One extra albiet very, very, very minor point to add is ‘why Cumbria? Given the rather odd joke about Carlisle in the following episode the choice of location appears to be highlighted for a reason, MOffat playing cat and mouse with us again I suspect. (That may not have been mentioned until the discussion about the significance of Cumbria…[Read more]

@craig – just to mirror the comments above, the black header was a lovely touch.  Understated but respectful.  I think this week has shown why this is such a special website, a community, not a fansite.  I hope yourself and @Shazzbot are doing ok.  I can’t claim to have had many exchanges with @HTPBDET but I’ve found myself glancing up at the sta…[Read more]

@shazzbot

thanks for the link.

Thanks also for being the intermediary between us and @HTPBDET‘s family – it’s a worthy thing you are doing and, I’d imagine, emotionally difficult. It is appreciated. x

Hello, sorry to bug you guys some more but I just wanted to apologize for being such a burden.When I joined here as Doctor4 I was an arrogant Doctor Who fan wanting to join a community and I didn’t intend to troll or antagonize anyone, but you guys kicked me out and a few weeks later I rejoined as DrTennant and I realize I’m not as educated at…[Read more]

@Shazzbot

I saw it brewing – I suspect it wasn’t wilful trolling, but that sociopathic bone that seems too common on t’interwebs, a sort of narcissism-of-anonymity that makes some blind to context.

(A year or so back I was visiting relatives oop t’north and took their dog for a walk. Now, Zack is an amiable sort of mutt but does like to bomb…[Read more]

I’ve been a bit busy these last few weeks (organising a house move) but honouring the wishes of @HTPBDET and his mini incarnations, I shall pose a few bonkers theories about Hurt’s ‘Doctor’ (and in the process hope that I’m not repeating ones upstream).

*dusts off pipe and gets out numbered list*

1. When the Doctor enters his own timeline…

[Read more]

@mini-htpbdets Well, as usual, @HTPBDET had outfoxed us all again, by coming up with a theory none of us had thought of! There is something really appealing about it as well–the notion that the title of The Doctor is associated with an office one holds, and that our 11 Doctors have been, perhaps, trying to live by standards that had been…[Read more]

Oh.

I just read this. @HTPBDET you will be missed. Even though I did not have much interaction with you personally, your blog posts have been the highlight of this site for me.

Its knocked me for six this. I’m gonna go hide in the works toilets now.

@Blenkinsopthebrave – I certainly didn’t think you were being disrespectful. I was doing pretty much the same thing – trying to carry on with the bonkers theorising, because I knew @HTPBDET would’ve hated us to stop.

Difficult. @Shazzbot, you’re not the only person still being very teary-eyed today.

@Blenkinsopthebrave I was thinking very much the same thing*.  I suspect  @HTPBDET‘d be very grumpy if he thought he’d brought the bonkers theorising to a standstill. But there’s not many who could. So he’ll just have to be patient!

*but not about you being disrespectful

I awoke this morning and read through all the recent posts, and realised once again how much we have been affected by the loss of @HTPBDET.

Yesterday morning I drove Mrs Blenkinsop to work, and told her the sad news. I found my voice cracking as I told her, and was rather stunned that I was as upset as I obviously was. When I brought her home in…[Read more]

@Shazzbot

Thanks for keeping us posted, and glad this Forum, which seemed to be a special place for @HTPBDET, was able (in its wibbly wobbly way) to contribute to his wake. (Would have preferred if it had been at any other occasion tho).

Re @pedant‘s comment

it would be a delight to put a real name to the stubborn, perfectionist, discursive ,…

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@HTPBDET

My condolences to your family and friends. I am very saddened to hear this news this morning. Others here have expressed the impact of his writing and debating here better than I can, so I will say no more than I will miss him.

Nick

I feel as though I have just lost a friend. @HTPBDET became, through his comments and beautifully written blogs so much an integral part of this community and I think he touched all who “knew” in this virtual community. During his illness I have looked for his name every time I check in, hoping that he will have returned, recovered at last and…[Read more]

Thanks everyone for beautiful thoughts, expressed much more eloquently than I can. @Whisht I found your thoughts about this forum very moving, thank you. Not sure about being able to reconstruct him from the space @HTPBDET left behind, but if you can, why not go out and look at the stars, and look for a distant crazy blue box.