Shirt…

…and the Thirteenth Storm

A signing had been announced at Frames Bookshop. Star of the popular “Doctor Who” spinoff “Sarah Jane & Comp… (sorry I mean) ‘The Sarah Jane Adventures’ ” – Elisabeth Sladen – would be signing two new audio stories on CD – “The Thirteenth Stone” and “The Glittering Storm”, read by herself. Dufus couldn’t make it at the last minute, and Chalky was too busy preparing his and Tigger’s ‘new’ house for the housewarming that evening (only a few months after moving in). Shirt therefore made his way alone to that rarest of occurrences, an afternoon signing.

Arriving 45 minutes before the advertised start time, Shirt was unsurprised on reaching the top floor of the store where the signing was taking place, to find a queue of some length. Picking up the promoted CDs, Shirt looked around for somewhere to pay. Speaking to a nearby assistant, Shirt was told that all the tills were on the ground floor, but that it was possible for him to pay on the way out. This seemed a no-brainer, so Shirt joined the queue, watching person after person picking up the CD and going down three floors to pay for it before coming back up to join the queue. A few minutes later, a man (let’s call him Alan) and his two children (let’s call them Maria and Luke), joined the queue behind him.

Maria and Luke seemed very excited, having previously only met Sophie Aldred at The What Shop. Alan seemed equally excited to meet the lovely Ms. Sarah Jane Smith of his formative television watching years. Unfortunately, the children’s excitement demonstrated itself in the form of continued questions o their father, and Shirt could begin to hear the catch in Alan’s voice as he responded more and more curtly. Then to break this monotony, shop assistants came along with a tin of badges, children seemed to be snapping up the “What would Sarah Jane do ?” badges, but looked confused at the “Eldrad Must Live!” ones. Shirt attempted to explain to the fan in front of him and to Alan, Maria and Luke who Eldrad is, but they didn’t seem very interested.

“I wonder if they’re doing anything ‘WHO’-related on ‘Children in Need’ this year ?”, wondered the fan in front.

Shirt seized the chance to tell him all about “Time Crash”, the 5^th/10^th Doctor crossover, again to limited impact.

Just then, Cwej wandered past, looking for a till. Shirt explained that he could pay on the way out, so Cwej moved to join the queue, which was beginning to snake around the shelves.

The fan in front of Shirt then had a brainwave, nipping briefly out of the queue to pick up a copy of the “Tooth and Claw/School Reunion/Girl in the Fireplace” DVD, which featured a prominent photo of Ms. Sladen.

Maria then began asking Alan why there were so many grown men without children with them, queuing to meet Sarah Jane. Alan hushed her quickly, glancing worriedly at Shirt. Turning to tell Alan that it was not a problem, Shirt noticed a fan he hadn’t seen for some time that makes his own covers. At that moment, he was showing a friend “The Paul Marc Davis Years”.

‘The Paul Marc Davis Years’ thought Shirt, ‘Is that not just ‘Utopia’ ‘.

Then just two minutes after the advertised start time, Sarah Jane swept in and took a seat at the signing table. The queue began moving slowly, Ms. Sladen was happily chatting away with all her young fans, and posing for photos with all of them. Shirt noticed a stream of young women with hair all the colours of the rainbow, who having finished getting their CDs and photos, stood about to one side. When the final one had finished, the whole student group (for that it what they were) moved in for a group photo with Elisabeth.

Approaching the front of the queue, Shirt finally took the cellophane off the CDs and was asked for his name by an assistant, who wrote it on a large piece of yellow paper.

Meanwhile, the fan in front of Shirt had realised something. Although he was able to remove the cellophane from the DVD, it had a security tag that meant the case could only be opened at the tills.

Shirt decided to see if his camera was working, thinking that if everyone else was having a photo so would he. Miracle of miracles it appeared to be working perfectly.

The fan in front moved over to Ms. Sladen, who signed his CD covers, then struggled to sign the plastic cover of the DVD in a way that would not wipe off. Having had his photo with Lis, the fan moved on. Gestured to the table, Shirt placed down his covers and name, handing his camera to an assistant.

“Go and sit with Lis”, he was told.

“Hello Shirt”, she said as he sat down, for a brief second Shirt wondered how she knew his name.

Glancing over, Ms. Sladen remarked, “Oh a poppy, I haven’t seen them anywhere this year”.

Shirt was confused, until he realised that she must have mistaken the back of his “What Would Sarah Jane Do ?” badge for the pin of a poppy.

The two CD covers signed, as well as Shirt’s “Doctor Who at the BBC: The Tenth Doctor” cover, Shirt and Lis posed for his camera.

Saying thank-you to Lis, Shirt gathered up his items, stowing them in his bag, before making his way home to get ready for Chalky and Tigger’s housewarming.

So what happened at the housewarming ? - that’s a secret. Let’s just say that Enigma and Scooby were there, along with various members of the Inbox Skaro web-forum, and alcohol was consumed. All in all, it had been an adventurous day.

[PL]