According to the traditions of the planet below, Christmas is a time of celebration.

A Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year !

We thought you might be interested to see this confidential report we have discovered detailing an incident that took place over Lydd Airport on Christmas Eve 1950…..

If living things can become drawings then maybe drawings can become living things.

The Visitors Book at the cottage is always a source of delight - mainly because of all the lovely drawings we get in it !

I thought you might enjoy seeing a selection.

 

 

 

Physician heal thyself

Our Open day at the cottage went very well, it was nice that some of the local people around Lydd who had waked past the cottage and spotted the Tardis finally had a chance to take a proper look !

I enjoyed all the 50th Anniversary programmes, books and audios and they make a nice addition to my late brother's collection.

I was particularly pleased that the Eigth Doctor got to return, however briefly, in the 6 minute prequel to 'The Day of the Doctor' - 'The Night of the Doctor' and he foretold the events of  'The Day of the Doctor' very well - because the Doctor did heal himself !
It gave Paul a chance to show what a great Doctor he could have become.

Of course he had already done that with his performances in the 'Big Finish' audios, but nice to see him 'in the flesh' !

If you enjoyed 'The Night of the Doctor' I strongly recommend purchasing some of the audios to discover his adventures prior to regenerating into 'The War Doctor.

His first one 'Storm Warning' is an excellent introduction to the series, and is in the collection at the cottage if you fancy giving the audios a try. If staying at the cottage at Christmas, I would also highly recommend the Eight Doctor audio story  'The Chimes of Midnight' - a perfect seasonal treat.

All we have to do is open the doors

Not surprisingly, we have had a lot of inquiries from people wishing to book the cottage for the 50th anniversary weekend. We thought, however, that we that it would be better to make the collection as accessible to as many local fans as possible who might like to see it - as a celebration of Doctor Who's 50 years.

Therefore, we have decided to have an Open Day from 10.00 a.m.-4.00 p.m. on Saturday 23rd November.

There is no charge for admission - but we will offer refreshments of a cup of tea or coffee and a seasonal mince pie (well, it will be nearly Christmas!) for £2 to visitors. Any profits will go to one of my late brother's favoured charities.

e-mail me at tony@doctorjohnsmith.co.uk if you would like further details.

My word, it is. It's been a long time.

I can't think of a better 50th Anniversary treat for Doctor fans than the discovery of the two missing Troughton stories 'The Web of Fear' and 'The Enemy of the World'.

Astonishing to think that I was only seven years old when these were first transmitted, and that is 46 years since they were last broadcast !

Patrick Troughton was my Doctor - I was a little to young to really remember the First Doctor that well and found the Third Doctor' a bit too 'establishment' to fire my imagination.

I remember being totally convinced by the underground setting of  The Web of Fear' as too, it would seem, were London Transport - given that the quality of the sets, lighting and photography were so good that they angrily wrote to the BBC demanding to know how they gained access to their tunnels !

Fantastic feeling to see the episodes again - although a little bittersweet, as I know my late brother would have been over the moon about the return of them. Can't help wishing they had been found just a few years earlier.

Buona Fortuna Numero 12

Very pleased with the news that Peter Capaldi is to be the 12th Doctor, he was my favourite choice.

Nice to have a Doctor that is older than me (just) again !

In another one of life's strange coincidences, I notice that his father emigrated to this country from Picinisco in Italy - which is the same place that my mother emigrated from, probably at about the same time for similar reasons, I imagine.

Her maiden name was Ferri, and here is a photo of her and my father (on the right), on their honeymoon, visiting their relatives in the 1950's.

If Peter fancies a practice spin in the Tardis he'll receive a warm Italian welcome at the Cottage!

Who's Who 3

Another contender for the 12th Doctor - Damien Molony.

If they bottle out of going for an older Doctor, I think he could be a good choice. Once again, he is an actor who has pulled off mixing the light with the dark, and is used to taking over a lead role from a departing actor.

Who's Who 2

I notice that the bookies favourite, to replace Matt Smith as The Doctor, is now Peter Capaldi.

Another interesting older actor that could carry off the necessary mix of gravitas and humour.

Given that Steven Moffat favoured the idea of an older Doctor, before he was bowled over by Matt Smith's audition, perhaps this speculation has some basis in truth?

Who's Who

Amongst all the speculation over the actor who will assume the role of the 12th Doctor my favourite, so far, has been Jared Harris.

I admit that I would like to see an older actor in the role again, something which is unlikely now the programme seems to demand an actor with the 'squee' factor.

However, Jared has shown a great range in the roles he has played and would, I think provide the right combination of gravitas and humour.

He would keep the youthful spirit of the Doctor, in the shell of an older person. He’s weathered, but not worn out, and time and again on Mad Men his character’s quiet, misunderstood sense of humor added an extra twinkle to the show.

Regeneration

Every so often I like to add to my late brother's collection, as and when they come out, any new items that might be of interest to guests and especially returning guests.

The Tenth Planet has beed added which includes an animated version of the missing episode which featured the very first regeneration from William Hartnell to Patrick Troughton.

Should keep you all our visitors entertained in the evenings or if the English Summer takes a turn for the worse !

I love a little garden

Despite the dubious weather this year, the garden at the cottage is looking very abundant!

Hope the visitors, this summer, enjoy it.

Happily, all the children coming will not have to wait in the garden for the Tardis to appear - as it never strays from there.

 Probably a good job, otherwise we would have some explaining to do to the local authorities regarding disappearing children. Not sure that they would believe us if we said they had travelled back in time to medieval Lydd.

Change my dear…

We like to keep my late brother's collection of memorabilia as up to date as possible. New DVD releases are added to the collection, so visitors can select from any of the Doctor's adventures to immerse themselves in.

Of course, every new Doctor is added to the complete set of figures of the Doctors.

So, it looks like I will be soon having to make a new purchase to add to the existing 11.

Who knows, perhaps this time it will be a female figure?

We do make a great deal of effort to insure that the cottage is kept up to date, and is a comfortable place to stay. I would advise anyone thinking of setting up a holiday cottage to give serious thought to the work involved in doing so and, in particular, the ongoing maintenance of it.

Just go forward ...(what Susan did next)

During The Dalek Invasion of Earth, Susan (the Doctor's Granddaughter) falls in love with the freedom fighter David Campbell.

The Doctor realises that Susan would never leave him of her own free will because she thinks him dependent on her.

Rather than let her choose to stay with him or with David, he forces her hand and locks her out of the TARDIS, and makes a very nice farewell speech to her: "One day, I shall come back. Yes I shall come back. Until then there must be no regrets, no tears, no anxieties. Just go forward in all your beliefs and prove to me that I am not mistaken in mine."

So what did Susan, or rather the actress Carole Ann Ford do next?

Well she had a very different, and far more grown up role (and a northern accent!), in an episode of Public Eye: The Morning Wasn't So Hot (1965).

Here is a clip below, and for a short time only the full episode can be see (with an interview with Alfred Burke who played Frank Marker) on the Network DVD site here.

Public Eye ran from 1965-1975, an excellent series - "Marker isn't a glamorous detective and he doesn't get glamorous cases—he doesn't even get glamorous girls. What he does get is people who are in trouble—the sort of trouble you can't go to the police about, even if you are innocent."

“Do you have a goldfish named Colin?”

BBC Radio Four have just broadcast an excellent new two-part Sherlock Holmes adventure, inspired by the stories of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, written by Bert Coules, called 'The Marlbourne Point Mystery'.

A disused lighthouse on a remote stretch of the Kent coast is the scene of a bizarre double death.

If you listen to the adventure you will soon realise that the description of the fictional Marlbourne Point fits closely to the real location of Dungeness, a popular destination for visitors to the cottage.

Most people who visit Dungeness are fascinated and captured by its unique atmosphere but find it hard to describe or explain - a place of mystery and magic. The perfect location for a Sherlock Holmes story and, indeed, for a Doctor Who story such as the Claws of Axos !

There have been five lighthouses at Dungeness. At first only a beacon was used to warn sailors, but this was replaced by a proper lighthouse in 1615. As the sea retreated, this had to be replaced in 1635 by a new lighthouse nearer to the water's edge known as Lamplough's Tower.

As more shingle was thrown up, a new and more up-to-date lighthouse was built near the sea in 1792 by Samuel Wyatt. This lighthouse was about 35 m (115 ft) high and of the same design as the third Eddystone lighthouse. From the mid-19th century, it was painted black with a white band to make it more visible in daylight; similar colours have featured on the subsequent lighthouses here. This lighthouse was demolished in 1904, but the lighthouse keepers' accommodation, built in a circle around the base of the tower, still exists.

In 1901 building of the fourth lighthouse, the High Light Tower, started. It was first lit on 31 March 1904 and still stands today. It is no longer in use as a lighthouse but is open as a visitor attraction. It is a circular brick structure, 41 m (135 ft) high and 11 m (36 ft) in diameter at ground level. It has 169 steps, and gives visitors a good view of the shingle beach.

'The Marlbourne Point Mystery' would appear to be set in this period, when the High Light Tower was built to replace the 1792 lighthouse.

You can listen to the story on BBC iplayer for a short time, so catch it soon! :

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00rt94m

In the Doctor Who Christmas episode, 'The Snowmen', Vastra is revealed to be the inspiration for the character Sherlock Holmes. Holmes has been compared to the Doctor on many occasions, and his enemy the Master was directly inspired by Holmes’ enemy Professor Moriarty. Sherlock Holmes has featured in many ways in Doctor Who Stories - read all about them here:

http://tardis.wikia.com/wiki/Sherlock_Holmes