Monthly Archives: August 2015

Doctor Who, Fun stuff

BBC Make It Digital Tour, Bournemouth – August 2015

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The Make It Digital Tent at Bournemouth Airshow
The Make It Digital Tent

Greetings!

Yesterday I went to Bournemouth Airshow and had a Doctor Who adventure! The BBC Make it Digital tour was on the beach – a free, interactive experience for everyone to enjoy.

Welcome to the BBC Experience Igloo
Welcome to the BBC Experience Igloo

First up was The BBC Experience and I went into the igloo-shaped tent. Inside I saw a BBC Timeline and I watched part of the Doctor Who Pilot episode which was included because the beginning of Doctor Who was a legendary time for the BBC!

Watching the legendary Doctor Who pilot episode at Make It Digital tour
Watching the legendary Doctor Who pilot episode

Next I came to a chair from ‘The Voice’. I had to sit in it and press the buzzer – just for fun!

The Voice Chair at Make It Digital
I am one of the new judges for The Voice!

Beside The Voice Chair was a green screen. I had my photo taken against the screen and had to pose pointing at nothing. It felt weird pointing at a screen but when I saw the photo I knew why!

Green screen at Make It Digital
What on earth am I doing?

I had been pointing at the Doctor and Clara by the TARDIS. I was given a copy of the photo to take home to remember the time I saw the Doctor and Clara outside the TARDIS!

The Doctor and Clara at Make It Digital
I know you from somewhere!

After that I had a go at presenting the weather – I wasn’t very good! I had to stand in front of another green screen and point at certain bits on a map. I could see where I was pointing on the monitor in front of me. I had to make up the words and it was very hard to talk and point at the same time. I definitely wouldn’t want to do it on live TV!

Presenting the weather at Make It Digital
Scorchio! (not)

Next I went to the Make it Digital area. First I went in the Doctor Who tent where there were games to play which are designed to help people learn to code. I tried out ‘The Dalek Maze’ with the help of the Robogals. There was a battery controlled Dalek and I had to plan a route to the centre of a maze plotting the course on a computer. Forward Left Forward Left Forward Right Forward Right Forward! I was successful!

Afterwards I played ‘The Doctor and the Dalek’ on a tablet. This is a game where the Doctor and Dalek are helping each other and teaches you about sequencing. I completed my levels easily and am going to continue at home and see how far I get.

Oh, and I took a #Dalekselfie as well. There was a captured Dalek in the corner, but luckily he was deactivated!

In the next tent I did some proper time travel of my own – well Tech Time Travel anyway! There was a display of old computers and I played some retro games including Pong and Pac-Man. It is amazing how quickly computers have evolved – I can’t wait to see the different things they will do in a few year’s time!

After a short break to watch The Red Arrows I went back to the tent and made my own animation! First I designed some aeroplanes on paper then cut them out. Then with the help of BU VFX Team I put them on a background and used stop motion animation to animate my planes. I watched my piece of art and was really happy that it was good. I really enjoyed making an animation and would love to do that again at home. I could write and animate my own Doctor Who stories. I could even enter the Mission Dalek competition!

The Make It Digital Tour continues throughout the summer – you should definitely check it out and have a go for yourself! I didn’t do everything as I didn’t have time but there is lots more you can do including playing Uptown Funk on vegetables. You will have to go and find out what I mean!

Have you played any of the Doctor Who games online? Please leave a comment and tell me what you think.

Thank you for reading and see you soon for my next adventure through time and space.

Good day!

Doctor Who, Fun stuff, New location

Bellini’s, Cardiff Bay – July 2015

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Slitheen at Cardiff Bay
Slitheen Stop this Stealing!

Croeso!

Today we’re in Cardiff just like the Ninth Doctor who visited Cardiff in Boom Town (2005). The Doctor was in Cardiff because there is an invisible rift running through the city and the TARDIS was soaking up the radiation from the rift to use as fuel. I was there for a different reason – the first day of my summer holiday in Wales!

Although the Doctor, Rose, Mickey and Captain Jack thought they could relax and have fun the Doctor soon discovered that Blon Fel Fotch Passameer-Day Slitheen was still posing as Margaret Blaine and had been elected Mayor of Cardiff! The Doctor and his companions knew they had to stop her plans for the Blaidd Drwg Project to save the planet….

Although it was my summer holiday it was a rainy and misty Sunday evening. I explored Cardiff Bay and saw where the Doctor parked his TARDIS that night– close to the Millennium Centre and above what would become the Torchwood Three Hub. I also passed Cadwaladers where the Doctor and co went to hang out until the Doctor saw Blon on the front of the paper! I hope to go there another time.

Cadwaladers - Doctor Who Boom Town
Cadwaladers where the Doctor went with his companions.

When Blon was caught she knew she would be executed if the Doctor returned her to Raxacoricofallapatorius so she asked for one last meal. She asked to go to

‘A little restaurant around the bay …it became quite a favourite of mine.’

And that is where we are going now – Bellini’s at Mermaid Quay in Cardiff Bay! I was hungry after my journey to Cardiff in my TARDIS and I wanted to go to the same restaurant the Doctor took Blon for a treat and where Blon asks the Doctor to spare her life.

Mermaid Quay - Doctor Who Boom Town
Welcome to Mermaid Quay
Bellini's - Doctor Who Boom Town
Do you recognise this restaurant?

I climbed the stairs to Bellini’s and asked to sit at the table where the Doctor and Blon had their meal. The Doctor ordered ‘steak and chips’ but I don’t eat meat so I ordered a Margherita Pizza from the adults menu with a lemonade to wash it down. The pizza was as good as the pizzas I ate in Italy. I could have eaten more than one as I am a Pizzaholic!

 

I was interrupted by a greedy Slitheen who kept trying to eat my dinner but I didn’t give any away. Perhaps Raxacoricofallapatorius had been invaded and the Slitheen had invaded Cardiff again?

Bellini's pudding - Doctor Who Boom Town
This is good and you know it!

For pudding I ordered a Coppa Gelato – chocolate flavour of course. It was yummy and tasted like heaven. I moved to sit by the window – the same window that exploded when the rift started opening. Blon had tricked the Doctor. Luckily that didn’t happen when I was there and I got to finish my pudding.

Although the Doctor went when it was dark, Bellini’s was light when I was there and as I ate pudding I enjoyed the changing view of Cardiff Bay – misty, rainy, sunny and misty again.

The staff in Bellini’s were very friendly. I told Mehmet about Project Indigo and he told me that he remembers the day of filming well – he was there as a waiter 10 years ago and you may see him serving in the episode! The dinner scene was filmed in January 2005 when Bellini’s was called Bistro 10 and Mehmet met Christopher Eccleston, the Ninth Doctor, and Annette Badland who played Blon. This was before New Doctor Who was aired on TV so no one knew how popular it would be again.

Mehmet at Bellini's
Meeting Mehmet who served the Doctor and Blon

I had a lovely evening at Bellini’s and would give my meal 10 out of 10. If you go you should definitely have the Coppa Gelato – but watch out for a greedy Slitheen.

Thanks for reading my first Ninth Doctor adventure – I hope you enjoyed it and will come back and join me very soon to read about more of my Doctor Who adventures in Wales this summer. My holiday was FANTASTIC!

Goodbye.

Slitheen at Cardiff Bay
Aaaagh – small Slitheen Invasion!
Autographs, Convention, Cosplay, Doctor Who, Interview

Hampshire-Con, Eastleigh – July 2015

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Peter Davison - the Fifth Doctor

Hello and welcome to H- Con – Hampshire TV, Film and Comic-Con which was held at Fleming Park Leisure Centre in Eastleigh on the 25th and  26th  July 2015.

Sorry about the delay in reporting but I have been on holiday in Wales and have only just come back! When I heard about H-Con I was very excited as this was my chance to meet the Fifth Doctor, Peter Davison- I delayed my holiday and made a slight detour to Eastleigh to take my chance!H-Con is presented by Sci-Fi South Collectors, working in Partnership with Timeless Collectors and supporting Starlight Make-A-Wish Foundation.

I turned up in my Fifth Doctor Cosplay because I hoped the Fifth Doctor would be happy to see me in his costume – I customised my Third Doctor Sonic Screwdriver with some tinfoil and it looked just like the Fifth Doctor’s which he only used for four episodes before it was destroyed by a Terileptil!

As soon as I arrived I joined the queue to meet Peter Davison – I didn’t have much time so I didn’t want to lose out. When I met Peter Davison we shook hands and he said I looked good which made me feel chuffed. I was a bit nervous about meeting him but he was very friendly and made me feel more confident.

I asked him my golden questions – first, what is his favourite Doctor Who filming location? He thought that was a good question and told me it was Black Park outside London where he filmed The Visitation  (1982). The filming was in a flight path so the crew only had 8 minute windows to work and it was a nice relaxing time! He also enjoyed filming The Caves of Androzani (1984) in a Dorset quarry – there were two other film crews there at same time, one filming Beau Geste, and it was lots of fun. I have been to the quarry and I will definitely add Black Park to my list of locations to visit!

I asked Peter which is his favourite ever Doctor Who episode and he said he had to pick one of his own – The Caves of Androzani. That is one of my favourites too but if I had to choose my favourite Fifth Doctor episode it would be The Awakening (1984).

Finally I asked him where he would go in time and space if he could – he told me he would definitely choose to go back in history and he would like to witness the American Revolution.

I chose a photograph from  The Five(ish) Doctors Reboot for Peter to sign. I loved watching The Five (ish) Doctors and the Doctors all look so grumpy in the picture that it made me laugh. It was brilliant meeting Peter – he is the Third Doctor I have met after Peter Capaldi and Colin Baker!

The Five-ish Doctors Reboot

After I met Peter I explored the stalls in Hall One- there were lots of other Sci Fi stars including Sarah Sutton who played the Fourth and Fifth Doctor’s companion Nyssa. I have already met Sarah before at the Timeless Collectors Fair and she was very kind.

Next I went into Hall 2 and the first thing I saw was lizards, snakes and other reptiles – people had brought their pets along to amaze people and raise money for charity.There was lots to look at in Hall 2 including Daleks, TARDISes and the Master’s collection of Doctor Who monsters.

I had a go at the Tin Can Alley for the first time and I won a Doctor Who stationery set. This stall was raising money for Starlight. I also got to meet ET and phone home- he is sooo cute.

After I left ET I went to the Nerd Herd area and played some vintage video games – SuperMario World on a SNES and MarioKart 64 on an N64. I liked the retro games – they may not look like modern games but they entertain in the same way!

There were also cars from the movies including Transformers and Back to the Future. I had fun browsing and meeting my fellow Doctors – some for the first time and some I have met before. I had hoped to meet Doctor Squee from the Gallifrey Stands Podcast but I had to leave before he arrived. You can listen to what he got up to here. There are lots of features including an interview with Peter Davison and Sarah Sutton.

I wish I had more time to spend at H-Con but my holiday had to kick off and I needed to get back to my TARDIS! I will remember the day I met the Fifth Doctor forever.

In other news one of my companions recently met David Morrissey aka The Next Doctor Jackson Lake! I wish I had been there but it was an unexpected surprise. She asked David my golden question – if he could go anywhere in time and space where would he like to go? David said Victorian London just like in his Doctor Who story, but only if they had modern day dentistry! Thank you to David for answering my question and posing for a photo for me! I hope I get to meet him one day.

David Morrisey

Thank you for reading and I hope you will join me soon and read about the amazing locations I have just visited in Wales – New and Classic!

Goodbye!