Pecorama 2011

On Sunday the 10th of July, some friends and I attended a mini convention at Pecorama in Beer, Devon.

Pecorama offers some beautiful gardens and a selection of model railways, but for me, a confirmed Doctor Who nerd, the appeal in going on that particular Sunday was the opportunity to meet sixth Doctor Colin Baker, former companion Sarah Sutton, and visual effects expert Matt Irvine.

Q&A Session with Sarah and Colin

Colin and Sarah offered the assembled fans the opportunity to ask them questions, they were both very charming and eloquent. Colin, when asked "where does the TARDIS go?" instantly came up with a perfectly plausible answer involving particle physics and multiple universes, which earned a round of applause.



In a rather touching moment, Colin spoke of his most enjoyable experience while working on Doctor Who, which was the chance to work with Patrick Troughton in The Two Doctors, he was very complimentary about his predecessor, whom he described as a very generous actor.

He also revealed that Patrick along with current Doctor Matt Smith were the two best actors in his opinion to take on the role.

On the day there were U.N.I.T. firing ranges, a dealer room, full of essential Doctor Who memorabilia, and for the many who arrived in costume, there were competitions to decide who had the best outfit, the winner of the children's section was a child dressed as the TARDIS, complete with the lamp on their head!

Chipper Colin gets signing

After the Q&A session we were given the chance to get autographs, and credit to Colin and Sarah, who must have spent ages signing for everyone, they remained cheerful and friendly throughout.








To round off the experience, we went into a room featuring ephemera from the classic series archives.

The Cyber Controller

Amongst the items on display were an Ice Warrior costume, the sixth Doctor's blue cloak from Revelation Of The Daleks, a mask from The Robots Of Death, original designs for Mr Sin from The Talons Of Weng Chiang, the Cyber Controller's head from The Tomb Of The Cybermen, some spiders from Jon Pertwee's final story Planet Of The Spiders, and the original K9 prop.

On hand to discuss all matters about models and special effects was Matt Irvine, who was very chatty and friendly, and has a great deal of knowledge about the series.

The Doctor's faithful friend

After all the Who related japery was over there was still plenty of time to wander around the gardens, and check out the many model railways on display, yes, I know what you're thinking, nerd heaven!

I never had a train set as a child, but I have to admit, the hard work and level of detail that goes into the sets on display is of a very high standard, and you can understand why someone might want to take it up as a hobby.

I really enjoyed my day out, and if another similar event was organised by the Exe-Wing charity fund raisers, I would certainly go along, and if you like Doctor Who too, I would recommend it.