: $15,000 was needed and once again you responded. You sent $15,250 in checks made out to WLIW to my P.O. Box (I went to their offices this past Wednesday to deliver the big stack of checks!) And even more of you clicked on the direct link in my E20 Chronicles e-newsletter, to pledge via WLIW's dedicated EastEnders Pledge page - a page they created just to help our drive. (I don't have the final tally on those yet, but the bottom line is we succeeded!) You Easties are amazing!

What is also amazing is the partnership between EastEnders fans and WLIW, and it demonstrates what we can do when we work together on the same team.

WLIW asked me to pass this message along to you:

"WLIW is extremely grateful to all of the loyal Eastenders viewers. Your direct support and generosity is why this series remains on our air. We are happy to bring you another season of Eastenders on WLIW 21. On behalf of all of us here at WLIW, Thank you!" 
Mark Cataldo, Senior Director, On-Air Fundraising & Donor Services

That's it for now Easties. If you would like to keep up with all things EastEnders, (including our fan events here in NYC) please make sure you sign up for my FREE, weekly EastEnders newsletter, The E20 Chronicles. The E20Chronicles is the only way to find out what's going on with EastEnders here in the States. To sign up, just email me here at the Launderette: E20Launderette at gmail dot com

Thank you to all you Easties who participated in this drive! Because of you, all EastEnders fans get to enjoy another year of EastEnders on WLIW. TA!

The E20 Chronicles: A New Book About EastEnders to Benefit Children In Need

In the last two years we have published 2 issues of The E20 Chronicles magazine to help support EastEnders on PBS in the US, and it has been very successful. We are always happy to support PBS, but we thought we'd also like to support a children's charity as well, and so we are!

Announcing the E20 Chronicles Book to benefit Children In Need!

This 80 page book, is full of fabulous exclusive interviews with EastEnders actors, writers (and even a producer) including Barbara Windsor, Shane Richie, Pam St Clement, Patsy Palmer, Leslie Grantham, Martine McCutcheon, John Partridge, Nina Wadia, June Brown and more! It is available now on-line, and 100% of the profits go to the BBC's Children In Need telethon. It is available in both the US & the UK (and there is no overseas shipping charge).

To preview and/or buy this fabulous book (see the Table of Contents), just click this link:

http://www.blurb.com/bookstore/detail/2561006

It's a fun read for a great cause. Enjoy!

*At The E20 Chronicles, our mission is to use our love of EastEnders to help non-profit organizations, and we do this entirely as volunteers.

Get Yourself on the Emailing List for The E20 Chronicles

Hey EastEnders Fans,

If you haven't signed up for 'The E20 Chronicles' EastEnders e-newsletter yet, what are you waiting for?

The E20 Chronicles is a FREE, weekly e-newsletter devoted to all things EastEnders. It keeps EastEnders fans up to date on everything that is going on with the show, as well as everything that is happening stateside with PBS, as well as all the fun fan events. And anyone can sign up!

We are the largest EastEnders publication/fan group in the US (and we welcome you Brits as well!)

If you would like to sign up, just email me here at the E20 Launderette:

E20Launderette at gmail dot com

Come join in the fun!

TA!

The Launderette Ladies

EastEnders & WLIW: WE DID IT!!!

The EastEnders fund drive has been a resounding success! We did not just hit our target; We smashed through it.

Tonight, during the four episode Slumber Party Marathon, WLIW will congratulate EastEnders fans for saving the show. Thanks to all those who contributed, EastEnders will keep rockin' on, on WLIW, into 2012.

And how much did we raise? WLIW gave us the goal of $18K, but in just two and a half weeks we fans raised over $35,000! This will cover 2011 and give us a head start on 2012.

**And it is important to note that EastEnders remains on WLIW, not by people 'protesting', (as was erroneously suggested by someone who had nothing at all to do with the drive), but rather by those fans who choose to work with the station. EastEnders fans and PBS are NOT adversaries, we are on the same team.

Congratulations to all fans who contributed to this drive's success!

Watch EastEnders Wednesday nights at 10PM on WLIW/Channel 21 New York.

**To keep up with all things EastEnders, subscribe to my FREE, weekly EastEnders e-newsletter, The E20 Chronicles. To get on the list, just email me at:

E20Launderette at gmail dot com.

The E20 Chronicles: A Magazine Created to Support EastEnders on PBS

Greetings Easties,

I've been keeping a BIG secret from you Easties, but now it's time to reveal all:

For the last six months or so we've been working on a brand new Pledge Gift for WLIW: The E20 Chronicles Magazine. See the cover at right.

Though while this is a paper version of the E20 Chronicles newsletter, it has one very BIG difference: While my weekly e-newsletter contains a collection of articles from various sources, THIS paper edition contains all NEW, all ORIGINAL interviews and articles that were created just for this magazine; created just to be a pledge gift for PBS, and have never been published anywhere else.

The ONLY way to get this one-off magazine is to pledge to PBS for it. And you do NOT want to miss reading these fabulous, new interviews.

WLIW is offering the E20 Chronicles Magazine at the $60 pledge level, and you can get it by clicking here:

WLIW Pledge Gift Page.

This will take you to WLIW's main Pledge Gift page. When you get there, just type 'EastEnders' into the search box & the page with the EastEnders gifts will come up.

***More details below on why we all need to pledge now.

For this project, in recent months, I was lucky enough to interview June Brown (Dot), Nicholas Bailey (dishy Dr. Trueman), Shaun Williamson (Barry), Shane Richie (Alfie), Michelle Collins (Cindy) and producer John Yorke. I also interviewed our favorite London cabbie Tony Walker, as well as Enda Bardon, who gets us all caught up on John's recovery and return to EastEnders. In addition, I knew the magazine would not be complete without a tribute to Gretchen Franklin (Ethel), so I asked her good friend Stephen to write a piece about her for us. And also Wendy Richard's husband John was generous enough to allow me to interview him about Wendy. And there are a couple of other goodies in there to top it all off. In fact, there are lots of goodies. There is information, here in these exclusive interviews, that I have never read anywhere else. It is a full size magazine & 44 pages of dishy goodness. And all for YOU!

This one-off E20 Chronicles magazine is a unique pledge gift that EVERY EastEnders fan will love.

And if that weren't enough, there's a $125 pledge package that's even more amazing: How can that be, you say? What can be more amazing than the E20 Chronicles on paper?? Well Easties, it's THIS:

We were able to get WLIW a limited number of art prints of this FABULOUS EastEnders 25th Anniversary parody of the Sgt Pepper album cover!! (All of those people on the cover are now EE actors! It is just TOO COOL!) These prints are 12x12", (ready for framing), printed on art paper with archival inks. And do you know what 'archival' means, Easties? It means that in 50 years, your great grandchildren will be able to go to The Antiques Road Show and say, 'I don't know what it is. It was always hanging in the living room.' At which time, the appraiser will say, 'This print was a limited edition offering, available in the US, only by pledging to WLIW. It's now worth a gazillion dollars!' Yes, your great grandchildren, set for life because you pledged to support EastEnders on WLIW! (***OK, so future antiques appraisals not guaranteed: It is possible that this predicted outcome is just the result of an over-active imagination. But it COULD happen! Anything can happen when you pledge to support another year of EastEnders on WLIW).

So for a pledge of $125, you get:

A copy of the E20 Chronicles Magazine

The 25th Anniversary print
AND the Dot Cotton Tote bag!! (such a deal!)

We put alot of time and effort into putting this magazine together & we did it for one reason only: To create a pledge gift that will encourage you Easties to PLEDGE to keep EastEnders on the air! And we cannot underestimate just how IMPORTANT it is that you PLEASE PLEDGE NOW!

****Why do we need to pledge now?: It is a simple reality of the current economy that pledges are down across the board. And even though WLIW has always supported us, (and they truly have), they are getting new financial pressures from above. The simple fact is EastEnders HAS TO carry its own weight, in WLIW's budget. WLIW has been very responsive to EastEnders fans - even offering this E20 Chronicles magazine at the $60 pledge level is in response to those who have said they'd like to pledge for a premium gift but can't afford the higher level gifts recently offered. The last pledge drive (in August) was for last year's episodes. We now need to pledge for 2010, and it is critical, I'd say, just as critical as it was 5 years ago, that all those who want EastEnders to continue to please make your pledge now.

So now it's your turn Easties! It is time to get pledging! The time is now. If you want EastEnders to continue on WLIW, it is now or never. Here again is the link to the page on WLIW's website where you can put in your pledge: Please pledge for EastEnders by clicking here: WLIW Pledge Gift Page. (Then type 'EastEnders' into the search box).If you want EastEnders to continue on WLIW, it is time to make your voices heard by making your pledge. If you have any questions, just ask.
THANK YOU!

Cheers,
The Launderette Ladies

**To those Easties in other PBS station areas: so far WLVT in Allentown, and UNC in North Carolina have also signed on to offer the E20 Chronicles magazine as a pledge gift on ther upcoming pledge drives. Hopefully other PBS stations will as well - if your station isn't on the list, please let them know about this and pass along the email address of the Launderette. And to all you unaffiliated Easties out there - especially train riders - who'd like a copy of the E20 Chronicles magazine (or the package with the print) we hope you'll pledge to WLIW for them. THANK YOU!

***Update: More PBS Stations now offering the E20 Chronicles as a pledge gift during their March Pledge Drives, including:

UNC-TV, North Carolina (www.unctv.org)

Houston PBS, Houston, Texas (www.houstonpbs.org)

WPBS, Watertown, New York (www.wpbs.org)

TPT, Minneapolis/St Paul, Minnesota (www.tpt.org)

WLVT, Allentown, Pennsylvania (www.wlvt.org)

WETA, Washington DC (www.weta.org)

Monthly EastEnders Synopsis from Union Jack News

Overture: We are starting to realize that maybe Jack's interest in Tanya has more to do with him getting revenge on his brother Max, than interest in Tanya. And note, I said 'we'. Tanya is still oblivious. Maybe. And why wouldn't she be? Who would you rather sit across from at the dinner and breakfast table (not to mention all the bits in-between)? Hunka hunka burnin' luv Jack, or ginger, weasely Max? Jack's next trick to get to Easy Street is to get Tanya and the kids away from the Square, and living in France (like Tomorrow) before Max realizes they're gone. They already bought the new digs and sold their house on the Square, before the fly in the ointment, Daddy's Girl Abi finds out and promptly cals Max. Max sees a lawyer and will do anything to get custody and keep his kids from being taken out of the country. Could that mean spilling the beans about that little overlooked detail (which Jack knows nothing about): Tanya attempting to bury him alive?...

Elsewhere, with paedophile Tony unable to control Whitney like he used to, he has now started punishing her by shutting her out & pretending to be interested in Bianca. And it looks like he's set his eye on new little girls - namely vulnerable Lauren Branning. He's also trying to get Ricky out of the house, but Pat says it's her house & she's having none of it...

Across the Square, it's a hard knock life for Jane Beale who's been leading a double life for months; sneaking around behind Ian's back, while telling him she's at the gym. But Ian finally realizes she's been lying to him, and he has plenty of experience with wives lying to him, so one night he follows her and discovers her horrible secret: She's a stand-up comedian! Her stage name is 'Mrs. Beale', and as he sits in the back of the audience, unknown to Jane, he is, at first, amused. Then she starts telling jokes about 'Mr. Beale', and their sex life. Apparently, something was missing. Ouch. He later confronts her, in a disturbing scene, where he tries to be a sexy brute (as opposed to the wimpy way Mrs. Beale describes him in her act), and when rebufffed, he tells her he KNOWS. She says lighten up, I don't need anything but you. He says it's either him or the comedy. Seriously...

Elsewhere, due to the new Great Depression, The Masoods are forced to sell their post office...Garry tries, once more, to get Dawn to notice he's alive...Big Mo almost gets nicked for selling stolen underwear on the stall (don't ask)...Bradley tries to fix their relationship by rushing Stacy into marriage but she balks, and under intense questioning from Bradley, (who clearly hasn't learned his interogation techniques from anyone at Walford nick, who can never get anyone to ever confess to anything), admits that she loves him as a friend, but isn't attracted to him. So, it's over and Stacy, who's never fully dressed without a scowl, is back living with the Slaters...

Over at the Vic, it's like Picadilly Circus: Phil Warbucks is luved up with Suzy Branning Hannigan, whose main activity, when not coming very close to secretly getting it on with Peggy's Archie, is trying to get Phil to buy her expensive stuff like fur coats. Then there's Billy, who despite his history, somehow gets approved to foster recently orphaned, Jay, who thinks he's gonna like it there. But Jay is a very angry boy, and things aren't going well. Then there's Peggy, who under Archie's repressive thumb, has gone from mutton dressed as lamb, to mutton dressed as Michelle Fowler circa 1986. Rounding it off is Sean and the very pregnant Roxy (who, for some reason, Dad Archie keeps trying to keep away from her sister Ronnie, whom he clearly hates and tortures every chance he gets, by manipulating her and blocking her from anyone and everything she loves). But there seems to be a little ticking surprise package, that everyone is unaware of, thrown into the mix: Danielle who has now been hired as the cleaner at the Vic. Turns out she has a locket with a picture of the young Ronnie in it - just like Ronnie has a locket with a picture of the infant her Dad forced her to give up for adoption in it. If you haven't yet guessed, it's all very 'Annie' (on acid). When Ronnie had said she wanted to try to find her baby, Dad said he'd heard the child died, and for some bizarre reason, even though Ronnie tells anyone who'll listen that her dad is a liar, she believes him. But hmmm...seems her daughter is alive, and came to find her, and has been living in the Square for weeks, and nobody knows it's HER. Maybe they'll get a New Deal for Christmas this year (What am I saying? It will be the usual holiday bloodbath with the famerlee).

And they said Broadway was dead...

Signed, Your Faithful Reporter,
Deborah Gilbert
AKA Ishcabibble

**Pick up a copy of Union Jack News at a British specialty shop near you. It is available across the US. Or for more info, go to www.ujnews.com

Attend a Private Screening of 'Dot's Story'

Support EastEnders on PBS Station WLIW/Channel 21, and JOIN US on Thursday evening, November 20, in Manhattan, New York City, for a private screening of 'Dot's Story'!

Dot's Story has never been broadcast here in the US, and it is an absolutely BRILLIANT film: EastEnders at its finest.

To those who are unfamiliar with 'Dot's Story', it is an excellent and very moving look into Dot's childhood experiences, being evacuated during the war (as she has often mentioned). Told in flashback, as well as now, you learn what REALLY went on in Dot's childhood, and how she became the person she is. We also get to meet Dot's mother! And the little actress cast to play the 8 year old Dot, in the flashback parts, is so pitch-perfect, so brilliantly cast, that you will be absolutely amazed. For EastEnders fans; This film is outside the regular storyline, so you won't see it here in the US without attending this screening. And you do NOT want to miss it!

You can join us for a pledge of $100 for one ticket, or $180 for two tickets.

If you have never attended an EastEnders screening, you must! To sit in the theatre and watch EastEnders on the big screen, with a theatre full of fans is simply a blast, and something every EastEnders fan should try.

Please pledge now to get your ticket for this must see event, and to do your bit to keep EastEnders on WLIW/Channel 21 for another year. Go to: www.wliw.org.

There are just a few seats left, so get yours today!

Mike Reid: Farewell Sweet Diamond Geezer

We are sad today, to hear of the passing of EastEnders legend Mike Reid. He died yesterday, of an apparent heart attack at the age of 67, at his home in Spain.

We know that this is a huge loss for his family, friends, and co-workers, and our thoughts go out to them. And it is also a loss for EastEnders fans everywhere, who always thought that one day Frank Butcher would come walking back into Albert Square with a 'Hello babe.' We always knew that, despite everything, Pat still hoped he would.

And the timing of his death is very ironic for fans here in New York: Just this past Saturday night, WLIW broadcast the episode where Peggy & Pat hear that Frank has died in Spain. If only this passing was as make-believe as that one.

This is how we'll always think of Mike:

We know you all remember this scene! The sense of humor he imbued in Frank, whom he portrayed with that sly wink, gravely voice, and his own unique expressions brought Walford to life (he is still the only person, we've ever heard, call someone a 'donut'). Frank Butcher was the personification of the alchemy that happens when good writing meets a unique and charismatic actor. He was a truly irreplaceable soul.

So we raise a glass to Mike Reid: This diamond geezer will be missed!

Duf-Duf: A Brief History...

(Did you know that that iconic episode-ending drumbeat, called the duf-duf, has a history all its own? Read on...)

Who knew there was this phenomenon called 'duf-duf'??
Sure, I'd noticed that the writers of the BBC's official fortnightly EastEnders e-mailed newsletter always signed off, 'duf-duf', but I just thought it was one of those charmingly British ecentricities that make absolutely no sense (like prawn flavoured crisps).

Turns out it's a lot more than that. At dinner with Troy Titus-Adams (Nina the Vic barmaid), we came to find out that the duf-duf is a highly prized honour. So prized, that upon receiving a new script, EastEnders actors will quickly look to the last page to see who gets the duf-duf.

And the Fleet Street wags will always query, 'Did you get a duf-duf?' This made me wonder: What are the origins of this duf-duf phenomenon? Has anyone ever studied this? It turns out that a team from the BBC has been investigating the issue, and has found that the duf-duf predates EastEnders by thousands of years.

It all started to become clear a few years ago, when British anthropologists were called to Lascaux, France, to assist the French in their ongoing study of the Cro-Magnon-era cave paintings. To their surprise, a newly discovered cave painting looked remarkably like Dot holding a fag. (Duf-duf.)

Intrigued, these scholars fanned out across the globe and began searching for evidence of the duf-duf throughout history. Here are just a few examples of what they found:

* At Oxford University, the BBC team consulted with a doctoral candidate whose dissertation had been held up for years while this perennial student agonized over the meaning of a particular text by Nostradamus. The text in question read, 'Sauntering publican; beware the approaching daffodils. Bang. Splash. Duf-duf. Resurrection'.

The student's questions have now been answered, and with medication, she has been able to move on with her life.

* At Yeshiva University, a recently updated (and more accurate) translation of the original Aramaic text of the Torah shows that the duf-duf appears there as well - a multitude of times. For example, Abraham is holding the knife aloft, about to sacrifice Isaac on the altar, when he hears the voice of
God say, 'Whoa, whoa, whoa Abe, lighten up! I was just messing with you.'

Abraham freezes, looks skyward (close-up), and Isaac sighs heavily (close-up). Duf-duf.

Torah scholars are nonplussed over this revelation, as evidenced by the reaction of young Talmudic student Avi Friedman, whose only question for the BBC investigators was, 'Do you think you can get Madonna to come to my bar mitzvah?' Duf-duf.

* In an attic in Trenton, New Jersey, the new owners of an 18th century farmhouse found a diary hidden in the eves. It belonged to one Jonah Able Attux (1752-1810.) Mr. Attux was a volunteer in George Washington's army; apparently a Minuteman (this, according to Mrs. Attux's diary). Duf-duf.

In one poignant excerpt, Mr. Attux describes a rare first-hand account of Washington crossing the Delaware. Until now, it had been thought Washington bravely led his troops to surprise the British army, however we now know they were just going out for a pint.

The diary excerpt reads, 'We rowed, and rowed our tiny boat; our hands frozen; the biting cold, choppy water splashing into the boat and drenching our tattered uniforms but the promise of free drinks pushed us onward. On several occasions we almost capsized due to the stance of General Washington.

Finally, a private in the back could take no more and called out, 'Oy! George! Sit down you drama queen, you're rocking the boat!'

But General Washington did not sit. He merely looked pained, as if he'd gotten another splinter in his lip, and muttered, 'Someday our new republic will offer a free dental plan for all'. Duf-duf.

*The British royal family has been connected with the duf-duf ever since Tudor times when Anne Boleyn rebuffed the gift of a new chapeau from her husband King Henry VIII, (who most scholars believe is the antecedent to Phil Mitchell). Anne is reported to have said, 'You know, Hank, I'm really not a hat person. Do you think you could get me something shiny?'

The resulting thwack was followed by the predictable duf-duf (as well as Henry's mother harping loudly about the way he treats his famerlee, and his dawning realization that he had, once again, lopped the head off the wrong woman). Duf-duf.

So, by these examples, we see that, when we watch EastEnders, we are part of a long and distinguished history, which was oft forgotten until historian Simon May sought to remind us with a catchy tune. Duf-duf...

©Deborah Gilbert, 2004

Arthur Would be Proud...

The BBC's official website has a webcam trained on Albert Square 24/7, but recently it's been tough to see through the dense foliage:

(BEFORE: Is this what Arthur meant by 'Flowering Wilderness Campaign'?)

Then, last week, someone attacked the errant hedge with clipping shears:

(AFTER: There now. Next stop, the allotments.)