Travels of a Timelord

I've Moved...

2014-05-28T17:04:00.002+01:00

Don't forget I've moved location and am no longer here...

I can now be found on my (not so) new website. Here's the link: www.matt-holden.com

New Website!

2014-02-03T22:16:00.003+00:00

The Blog is dead long live the blog!

I now have a new website!

As a result this blog will no longer be updated. If you want to follow what I'm up to visit www.matt-holden.com

Enjoy!

New Website Coming Soon!

2013-06-24T13:25:00.001+01:00

Title says it all really, I'm in the process of sorting out an actual website!

As a result this blog will no longer be updated :(

I'm going to copy across all my posts to the new site, but with the exception of the post saying the website is live there will be no new posts on this blog...

Too Small for Superman?

2013-03-23T18:51:00.000+00:00

Here we are again with another random(ish) blog post!

Recently I declared that I planned to do a Clark Kent costume, my reasoning I’m a massive fan of Superman but I’m not built big enough to pull it off…

This then lead on to one of probably the most talked about things in the world of costuming/cosplay: Does it matter?

It’s always been the big question: just because I’m not 6’6 and built like a tank does this mean I should be put off from doing a character?

Should anyone?

It’s probably the most difficult question for anyone who is a costumer. The answer really depends on the person and what element of costuming they enjoy.

For me, I always try to pick characters that suit my look and style. This probably harks back to how I got into costuming (the girl in the pub saying I resembled DT, if you’d forgotten). As a result I’ve always avoided characters that don’t fit my look.

So where does that leave me? Clark Kent fits my look (suit, geek glasses and the iconic S) whereas Superman I’d just not feel right, even if the outfit was padded it just wouldn’t suit me as I consider myself to be just too small.

The same thing is true when I’ve looked at other DC and Marvel outfits (no Batman or Wolverine for me).

But that brings us back to that initial question, and the big picture: For the costume community as a whole, does it matter? The answer is an easy one.

No. No it doesn’t.

The only thing that should matter with costuming is how the individual person wearing it feels about it. If they are happy then that’s all that matters. The point of any hobby is enjoyment after all.

That’s it :)

Birmingham Memorabilia/Expo: SBOC and the Jiffers do Birmingham!

2013-03-18T23:22:00.000+00:00

After failing horribly to have my poets day, Jemma and I eventually get to the Birmingham Airport Travelodge for 9pm.

Captains and the Doc

After checking in we head to the lift and up to the room, we share the lift with two girls who are also at the hotel for the event (whose names I later learn are Milly and Danielle). During the lift ride Danielle made a great comment “have you ever been told you look like the lovechild of Clark Kent and David Tennant?”, my reply “weellllll…”.

With the evening starting well it was time to head back to the bar and go in search of food; this resulted in what shall forever be named “Pizza-gate…” The long and the short of it is that it would have been quicker for me to have my pizza flown on from Italy rather than waiting for the Travelodge to make it… Oh well.

Having bumped into Milly and Danielle again we had a quick chat and talked about the upcoming event. As it turns out it was Danielle’s first event and Milly’s second so I did my best to give an overview of what the Birmingham events are like as well as chatting about what costumes we had planned for the weekend. With that it was time for an early night (I need my beauty sleep!) ready for the fun of Day 1!

Tim and Dan as the Emperor
about life after the Vatican

Before I get to the event I’m once again going to moan about the Travelodge! This time the breakfast is in the firing line, basically it just isn’t very good, in fact parts of it are inedible!! (Listen to ep 8&9 of the Journeys in Fandom Podcast for the story of ‘Ass-Beans’).

Anywho, on to Birmingham Memorabilia/Expo Day 1!

I have to confess I really enjoy the Birmingham events, they are really enjoyable, not too busy and a good assortment of random guests. For this event I didn’t really have a plan (no real change there…) basically I was there to hang out with my mates (Tim, Laura and Jemma) and have a laugh!

Outfits-wise I’d opted for The Doctor on Saturday and as for the Sunday I’d be going as me, well the Podcast presenter version on me (complete with ‘Man-Up, Bat!), Tim had chosen this event to unveil his latest creation, Captain Jack Jack Jack! That’s right, 3 Jacks in one outfit! There was Harkness (Torchwood), Sparrow (Pirates of the Caribbean) and McFarland (Will and Grace), this outfit was genius and watching the reactions was great fun! Laura had also picked this weekend to debut a new outfit, she’d come as Witchblade, I loved the arm she’d done, the amount of work that had gone into it was amazing!!

Lisa Marie, Matt Elliott and the Jiffers

One interesting thing I did notice about this event was there seemed to be a lot of new faces, my reasoning behind this? Well it felt like I had a lot more pictures of me taken than normal, I’m used to a similar level at most events but this one seemed far busier!

As part of our wanderings we bumped into the SBOC News Team. Dan was there as solo reported so we ended up joining forces, the result was the first ever JiF (Journeys in Fandom Podcast) collaboration with SBOC News! The plan, speak to as many people as possible, challenge accepted!

To see the results of the Jiffers team up with SBOC have a look at the videos at the end of this post!

The boys interview Sam Fox

Back to Expo/Mem, one thing I did hear about (but didn’t actually see) were reports of fights and other issues! Personally I had no complaints at all with the event, but one thing where MCM always fall down is queues and organisation! All they need to do is sort out a virtual queuing system and sort out the photo sessions and they would have the potential to rival Showmasters! Come on MCM, you get the same issues at each event, sort it out!!

One of the great things about Mem is that one of my all-time favourite women is normally there, I am of course referring to Kyla Cole! Skip forward to Saturday night and I was once again lucky enough to join Kyla for dinner, the result a very happy Matt!

The second day of Expo is always the quieter of the two, but this was good for the combined JiF and SBOC teams, it meant we’d be able to chat to loads of people on camera and get enough footage to bury Dan under a mountain of editing!

Matt with Tabitha Lyons
(with Tim on hand with the No newspaper)

As mentioned above today was causal day, my outfit “Matt Holden, Podcast Presenter!”, I confess the outfit is also the same as DT wore for his appearance on the Graham Norton show a while back, the result, a number of people asking for my picture as the Doctor, even when I wasn’t (I like to think the ‘Man Up’ bat also helped).

So armed with the ‘Man Up bat’ and accompanied by Tim with the ‘No! Newspaper’ it was time for the Jiffers and Team SBOC to ‘do Birmingham’! We had a great time! Between us we managed to speak to Ian McNeice, Frazer Hines, Sam Fox and of course Kyla Cole. In addition we also managed to talk to loads of cosplayers including the Emperor, Disney princesses, Cowboys and Indians, James Bond (Chris Stone), the Doctor and Amy (Matt Elliott and Lisa Marie), the team from Artyfakes and Journeys in Fandom favourite Tabitha Lyons.

I have to give a special mention to Tabitha for doing a load of great photos with us, it was such fun and the pictures look great so many thanks for that!

So after a manic day of running around and chatting to people the day came to an end. Overall an awesome weekend and I left happy as I’ve now got a my Kyla Cole 2014 calendar!

Wales 2013, Part 4 – Stone Angels and Good Wizards

2013-03-05T17:24:00.000+00:00

So here we are on the final page of this particular Wales trip, as it was our last day the plan was to make it a busy one!

At 9am we arrive at Southerndown beach, it you watch Doctor Who you should know this place, it’s most well known for being Bad Wolf Bay, it’s also been a location in a number of other episodes, basically if the production team needs a beach they go here!

When we arrived the tide was quite a way in, as a result the iconic sand beach was underwater, however the stone parts the ‘Time of Angles’ and ‘Dinosaurs on a Spaceship’ were still accessible so Amy and I had a wander over the rocks, I decided that I wanted to get as close to the water as possible, this almost resulted in me getting very wet and also an impromptu Capt. Jack Sparrow impression…

I confess I love visiting Southerndown, I need to do some proper pictures there when the tide is out, I think that’ll involve me going there quite early in the morning though…

If you do go, check the tide times! If the tide is in there really isn’t much beach left!

Moving on… the next location on our homebound tour was one I’d never been to before. Remember Blink? Well we were off to see the house!

Having arrived and surveyed both the front and rear gates we were slightly disappointed to see it was all locked up, the rear house (where Blink was filmed) is also now hidden under scaffolding and plastic sheeting to stop it being an ‘eyesore’ to the neighbours…

Having scouted the site for a few minutes we spotted a the builder who was working on the main house, going on the principle of ‘if you don’t ask you don’t get’ we asked if we could have a look round. With a smile the chap replied with ‘Are you Doctor Who fans…’ and with that we were in!

The ‘Wester Drumlins’ site is actually two houses; the front house is in the process of being renovated and is almost complete, the rear is derelict. If I remember correctly the front house is lived in by a member of the Welsh Assembly!

The front house has been used for a number of shows including Doctor Who and Sherlock! Remember Irene Adler aka The Woman? You do, well this is where the interior scenes for her house were filmed, one thing I did spot that had me in stitches – a copy of Sherlock Cluedo!

My main objective for the visit was to see where ‘Blink’ had been filmed, however in the end this proved not to be possible. The house was in a poor state when Blink was filmed in 2007, since then it has deteriorated further so is now classed as unsafe.

The doors and windows are heavily boarded up and covered in padlocks. The interior floors have also been taken up and there isn’t much left of the room where the Doctor leaves his message. The message has been painted over and the wallpaper has all been removed.

The exterior of ‘Wester Drumlins’ is also now in a very poor state, the owner has put up scaffolding to shield the building from being an eyesore to the neighbours, however no renovation work is taking place so the site will just continue to decay which is a real shame! If you have a spare £800K you could always buy the site and do it up (you wouldn’t have much change left once you’d finished though…)

So, with our exploration of ‘Blink House’ complete it was time to head to the final destination on our tour, we were off to find the Pandorica! Stonehenge here we come!

Before we get to Stonehenge thought there are some really quality road signs in the area, most of the fields are all military firing ranges which results in ‘Caution Tank Crossing’ signs! I found this hilarious!!

Most people reading this will already have a good idea of what Stonehenge looks like, if you don’t have a look at the pictures from the visit.

If you do get the chance to go make sure you pick up the audio tour, it explains a lot about the site and is an interesting listen. However my reason for recommending it isn’t for the history lesson, it’s for how it tells you where the last stop on the tour is…

“….last number on our tour, you’ll find marker 7 near the Tardis that looks like a sentry box, if you'd like to….”

Tardis!! What?!?! I had to stop the tor and re-listen to make sure I’d heard it correctly, I then looked at Amy who had the same surprised look as I did! When we spotted marker 7 there was no Tardis to be seen, had the Doctor been visiting while the tour was being recorded.

So with that all that was left was to drive the rest of the way home! What a great day it was!!

Back to part 3

Wales 2013, Part 3 – Is There A Dalek On That Sign?

2013-03-04T00:00:00.000+00:00

Ah, Monday we meet again! But this time it’s a holiday Monday!! Woohoo!

Today’s plan was quite simple, wander around Cardiff Bay and visit the new Doctor Who Experience!, I’ve been twice previously when it was in London but, as yet, hadn’t managed to visit the new one in Cardiff.

Cardiff Bay first of all, I’ve been to the Bay a number of times, but I always love to go back as it’s just such a nice place to visit. Amy had never been to the Bay (or the UK for that matter) so I went into tour guide mode and pointed out the various locations that had been used for filming, which is most of the bay!

As with all trips to the bay, it wouldn’t be complete without a trip to the Ianto shrine, which although looking a bit worse for wear, is still there and also still having new items added to it! In addition to the Ianto shrine we also went to Eddie’s Diner, which should be another place that you see on any visit to the Bay. Ice cream at Eddies equals a happy Matt!

Onto the Doctor Who Experience! The first thing I spotted before even getting there was the signs, they have Daleks on! Dalek signs are cool!! As you approach the DW Experience the first thing you see is the Tardis outside, yep definitely the right place!

The interactive element of the DW Experience is unchanged from when I saw it in London, the museum section has been heavily updated with a lot on new props and costumes since the London days.

There was one thing that did take a little getting used to, and that was having the signs in dual language (English and Welsh), the problem this causes is that the signs become quite large, but that’s really my only complaint and lets be serious it’s a tiny one!

My favourite part of the DW Experience is still (and probably always will be) Tens Tardis interior, it’s so nice to be able to walk round the set where David filmed a lot of his scenes while he was the Doctor!

One thing that was also nice is while I was walking round the displays one lady commented on my look recognising me as a Doctor lookalike (it’s the hair!)

To have a read of my first visit to the DW Experience (the London one) click this link!

The rest of our Monday was quite relaxed, it had to be, we had a rather busy Tuesday planned!

On to part 4

Back to part 2

Wales 2013, Part 2 – ‘Who’ Ya Gonna Call?

2013-03-03T23:57:00.000+00:00

It’s Sunday morning and it’s too early, however I’m up and working to once again get my hair to defy gravity for a few hours, so having offered up the correct prayers to the hair gods I’m good to go. Once again Kate was being difficult (she and I will be having words soon…)

Having found the event location and parked up, it was time to spend the day at Cardiff International Comic Expo.

Today saw me dressed as Ten and Amy as River Song (Lets Kill Hitler version). I’ve never done this particular event before so wasn’t sure how busy it would be. It was really good fun and as it’s a smaller event I was able to mess about a bit resulting in a collection of random pictures including some of me trying my hand as a ghost buster…

The great thing about teaming up with the guys and gals from Charity Sci-fi is that no matter what the event it’s always guaranteed to be a fun day, there was the ritual of trying to mess up my hair and me and Matt E (11th Doctor) just messed around as normal, there is no better way to spend an event!

Today we were also joined by Jitan from Monster Photography which did mean there were a lot of really good pictures of the day including a number of out-takes (and yes these are all on my page).

The Sunday evening was spent at my favourite food location, Frankie and Bennys! One day I will order something different, but not today!

With Sunday done, it was time to plan our Wales trip proper!

On to part 3

Back to part 1

Wales 2013, Part 1 – Here We Are Again…

2013-03-02T22:46:00.000+00:00

Everyone knows that Wales is the spiritual home of Doctor Who, so when my friend Amy came to the UK to visit then a pilgrimage was definitely on the cards!

It’s Saturday March 2nd and having picked up Amy from the airport at a horribly early hour it was time to head from London over to where the Welsh come from…

I do have one major issue with driving to South Wales. That issue is the how much it costs to go over the bridge!! £6.20, how much??!! £6.20 really!!

The End of Time - Kardomah Cafe

Anyway… having raged on for a good while about how much the stupid bridge costs we diverted from Cardiff and instead headed up to Swansea, at this point Kate (my faithful Satnav) had the first of her little grumbles of the trip, she refused to acknowledge that Swansea actually existed…

Having resorted to the power of Google to find a postcode we arrived in Port Tennant, Swansea and headed to St. David’s, parked up and set off in search of our lunch destination… The Kardomah Café, better known as the Café from The End of Time.

Following a good lunch (and trying not to giggle at Amy following her first encounter with English food) it was time to head to Cardiff and find our hotel… Kate once again threw her toys out of the pram and wasn’t feeling overly helpful with getting us there… so after a little longer than planned and a phone call to the hotel we eventually found it!

The Impossible Astronaut - Eddies Diner

Our base for the next few days was The Royal Hotel, Cardiff. The hotel itself was gorgeous, the room was really good and not overly expensive, it’s also right in the centre of Cardiff, a bit of a pain for parking, but c’est la vie.

Our first night was spent seeing Cardiff Bay by night, if you get chance give the Bay a look after dark as it is really beautiful, we also ducked into Eddie’s Diner (you know the one from the Impossible Astronaut) for a bite to eat before heading back to the hotel for a relatively early night. The only flaw in this plan was that it was St. David’s Day weekend and the entire of Wales was out on the town… It’s a good thing that I can sleep through anything!

On to part 2

Dining With The Doctor: My Review of the Unofficial Whovian Cookbook…

2013-02-08T21:43:00.000+00:00

I confess, this is new ground for me, I’ve not done many reviews before I’m also not renown for my culinary skills so giving my thoughts on a Doctor Who cookbook is a little out of my comfort zone!.

However, let it never be said that I’m not up for new challenges! As a result when Chris-Rachael Oseland sent me a copy of ‘Dining With The Doctor: The Unofficial Whovian Cookbook’ it was time to don the ‘kiss the cook’ apron and give it a whirl!

The book itself is a colossal 183 pages (in the pdf version I have) and contains a recipe linked to each episode of Doctor Who since it’s return in 2005 all the way up to the 2011 Christmas Special: The Doctor, The Widow and the Wardrobe.

In addition to the episode specific recipes there is also a whole section dedicated to fish fingers and custard, but we’ll look at that later…

So, the recipes then, to make things nice and simple everything is listed in both imperial and metric amounts so whatever weighing system you use you’ll be happy, yay! Another great thing about the book is that the recipes are written like little stories rather than in the more formal way of a standard cook book, here’s a two short examples, both from the first recipe in the book for ‘Nestene Consciousness’ for the episode ‘Rose’:

“You’re back on Earth, more than a little scarred from the Time War, and very much needing some bright, optimistic human company again. You found that, but you also found a Nestene Consciousness. While bright and colorful, it wasn’t so friendly.”

“Start by mixing your wine, citrus and sugar until you have an undrinkable mess. Don’t worry. Once they're well blended, you’re going to dilute the dense concoction by pouring in heavy cream.”

Slitheen Eggs

As you can now tell, this is no ordinary cook book!

When I was flicking through the book, one of the drinks instantly caught my eye, have you guessed which drink it could be? The 10^th Doctor is famous for it and also invented it a little earlier than planned, I am of course referring to ‘The Doctor’s Accidental Banana Daiquiri’…

“Always bring a banana to a party - especially if that party is in 18th century France. If you’re The Doctor, you might use it to accidentally invent a banana daiquiri while partying with the future Madame du Pompadour.”

I confess, I rarely drink, but I do like a good cocktail so I can see me drinking these on a few future (or past) occasions!

Cybermen Heads

The book itself contains a massive selection of things to try; some are based on really simple ideas, ie beans on toast… WHAT! Beans on Toast!?! I don’t think I’ve ever seen that in a recipe book before, then when reading the recipe, it all became clear, as a Brit, beans on toast is part of the staple diet, whereas across the pond it’s a lot less common, here’s what the book says:

“British readers, you’re entirely forgiven for wondering why Americans, known for their love of starchy foods, find beans on toast to be strange, alien, and exotic. For you, beans on toast is a comfort food. For most Americans, it might as well be served with a Slitheen egg.”

Anyway, moving one, the last section of the book is devoted to one thing and one thing only: fish fingers and custard!

Now we all know the ‘classic’ version is literally a few fish fingers and a bowl of custard, job done! However ‘Dining With The Doctor’ goes all out and provides readers with not one but 9 different versions from the real thing to tacos and even a cocktail!

Ood Mezze

So, having read this far you’re now potentially thinking, where can I get a copy of ‘Dining With The Doctor’ then? Well, it’s on Amazon and to save you looking for it, I’ve even included a link! Aren’t I good to you!

Having got to the end of my review, I’ve realised I haven’t actually included much reviewing… So my review: If you are a Doctor Who fan and like having fun in the kitchen then ‘Dining With The Doctor: The Unauthorised Whovian Cookbook’ is well worth a look. Check it out!

What Makes A Great Facebook Page?

2013-01-17T10:21:00.001+00:00

Facebook pages, not the most riveting of topics but one that does need discussion on occasion, I’ve been running my page for two and a half years now so I wanted to share my thoughts on what I think makes a good page, if you run a page yourself this post may be worth a read…

Where to start…

1. Content:

This is the key for any page, it’s all about content! So what should you think about in relation to content:

Be Different:

My view, keep it interesting and try to be a bit different. There are many, many, (many, many, etc) pages on Facebook, if we just look at Doctor Who, there are many hundreds! The downside with so many pages is that there is only a finite amount of information that is available…

The result of this is that a lot of pages can end up with similar content, not great if you’re looking to build up a following…

Try to keep your content unique, find a niche for yourself and use that to develop what you do!

Keep It Varied:

While on the subject of content try to keep it as varied as possible, people quickly get bored of the same thing so make sure you are able to offer a selection of things for people to enjoy.

Quality Not Quantity:

Just because you can post every few minutes doesn’t mean you should… It’s better to post a small number of high quality updates rather than post ‘rubbish’ every couple of moments… People don’t like their news feeds being filled by one page.

I'd also try to avoid massively long status updates, they are far more effective when done as notes, they tend to get seen more as well.

Stay On Topic:

If you’re running a page dedicated to a topic, stick to it. Simples…

2. Make Friends!

Facebook is all about making friends, and so is running a page! If people enjoy interacting with your page they are more likely to use it more and as a result it’ll become more popular.

If people post on your page chat to them and interact, as pages get larger this isn’t always possible but try to as much as possible, this is social networking after all!

It’s also good to make friends with other pages; you then end up with a community see previous line about this being social networking.

3. Share And Share Alike…

If you see something cool on another page then share it (it’s why the share button was invented…) don’t steal it and post it as your own, that’s just poor form…

If you share content of pages you like the chances are they will do the same for you! (See ‘make friends’!)

4. Credit Where Credit Is Due…

If you find something cool on the internet and post it on your page, say where you got it from (this isn’t always possible I know!)

5. No Drama!

This is a big one, especially in the Who community… Not everyone will get along, accept it and move on.

Don’t use your page to attack other pages or individual people, end of.

6. Don’t Feed The Trolls…

This links in to ‘No Drama’, sometimes the creatures from under the bridge will stumble across your page and try to cause chaos. If this happens delete the rubbish and move on…

Do not pick fights with them! Also don’t post ‘show me you love me’ style statuses…

7. Don’t Beg For Promo…

One thing that winds me up is pages posting on my page with just the words ‘promo for promo’, to me it just shows a hint of desperation or a lack of respect, I don’t do it.

If you want people/pages to like yours then stick to the rules above, if you run a quality page people will like and share you for that reason.

If you’d like another page you follow do help you out and share something then talk to them and ask via messages with the admins of the page, chat to people and make friends!

8. Don’t spam

Title says it all really!

9. Don't be Obsessed with Numbers…

It's always great to have likes and to have a successful page but don't get caught up with the numbers, if you loose a like it's not the end of the world, it's great to have a goal of how many followers you want but don't make it your focus.

10. Never claim to be the best…

Have a page because you enjoy it, always strive to do the best you can do, but don't make it a competition with other pages, it won't win you any friends. If you claim to be the best at something you only have one place to go and that's downhill...

That’s it, my view on pages, I use the above when running my page, it might work for yours too!

New Year’s Resolutions!

2013-01-06T22:31:00.001+00:00

Normally I avoid New Year’s Resolutions like the plague, and if I ever do make any I never make them public, but hey, there’s a first time for everything!

Here goes:

To thine own self be true!
Be less attached to my iPhone!
Be more open with people (that’ll be easier said than done!)
Keep clear of drama!
Finish projects that I start!
Get back to the Gym!

I was just going to put, Be Batman, but I need to secure the funding first!

Short but sweet I know but I think I can keep to these! (Well hopefully…)

The Costume Cupboard – Sao Til, The Blue Guy...

2012-11-01T20:53:00.001+00:00

Recently I had an idea (dangerous I know), I decided I wanted to try my hand at doing a new outfit, not just any outfit, I wanted to bring back Sao Til!

The Sao Til reference picture :)

For those that don’t know Sao Til was the brainchild of my good friend Tim and was the winning entry in John Barrowman’s Tonight’s the Night ‘Search for an Alien Superstar Competition’ in 2009.

So with the idea in my head I text Laura (Tim’s wife) to share my plan! Her reply ‘have you told Tim yet?’, I hadn’t so between us the secret costume plan was hatched, the objective to see the look on Tim’s face when Sao Til made an appearance.

Originally I was looking at November Memorabilia to get the costume completed by, this would give me loads of time. To help me with the costume Laura sent me an email detailing all the bits I would need, the toughest part was going to definitely be the arm.

Armed with the list of parts I dragged Jemma round the Ipswich shops in search of a variety of different bits, unfortunately Ipswich let me down so I had to raid eBay for the majority of the parts!

So head to toe, here’s what we have:

Head: Pinstriped Hat, Claire’s Accessories

Head: Blue tights, eBay

Head: Purple floral tights, eBay

Head: Chicken fillets, eBay!

Body: Black shirt, already had one

Body: Navy Tie, already had one

Body: Black Overcoat, already had one

Hands: 80’s pink wrist warmer thing, Claire’s Accessories

Hands: Blue Body Paint, eBay

Waist: Superman Belt – It’s not part of the outfit but I love my Superman belt

Legs: Black (Grey) Jeans, eBay

Boots: Black Cowboy Boots, eBay

Having managed to source the parts sooner than planned the outfit was brought forward to me ready for Expo instead.

The actual Sao Til arm - Tim's one

The Neural Probe (Arm):

As I mentioned earlier this was the first time I’d put an outfit together from scratch, it was also my first ever attempt at building a prop! Luckily I’m a wargamer so I’m used to building things out of random bits of ‘gubbins’, Laura had sent me a few pictures of the original arm, I’d also seen the real one so I knew what I was trying to get to...

Unfortunately I didn’t have access to the BBC props department to give my Neural Probe a few tweaks so I decided to do my own take on it, similar in style but also different.

I wanted to keep the same feel with the large metal base plate (although mine would be wood painted to look like metal) and the prongs and lights.

My version of the Neural Probe (with lights)

The base plate is 2 layers of 3mm hardboard with a layer of 1mm plasticard on top, added to this were two sets of expanding bolts (yep these things are designed to attach tv’s to walls). Holes were then drilled to fit the lights into and washers stuck in place to add detail.

The whole thing was then painted silver before being bolted to the arm. The arm itself is a wine cooler with the inside sprayed blue; I also wedged a small paint roller inside to give me something to hold. To stop the end section moving too much there are 4 dowels to keep the plate balanced.

Overall the outfit didn’t take too long to put together and I’m really proud of how the finished product looks.

Having worn it and looked back on the reference pictures I can see a few mistakes I’ve made, ie the chicken fillets being at the wrong angle. I’ve also learned what a nightmare body paint is!

Sao Til will make another appearance in the future I’m sure! For the full album of build pictures face a look at my page.

And the best bit, Tim was really impressed!

The finished Sao Til

The List / Freebie Five...

2012-10-15T22:58:00.000+01:00

What seems like a lifetime ago now my friends and I were talking about our ‘lists’.

For those thinking, ‘Matt, what are you on about’, the concept of the list was made famous by the Friends episode: ‘The One with Frank Jr.’ Where you and your partner both list five celebrities that you can have your wicked way with should the opportunity arise and the other person can’t get mad. My version is slightly different I opt for 'the run away with if they asked me' option.

While recording episode two of Journeys in Fandom we end up going a bit (lot!) off topic and get onto the subject of lists, when you hear it it’ll make sense! (It'll also put this blog post in context!)

So anyway, the list, my ‘freebie five’... Here’s my first problem, picking 5, I never really managed it so I had to add some ‘bonus slots’, more on those later.

The other thing about the list is that it should be a purely fantasy and fun thing, it was never designed for you to meet the people on the list... As you may notice, I’m not good at this!

So then, in no particular order, the list!

Velvet Sky

Velvet Sky, American women’s wrestler formerly with TNA. I had the pleasure of meeting her in January the day after seeing TNA live, I’m glad I did, if not I may have missed my chance!

Kyla Cole

Anyone who has known me for more than 5 minutes will know my view on Kyla Cole, one of my favourite women of all time. If ever she's at an event over here I always make sure I say Hi!

Nicola Bryant

Nic in the 80's she's still just as gorgeous now

Ah Peri, my favourite companion from Doctor Who. She may have been a companion back in the 80’s but she’s still as gorgeous now as she was then. Nicola is truly lovely.

Sophia Myles

A new entry to my list, this slot was previously occupied by Georgia Moffett, but after meeting Sophia she was just awesome. I'm still gutted that I never manage to see the second half of Utopia!

Miranda Raison

Another new addition, originally Holly McGuire had this slot but after meeting Miranda at Greatest Show in May ’12 I was smitten. Holly is lovely but Miranda wins it.

Bonus Slot – My First Love, Gillian Anderson

This was a bone of contention when originally announced, however Tim approved it so I’m allowing it. Plus you first love never changes, mine was Gillian Anderson.

Ten Plus? – Redux

2012-10-15T20:30:00.000+01:00

Yesterdays post got some interesting reactions. Some thought it was deep thinking, others a goodbye and others just weren’t sure what to make of it...

Me :)

Well... Don’t panic! I’m not going anywhere (see you can breathe again now). What it was is me looking back over what I’ve done and how much of an influence the man in the pin stripe suit has had.

What I want to do now is move forward from this point, what that does mean is expanding what I do, which will probably result in Ten taking a bit of a back seat for a little while, after all I can’t be me if I’m standing behind a Ten shaped shield.

Allons-y!!

Ten Plus?

2012-10-14T20:59:00.000+01:00

How I'm best known. The Doctor

Recently I’ve been putting together a bucket list and it’s got me thinking (dangerous I know). My main thought is what do I want to be known for...

I’ve mentioned before that the Facebook page first launched back in 2010 I envisaged only ever getting a few likes, almost two and a half years later the page has over three thousand three hundred which is totally mad, I’m just me after all!

Back when I first started all I ever did was a few pictures and hang out at events, which while being good fun had a danger of becoming very ‘samey’ within a short space of time. As a result, in October 2010 I did my first event write up which added to what I do...

Scarecrow

Scroll forward 6 months and my Blog was launched, by this point I found that I was becoming quite well known on the convention circuit, which again was something I never thought would happen!

Then in the August of that year I did my first ever non Doctor costume, Paint covered Benedick made his first appearance at Collectormania Glasgow.

By this point in the post you’re probably thinking “Matt, where are you going with this...” Well, bear with me, I think there is a point to this somewhere!

So moving on, November 2011 saw another new costume, this time totally non-Who related be debuted, Scarecrow, from DC’s Batman an Arkham Inmate version. This was also my first ever group cosplay and it went down well.

Now, to the point of this post (I can hear the sigh of relief from the readers), February this year I got to thinking do I want to hang up the suit for the last time? I’d always said to myself that if the enjoyment wasn’t there then I’s call it a day...

Benedick - Party Version

Luckily for all of you a few charity events in quick succession re-ignited my passion for events (yay!) A couple of months later my maddest costume to date, Party Benedick, was unleashed on an unsuspecting London Film and Comic Con (thank you Liz and the DT Forum for helping to put the outfit together).

At the same time I also got involved with an audio version of the fan novels Tempus Temporis by Lady Soliloque and most recently I guest stared as an alien in an episode of Dogtor Who and my friend Tim and I launched our Podcast ‘Journeys in Fandom’.

What all this has made me realise is that I’ve evolved to now be much more than a guy in a pin stripe suit with a gravity defying fringe, but it does bring me back to good old Ten, without him I wouldn’t be who I am today, but I keep thinking do I use him too much, does he need a bit of time off?

I think for me I’ve got to the stage where I want to broaden my horizons and do more. One of the first things I hope to is remove the ‘10th Doctor Extraordinaire’ part of my page name. I’ve got to the stage where people are beginning to know me as me so the Doctor part is now no longer needed.

Journeys in Fandom

I’ve really enjoying both the audio and the podcast and would love to do more along those lines. For me I’d also love to give acting a try (although currently I lack the confidence). I’d love to do stage interviews with guests and next year when I return to the US I’m hoping to do a fan panel or two.

As for Ten, I’ve come to think of him as an old friend, I think going forward he’ll probably appear a little less often but will always be a part of me, let’s face it without him you’d never have heard of me!

One little extra thing I do want to say is thank you. Thank you to all the friends I've made and people I've met. I would name names but I'd be here too long and to be honest I think they know who they are.

It really has been a pleasure.

Time and Tide...

Following this post I did an addition, read it here

We Have A Podcast Now, Podcasts Are Cool...

2012-10-08T20:51:00.000+01:00

If you follow my Facebook Page or Twitter account you'll probably have noticed that I've launched a new project with with my good friend Tim, we have a Podcast called 'Journeys in Fandom'!

No Matt! Don't make me use the paper!

Episode 1 was released on Sunday (October 7th), with the following synopsis:

"In the first ever episode Tim and Matt introduce themselves and explain just what is Journeys in Fandom. In the main feature of this episode the guys discuss and give a review of the first half of series 7 of Doctor Who. But there is still time for Tim to try an describe wargaming and fail, Matt to insult an entire country and the guys to come up with the best review sound bite for a Doctor Who episode ever."

As you can see not a bad effort for an hours worth of chatting!

If you've not yet given the Podcast a listen you can here it here!

Don't forget to give our facebook page a like as well :)

A Pen, A Piece Of Paper And A Bucket...

2012-10-01T19:40:00.000+01:00

You’ve all heard of a bucket list right? You know, a list of things you want to do before you’re no longer able to...

Well, recently I was thinking, perhaps I should write one for myself? 100 personal objectives to achieve, but the question is what?

So this is my question, which 100 things should I aim to achieve?

Now this is where my list writing fell flat... What do I want to do and where do I want to get to? So readers, help me out, have you got a bucket list? If so what sort of things are on it and how did you go about putting it together?

Ideally by the end of October I want to have put my personal list together, I’m already thinking of splitting it between different categories, i.e. person and professional.

So, help me out, give me some suggestions and a list will be the result, than all that’s left to do is tick each item off!

Since initially posting about the 'bucket list' I've been sent a link by my friend Leanne with a guide on how to write one, I'll have to give it a read and begin! Here the link!

Should I Have A Cosplay Page?

2012-09-18T23:41:00.000+01:00

Recently I’ve noticed loads of new pages popping up for cosplayers, now before I go any further I can already hear you all shouting ‘Matt, you hypocrite, you have a cosplay page yourself’, yes, yes I do, but give me a moment...

Anyway cosplay pages, I have no objection, in fact if people want to have one I’d actively encourage it, however... before you run to Facebook to set up your page stop and think for a moment, why am I setting one up?

Good ol' Facebook

Reasons to have a page:

You want to have a public profile that anyone can see – This is why I ended up with a page, I didn’t actually set my page up, it was done by my girlfriend at the time following on from an off the cuff comment of ‘I keep getting friend requests, I should have a fan page!’. Anyway, my plan way to have a profile that I could share all my Doctor Who related things on without it taking over my profile, not all my friends have the same interests as me so I’d feel bad spamming them with one topic, plus it also meant that I could keep my private profile, well, private, I’m not interested in how many friends I have on FB, I’d rather have 10 that are my best mates than have 1,000 that I don’t know because let’s face it who really wants to look at my random photo’s from years back?
You’re a professional – Says it all really, if you’re a professional cosplayer (Jessica Nigri springs to mind) then a page makes perfect sense
It’s part of an integrated social media strategy – If you’ve already got websites etc then a FB page makes sense.

Reason not to have a page:

Everyone else has one – says it all really...
It’s an ego trip – A page should have a purpose not just be a boost for your ego, no really!
Why not? – Sigh...

It's not just Doctor Who and more...

Page names...

One thing I wish I could change is the name of my page, when it first started Matt Holden 10^th Doctor Extraordinaire was fine (I thought I was only going to get about 20 likes anyway), but two plus years down the line it’s grown and is more than just Doctor Who, it’s a mix of lots of things, plus I think the word Extraordinaire is a bit much...

If you’re going to call yourself a lookalike please make sure you actually are... And when I say ‘are’ I mean really are. People in the past have said ‘but you don’t look like him’ however having done paid work to portray that character I feel I’ve earned the right to use the word lookalike if I feel the need...

Final thing on page names, what is it with everyone referring to themselves as ‘unofficial’? I’ve never heard of an official cosplayer? Just call yourself a cosplayer, cos that’s what you are...

Content...

If you have a page it’s up to you what you put on there, all I would say is keep it fun and keep it interesting. If you do then people will like you and take an interest in what you do, let’s face it if you have a page you want people to look at it and like it because who really wants a page with 20 likes that are all fb friends?

Anyway that’s enough of me talking about pages, normal service will now resume...

Lords of Time – Tea, So How Should It Be Made...

2012-09-09T15:30:00.000+01:00

Yes, this is a blog post about how to correctly make a cup of tea!

How to make tea?!?

Over the course of the Lords of Time weekend a large amount of tea was consumed, especially by me, now the age old question is, how should it be made? Milk first (the correct way!) or milk in second?

This debate raged most of the weekend, the girls from the DT Forum, DavidTennant.com and I locked in stalemate as to who was correct, only one man could sort this, I am of course referring to Mr David Tennant.

During the DT guest talk, the question was asked, so how should tea be made? We all expected a quick reply, what we got was probably the most detailed description of how to make tea I’ve ever heard!

The reply went a little something like this...

“Well, erm. Start off with putting a tea bag into a cup, half of you will already have written off my answer because I’m not using a pot! Anyway put a bag in a cup doesn’t really matter what type.

Then add boiling water and let masting take place, yes that’s a technical term! The tea should be left until it’s got a good colour, something like a dark beige.

At which point the milk should be added, commonly known as a splotch”

DT had sided with the milk second contingent (which thoroughly depressed me) however, he did redeem himself by not classing fruit teas or similar as tea (Rosehip, for example, if it’s not got caffeine in then it isn’t tea...)

As an avid tea drinker it was a shame to see that even my favourite Time Lord makes tea the wrong way... Oh well!

Lords of Time - To Benedick Or Not To Benedick...

2012-09-08T18:00:00.000+01:00

David Tennant as a guest at a convention, that’s a no brainer I hear you say! Well, yes normally it would be, but with me flying back from 5 days at Dragon*Con only a couple of days before hand I wasn’t overly sure what sort of state I was going to be in...

So, I arrived back in the UK on Tuesday morning with only about 30% of my voice and not feeling anywhere near 100%... by Friday I was feeling more with it and could actually maintain a conversation without my voice failing, as such Friday lunchtime I decided, why not, may as well go to Lords of Time, hey it’d be rude not too...

Getting to the Hilton around 7pm Liz and I picked up tickets on the door. What did surprise me was what number tickets we ended up with, I was Gold 54 (out of a max of 150) I had a feeling this could be a very quiet event...

Having settled in and looking more like the version of me that everyone knows (when I arrived I was unshaven, wearing work gear and sporting very fluffy hair...) it was time to give the party a look. I’ve never been a great party fan so soon called it a night and hung out in the bar instead.

It was in the bar I bumped into the admin team from the DT Forum, some of which I’d met previously at EMS last year, so with that my evening was sorted, gossiping and drinking tea. Tea would be a theme of the weekend but that’s a story for later...

Having stayed up a little late on Friday night I was a bit groggy on Saturday morning, luckily Saturday was quite a quiet day as DT wasn’t going to be there until the Sunday.

The main guest on the Saturday was Frazer Hines who was on good form as always, he was especially funny during his guest talk where he regaled the delighted audience with comedy stories from his time working with Pat Troughton. Frazer does a great talk, if you get chance to listen to him I’d highly recommend it.

When I'm older I'll be River Song...

In addition to Frazer, the Saturday also included Nina Toussaint-White (Mels), Mark Benton (Clive Finch, from Rose in 2005), Shaun Dingwall (Pete Tyler), none of whom I'd met before so it was good to chat to them all as well as get their autograph and a picture with them.

As part of the conversations during Saturday the question of what to wear while meeting DT was raised. If you’ve read my EMS blog you’ll know that I normally agonise over this question, this time I’d decided to meet him dressed as the Doc, well, that was until the DT Forum threw me a curve ball and pitched the idea of ‘Party Benedick’...

Could I really meet DT while wearing a mini skirt? Well, I’d met him covered in paint so what the hell...

With an additional photo shoot ticket picked up I was fully prepared for the Sunday, all that was left to do was pick up the Party Benedick kit, nothing like a quick 5hr drive...

Those Two Awkward Questions...

2012-06-20T22:39:00.000+01:00

Bit of a random one this but hopefully one you’ll find interesting to read...

In my years dressing as the Tenth Doctor there are always two questions that come up, well, I say questions, it’s more one question and one statement, can you guess what they are?

Think about it and it’s obvious...

The awkward question: So, who’s the best (Ten)?

I hate this question, as it really serves no real purpose.

Awkward Balloon...

There is only one true answer to it as well. The best tenth Doctor out there is Tennant himself, everyone else is an imitation of that, each one looks different and some are closer to ‘the look’ than others are.

Personally, I think I carry the look quite well, but I have no interest in comparing myself to others or entering competitions to prove anything. To me the whole this is personal, am I happy doing what I do and could I improve anything myself.

I really dislike competitiveness, it just bores me. If you’ve got nothing better to do than pick holes in someone else’s work then you should probably have a long hard look at yourself...

So the next time you feel like asking the question or are thinking on writing it in a comment, stop. Then just don’t.

The awkward statement: But you don’t look like him...

This one really is down to people’s opinion, and it is their opinion to have. Some people think I look like DT, others don’t.

When I see the two of us side by side I can spot the resemblances (ie eyes, face shape) but at the same time I can see the differences (ie chin). However, it actually doesn’t matter if you’re not a carbon copy as long as you look right.

With most look-a-likes it can be as simpler thing as what angle you are facing, I know with me I look a lot more like DT at some angles than I do at others.

I would never say that I was a spitting image, but I think I do ok

Most of the time I find the awkward question/statement are just used by people who are trying to get a rise out of you or are trying to inflate their own ego...

Sorry, not interested.

The Crash of the Elysium

2012-06-14T23:42:00.002+01:00

It’s June 15^th and a new exhibit has opened in Ipswich to commemorate the Elysium. A ship launched from our very own docks by Princes Helen and that was lost in 1888 after 50+ voyages.

The exhibit itself has a few remains from the ship and a number of photographs from the time, it’s quite dry but informative, that is until the military burst in...

There has been an incident and they need our help!

Photo from the Crash facebook page

What I don’t want to do with this review is give too much away; I personally detest spoilers so it wouldn’t be right for me to spoil the plot.

The Crash of the Elysium is a live action interactive theater production, where you become part of the cast. The production is brilliantly done; it cleverly moves you from one location to the other with different encounters along the way.

The fact pace and closeness of the surroundings really immerse you in what is happening, you don’t have time to stop and think it’s always on the go. It really is a treat!

I was lucky enough to be able to attend the dress rehearsal with my friend Jemma, there were a number of occasions during the adventure where she did cling to my hand and understandably so, the production is designed to cause a good level of fear as you have no idea what you will encounter next in the dark...

The production is a collaboration between Punchdrunk and the BBC’s Doctor Who. The precise details of the show, which is scripted by Tom MacRae, are a closely guarded secret, beyond an ominous reminder.... Don’t Blink

The production appeals both to families and schools as well as old timers like me, which is a testament its quality. I’m actually attending the Crash for a second time on Tuesday for one of the ‘after dark’ shows, I really can’t wait!

If you are going to watch the Crash of the Elysium then you’re in for a treat, if you’re not then you really are missing out!

The Greatest Show In The Galaxy – The Fanboy Who Waited...

2012-05-13T20:00:00.000+01:00

If you’ve read the first part of my GSITG blog you probably noticed it was a bit more formal than you’re used to, well this second part is going to focus purely on the guests and what I got up to, hope you like it!

Jeri Ryan

Me with Jeri Ryan

When Jeri was announced by Showmasters I must confess I was a little excited as she is a rare guest in the UK, to my knowledge she’s only been over once before. To my complete surprise she was then announced by GSITG on the same evening! Woohoo, two bites at the cheery so to speak!

As I knew Jeri was going to be busy I made sure she was the first guest I went to see at GSITG. She really was lovely! Really chatty and came across as really fan friendly, I expected her just to sign my 7of9 picture but instead it was personalised and even had a dedication “Resistance is.... Well, you know”.

7 of 9

When it came time for her photo shoot I was once again unsure what to expect, myself and Rob “Mr Photo Shoot” Sterry were having great discussions as to is she’d be seated or standing , personally I was more interested in if she’d be a huggy guest...

When I got close enough to the front of the photo queue I decided that I’d go for the hug, let’s face it, if you don’t ask you’ll never get and at the end of the day the worst they can say is no J

So, having steeled my resolve I strode up to Jeri and asked if it would be ok for a huggy photo, ‘a huggy one’ she replied, I could see her thinking it over, ‘yeah sure, why not’.

So one huggy photo later and I was a very happy man.

What I didn’t realise until later was that Jeri’s security were not as laid back about my hug request as she was. Rob told me once I was out that they’d gone really twitchy, I was also told that others that had asked for hugs later in the day hadn’t got them. Hearing that made me extra glad I’d got my photo!

Miranda Raison

Thank you for the cuddle

I’ve always had a soft spot for Miranda (if you’re not sure who she is, she was Jo Portman in Spooks as well as Tallulah in Doctor Who), she has been at an event that I was at before but for some reason I never got round to meeting her, so this was my chance!

I went for my photo shoot first. I’d always though she was attractive but in person Miranda was truly stunning!

Once again I went for a ‘huggy’ photo, she gave me a massive cuddle and the photo turned out really well.

There were only about 3 of us in the queue so as we were collecting our picture Miranda walked out, as she went past she grinned at me and stroked my arm, I must confess I kinda melted!

Once I’d had my photo my next job was to get her autograph, she was really nice to chat to and like my look and outfit. While she was signing my 8by10 I showed her my photo shoot picture which she really liked, in fact she even signed it for me with the lovely dedication ‘thank you for the cuddle’.

I went back and saw Miranda later on in the day, she was saying that she loved the snake that was on one of the stands and was going to have to go and get a picture with it when she was on lunch. I was very (and I mean very) tempted to ask her for a drink on the Saturday evening but resisted at the last moment.

On the Sunday Miranda was at the event again, my willpower failed me so I ended up getting a second photo with her, as I may have mentioned before I think she’s lovely!

Keeley Hawes

Bolly and the Doc

When GSITG started announcing stars from Ashes to Ashes I was hoping that they would manage to get Keeley to attend, so when the announcement came I was once again a very happy bunny (although my bank balance was having palpitations, too many epic guests!!)

When walking up to Keeley’s table she beamed at me (when I went up she had no queue, which was a surprise!).

She loved my outfit and said to me that she felt like she should be asking for my autograph, Montserrat was sat next to her so I ended up chatting to the both of them, this completely put me off my train of thought and all the things that I’d planned to say went out of my head!

One more than one occasion in my life when getting something signed there is one comment that comes up time and time again “you’re name’s Matt, but, you look like David!”, Keeley was the latest celeb to make this exact comment which made me smile.

She was really great to meet!

Sunday afternoon saw me have my photo shoot with her, by this point Rob had decided that he couldn’t take anymore and he would be going ahead of me in all photos, he just could watch me hug anyone else, at least by going first he didn’t have to watch (although he did make the mistake of glancing back on a couple of occasions).

So after Rob’s picture it was time for me to get mine, Keeley was really nice and happily did huggy photo. Watching Keeley prior to my getting my photo had made me smile, as she is tall and was wearing heels she was doing all sorts of random poses to make herself the right height when posing with people.

Fab guest and I hope to see her again at future events!

Montserrat Lombard

For those that don’t know Mon played Shaz in Ashes to Ashes (she also starred in St. Trinians 2 alongside David Tennant).

Mon was lovely and really sweet, she like my outfit and even made reference to it in her dedication on my picture.

Mon was having a really good time at the event and liked the fact that the majority of the Ashes to Ashes cast had all been brought together again.

For my photo with Montserrat I’d once again gone for my default hug, I love the picture with her and think it turned out really well.

John Barrowman

Ah, the Barrowman. What a legend!

I’ve actually met JB once before, back in November 2009 at Collectormania London. He was the first celeb I ever had a photo shoot with, unfortunately back then I wasn’t prepared so in the picture I looked like a rag doll!

This time though things would be different, I would be ready and get a decent picture!

JB had been his normal flamboyant self all weekend. He was great in the Torchwood talk on the Saturday, to the surprise of the audience he took on the roll of roving mic, which I was sure would result in at least one fangirl/boy exploding from over excitement by the end of it!

I’d decided to go for a picture with JB on the Sunday (I’d planned my days so I had four pictures each day).

The Barrowman!

When it came time for my picture, I asked if I could have a huggy one and John happily obliged, when the photo had been taken however JB didn’t let go, instead he turned to the rest of the queue still hugging me and exclaimed ‘I’m never letting go of my Doctor!’

When I went up for my autograph from him I was only a couple of people behind my friends Tim and Laura, it was highly amusing listening in to their ‘chicken fillet’ story (and before you ask, no, I’m not going to reprise it here...)

Gotta love JB!

Philip Glenister

Gene Genie and the Doctor

Ah, the Guv, the Gene Genie! Phil was another guest I’d been waiting to meet, he’d been announced for Collectormania in 2010 but had to cancel due to filming commitments, as such when he was announced for GSITG I was rather pleased as it would give ma another chance to see him.

Phil did not disappoint, he was great and good to chat to and was of the guests that made the David/Matt name comment while signing my picture.. For the photo I decided that a hug photo would not be appropriate, so instead went for the classic side by side pose.

I was really happy with how the photo turned out as Phil has very much the look of the Guv about him.

I miss Ashes to Ashes!!

Sophia Myles

The Girl in the Fireplace

Sophia Myles, the girl in the fireplace, Madame De Pompadour and the guest I’d been most waiting to meet. Sophia was another guest that I’d previously missed when she’d had to cancel attending Bad Wolf in June 2010 due to filming for Spooks.

Sophia played my favourite character in New Who in one of my favourite episodes of Doctor Who and ever since I started doing conventions she has been on my must meet list.

It was an odd feeling being in the queue to see her and feeling slightly nervous, it’s been a while since I’ve felt that way! When I was a couple of people away from the front she clocked me standing there and blurted out “Bloody hell! I never thought I’d see you again!”

When I got to the front she smiled at me and we chatted, she loved the outfit and my look in general and was very complimentary. When she went to sign my picture she looked at me and, with a slightly puzzled expression on her face, said ‘sorry, I’ve just completely forgotten my own name’. I’ve never had that happen before!

Me and Sophia :)

When I was time for the photo shoot I went for my standard huggy picture. When I said to Sophia about a hug photo she wondered how the camera would see our faces (she was thinking proper hug) and then the penny dropped and she joked it was like a prom picture.

The picture turned out really well and I was more than happy with it (it was worth the 2 years of waiting!).

I decided to go back later in the afternoon when she was quiet and get the picture of us signed. When I walked up to her desk we exchanged bemused looks as the chap who was there just before me had lent in for an ‘air kiss’ which she wasn’t really expecting!

We had another chat and she asked if there was any rivalry between the guys that dress as the Doctor, she also asked if I knew many of them as some of them were in her words ‘a bit much’.

Towards the end of the day I was chatting to some of my friends near to Sophia’s desk and we noticed her chatting to her assistant and comparing Doctors. I caught her eye and winked at her and she mouthed ‘you’re my favourite’. At which point I walked (floated) over to her and had a final hug with her.

That moment was the icing on the awesome cake that was the weekend and also puts Sophia as one of the best and nicest guests I’ve ever met.

The Greatest Show In The Galaxy – Well Was It?

2012-05-12T22:12:00.000+01:00

We all know that claiming to be the best is always problematic... If you’re at the top the only place you can go is down, so when an event is called ‘The Greatest Show In The Galaxy’ (GSITG) it sets itself a pretty mammoth task...

GSITG was organised by a new events company called Treble Ace Events, and as their first show it first came on my radar when they announced a number of Star Trek guests (it also helped that the event was due to take place relatively locally to me in Peterborough).

After the initial guest announcements I gave the event website the occasional glance, slowly but surely more and more guests appeared... Before long there was a massive line up including some big and rare names! I have no idea how the Treble Ace team managed to secure all the guests but it really was an impressive list!

So, a week prior to the event I bit the bullet and order myself a ‘Fast Track’ pass and write out up my ‘must meet list’.

Even though Peterborough is local to me I still traveled down the night before (called me old but I just like a lay in!)

I arrived at the East of England Showground at about 8.15am, the tweet I received from GSITG said that my Fast Pass would be available to collect from 8am, unfortunately when I got there the gates were closed and a large queue was beginning to form...

8.30am came and the gates still weren’t open, by this point the other Fast Track holders were looking about trying to stop a crew member as the website stated entry began from 8.30am... At the end of the day it's a new event so a slight delay can be forgiven.

It's a queue...

So here goes, my review:

Queues & Tickets:

First major glitch happened when I went to collect my pass, it hadn’t been printed! Disaster!! I spoke to Mark the event organiser, was given a wristband and told not to worry and if I had any problems to get the crew to contact him...

As soon as I was in I headed straight to the autograph and photo shoot ticket area. I had my list of 8 guests and ordered all my tickets. The intention was for all tickets to be purchased from this area to avoid the crew in the venue needing to worry about handling cash. This, while a good idea in theory, failed terribly as the issuing of tickets took too long and there were not enough ticket machines.

I’m so glad I was one of the first people in as I was able to avoid the queue, and a queue there was!! By 10.30am the ticket system had been partially abandoned and people were told they could also pay the guest assistants as well as the photo areas (although this did take a while to be fully communicated...). The reason for the change was that the ticket area just couldn’t cope and it became a massive bottleneck...

The main snag with people being able to purchase autographs at guest tables was that the buy 3 autographs get one free scheme ceased...

Me with Miranda Raison

On the Sunday there was a fault with the phone lines so card payments couldn’t be taken which was also a bit of an issue, but there were plenty of cash points on site so it wasn’t the end of the world.

Photo shoots:

Over the weekend I’d booked myself 8 photo shoots, 4 on each day, with a good amount of time between each one. What I was intrigued by was how the shoots were going to work, one the GSITG Facebook page it had been announced that as you left your shoot you would be handed your picture as well as being given a code to download an online version... This, to be blunt, I would believe when I saw it!

To my complete surprise, the show did exactly what it promised. You walked in, had your picture, were given a receipt with a code and as you walked out were given your picture in a presentation folder. I was impressed! Very impressed!

However... I do have one minor niggle, when I’ve been to other events the picture that is taken is double checked to ensure it’s perfect, if it’s not 100% it is retaken, the picture itself is then tweaked to ensure it’s not washed out and the colours are good.

Gene Genie and the Doc - Me with Philip Glenister

When the photo is printed straight away there is no chance for this to happen and as a result I felt that one of my pictures was a bit over exposed and my one with Freema is far too zoomed in for my liking. I would also have preferred so pictures to be portrait rather than landscape, but that’s just my preference.

The online version of the pictures was available with two days of the end of the show, which was very impressive considering the number that were taken. The online pictures also looked like they had been tweaked as the colours looked better than the printed versions.

Overall I was really impressed! The only delays came when the paper in the printers had to be refilled, but even then it only slowed things down for a minute or two!

Venue:

The East of England Showground is a really good venue and are used to hosting large events, plenty of parking and easy to access.

The other good thing about the venue is that there are a good number of refreshment stands as well as a restaurant with seating area (although the restaurant was a tad expensive).

One thing I do have to say is there is nothing better than having a cup of tea in a proper cup!! It just tastes better!

What I didn’t expect was that there would be sniffer dogs in the hall, but it did go to show that security was being taken very seriously!

Crew:

The majority of the event crew were old pros (and I know most of them). Some were rather green though and didn’t really know anything or were slightly unhelpful... A great example of this is when one of the crew at a photo shoot area had no idea what a Fast Track pass was...

But overall I couldn’t fault the show crew, they did a sterling job!.

Talks:

The talk area was really well set out there was a central stage with a large sofa for all the guests to sit on, it was also well lit making photos easy to take.

Star Trek talk

An unexpected bonus was that the talks were also streamed live to two screens in the main hall so people who couldn’t get into the talk could still watch it if they wanted.

The only potential grumble was that people could only do one talk a day, but this idea appeared to be scrapped and people were able to see the talks they wanted to.

My only actual grumble was having the Tim Russ band playing at the venue, the band were fine but the noise level made it difficult to talk to people and most of the guests that were sat by the talk area went home early...

Guests:

What can I say, what a line up!!

At last count I believe there were 80ish guests in attendance, the full main cast of Torchwood, majority of Star Trek Voyager, the main Ashes to Ashes cast and a number of stars from Doctor Who to name but a few!

All the guests I met were amazing and it made the weekend into a truly great experience (my guest highlights will follow in part two).

Overall:

Wow, well what can I say...

It was an amazing event with one of the best guest line-ups I’ve ever seen! There were a few glitches that I’ve mentioned above, but all events have them and as a first event from a new company it really has set the bar, not just for them but for everyone else as well! (I spotted a number of other event organisers wandering around taking notes)

Treble Ace are planning a second event in November, I really cannot wait, although I have no clue how they could possibly top what was ‘The Greatest Show in the Galaxy’!