Tag Archives: Cardiff

Doctor Who, Fun stuff, New location

The Doctor Who Experience, Cardiff Bay – July 2015

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Tom outside the Doctor Who Experience
Welcome to the Doctor Who Experience!

Welcome! Croeso!

We are travelling back in time to my summer holiday in Wales. Today we are at the Doctor Who Experience in Cardiff, this time in July 2015. I was very excited to go to The Doctor Who Experience again as it was the first time I had been since it was updated with the new Doctor. In August 2014 I was stood outside the closed Experience whilst Peter Capaldi was inside filming the new interactive story so I was looking forward to seeing the new adventure!

Exterminate!
Bessie – The Third Doctor’s car

When I arrived there was a giant queue as it was the summer holidays and Whovians had come from everywhere to experience the experience! As soon as I arrived I went into the interactive adventure with the other fans. I don’t want to spoil anything for anyone who is planning to go but I will tell you that I entered the Museum of Gallifrey expecting to learn about Timelords and the history of Gallifrey. Instead I embarked on a journey when the Twelfth Doctor transmitted a message saying he needed our help – and we had to grapple with a threat which could destroy the universe……..

The First Doctor's TARDIS at the Doctor Who Experience
The First Doctor’s TARDIS

It was very exciting helping the Doctor and some of the children were a little scared, but we survived. The Doctor didn’t quite return us to where we started though so I never got to look around the Museum of Gallifrey! Maybe if you visit everything will go a bit smoother for you!

Choosing my picture
Inside the Twelfth Doctor’s TARDIS

After I made it back to Cardiff 2015 I had my photo taken in a green screen TARDIS. I chose to wear a Fez , which was cool, and I chose to be in the Twelfth Doctor’s TARDIS because that is my favourite TARDIS in the history of Doctor Who! I look quite perplexed in my picture because when I was posing in front of the green screen I didn’t know how the background would look. When Peter Capaldi had his photo taken he couldn’t choose so wore the Eleventh Doctor’s Fez and the Fourth Doctor’s scarf!

The Doctor’s cot
Antibodies from Let’s Kill Hitler
The Moment from ‘Day of the Doctor’

After my photo I went upstairs to The Exhibition Hall to revisit ‘the world’s most extensive collection of original Doctor Who props and artefacts’. This is my favourite part of the whole Experience because all the suspense from the interactive part is relieved from you and you can relax and look at all the items from the series! Since my last visit the hall had regenerated and moved around and there were lots of new items from the Series 8 (2014) episodes! Here are some of my favourites:

From my favourite New Who story Deep Breath – the hot air balloon made of skin that Half-Face Man tried to escape in.

Balloon from Deep Breath at the Doctor Who Experience
A balloon made from skin!

From Mummy on the Orient Express – The Foretold. If you can see him you only have 66 seconds to live!

There’s nothing behind me is there?
The Foretold from Mummy on the Orient Express

From Robot of Sherwood we can see a knight’s armour and the Sheriff of Nottingham costume worn by Ben Miller.

The Sheriff of Nottingham and Robot of Sherwood at the Doctor Who Experience
The Sheriff of Nottingham and Robot of Sherwood!

From In the Forest of the Night – a lion from Trafalgar Square. This giveaway told the Doctor he was in London and not a forest.

A lion from 'In The Forest of the Night' at the Doctor Who Experience
A lion from Trafalgar Square!

From The Caretaker – the Skovox Blitzer which was a danger to Coal Hill School and one of the most dangerous weapons ever created!

The Skovox Blitzer from The Caretaker at the Doctor Who Experience
The Skovox Blitzer from The Caretaker

I didn’t have enough time in the exhibition because I had to leave Cardiff at lunch time to go to another part of Wales and carry on with my holiday. Sadly for me I had hurt my back too so I couldn’t join in with everything, for example, learning how to walk like a Doctor Who monster.

WHO does this remind me of?
Say something nice, it’s Missy’s costume!

Finally I visited The Official Doctor Who Shop. The shop is giant and full of Doctor Who merchandise – it is the only official Doctor Who shop that you can visit in the whole world! Maybe there is one on another planet though..… Anyone can visit this shop; you don’t need to pay for a ticket. I bought a new Doctor Who T-shirt because my old one is getting smaller and smaller by the minute. I will be wearing my T-shirt in lots of future posts, it is in the style of a comic – I hope you will like it.

The regenerated experience is better than ever, I’m really glad that I got the chance to visit it before I left Cardiff. No-one should leave Cardiff without having a Doctor Who adventure. And I’m glad to report that my back is better too! Have you been to the Doctor Who Experience? Please leave a comment and tell me what you think about this amazing Doctor Who attraction.

See you soon for a new Doctor Who location report – next time I will be reporting from Mars, I hope you will come back and read all about it.  

Disclosure: Thank you very much to the Doctor Who Experience for allowing me free entry to report on my adventure. All opinions are my own!

 

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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!
Doctor Who, New location

Llandaff, Cardiff – August 2014

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Llandaff Cathedral GreenHalloooo,

lately  there has been a lot of grotty weather so lets go back in time again and go to yet another Welsh location – Llandaff! My holiday in August 2014 was so much fun and I love to remember and tell you all about it!

Llandaff is north of Cardiff City Centre, beside the River Taff. It is famous for being the birthplace of Roald Dahl, the author of children’s books and Terry Nation – the creator of the Daleks!Look at the Roald Dahl plaque!

I arrived there on a nice tranquil summer’s evening. I picked a great night to go as I was there on the day of the 100th Anniversary of the outbreak of the 1st World War, and the Welsh National Service of Remembrance was being held that night in Llandaff Cathedral.

Look, they're waiting for the action!

This location was used in the episode The Eleventh Hour (2010) under the name of Leadworth, the home of Amelia Pond.  This was where the newly-regenerated Doctor first met Amy and he investigated the village to find Prisoner Zero to save the world from incineration by the Atraxi!  When he met young Amy she was worried about the crack in her wall. Did you know that Steven Moffat came up with the idea after looking at a crack in his ceiling?

Once I got to the middle of Llandaff I saw some  kids playing football in the cathedral green where the Raggedy Man first met Rory. I asked them if I could play and I got a match! I didn’t score any goals but I got an assist, so that was good. It was a great match that I really enjoyed playing even though the team that I was on lost.

Any sign of Prisoner Zero?

The green seemed much smaller than on the TV. There was no sign of the duck-pond without any ducks! That was just built for the episode and is not there in real life. There was no exploded phone box either – lots of details were added to make Llandaff look like a typical English village.

No ducks in the duck pond. Or a pond!

At one end of the green is a very special statue which is the Llandaff War Memorial created by Sir William Goscombe John. It is called The Memorial Group,  and used to be called ‘The Departure’. There are three stones with a female figure in the middle, which represents Llandaff, and beside her is a workman, representing the village, and a cadet representing the school.  You will recognise this statue from The Family of Blood ( 2007) when Tim Latimer attends a Remembrance Day Service as an old man, watched at a far distance by the Tenth Doctor and Martha.

The Memorial Group

After the match I went to walk around the cathedral whilst the World War 1 Commemoration preparations went on inside! I saw some people filming outside of the church for BBC  and ITV News as I walked around to tire my feet out. It was fun exploring about the grounds and watching the guests arrive for the service.

ITV News. Woooh!

There was no sign of Prisoner Zero or a giant Atraxi eye floating above the spire! Llandaff Cathedral is also the location of the wedding of John Smith ( the Tenth Doctor) and Nurse Redfern in the Family of Blood ( 2007) and of course is it the Church of Auvers from Vincent and the Doctor (2010) where the Eleventh Doctor, Vincent and Amy confront the lonely Krafayis. Luckily there was no sign of the Krafayis either!

Llandaff Cathedral

After I left Llandaff I returned to my hotel to watch the church service that was broadcast live on S4C. It was led by the Archbishop of Wales. We kept our lights out along with the rest of the nation as a mark of respect because 100 years ago the Foreign Secretary sadly said

“The lamps are going out all over Europe; we shall not see them lit again in our life-time.”

My heart goes out to all the people that fought and lost loved ones in the war.

The Eleventh Hour White House

My first anniversary of blogging will come soon and to celebrate Project Indigo’s first birthday I will be holding a mega epic competition; please don’t miss it!I’m welling up with excitement and can’t wait to tell you about it!

Thanks for reading ! Gooooodbuy!

Doctor Who, New location

Victoria Park, Cardiff – August 2014

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Welcome to Victoria Park!‘Ello ‘ello ‘ello and welcome to my latest Doctor Who location -Victoria Park in Cardiff.

Victoria Park is in the Canton area of Cardiff. It is a late Victorian public park, opened in 1897 and named in honour of Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee. There is lots to do there including a child’s playground and paddling pool, basketball and tennis courts, a bowling green and the only pitch in the universe that the Doctor has played football on!

Pretty flowers

I would like to thank www.doctorwholocations.net for helping me find this location. http://www.doctorwholocations.net is a great website to visit because it tells you everything you need to know about Doctor Who locations and I really wanted to find out about this location.

I am a big fan of football and I was desperate to find this place because it is the location for the Eleventh Doctor’s football match for the King’s Arms. In The Lodger (2010) the Doctor moves in with Craig for a little bit and gets to play in his pub footy league! When I arrived there were lots of people so it was hard to see the footy pitch but I got there eventually.

There was no sign of the Doctor and Craig playing football but at least I got to have a kickabout! I met George and Dan who were passing the ball to each other and they asked if I wanted a game. You know what happened next, don’t you? That’s right – I got a match!

George and Dan - my humble football team mates.George and Dan helped me improve my football skills by teaching me passing and shooting. I got about 6 goals past them! I didn’t get as many as the Doctor – when I last watched The Lodger I counted that he scored 8 goals. The Doctor loved playing football!

In real life Matt Smith played for Northampton Town , Nottingham Forest and Leicester City’s Youth Teams but had to give up football because of a bad back injury. Aw! But then again, not aw, because if Matt had played professional football he would never have been the outstanding Eleventh Doctor.

I was really happy to play on the pitch where Matt Smith’s footsteps have been. George and Dan really helped me so I’d like to thank them for a great game – thanks guys!

As my match ended I left the pitch and went to the bandstand to take shelter from the rain.

The bandstand - where's the band?This is the same bandstand where Donna met Miss Evangelista in The Forest of the Dead (2008) and she learns that her children are virtual reality and she is not a mother after all! The bandstand does not look old, it is a replica of a Victorian bandstand and was built in 1995 with money from the National Lottery.

Victoria Park is a great place to go to and is especially good if you like to have a kickabout or a splashabout! I had a smashing time there and hope you get a chance to come here and enjoy the park.

Thanks for reading, and see you next week. Please leave a comment to let me know if you have been to any Doctor Who locations, I would love to hear about it!

Ok, match is over, Full Time – Pheeeep! Goodbye!

Doctor Who, New location

Caerphilly Castle / Castell Caerffili – August 2014

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Welcome to Caerphilly CastleHawdammor and welcome to my latest Doctor Who location – Caerphilly Castle!

Caerphilly Castle is the largest castle in Wales and second largest in Britain after Windsor Castle ( home to the Queen, along with many other places!). In 1268 Gilbert ‘The Red ‘ De Clare began to build Caerphilly Castle. He was a redheaded English Earl descended from the Normans and was born down the road from me in Christchurch! He built the castle to stop the land from falling into the hands of Welsh rival Llywelyn ap Gruffudd.

Either that or it is a disguised 29th Century Spaceship!

I visited Caerphilly Castle on a very sunny day and explored the castle because it a filming location for Robot of Sherwood (2014), The Vampires of Venice (2010), Nightmare in Silver (2013) and many more episodes. It is managed by CADW, who conserve Wales’s heritage. As I was walking to the castle it looked full of excitement and I had to enter over a bridge because there was a moat all around it – the same moat that Guido took the Doctor and Rory across to visit the House of Calvieri in Venice!

After I went in, the first area I saw was the large courtyard, setting for the Golden Arrow Archery Tournament in Robot of Sherwood. When I was there there was no sign of the Sheriff of Nottingham or the Robots. Maybe my TARDIS wasn’t set to 1190ish? I made a wish in the well and my coin went PLOP which means that it was going down deep. In the episode the crowd were stood up high watching the archery – this was actually the ‘hourd’ where the soldiers used to fire their arrows and other missiles at their enemies! Where are the targets?

Next I ventured into the castle and walked up a lot of stairs. I explored the rooms on the way up and imagined that I was back in Norman times.  It was a nice day but at the top of the towers the windows were tapping and the wind was howling.

The Doctor and Rory were searching all around these corridors and stairs in Vampires of Venice. They even went down a corridor which has a ghost in it! The Braose Gallery is a hidden corridor and is haunted by the Green Lady. I wasn’t very happy to go down it but it wasn’t really that scary.

Woooh- is there a ghost behind me???

Next I went in the Great Hall and pretended to be a Norman King! This is the room where the Eleventh Doctor played his chess match at Natty Longshoe’s Comical Castle in Nightmare in Silver. It is very easy to recognise even without the Doctor playing chess against the Cyberplanner!Let's have some lunch.

Before I went I visited the Leaning Tower – it leans even more than the Tower of Pisa! Maybe it leans because it was attacked in the Civil War – no-one is sure. I helped out the wooden man who makes sure it doesn’t topple over. He must be very tired!

Time to say goodbyeFinally it was time to leave but I had a double thumbs up great day. Looks like I wasn’t the only one to arrive in my TARDIS today! I think 4, 5 and 6 popped along for a visit too.

Everyone's TARDISs

Thanks for reading. What did you think of Robot of Sherwood? Are you liking the new Doctor so far? Please leave a comment and let me know.

Wela i chi!

Doctor Who, New location

The Doctor Who Experience, Cardiff Bay – August 2014

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Walking in Trenzalore!Hello again,

We’re back in Cardiff for another post for you.  We are off to The Doctor Who Experience on the 4th August, on a lovely sunny day and I am so excited. I am going to the door and ooopps, sorry CLOSED! Retake!  Awwww!Wearing my Blue Peterbadge, ready to go in. Oh wait, closed! Sorry!

But I walked around the side and noticed  some SFX trucks. There was some filming going on in there! I wonder why…… A Christmas Special? Five-ish Doctors Sequel? A new intro? I’d love to know.

(UPDATE – I have now found out that Peter Capaldi was inside filming a new version for the updated experience! )

Day 2, ready to go in. Open! Yay!

Now it is the next day, sorry about that, now it really is open and I went in to see the action. I didn’t have to pay because I used my Blue Peter badge! It was very busy (like it always is) because the Doctor is famous worldwide and this is THE place to come to if you are a Doctor Who fanatic. I have been there three times now- August 2014, February 2014 and August 2011 when it originally opened in Olympia in London, before it moved to Cardiff. I came back to see the Eleventh Doctor, Matt Smith, for the final time before the Experience closes on August 31st to change over to the Twelfth Doctor.

The clock strikes 12 – The Time of the Doctor, 2013

Inside the walls are covered with loads of fantastic Doctor Who artwork. I don’t know who did it but they are a great artist and I wish they could decorate my bedroom!Sadly this is not my bedroom wall.

First stop was the interactive experience, it was my last chance to save the Eleventh Doctor from the Pandorica. I stepped through a crack in time and went on a real journey through time and space! First up, Starship UK then I went into the actual TARDIS which really was bigger on the inside, it’s true. I met the Daleks and Weeping Angels and helped rescue the Doctor- who was really silly to get stuck in the Pandorica for a second time! Some children were crying because they were scared but I wasn’t one of them luckily!

Straight out, I went to get a photo taken. There were lots of props to choose from so I took a Fez, bow-tie and a Sonic Screwdriver. I posed in front of a giant green screen and first pretended I was afraid to be on Trenzalore and then flew the TARDIS. I felt a bit weird because there was a big queue and everyone was looking at me but it was good fun and I chose to buy the photos of me on Trenzalore. I had two photos and they were e-mailed to me as well.

Fezzes are cool.I wasn't really in Trenzalore, I was just fooling!

Next I travelled around the exhibition. This is actually a filming location, not only for The Day of the Doctor (2013) where they filmed the Tenth Doctor at his TARDIS console but also An Adventure in Space and Time (2013), which is a film about the creation of Doctor Who, and The Five-ish Doctors Reboot (2013), which is a really funny film about the Fifth, Sixth, Seventh and Eighth Doctors trying to get in on the 50th Anniversary episode. I have met Andrew twice, and he is featured in The Five-ish Doctors Reboot as one of the employees who took John Barrowman CDs from the Fifth, Sixth and Seventh Doctor as payment for getting into the Experience! He is a very nice man and let me take a photo the first time I met him.

I took this photo in Feb 14
I took this photo in Feb 14

The exhibition has the worlds largest collection of items that have been used for filming – costumes, props and sets. This time there were even more than the last time I went as there were lots of items from the Christmas special, The Time of the Doctor (2013). These included the puppet theatre, Tasha Lem’s bed-shaped altar and poor old Handles, the Cyberman head who helped the Doctor on many occasions and became his best friend when he stayed for Christmas.

You can see all the characters including Daleks, Cybermen, Ood, Abzorbalof, Zygon, Smilers, and a bunch of others too many to mention. You can see costumes for all the Doctors and lots of the companions and the Doctor’s old TARDISes. You can control a Dalek, watch some making of Doctor Who films, learn to walk like a Scarecrow and a Cyberman, and listen to the sound effects. Everybody inside is so joyful to see and do all these things and they take lots and lots of photos to remember the day. Everything you see makes you go ‘Wow’!

Now we have left the exhibition we are in the shop which is crammed full of Doctor Who items such as pictures, Sonic Screwdrivers, T-shirts and loads of DVDs and magazines to choose from. I bought a Cybermen wristband and a keyring with my favourite Doctor, number Seven on it.Dr Who merchandise and memorabilia - as far as the eye can see

I had a brilltastic day and can’t wait to go back again. I hope I get to see the Experience when it has regenerated into the Twelfth Doctor’s story. Have you been there? Please leave a comment and tell me what you liked best.

More Cardiff posts coming up soon, byee!

Autographs, Convention, Doctor Who, Fun stuff

Doctor Who World Tour, Cardiff – 07 August 2014

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Stop staring at me!Hello readers,

Now I am back on English soil and I am going to share with you the surprise I was telling you about!

Yesterday I had a ticket to the Doctor Who World Tour in Cardiff and saw the premiere of Peter Capaldi’s first episode as the Twelfth Doctor – Deep Breath (2014)! It was fan-daby-dosy!

I have been so excited and couldn’t believe the day had finally come. I arrived at the Red Carpet event and the street was very crowded full of people waiting to see the new Doctor and Clara. Some Daleks and Cybermen were going up and down and going up to people – not to exterminate or delete them happily – phew! I was very tired waiting and I thought my legs might drop off but suddenly the crowd pumped up and I knew the stars had arrived. No, don't...!

First to go past was Jenna Coleman but she was very busy and had to rush off to an interview. She was wearing a bright red dress and walked right past me.Jenna Coleman in the flesh

Next to come down was Steven Moffat and I was really glad because I got to say hello and get his autograph! He seemed a really nice guy. Stevie Moffat signing his autograph for meFinally was (who did you expect) PETER CAPALDI! He was so busy signing his autograph on people’s cards, TARDISes and other memorabilia. Just as he got to my section he was dragged away because he was late, which was really sad, but he seemed very sorry himself as if he wanted to meet more fans. He was very smiley and friendly and seemed really happy to be the Doctor!

After Peter went past it was time to go in St David’s Hall. The room was capacious and the seats went so high up. I was only four rows from the front, I had a great view and was so close to the Doctor and co. I felt so lucky and spoiled to have the chance to be there.Everybody was so busy and excited that they didn’t take notice of the rules and kept taking photos! While I was waiting something happened that I really have to mention – I met BlogtorWho! He’s a really great Doctor Who writer and I will be going to see his film Who’s Changing in a couple of weeks. He was a jolly chap and let me pose for a photo with him. 'Ello Blogtor Who!

Finally it was time and Jason Mohammad came out to present the show and said that we were the first audience in the WHOLE WORLD to watch Deep Breath. Next Rhodri Talfan Davies and Faith Penhale talked about BBC Wales and brought out Peter, Jenna and Steven before the episode started. We all agreed to keep what happens in the episode a secret so me is not spoiling it for you!Just before the episode

So, I watched Deep Breath and it was dazzling and Peter Capaldi was EPIC. When I say epic I mean epic. I don’t want to give anything away so I will preview without spoiling. The Twelfth Doctor is funny, serious , smart , Scottish and smelly! The story is cool, creepy, life-changing, terrifying and breathtaking! I had to watch from behind my fingers for a bit but I loved it. 10 out of 10. The new Doctor is great and I can’t wait to see more of him.

When the episode finished Jason brought out Peter, Jenna and Steven again to answer some questions. I didn’t ask a question because I was really shy but I wish I had. Peter said that playing the Doctor was terrifying, wonderful and a dream come true. He said that the show is a good thing that is met with joy and positivity and that he is so proud.My favourite part was when he said he didn’t know he was the only actor to audition for the part, that was so funny.

Someone asked when they would like to travel in time to. Peter said Ancient Rome ( which he has already. Well , Pompeii). Jenna said Ancient Egypt or 1920’s New York. I would like to go to the Norman times or the 1980s.

I felt so inspired by all the answers and very glad that Peter was a fan when he was my age. He is so happy to finally be playing the Doctor.

After the show I was lucky enough to meet Sam Anderson who plays the new companion, Danny Pink! He was very smart with a cool hat and spent ages signing autographs and posing for photos. I got his autograph and he said that no two signatures were coming out the same. Steven Moffat said he is the show’s secret weapon and nothing will be the same again.And there's Danny!

After it was over I was quite sad because I wanted it to go on and on and on. It was THE BEST DAY OF MY LIFE.

I’ve had a great week in Cardiff and visited over 20 Doctor Who locations so I hope to tell you all about them. Please come back and read my posts and tell me what you think.

Until next time, cheerio!

Doctor Who

Off on an adventure – August 2014

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The Eleventh Doctor, July 2014
The Eleventh Doctor, July 2014

Just a little heads up that I’m a goin to Cardiff in the morning and will be visting A LOT of Doctor Who locations this week. I will have a very special surprise in store for you readers when I get back!

I wish everyone a good week and I will make a post as soon as I get back.

Geronimo!

Tom 🙂

Doctor Who, Fun stuff, New location, TARDIS

Cardiff Castle Library – February 2014

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Silence in the Library!Shwmae, Ti’n  iawn?

We are back in Wales in February again, for another Cardiff Doctor Who location. We are in  the library of Cardiff Castle which was used as a filming location for Journey to the Centre of the TARDIS (2013). It was used as the TARDIS library which was found by Clara when she was running away from some Time Zombies. When she was there she found a book called The History of the Time War and saw the Doctor’s real name in it. Later she said to the Doc:

‘The library. You were mentioned in a book. You call yourself Doctor. Why do you do that? You have a name. I’ve seen it. In one tiny corner of that tiny book’.

It is a very scary episode but luckily when I was in the library there was no sign of a Time Zombie. It was a very quiet and safe place full of beautiful old books. Unfortunately I couldn’t see the Encyclopedia Gallifreya!

The library is very grand and the bookcases are decorated with animals of all sorts. There was daylight coming through the window, unlike when Clara was there, and the ceiling was not infinite – good ol’ computer graphics! The Doctor's bookcase

You can get married at the Castle and have your reception in the library – how cool would it be to have your wedding in a room of the TARDIS????? Picturesque carvings

I will tell you about other locations within Cardiff Castle soon in another post.

In other news – this Friday I found a copy of the 285th issue of Doctor Who Adventures magazine- complete with Amazing Doctor Dress Up Set.  Dress Up Sets are cool!  The set contained a TARDIS key, sonic screwdriver, bow tie and psychic paper. I was inspired and used them to dress up as a different Doctor ( I think you already know which one it is!) . I copied the outfit the Doctor wore for Journey to the Centre of the TARDIS but I wish I had put a Big Friendly Button mark on my hand – maybe next time. I hope you like the pictures!

Until next time, Da boch chi!

Doctor Who, New location

Canolfan Mileniwm Cymru / Wales Millennium Centre- February 2014

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In these stones horizons sing

Helo a chroeso yn ôl!

That is hello and welcome back, in Welsh. I am speaking in Welsh because in this post we are travelling back in time a little way to Cardiff in February 2014. The location this time is Wales Millennium Centre or Canolfan Mileniwn Cymru in Welsh. This building is also known as The Armadillo. Above the main entrance are two poetic lines, written by Welsh poet Gwyneth Lewis. The Welsh version is

Creu Gwir fel gwydr o ffwrnais awen

which means “Creating truth like glass from the furnace of inspiration.”

The English is

In These Stones Horizons Sing.

I arrived via the entrance that was used for Vincent and the Doctor (2010). The Doctor, Amy and Vincent Van Gogh were filmed here rocking up to Vincent’s museum exhibition. The inside of the museum was filmed in another location which I will tell you about in another post.

The reception was the filming location for New Earth (2006) and was where the Tenth Doctor and Rose visited New New York Hospital which was run by the cat-nuns the Sisters of Plenitude. This episode was the first of the new episodes to be set on a distant planet (even though it is called new Earth) as all of the Ninth Doctor’s stories were set on or in the orbit of Earth! Luckily I didn’t bump into the cat-nuns as they were arrested by the New New York Police Department.

Next I walked down the stairs that the new Prime Minister Harold Saxon (aka The Master) stood on as he gave his famous speech:

This country has been sick, this country needs healing, this country needs medicine – in fact I’d go so far as to say that, what this country really needs, right now, is a Doctor!

Maybe people thought I was him, only younger! This scene was in the episode The Sound of Drums (2007) in which the Master plans some totally awful plans and the Tenth Doctor, Martha and Captain Jack have to stop him.

I explored all around the centre and visited an art exhibition of the National Eisteddfod Gold Medal winners which  included a mixture of jewellery, ceramics, installation, painting and photography. Finally I shot the breeze with a very chatty centre guide who was really friendly and told me lots of stories about when things have been filmed in the centre, and he said that the people of Cardiff are very proud that Doctor Who is filmed there and like to help and watch. He also said that the guides love to answer questions and not to be shy. I wish I could see them filming Doc Who.

To all my viewers from these different countries so far, thank you for looking – United Kingdom, United States, Sweden, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Ireland, Russian Federation, Egypt, India, France, Belgium, Portugal, South Africa, Japan and Spain! I’m quite surprised about all the different places that people have looked at this blog from. I wish I could be truly international and have a viewer from every country in the world, but not every planet because aliens might not understand my blog! If you are viewing from another planet please do not, I repeat do not, delete my blog. If you are viewing from another country please leave a comment to say hello and tell me where you are from – I would love to hear from you.

Ffarwel!