Chalky & Shirt…

…Genesis…Live !!

With their success the previous year in the new series, the BBC’s DVD release of a Dalek story must have been a no-brainer. Surprise, surprise – it was to be fan favourite, “Genesis of the Daleks”. Equally unsurprising was Seventh Galaxy’s announcement that they had Peter (Nyder) Miles for a signing for said disc. Chalky, Dufus and Shirt were debating whether to go, when two more guests were announced – Stephen Yardley & Dennis Chinnery. These two names decided matters for Shirt as both are also in Sixth Doctor stories, namely “Vengeance on Varos” and “The Twin Dilemma”. Chalky decided to keep Shirt company, but Dufus who had been down in London for training, had to go and see his mother that weekend.

The two made their way to the shop, and joined the lengthy queue, it being a classic WHO DVD release. Whilst in the queue, Chalky attempted to remove the label from the DVD that stated “Voted No. 1 Doctor Who Story of All Time”, intending to stick it on his “Delta and the Bannermen” video as soon as he got home. Chalky also took advantage of the chance to read his FSX “Doctor Who” Special, kindly donating the free book to Shirt. Shirt meanwhile was reading the “Science of Doctor Who” article in BBC Focus Magazine.

At 12pm (the advertised start time) to everyone’s surprise, the queue started moving, albeit slowly. The newly introduced £5 for items over the agreed number of personal items seemed to be working with a steady stream of people entering and exiting the shop. Concerned that lunch-time was rapidly approaching, Chalky and Shirt feared the worst. However, they were ushered in by Poppy and reminded of the new rules in relation to personal items. Joining the small queue, they struggled to get their items into the right order for the guests.

First up was Stephen Yardley, who happily signed Chalky’s ”Genesis” DVD and video covers, and his “Varos” video cover, before moving on to Shirt’s DVD cover, “Varos” video cover and “The Eighties”. He was in good spirits and both friends were ready to pass on a message from Dufus until they realised that they had forgotten what classic show Dufus had said that he had enjoyed Mr. Yardley in. Therefore, with a shake of Mr. Yardley’s hand they moved on to Dennis Chinnery. He was in similar spirits, signing any cover or book placed in front of him, but slightly slower than Stephen. Pleasantries again exchanged, they moved along to Peter Miles, who seemed to be overly made-up, giving him an overly creepy look. He signed various “Genesis” covers, as well as “Kaldor City” sleeves, but was initially perplexed by Shirt’s “Prosperity Island” cover, until he turned it over and read the blurb. He also seemed astonished at how many years before he had recorded it.

Next up was Lawrence Miles, "Faction Paradox" creator, who signed Chalky's copy of the new FP audio, and some Eighth Doctor books. Shirt bypassed him, the Sherlock Holmes related FP novel not yet having come out. Lastly was Paul Parsons, who signed Shirt’s “The Science of Doctor Who” book as well as the BBC Focus Magazine for which he is the editor and wrote the article that had engaged Shirt’s attention earlier.

Leaving the shop, and having checked that they had all their covers, Chalky and Shirt went home their separate ways, meeting up again in the evening (with Tigger) for the delights of the Reduced Shakespeare Company’s take on Hollywood.

[PL]