Saturday April 2 2005. The start of what we hope will be the last month at the Vetch Field but playing circumstances dictate otherwise but also what we know will be a new dawn in Swansea City history with the launch of a new fanzine entitled 'A Touch Far Vetched'

The fanzine was technically born back last October when an article asked for people who would be prepared to give up a few hours of their time to help piece it together. There were plenty of volunteers and it was taken forward to the next stage which was to find funding to get it out on the streets. That was the hard part but it was a part we managed eventually and we are now just over seven days away from seeing all that work come to fruition when the fanzine will go on public sale for the first time.

We felt it important that the fanzine hit the streets before we said goodbye to the Vetch and already there is a second issue planned for the start of next season to herald the new era in Swansea City which will start at White Rock Stadium. Don't ask me why we felt this but we felt the timing was right.

Swansea City has been without a fanzine for too long. Its been a few years now since the demise of Jack Plug and Jackseye so we aim to fill that void with some humour, some thought, some views and hopefully some input from more and more people each issue. More importantly, we want to bring you something that we hope you enjoy and something that will complement your purchase of the matchday programme.

The good news is that unanimously as a group we felt that in some way, shape or form the fanzine should also benefit the club. We considered donating the money to the trust but decided it may muck their accounts up (joke!) and we also wondered whether we should just advertise with the club but eventually we settled on the future of the club. We have contacted Alan Curtis and advised him that all profits from the fanzine will be invested back into the club in terms of youth development. Let's be fair we're not talking millions but with the exception of the printers and the designers (layout) nobody else will take any money for piecing this publication together. It is being done as a labour of love for you to enjoy (guilt trip to make you buy it)

The fanzine will be available to buy outside the ground at both the Cambridge game (April 2nd) and Oxford (April 15) If we have any left then we will sell them at the Shrewsbury game on April 30. We have printed an initial run of 1,000 for the first issue, we would like to take that to 2,000 for issue two but that depends on the success.

Price of the fanzine will be set at the traditional £1 and only two pages contain adverts in a 32-page publication so plenty for you to chew on as you read through it.

Swansea City is a club in a healthy state at the moment - maybe for the fanzine it would be easier if it wasn't. It was certainly easier, and I know from personal experience, to write articles when we had the likes of Lewis and Petty here rather than the current people but I know that I would much rather never see the likes of those two again.

Those that have contributed to the fanzine have done so because they feel they have something to say on a particular topic. You may not agree with what they say - we don't ask you to. And those that disagree strongly with anything are invited to write in and put a counter argument across. The fanzine is for the fans by the fans and the views are those of the contributors - all of which have put their names to the content.

What we now ask is that you, the fans, support the fanzine (and in turn the club) by putting your hand in your pocket and purchasing a copy. It is the only way it will survive past this opening issue. For all you Swans fans exiled from the Vetch, we have set up a paypal account

The price of an individual issue is £1.75 for postal applications to cover the cost of the fanzine, postage and packing. The cost is the same wherever you are in the world. You can pay for this with a credit card by clicking the paypal button below or sending a cheque for £1.75 together with your name and address to

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A Touch Far Vetched, PO Box 109, Port Talbot, SA13 2XA

You can also e-mail the 'Touch Far Vetched' Team on far.vetched@penforhire.info

Please support this fanzine and in turn youth development at Swansea City

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