Backdated. Posted 21/9/2017 Time to head back to London for the last few days of our holiday. We packed up our stuff and left the Air BNB flat. A word about the flat. It had been chosen for its location (walking distance to Brussels Midi/Zuid station), which along with the price, which were its best ... [More]
(Backdated. Posted 4/8/2017.) We’d be leaving Cardiff the next day, so before heading out we decided to get some laundry done. This is one of the benefits of Air B’n’B over hotels – at least if you’ve booked somewhere with a washing machine. Then, what excursion today? We’d considered trying to get to Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch, which ... [More]
(Backdated. Posted 31/7/2017) Oh the joys of jetlag. Having gone to bed at 8pm, I woke at about 5am. But being summer, it was already light. Eventually it seemed like a half-decent time to get up and out, and we prepared for our mission. Why had we come to Cardiff in the first place? And ... [More]
Science fiction and fantasy conventions used to be a homespun affair, run by the local clubs, featuring broadcasts of rare episodes and out-takes (before it all got released on DVD) and fan films. If there were guest artists, often they would appear only if they happened to be in the country at the time, and ... [More]
They say geek is the cool, right? Geek central in Melbourne must be the corner of Elizabeth and Little Collins Streets. Why? Because within a few metres are no less than three pop culture shops: Firstly, there’s the Doctor Who “popup” (eg temporary, until January) shop. Actually it has Sherlock merchandise too, which probably makes ... [More]
Continuing my series of old photos from ten years ago… Southern Cross Station under construction. The bridge with yellow on the right is the Collins Street extension, so this must have been snapped from close to where Etihad Stadium is. Note the “Park and Ride” sign, a misguided attempt to get people to drive most ... [More]
It would seem Doctor Who is breaking new ground in some interesting ways. They’ve engineered a “world tour” which involves the show’s stars jetting around the world for live appearances in 6 cities around the globe over about a week. It’s just about finished now… I’d imagine they’d be suffering horribly from jetlag by the ... [More]
We went to OzComicCon for the first time on Sunday. Here are some photos. It was at the Exhibition Buildings, and pretty much filled the space, both upstairs and downstairs, plus a couple of big tents outside, one of which included the main stage. Parts of it got quite crowded, and it was kind of ... [More]
Well, here we are. Some more thoughts on the Doctor Who anniversary… Warning — below are spoilers for those who have not seen the special episode yet November 23rd Anniversary day finally arrived. The Doctor Who 50th anniversary special episode “Day Of The Doctor” aired in the UK at 7:50pm GMT Saturday night which is ... [More]
Despite how it may look, I am not the next Doctor Who. We went along to the Astor Theatre on Saturday to watch the two 60’s Dalek movies — back from that curious time in British TV and film when they often seemed to remake television shows as big screen movies — in this case ... [More]
Over the past 24 hours, seeing the stories of the asteroid close-call and the meteor falling in Russia, it’s been a bit like those scenes in Doctor Who where they have a news bulletin about the latest alien invasion.
This creation by my super-talented sister, for Isaac’s birthday.
Deep within the bowels of the ABC studios at Southbank… …there is a Triple J studio called “TARDIS”. Well, recording booths. I discovered that they’re not bigger on the inside. I was there the other day at lunchtime. My blabbering has shown up as part of a Triple J “Hack” story on the costs of ... [More]
Spotted on Saturday after the Doctor Who/Melbourne Symphony Orchestra Symphonic Spectacular: Reports from the UK suggest Doctor Who has prompted more people to wear bow ties. I don’t know if that’s rubbed off in Australia, but there were certainly more bow ties and fezzes than I’ve ever seen around Melbourne yesterday, both at the venue ... [More]
I’ve shopped at Minotaur Books for decades. I first found it in the early 80s when it was at the top end of Swanston Street. Then it moved to a multi-level shop in Bourke Street. Then to its current home in Elizabeth Street. It’s always had way more cool stuff than I could afford to ... [More]
Now I’ve seen everything. (Spotted in Target Bourke Street. There were also some 4th Doctor designs.)