@mudlark and @pedant Surely the growing disparity between income and cost of living is a factor. It certainly is here. A single drink equates to half an hour’s wage for young people, those that are working that is. In Oz student benefit and unemployment benefit have not risen since the early 1990s (when my partner and I were recipients of the…[Read more]

@winston I so envy you snow. We were watching a TV series filmed in Canada tonight and the snowy scenes were making me “homesick” for Sweden, or anywhere where there are thick banks of snow. We had a heavy snowfall in late October when we were in Sweden but no snow again until well into January. There was frost though in December so we pretended…[Read more]

@kevinwho Interesting reflection. My uncle spent his life “walking in a dead man’s shoes” as the result of an accident in WWII. He would watch his children play and think, “these should be my mate’s children”. That feeling of being undeserving caused a breakdown and lifetime nightmares.

SJA did a story where Sarah Jane dies instead of a friend in…[Read more]

@mudlark I share your love of mince pies. I made my first batch a week ago, not for eating because like you I like to keep the seasonal treats until the season or they loose that flavour of “specialness.” I had to do a recipe for a rural newsletter, (which funds our writers’ festival) and needed a picture. I packed the pies away in a cake tin…[Read more]

@thane16 Ah the storm. It passed over here yesterday. Lots of bangs and thumps and enough rain to keep the garden happy for a week or so. Rather a treat not having to water the garden at this time of year.

@blenkinsopthebrave The Jacarandas are almost finished blooming here. They are always magnificent. Much to the ire of our neighbours we do not…[Read more]

I have thought a lot about this issue and actually I find referring to people by their surnames alone disrespectful. It certainly isn’t something I ever do when addressing people in person or talking about people I know. But then actors are strangers so maybe it is appropriate. I still have a hangup about calling people older than myself by their…[Read more]

@idiotsavon Bradley Walsh has been a surprise for me and proof that one should not prejudge. I have never seen him in anything but I thought I was going to hate him as a companion. He is fantastic and so nice to see a companion who isn’t young and cute. Grace would have been brilliant too. I keep wishing she had lived to join Team Tardis.

I …[Read more]

Subjectivity is fine, we all are subjective though we may and should strive to be as objective as possible. It is when people confuse subjectivity for objectivity that is becomes an issue and far too many people do just that. Ie “I don’t like it therefore it is rubbish.” Not everything appeals to everyone. I did not like “The Doctor’s Wife”. I…[Read more]

I am eager to watch this too. I think, whatever one’s views, it is going to be very worthwhile. One grandfather was a pacifist the other failed the height test. (Australian army had very strict height rules in WWI which perhaps fortunately for my father they had relaxed a little by WWII)  A great uncle, also a pacifist, went with the first…[Read more]

I think it fairly indicative that I have started reading the blogs on “the other place” and comments here before watching the episode again. Something I stopped doing during Capdoc years. Now I am even commenting before watching the episode. I was really looking forward to this episode too after see the teaser. Think I have going to have some…[Read more]

@arbutus I did something similiar once with pumpkin soup. Hope all the lentils are now discovered and dispatched.

@Blenkinsopthebrave. AT four am stuck on hte sofa helping R3 complete an English essay The Young Ones are just about the required viewing. “Guys Lentils are on the floor” is often quoted here, usually on MOndays when I am serving up…[Read more]

@winston Interesting that you mention 5th Doctor. it had not occurred to me at first but I am beginning to see a bit of 5th Doctor in Whitdoc.

@Cedarbranchtardis you do ask a lot of question. I think the simple answer is too hard to bring back the actors. RL determines story telling unfortunately. I also want to know what became of Susan. One day…[Read more]

BBC APPROVED SPOILERS...

If the rumours are true I would not grieve the loss of Chibnell half as much as I would the loss of Whitaker. I really would like her to stay on for at least one season under a different show runner. However Chibnell is not bad, just mediocre and  I think the series would improve with more scriptwriters. it is notable that the two best scripts to…[Read more]

@mudlark sorry to hear about the health issues. Hope all is well. In Australia it is common to be getting spots removed. Provided you react quickly enough is not usually a problem. I am not always a fan of “modern” but when it comes to hospitals the more modern and up to date the better. Our now former State government spent a lot of money on…[Read more]

@ichabod and @thane16

I don’t know the answer but I suspect being inland was not much defence against plague. It spread across Europe, carried by merchants and the like. (I am sure @mudlark will know more.) Though a later outbreak of Plague than the most traumatic, “black Death” the story of the plague outbreak in Eyam in Derbyshire, caused by…[Read more]

@thane16 When we last went South to Victor, (the coast) we saw three Tardis. One was doubling as a post box, the other two purely garden decoration. I was needless to say both surprised and impressed. We have multiple Tardis but they are all of the miniature variety. Still when we did the Dr Who Podcast I was able to organise a nice display on the…[Read more]

@pedant hope the aches and pains are now a thing of the past as well as the delayed shock. It looked like a nice day too. I hope you will soon be well enough to get back to the photography.

I was terrified of driving in the U.K though bit of a lead foot here. I did however manage to get to deepest Cornwall. We were staying in Cheddar Gorge YHA…[Read more]

I am with @jimthefish regarding this series. I really want to like it and there are aspects I do like. I like the “Team Tardis” but the writing does not do them justice. I find it telling that my two favourite episodes so far are those not penned by Chibnell. Every episode something irritates me however. Last night it was Graeme talking to Yaz. it…[Read more]

@Mudlark echoes my thoughts

Partition was such a difficult subject for a show such as Doctor Who to address, in view of the millions who died in the needless and senseless bloodletting, that I was reluctant even to watch this episode for fear that it would be mishandled, and the title, suggesting the introduction of alien antagonists, was not…

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