Dufus & Shirt...

...Go For Myles.

Having singularly failed to get tickets for ‘Large Endings’ Day 2019’, Dufus and Shirt were keen to attend ‘Whooverville 11’, having attended the previous two (see D&S..The Edge of Frustration & D&S…Are On Thin Ice). However, they left it to just under a week before to actually buy tickets.

As per usual, Shirt travelled up on the Friday afternoon, but due to Dufus having moved jobs a few months before, had a longer time to waste before Dufus could pick him up from the station. He spent this in walking around Newark, and buying a new mobile phone as his had stopped working the day before.

Having been picked up by Dufus, they made their way back to Dufus’, stopping for a meal at a restaurant where Dufus had a 2 for 1 voucher and picking up the next day’s evening meal from a local supermarket. The evening was spent in watching television and in Shirt realising that his old SIM card was too big for his new phone and gazing at the new M&B Giveaways action figure sets (including a ‘2 Doctors’ Peri and a ‘Caves of Androzani’ TARDIS) that Dufus had managed to find for him, there seemingly being no stock down South.

The next morning they left at the time they had agreed, stopping for breakfast at a nearby burger restaurant before making their way to central Derby and their usual car park, with only a few wrong turns. Making their way to the venue, they picked up their tickets and were given their event wristbands and ‘Free Autographs’ sheet.

Moving upstairs to the main area, the event was just beginning in Cinema 1 (the John Hurt Cinema). However, our friends decided to graze the merchandise stalls, with Dufus managing to replace some of the Large Endings’ releases that he had sold due to needing the money, at the bargain price of 4 for £10. Whilst Shirt was looking at another stall, Dufus bought the ‘Eleven Doctors’ Action Figure Set, leaving it to be collected later.

Dufus and Shirt then decided to go into Cinema 2 where they joined a medium length queue for their first autographs of the day. After around fifteen minutes they had reached the signing tables. First up was Sarah Sutton, who signed a ‘Companion Chronicle’ for Shirt and the ‘Series 18’ boxset for Dufus. Next was Edward Russell, the original brand assistant for Nu-Who and spin-offs, who Shirt side-stepped, but who signed one of his photos for Dufus. Sophia Myles (Reinette in ‘The Girl in the Fireplace’) was next, signing Dufus’ Series 2 boxset and a ‘Spooks’ book for Shirt (who had met her before and therefore had his poster and a photo signed).

[In the wait in the queue, Shirt was worried that Sophia might ask him who the other signatures in the book were, being unable to identify two signatures which he believed were production staff. Luckily, she signed it without asking].

The final guest of the session was Ralph Watson (guest star in the Second, Third and Fourth Doctor eras), who it had seemed had previously signed all of Dufus’ DVD covers for the stories that he appears in. Shirt was therefore throwing caution to the wind and asking Dufus to get a ‘The Monster of Peladon’ cover signed ‘To Shirt,’. Standing directly behind him, Shirt was ready to jump in if necessary, but the cover was signed without incident. Next up was Shirt who got the cover for the Large Endings’ release ‘The Web of Time (part of ‘The Diary of River Song – Vol 6’) in which Ralph reprises his role of Captain Knight from ‘The Web of Fear’. The boxset had literally dropped through Shirt’s door an hour before he had left to catch his train on Friday, and Ralph spoke enthusiastically about the production.

Leaving the signing room, they made their way into the panel room, arriving for the second half of a Christopher Ryan panel. He spoke enthusiastically about his WHO roles, working with Rik Mayall & Ade Edmonson, and his part in the forthcoming ‘Sil and the Devil Seeds of Ardor’.

The next panel was John Levene, and Dufus and Shirt made the mistake of staying for this, with Mr. Levene on typically depressing form as he discussed his deprived childhood at length, even when asked a question about ‘Doctor Who’. He also stated several times that he does not badmouth anyone in his book, then proceeded to attack two well-loved WHO actors.

Needing some cheering up, Dufus and Shirt went back into the signing room, where the queue was long enough for parts of it to be sitting down in the seats. After around twenty minutes, the friends were finally able to join the standing part of the queue, and ten minutes later they were meeting the first guest, Ingrid Oliver (Petronella Osgood). Shirt got Ingrid to sign his ‘Series 7B’ poster (to represent ‘The Day of the Doctor’), which Dufus got her to sign the DVD cover for ‘TDOTD’ from his 50th Anniversary DVD boxset. Next up was Rob Ritchie, animator who worked on the animated versions of both ‘Shada’ and ‘The Macra Terror’. Dufus got both DVD sleeves signed, whilst Shirt got the cardboard from his ‘Shada – Blu-Ray Steelbook’ signed.

Dufus asked which other stories Rob was working on, but was only told the previously announced ‘The Faceless Ones’.

Next up was Chris Chapman, who as well as working on the extras for the DVDs and Blu-Rays, is also a Large Endings’ writer. Shirt therefore got him to sign ‘The Middle’, ‘Iron Bright’ and ‘The Memory Bank’.

Sophia Myles who was on the end seat, was just leaving as Shirt got his final cover signed, and was being replaced by Christopher Ryan. Seeing this, Shirt managed to join the short queue for him, getting his ‘The Paternoster Gang – Heritage 1’ cover signed. Dufus having noticed this, managed to also join the short queue, getting an ‘Only Fools and Horses’ book signed (in which Christopher plays Tony Driscoll).

On their way out, they noticed that Stephen Gallagher had just arrived in the autograph room, but that there was not yet a seat at the signing table for him. Therefore, some fans had approached him and he was signing happily for them. Dufus and Shirt therefore joined in, with Dufus getting his ‘Warriors’ Gate’ and ‘Terminus’ covers signed, and Shirt his ‘The Eighties’ (the 110th signature!). This good luck meant that the two had now got all the people signing in the autograph room in only two sessions, and before lunch.

Shirt then made his way to buy some DVDs from Keith Barnfather, including ‘The Doctors: The Colin Baker Years’, getting them all signed. Following suit, Dufus did the same, purchasing ‘The Daemons of Devil’s End’, which he also got signed by one of its writers, David J. Howe (alongside a copy of ‘The Piper’s Lament’). At David’s insistence they went down a floor where they eventually found the second dealer’s room, and got Sam Stone to sign the DVD also. This also proved to be where sponsored guests Michael E. Briant and Simon Fisher-Becker were signing.

It was time for lunch, and so Dufus went back up to pick up his ‘The Eleven Doctors’ set, to drop off at his car on the way. Dropping off items they no longer needed, they noticed that the Pay and Display ticket had fallen off the dashboard, but luckily they didn’t seem to have been given a penalty notice. The usual Metro Sandwich Shop was the venue for lunch, with them just getting inside before the heavens opened. Lunch consumed, and they walked back to the venue in sunshine.

They made their way to the panel room, listening to the final few minutes of a panel with Rob Ritchie, Chris Chapman and James Burgess (model maker). Next up was the raffle, famous for the large number of prizes, and the ‘hilarious’ impressions of the comedy impressionist group that always draw it. Both Shirt and Dufus had bought three strips of tickets. After a few tickets, one was drawn that Dufus had, and so he went down to pick his prize, taking a very long time to decide to take the ‘TARDIS Playset' that he had identified as what he wanted prior to the raffle beginning. A few minutes later and another of Dufus’ tickets won. This time, noticing Shirt’s annoyance, he chose a one-sheet cinema poster for ‘Sil and the Devil Seeds of Ardor’, which he handed over to Shirt on his return. A few minutes later and he won a third time, but due to prizes being limited, he was handed a prize – a display book of ‘Judge Dredd’ prints.

Staying in the panel room, they enjoyed a panel with Sophia Myles, in which she suggested that she took most of her early acting jobs because she had a crush on one of the other actors involved, whilst flashing her tanned legs.

Returning to the secondary dealers room, Dufus got some autographs from Michael E. Briant, being persuaded to get a ‘Robots of Death’ photo signed also.

Shirt then bought a copy of ‘Cold Blood, Warm Heart’, a fan film that he had enjoyed almost two decades before, now available in a ‘Special Edition’ DVD, getting it signed by two of its stars. He then got his newly acquired ‘Sil’ poster signed by Keith Barnfather and Phil Newman, finding that it was already signed by Christopher Ryan.

Shirt then wanted to pop to a nearby mobile phone shop to get his phone number migrated, and Dufus said that he would come with him. Exiting the venue they accidentally followed the lovely Ingrid Oliver for a short distance. Shop found in a nearby shopping centre and a few minutes later the number had been migrated.

Returning to the venue, Dufus got a signature from Simon Fisher-Becker (Dorium Maldovar), and then from ‘Traken’ Master, Geoffrey Beevers, having finally decided which of Geoffrey’s books he was going to buy to get him to sign his ‘Season 18’ boxset.

Back in the panel room they caught the end of Sarah Sutton’s panel, before sitting back for the final panel of the day – Michael E. Briant. They sat entranced as Michael discussed his involvement with many classic ‘Classic WHO’ stories including ‘The Green Death’ and ‘The Robots of Death’.

The event organiser appeared on stage to thank everyone, and to reveal that ‘Whooverville 12’ would be happening on an undecided date in 2020, as ‘Panopticon’ was returning on their ‘usual weekend’. Dufus and Shirt traipsed out, and made their way back to Dufus’, via two M&B Giveaways, where Shirt managed to pick up a War Doctor sonic screwdriver and a ‘Eighth Doctor and Dalek Interrogator Prime’ action figure set.

The evening was spent in eating pizza in front of ‘Britain’s Got Talent – The Champions’ and in watching ‘Cold Blood, Warm Heart’. The next morning they discussed upcoming signings (booking for one the next weekend), and identified items that Dufus had sold and wanted Shirt to look for at bargain prices. Dufus then drove Shirt to the station, from which he wended his way home, via Naughty Asteroid and a second-hand bookshop in Notting Hill Gate. It had been another excellent ‘Whooverville’ !

[PL]