So I’ve decided to offer a drawing or drawing for any of the Prints on offer in the Shop. For the ultimate collector’s item you can have a well-finished original pencil drawing of your choice added in the lower left,  right hand or centre (or all three) of white border of the print, beneath the image. As the drawing will be relatively small, your best choice might be a head and shoulders if a character or creature, or a clearly defined object or detail. You can have one, two or more remarques per print. Each original drawing will be £25.00 extra to the cost of the Print. If you’d like a grouping, a more complex drawing or you’d just like to discuss your ideas, please contact me for a quote or advice. Please visit the Shop for further information.

The Doctor Who Experience – Olympia : A review by Craig Sanwell

The following day myself and my good friend Jase visited the ‘Doctor Who Exhibition at Olympia 2’ (plus one or two pubs here and there, taking in Kensington and the sights along the Southbank). I must say I’ve been to a few ‘Who’ exhibitions over the years, but this is by far the best I’ve been to.

We spent a good two hours there and got some cracking photos. It seems to me to be assembled with real love for the programme as a whole, continuous entity, encompassing the nostalgic ‘classic’ years of the ‘old’ series while at the same time embracing the ‘popularity’ of the ‘new’. There truly is something to please fans of all ages and it is arranged with due consideration for and to accommodate a young family on a fun day out.

We began the first part of the ‘experience’ by joining a small ‘tour’ (which is a brief part of the experience, after which you are free to follow your own way around the exhibits). Each tour commences at half hour intervals that correspond to the time on your ticket. Three exhibits greet your arrival as you wait for your tour group to assemble and three great photo opportunities before you begin your ‘experience’. They are arranged in such a way as to whet the appetite for the splendid journey ahead and comprise whole scenes /dioramas that incorporate props and costumes from the ‘Mat Smith’ era of ‘new’ Who, notably a dalek ‘ironside’ and a new look Silurian.

Signs warn you of no further photos beyond this point, worryingly, but as it transpired this is confined strictly to the interactive section of the event, understandably, so no spoilers can affect other’s day out. For that reason I won’t elaborate on this section but I will say that the kids will ‘love’ this part of the our with so much to involve, entertain and excite them! Reassuringly, as you exit this section and enter the ‘museum’ part of the exhibition the 40 somethings, mums and dads finally come into their own, with so much to see and enjoy you don’t know where to look first.

It truly is a nostalgia fest and the ten year old kid who followed Doctor Who passionately on Saturday tea times from Pertwee’s final season through Tom Baker’s tenure in the ‘70s and beyond was very happy indeed! I counted 11 Doctors’ costumes, 4 consoles, 2 tardis and 12 daleks in various shapes, sizes and hybrid forms.

The first thing to catch your eye on entering is a whole wall in homage to the Doctor Who Radio Times covers featuring an enlarged certain ‘20th Anniversary’ cover. Impressively, all Doctor Who front covers from the first to the latest are represented.

Then the fun begins as you turn a corner and enter an Aladdin’s Cave of costumes, props, monsters and special effects featured from the show’s long and rich and almost 50 years history. Of particular interest to me ere the Doctors’ costumes, just getting close to an seeing them all together was extremely fulfilling, especially the earlier ones and in particular Tom Baker’s as they are so iconic and represent a lifetime of love for the quirky, eccentric and heroic character.

Also of particular interest are all the ‘sonic screwdrivers’ on display from the very earliest to the most recent and it really was a treasure trove of artefacts to meet and greet every hard-core fans’ tastes and a myriad of monsters to please all generations of ‘Whoies’ alike, plus I don’t think there’ll be another opportunity to have a photo taken with David Tennant’s and Peter Davison’s consoles or Mat Smith’s and Tom Baker’s tardis in the not too distant future!

All in all, it’s an utterly and enjoyable fun day out and a wonderful trip down memory lane full of many surprises, some sentimental “Aahhh!” Moments and thrilling “Wow!” Moments to please and delight fans of all ages for many years to come.

Enjoy and book your tickets now! You won’t be disappointed.

Photos © Craig Sanwell