*CJ*

Does anyone happen to know if Damian (Henk) has a fan card? Has anyone written to him? thanks. ...Okay, guess that's probably a general "don't know/nope" then! Anyone received any cast cards lately?

I agree, this was extremely sad. It was nicely written though, reuniting Annie and Geoff with Bruce just in time, and him watching the football game and realising how good Geoff could be. I'm really disappointed they've killed him, but at the same time grateful that at least they didn't do it shortly after he first arrived, as it appeared they might. Bruce and Annie, and to a slightly lesser extent Geoff, have been a breath of fresh air and a welcome addition to the show. I'm very annoyed that I didn't even find out the actor's name in all this time because the credits are always squashed so you can't read them, so looking him up, it is, I think, Chris Haywood. There are not too many older characters integrated so successfully, he's been a pleasure to watch and I'll miss him.

I used: (actor name) Home and Away c/o Channel 7 PO Box 777 Pyrmont NSW 2009 Australia Good luck! I don't think it depends where you live too much, more on how busy they are at a particular time, plus some seem more likely to reply. Perhaps some of them go through their mail every few months and sign 50 cards at once, so if you write just after that it takes longer. A lot of it's just down to luck probably. I wonder if anyone's ever heard back from Milko...?

Oh! Why couldn't anyone have told me the rules before I wrote to Nic? I think she meant that she sounded stalkerish and corny...not sure though...CJ, what did you mean!? Yep, well, it might just be a possibility. It's for him to decide too though. Handily, I've happened to just come across some of the rules for writing to him: 1) Don't call him Tim. Or Pete. 2) Don't enquire if the house/flat next door is vacant. 3) If you were happy when Peter died, probably best not to bother in the first place. 4) Watch your spelling. He's also a teacher. Any mistakes and it'll be graded and returned to you, covered in red ink. 5) Remember to sign it. He's received enough anonymous notes in the past. Any more...?

Oh! Why couldn't anyone have told me the rules before I wrote to Nic?

All you can really do to get an idea of that is look through this topic or other forums to see what people have said. I think it can take six months or even more, basically some of the cast just seem more likely to reply quicker than others. It probably doesn't make so much difference that we're in England. I glanced at a UK autograph discussion centring on Eastenders etc. (the UK soaps have never appealed to me), and it makes Nic's zippy replies to some of us look even more impressive, with most responses from even UK actors taking around a month at least (with not all of them by any means being personalised ie. "to Zoe M" either)!

I know you weren't talking to me, but hi Laurz, yes, I did. So I don't think you need to include a self addressed envelope - but do include your address! Bloom, yep, swfc is right, it was 19 days, to England (from when I posted my letter to when I received Nic's pic). Not to put any pressure on him and raise people's expectations or anything! Good luck.

I think if I was writing to Jack, I'd be apologising to him for Peter's recent constant grumping at him! Though I guess he does understand that Peter's just anxious about stopping Zoe, and the pressure he's under. I like Paul. If Nic wasn't around, I think I'd like him even more! Indiana - this certainly doesn't mean you won't get a reply, or that you shouldn't write to her, but I think she's one of the least likely in the cast to respond, based on what I've read people saying. However, Amy seems to be great at replying.

I got my first ever H&A fan card, from my favourite actor/star this week. Which was very exciting. That would be the wonderful Nic Bishop, whose reply, to England, took just 19 days, counting from when I posted my letter, to when I received his picture. (Seriously), is this a record? (Should anyone be interested as to just how much more I can write on this subject, feel free to look into his appreciation topic!) Whatta guy.

Hi, *belle*, I wouldn't worry too much about sounding cheesy, I'm sure they'd appreciate it anyway. I think it comes easier when writing to someone you particularly like. I think it depends a bit how old you are, how old they are, and exactly what you think of them, whether they're your favourite character, or someone you could imagine as a friend, or if you think they're good looking (/beautiful for the ladies)! Tell them why you like their character - or even, politely, what you don't like so much about their character. Maybe tell them what storylines you've enjoyed, what you might like their character to do in the future, tell them a little about yourself, you can ask questions, but it's not too likely they have time to respond in detail. And probably ask for a fan card at some point so they're in no doubt that you'd like one! I wrote my first letter to Nic a few weeks ago, so I don't claim to be an expert. This is basically what I did, and just made it pretty clear how much I like him. (I hope he didn't think any of it was too cheeky, given that his partner recently had their first child!) I just really wanted to say thanks to him for all his work on the show, that he's most definitely appreciated. I found it difficult to decide how much to write, I was worried about writing too much, but I tried hard to keep it concise. I think longer is better because it shows you're more interested, but there's no rules, and if it's shorter, it takes up less of their time to read. Just some thoughts, good luck!