Hello everyone! 🙂
Welcome to ‘Bradley’s Basement’ blog and I’m Tim Bradley!
After enjoying our holiday in Amroth, West Wales, my parents and I attended the ‘Doctor Who’ convention ‘Regenerations 2023’, organised by Cary Woodward and held at the Village Hotel in Swansea from Saturday the 23rd to Sunday the 24th of September 2023. We had a pretty good time.
Having attended the ‘Regenerations’ conventions in 2010, 2011, 2013 and 2016; I knew what to expect with this two-day convention. ‘Regenerations 2023’ was of course held to celebrate the 60th anniversary of ‘Doctor Who’. It was good to attend Cary’s latest convention for the special occasion.
There was plenty to enjoy whilst attending ‘Regenerations 2023’. Many special guests were there, including Colin Baker, Sylvester McCoy, Sophie Aldred, Peter Purves, Frazer Hines, Wendy Padbury, Katy Manning, John Levene, Matthew Waterhouse, Michael Jayston, Graham Cole, Frances Barber and many more. 🙂
I didn’t get to see every special guest at the convention, since it was very busy on both days. There were highlights though, and here I am to share what those highlights were and how they made the convention weekend memorable. My parents enjoyed the weekend too and I’m very pleased they did. 🙂
Day 1 (Saturday 23rd September 2023)
The convention began with an opening ceremony, which had video clips and an introduction and welcome by Cary Woodward himself. There was then the first convention panel with Terry Molloy (Davros) and David Banks (the Cyber Leader), and the interview was conducted by David Bickerstaff.
Just to say, Anneke Wills (who played Polly in ‘Doctor Who’) was meant to attend ‘Regenerations 2023’, but sadly she couldn’t make it in the end. There was a video message provided by Anneke and this was played at the convention, as she wished us well for the weekend. It was really nice message.
I later went to have some autographs signed. I met with Michael Jayston (the Valeyard), who signed my DVD box set cover for ‘The Trial of a Time Lord’; Graham Cole (the Melkur) who signed my DVD cover for ‘The Keeper of Traken’, Jonathan Watson (the Sontarans in ‘Flux’) who signed my Blu-ray cover for ‘Flux’; Peter Purves (Steven) who signed my ‘Daughter of the Gods’ CD cover; and Matthew Waterhouse (Adric), who signed my CD box set cover for the first ‘Forty’ volume (which includes the stories ‘Secrets of Telos’ and ‘God of War’). I had some very pleasant chats with the five gents. 🙂
After that, I had a couple of professional photos with Wendy Padbury (Zoe) and Frazer Hines (Jamie) at a full-size replica of the William Hartnell/First Doctor TARDIS console. I had a photo with Wendy only and I had a photo with both Wendy and Frazer. My parents and I later attended a panel talk with Wendy and Frazer, conducted by David Bickerstaff, which we enjoyed very much that morning.
There was soon a lunch break and my parents and I also took photos of Daleks and the TARDIS at the convention. Dalek Doris, who attended previous ‘Regenerations’ conventions was also there. I purchased some items from Big Finish and TIME TRAVEL tv, since they had their stalls that weekend. 🙂
K-9 also attended the convention too. 😀 I later saw Wendy Padbury and Frazer Hines for autograph sessions, as they signed my CD cover of ‘Daughter of the Gods’. I had a lovely and enjoyable chat with Katy Manning (Jo Grant), who signed one of my Blu-ray covers for ‘The Power of the Doctor’. 🙂
I had a photo shoot with Sylvester McCoy (the Seventh Doctor) and Colin Baker (the Sixth Doctor) that afternoon. I also enjoyed Sylvester and Colin’s panel talk, conducted by Ryan Hendrick. It was fun to hear their insight into ‘Doctor Who’ and the two can perform a very good double act together. 😀
That evening, I checked out Reece Connolly’s stand-up comedy sketch show at 9:30pm. This was the first time I came across Reece Connolly and it’s the first time I heard about the Gallifrey Cabaret. I enjoyed the show, although it’s was more ‘Torchwood’ than ‘Doctor Who’ for me, since there was a lot of swearing.
Day 2 (Sunday 24th September 2023)
The following day was a special day for me. I enjoyed Sunday more than Saturday, since I got to reunite with Sophie Aldred (Ace). It was lovely to catch up with Sophie, as we hadn’t seen each other since Glasgow in 2019, and she recognised me instantly when we did the companions’ photo shoot.
Sunday began with another opening ceremony, including video clips; an introduction and welcome by Cary Woodward; and a replay of the latest ‘Doctor Who’ 60th anniversary specials trailer that was released that weekend. Trust me, I’ll be sharing my thoughts on that trailer soon on ‘Bradley’s Basement’.
The first panel talk of the day was with Peter Purves, conducted by David Bickerstaff. My Dad greatly enjoyed Peter’s panel talk, since he and Mum saw him on TV when he did ‘Blue Peter’. It was intriguing to hear Peter share his thoughts on making ‘Doctor Who’ with William Hartnell and its trials and tribulations.
After that, I had a photo shoot with Peter Purves as well as the aforementioned photo shoot with the companions, including Peter Purves, Frazer Hines, Matthew Waterhouse, Wendy Padbury and Sophie Aldred. I also had a photo with a Dalek, and had a photo with K-9 on the particular Sunday. 🙂
And I had my photo taken with Dalek Doris and the TARDIS downstairs. There was a panel talk with Sophie Aldred, conducted by David Bickerstaff, which I greatly enjoyed. I got to ask Sophie a question about whether her appearance in ‘The Power of the Doctor’ cancelled ‘At Childhood’s End’.
She liked the question, and she gave a good answer, saying that “No, ‘The Power of the Doctor’ didn’t cancel out ‘At Childhood’s End’.” After the panel talk, I gave Sophie an updated version of Ace’s timeline, which she was pleased to receive. I’m glad she still uses my version of Ace’s timeline.
It was soon lunchtime. After lunch, I had my professional photos with Sophie Aldred and Sylvester McCoy at the William Hartnell/First Doctor TARDIS console. First, I had a photo with both Sophie and Sylvester and then, I had a photo with Sophie only. I’m very glad I’ve had my photos with these stars.
Later, I joined the queue to meet up with Sophie Aldred for an autograph session. Meanwhile, my Mum and Dad went off to see Colin Baker’s panel talk at the same time. My parents told me how much they enjoyed Colin’s panel talk and that they found him an interesting person in ‘Doctor Who’.
I’m pleased I got to see Sophie for an autograph session and she signed one of my Blu-ray covers for ‘The Power of the Doctor’. I told Sophie that Ace appears in my upcoming epic three-part 60th anniversary special called ‘The Thirteen+ Doctors’. She was happy to hear that I included Ace in the story.
I managed to see the end of Sylvester McCoy’s panel talk with David Bickerstaff interviewing him. Soon, it was time for the closing ceremony. Cary Woodward had most of the ‘Regenerations’ guests on stage, including Sophie Aldred, Seán Carlsen, Michael Jayston, David Bickerstaff, Jon Davey, Terry Molloy, Jeff Cummins, Colin Baker, Rob Shearman, Sylvester McCoy, Keith Temple, Jonathan Adams, Graham Cole, Colin Spaull and Peter Purves. It was good to end the convention on a touching and heartfelt note.
On the Sunday, I managed to purchase a vinyl copy of ‘City of Death’, which I hope to listen to sometime over the Christmas holidays. I also purchased a photo of Sarah Sutton and Michael Cochrane from ‘Black Orchid’ at the convention. My parents and I had a photo taken of us at the convention with the TARDIS in the background. It’s lovely to have that family memory at home with us.
‘Regenerations 2023’ was a very enjoyable ‘Doctor Who’ weekend for my parents and me. It was lovely to see the ‘Doctor Who’ stars, including Sophie Aldred, Katy Manning, Wendy Padbury and Frazer Hines, and it was very well organised on both days, thanks to Cary Woodward and his team. 🙂
Cary has stated this is the ‘end’ of ‘Regenerations’. I hope that’s not the case, as it would be nice to see Cary again at a future convention, whether it’s run by him or not. Whether he runs another ‘Regenerations’ or not or whether he runs a smaller event instead, I’ll always have happy memories of these Swansea ‘Doctor Who’ conventions. They’ve been fun to attend and are always full of ‘Doctor Who’.
Thanks, Cary! 🙂
And thanks to everyone who has read my latest blog posts on what I’ve been doing in September 2023 with attending the ‘Popcorn TV, Film & Comic Con Sheffield’; going on holiday to West Wales, and attending the ‘Regenerations 2023’ convention in Swansea. I’m sure you’ve enjoyed them. 🙂
Thanks again for reading!
Bye for now!
Tim 🙂
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