Regional Roundup

United Kingdom

Branton (Suffolk) resident Gary Gibbons surprised his wife Sandra by building her a TARDIS shed for the garden, complete with flashing light! The fan said of her new addition: "I needed a new shed for all my gardening tools so I could get them into one place and Gary piped up and said: 'Why don’t I make you a Tardis?' I thought he was joking at first and did not think he would actually go through with it, but there it is in our garden. All the neighbours have been commenting about how quirky it is and asking what time Doctor Who will be arriving. My children absolutely love it - my son Jody, who is a big sci-fi fan, helped Gary to build it." [East Anglian Daily Times, 8 Jan 2012]

Daleks and K9 were on-hand alongside Darth Vader and other Star Wars characters at the Orchards Shopping Centre in Dartford to raise money for charity. Mayor Cllr Eddy Lampkin said: "It was great to see these hugely popular characters drawing in people of all ages to have their pictures taken and donate money to Cherished Memories – a very worthwhile cause." [Dartford and Swanley News, 12 Jan 2012]

Members of the Loudoun Musical Society got to meet John Barrowman when they went to see him in Robinson Crusoe at the SECC. The group are staging The Producers this week, one of the actor's favourite shows - he played the lead tenor stormtrooper in the 2005 film version. [Kilmarnock Standard, 13 Jan 2012]

Staff at Sheffield Children's Hospital are to perform a concert of children's music at the City Hall alongside the city's Endcliffe Orchestra in order to raise money for an expansion to the facility. Music will include Peter and the Wolf, The Simpsons, Wallace and Gromit and Doctor Who; Endcliffe's conductor Martin Lightowler said: "We’re making the programme family-friendly to encourage mums and dads to bring their children and spend an afternoon doing something different. We all love Doctor Who – and it’s great to hear the music of such a fantastic TV show come to life in front of your eyes and ears." [The Star, 13 Jan 2012]