John Collier (1) (1901–1980)

https://fromtheheartofeurope.eu/blackpool-revisited-by-john-collier/

A 600-page sequel to the Blackpool Remembered volume, also going back to memories of the Doctor Who exhibition in Blackpool which ran from 1974 to 1984, but this time also with material on the Doctor Who museum that was open in the same town from 2004 to 2009, and an account of some of the spinoff merchandise that was available to fans in the Good Old Days.

Like the previous volume, it’s a beautifully assembled set of photos with literate commentary. Every corner of both the earlier exhibition (again) and David Boyle’s Doctor Who Museum is described in loving detail. There is a feature on Boyle’s life and career, including some very sad photos from his final years of ill health. He was also the maker of the Dapol models which were the authorised miniatures of characters from the TV series. Short sections also look at Jon Pertwee’s Whomobile, and at Maginty, the Blackpool double of the Doctor’s car Bessie. Again, the perspective is very male and white, which is unfortunate; but it’s a labour of love, and there’s a lot of love here.… (more)

https://fromtheheartofeurope.eu/blackpool-remembered-ed-john-collier/

I remember going to the Doctor Who exhibition in Blackpool in 1977, when I would have been ten; it was a subterranean chamber full of Doctor Who monsters, and I bought the new novelisation of The Dalek Invasion of Earth, the very first Doctor Who book that I bought for myself. My memories of exactly what was on display are dim.

Not so for the contributors to Blackpool Remembered, a lovely full-colour commemoration of the exhibition which ran from 1974 to 1984. There’s a loving recreation of the exhibition space, which was updated each year to bring in more recent monsters – and these were genuine BBC props, with only a couple of Daleks specially made for Blackpool. There are extensive memories by fans who kept more careful notes and photographs than I did, including a couple who have gone on to become bigger names in the Whoniverse, such as Steve Cole and Matt Fitton. It’s a great example of how to reconstruct a purely physical and temporary display space after almost four decades.

There is a great interview with Julie Jones, the Doctor Who production office staffer who masterminded the whole thing; but disappointingly, we don’t get much from the female fan perspective. Lots of mums and sisters and a few girlfriends appear in the photographs; I don’t think we hear directly from any of them. I guess that reflects the resources available to the editor, but it’s an unfortunate gap. (Also everyone seems to be white.)

Still, it’s a lovely production.… (more)

Did not finish, because they are stories and i am doling them out as they are so much fun. Always dark takes on common folks- usually with a murder or two thrown in in a light hearted way. Example: 1st story (i think). Man is visited by 2 friends in a quiet town. They wonder where the wife is... strange that she is gone in the circs - he is digging the basement in an odd way (why?) and is evasive. Friends chat with him more or less forgiving him for murdering the wife because she is a notorious philanderer all about town casting great shame on the husband man. Finally they leave and the wife returns. The man casually invites the wife downstairs - to the basement - to show her something..... the end. Pretty delicious and so it goes - packed with witty murders and misanthropy.… (more)