A new composition has been unveiled today to commemorate the BBC's historic Bush House, which ceased broadcasting in July. It was composed by Matthew Herbert, who has been appointed the creative director of the New Radiophonic Workshop, the successor to the original BBC Radiophonic Workshop that itself closed some fourteen years ago.

The piece was commissioned as the former World Service headquarters sees much of its old equipment being sold off in auction over the coming week; talking about the closure and its relevance to the Radiophonic Workshop, Herbert said:
The piece can be listened to via the right button, or on THE SPACE website.


The New Radiophonic Workshop was formed this year as part of an initiative undertaken by THE SPACE, an experimental digital Arts portal managed by Arts Council England and developed in partnership with the BBC. The workshop's first commission was The Sound of The Space, a compilation that brings together some twenty-five themes from across the portal, and can be listened to via their website.

An accomplished musician and contributor to fellow artists' projects and films, Matthew Herbert has also been credited with pioneering the use of 'found' sound in modern electronic music, that is, the integration of naturally occurring sound within compositions.

Joining him in the new Workshop initiative are music/sound designer Yann Seznec, composer Max de Wardener, broadcast technologist Tony Churnside, musician Mica Levi, theatre director Lyndsey Turner, and creative technologist Patrick Bergel.

Unlike the original workshop, which was based in Maida Vale, the new one is described as "a virtual institution, an online portal and forum for discussion around the challenges of creating new sounds, and bringing together music composition and software design."

Speaking of the resurrection of a pioneering institution, Herbert said:

BBC Radiophonic Workshop

The inspiration of "radiophonic" aware BBC producers such as Desmond Briscoe and Daphne Oram, the BBC's Radiophonic Workshop was founded in 1958, headed by Briscoe with technical assistant Dick Mills. The Workshop was at the cutting edge of electronic sound and music development, and attracted the talents of composers including Delia Derbyshire (who realised the original Doctor Who theme tune) and Brian Hodgson (who created many of the special sounds heard in the early years of the show).

THE SPACE have provided a short video interview with the Radiophonic Workshop team, which originates from a Tomorrow's World from 1965.

"That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind."

We were saddened to learn today of the passing of astronaut Neil Armstrong, who famously was the first man to walk upon the surface of the moon. His historic landing and walk became an inspiration for generations to come, both in the worlds of science and science-fiction.

Buzz Aldrin, who travelled with Armstrong on the Apollo 11 mission and also walked on the moon alongside him, said:
NASA's Administrator Charles Bolden said:

Armstrong was also to find a "starring" role in Doctor Who itself, when his mission to the moon became a focal point for the resolution of last year's episode Day of the Moon - as his famous first words upon stepping onto the surface were watched by the millions of viewers around the world, the Doctor was able to broadcast his own message to defeat the Silents.

NASA has announced that its latest mission to Mars, the Curiosity Lander, successfully touched down early today. This mission - the most ambitious to date - aims to comprehensively search for evidence that life once existed on the Red Planet, seeking to locate the basic building blocks necessary to enable microbial life to evolve. The Lander will explore Gale Crater plus a nearby three-mile-high mountain that previous missions have indicated consists of sediments rising from the crater's floor.

Life and the Waters of Mars:

The search for life on Mars has been an inspiration for centuries. In the 18th century astronomer William Herschel believed that there was active life on the planet, with a viable atmosphere that included clouds. This continued throughout the 19th century, with Richard A. Proctor 'mapping' seas, islands, and inlets, and then Giovanni Schiaparelli mapping what were to become known as the 'canals' on Mars, as described by Percival Lowell.

The romantic notion of life on Mars continued throughout the 20th century, though as the years progressed further observations led to the belief that the planet was now lifeless, with only the canals as proof that intelligent beings had indeed lived there. Then, in 1976, the Viking 1 orbiter beamed back an image in the Cydonia region that startlingly resembled a face, leading many to think that the final proof had indeed been found! However, several return visits during the past decade have presented higher-definition imagery revealing that sadly this was merely an illusion.

Of course, for life to have existed, water too needs to have been present. The earlier 'observations' of clouds, seas, and of course canals had all suggested that it was abundant on Mars, at least at some point, and missions such as the Mariner 9 space orbiter, which reached Mars in November 1971, continued to support that theory with what appeared to be dry river beds. It wasn't until the Viking landings and their images of a barren landscape that the idea of finding life-supporting water on the planet dwindled.

However, the past decade has generated renewed optimism for finding evidence of life, with the polar icecaps identified as containing huge ice deposits. Herschel's original ponderings on clouds are even vindicated with observations of cloud formations caused by evaporation in sunlight discovered by the Opportunity mission in 2004.

Mars and Doctor Who:

Being a close planetary neighbour of such interest, it was inevitable that the programme would utilise its potential for drama. The Martians first 'invade' the series during The Ice Warriors, as the discovery of an "armoured giant" in a glacier on Earth leads to the revitalisation of an isolated group of Warriors from the Red Planet. In The Seeds of Death the Doctor fought off an attempt by the aggressive, reptilian-like species to transform Earth into a new home in the mid-21st century. However, by the 25th century the Martians had joined the Galactic Federation and were (mostly) devoted to peace in the galaxy. (The Curse of Peladon/The Monster of Peladon)

During the British space programme's manned landings on Mars, General Carrington developed paranoid delusions after meeting another visiting race on the planet from outside the galaxy. Tricking ambassadors to travel to Earth on the next mission, he kidnapped them and attempted to use their radioactive nature as a weapon to "prove" they actually intended to invade Earth. It was only through the Doctor's negotiations that the Earth avoided being plunged into an intergalactic war! (The Ambassadors of Death)

The Doctor was later forced to travel to Mars itself during the titular Pyramids of Mars as the Osiran Sutekh used him to take his servants to where they could stop the transmissions that imprisoned him on Earth. Many years later Sarah Jane Smith, who had accompanied the Doctor to Mars, had her computer Mr Smith block live transmissions from a NASA mission on the planet before the aforementioned pyramid would be discovered! (The Vault of Secrets)

In the 21st Century series of Doctor Who, the evidence of water on Mars became an inspiration for the 2009 special The Waters of Mars, where the Doctor discovers how 'water' was an entity in its own right that had ultimately subjugated and caused the extinction of other life on the planet.

United Kingdom:

Space, Time, Machine and Monster: The Science Fiction of Doctor Who is to take place from 6pm tonight in Lacock Church. The talk with CBBC's scientist Mark Brake, rapper Jon Brake and the Bishop of Swindon is described as "a fun exploration of the universe and a chance to discuss science and faith issues". [Corsham People, 20 May 2012]

Nearby Corsham saw Doctor Who stars help raise money for charity earlier in the month, with Colin Baker, Nicola Bryant, John Levene, and Julian Glover among the star names helping to raise £6,620 at the Corsham Sci-Fi Family Funday. Also there mingling with the likes of Daleks and Davros was Doctor Who Magazine artist Mike Collins. [Corsham People, 4 May 2012]

Colin Baker is to appear at a television, film, and toy collectors' fair at the River Park Leisure Centre, Winchester on 9th June (the day after his birthday!). He will be joined by Terry Molloy as Daleks are set to invade the event. [Romsey Advertiser, 21 May 2012]

A six-year-old girl from Kedington has become the envy of collectors after finding a rare item of merchandise. Jessie Spicer bought a £1.50 packet of Lego Doctor Who figures at Hamley's in London and when she opened it she found a Day of the Moon model of the Doctor, of which only 100 have been made. Her mother said: "It was a real Willy Wonka moment for her and we were all really excited about it. She is going to hold on to it as an investment for the future." The figure is currently estimated to be worth up to £600. [Haverhill Weekly News, 4 May 2012]

Meeting rooms at the newly-extended BBC Broadcasting House in London have been brightened up with some familiar faces. Images of the Doctors have been applied to the walls of the cubicles, as can be seen in the picture on the right, which can be clicked on to expand. (With thanks to Rob Fitt for the details)

The PC Support Group in Liverpool counts Doctor Who amongst the company's credits, having provided support to stunt-coordinator/performer Abbi Collins for Dalek co-ordination in the series. Co-founder Simon Albert said: "I've been a huge fan of Dr Who since I was little, so when we got the opportunity to actually work with the people behind the show we all jumped at the chance to get up close with some of its most infamous characters." [Liverpool Daily Post, 18 May 2012]

Boscombe police are hoping to re-introduce police boxes in the high street in order to help combat anti-social behaviour. PC Will Martindale told the local business forum in April: "The Inspector would like to put a 'Tardis' outside McDonald's. There are issues in that area and this would be putting our stamp back in the area." Phil Stanley-Watts, councillor for Boscombe West, has been calling for the return of police boxes in Boscombe for years, saying that updated versions could be used for reporting crime and would make the public feel safer. [Bournemouth Echo, 1 May 2012]

United Kingdom:

Nick Briggs, Simon Guerrier, Peter Anghelides, and J T Colgan will be lending their authorial talents to Doctor Who creative writing workshops at this year's Winchester Festival. Aimed at youngsters, the workshops will be held at the city's Discovery Centre on Saturday 7th July from 9.30am to 4pm.

Daleks invaded Yeovil as part of the 10th-anniversary celebrations for Yeo Leisure Park. As well as full-size Daleks on show, the charity event also included remote-control Dalek racing. In addition, visitors could see a Cyberman, Scarecrow, Sontaran, K-9, and a TARDIS. [This Is Somerset and The Mary Sue, 19 Apr 2012]

A Dalek had to be manhandled by four people over a roof to get it into a house in Shrewsbury. It was bought by fan Andrew Morris from a children's hospice in Barry Island but when it arrived it proved too big to get through the front door so an alternative entrance had to be figured out – needing extra manpower and some levitation! [Shropshire Star, 25 Apr 2012]

A group of pupils in Guildford who entered the Script To Screen competition may not have won the contest but Steven Moffat was so impressed by their work that he decided to send them goodie bags of Doctor Who items anyway. The entry by the trio from Holy Trinity Pewley Down made it to the final ten. All scripts had to have an Olympic theme, and the one from Holy Trinity Pewley Down saw the Doctor, Amy, and Rory on an alien planet resembling ancient Greece but where the statues turned out to be Weeping Angels. The overall winning school is yet to be named. [Get Surrey, 26 Apr 2012]

The newly-opened Wales Coastal Path gives people the chance to see famous filming locations along its 870 miles, including Portmeirion, which was used for The Masque of Mandragora, and a number of south Wales settings for the revived series. The BBC has uploaded a slideshow of various locations along the route.

Clothes and personal belongings donated by John Barrowman to the Dogs Trust have raised more than £200. We reported in March on the gift to the charity following a spring-clean by the actor, and when the items went on sale at its Cowbridge branch they attracted huge interest, with one fan even travelling some 180 miles from Nottingham to spend £600. [Barry and District News, 18 Apr 2012]

Genuine police boxes have gone on sale in Edinburgh. A total of 22 of the two-tonne constructions are available and no price has been set on them, with offers being accepted until midday on Thursday 31st May. A sales fee of £100 will, however, apply to each box. Designed by Ebenezer MacRae in the 1930s, they differ in appearance to the TARDIS ones, which were designed by Gilbert MacKenzie Trench for the Metropolitan Police in 1929. Buyers will have to remove them or get planning permission and change their colour if they want them to stay in situ. [BBC News, 30 Apr 2012]

CBS TV host Craig Ferguson has taken his Late Late Show to his native country of Scotland. A week of programmes, which see Ferguson exploring Edinburgh, his birth city of Glasgow, and his home town of Cumbernauld, were recorded in March - pictured right - and will start airing on Monday 14th May. [Associated Press via Yahoo! News, 16 Apr 2012]

The Big Lit Day book festival in Gatehouse of Fleet on Saturday 26th May will see Annette Badland make a special guest appearance. She will be giving a reading from The World's Wife, a collection of poems by Poet Laureate Carol Ann Duffy that imagine wives' perspectives of famous men. The event is part of the Dumfries & Galloway Arts Festival. [Dumfries & Galloway Standard, 27 Apr 2012]

USA :

A Dalek popped up on the roof of MIT's Stata Center, housing the Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory, in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The appearance follows in the footsteps of the TARDIS a couple of years ago! [Lezgetreal, The Daily What, 28 Apr 2012]

In March we told of an appeal made by Tashi King for a TARDIS urn for the ashes of her terminally-ill husband, Kevin Pratt, when he dies. They have now received just such an urn and have uploaded a video thank-you message. (NB: The video contains Battlestar Galactica-style expletives and one other expletive.) [washandtashiblogspot, 24 Apr 2012]

United Kingdom:

The Queen visited Manchester as part of her Diamond Jubilee tour, during which she officially opened the new BBC MediaCentreUK in Salford - and was 'confronted' by a Dalek whilst being taken around the facilities. [BBC News, 23 Mar 2012]

The National Library of Scotland is presenting a selection of science fiction treasures as part of the Edinburgh Science Festival, entitled It's Life, Jimmy but not as we know it. The collection includes Steven Moffat’s first Doctor Who short story from 1996, Continuity Errors. The exhibition is open until 30th June, admission free. [Deadline, 28 Mar 2012]

David Boyle, the co-founder of Dapol (who made Doctor Who figures through the 1980s/90s and was home to the 'original' Doctor Who Experience), is to make and present a new television series of his interpretation on the evolution of mankind and the universe. Boyle said: "I had many experiences that didn't fit with the stories that everyone was telling us. I thought it was time to investigate these experiences and explain them, before we start telling everyone a particular story. Somebody has got to tell people the truth and tell people what is going on." [Northwich Guardian, 20 Mar 2012]

Ten-year-old Haydon Gill from Collier Row tempted chef Heston Blumenthal - with whom he co-stars with in a new advert for Waitrose - with a treat favoured by the Doctor: "My favourite food is fish fingers and custard. Dr Who eats it and it's delicious. I told Heston to try it while we were on the set together and he said he would!" [London 24, 20 Mar 2012]

Pupils from St. Mary's Primary School in Chipping Norton have made the final of the Script to Screen writing competition with their script, The Ultimate Athlete, featuring the Cybermen up to nefarious activities at the Olympics. George Tuckwell, Joe Frater, Oscar Miller and Rowan Woodell are all excited with the possibility of seeing their script turned into a mini-episode, with George saying: "I am very, very, very nervous about the competition. I do not want to get my hopes up, but if we won I would probably shout and scream. It was meant to be based on the Olympics, so we thought the Greeks made the Olympics and decided to do a story with that. It has been really fun." The winning script for the competition is announced tomorrow. [Witney Gazette, 29 Mar 2012]

The Radlett Centre played host to two Doctor Who celebrities last weekend, with both a Dalek and Derek Martin appearing at the event, which brings together children from local schools to perform together. Organiser and Dalek owner Julie Banes said: "It's a huge morale boost for the students who take part and it's quite tear-jerking to watch. They all did a marvellous job and gave it 100 per cent." [Herts Advertiser, 24 Mar 2012]

A man with a saucepan on his head imitating a Dalek was one of a number of hopefuls auditioning for the next series of Britain's Got Talent. [Daily Mail, 20 Mar 2012]

United States:

Two-year-old Valentine Dewait has become a hit thanks to her appearances on Twitter dressed as every (current) incarnation as the Doctor. Her father, Ryan, said: "She enjoys dressing up. Costumes, tutus, you name it. She'll go to her costumes and pull out outfits to put on." [Digital Spy, 16 Mar 2012]

Tashi King has made an appeal on behalf of her husband Kevin Pratt for when he loses his fight with an inoperable brain tumour. Writing to Regretsy, she said: I am writing to you to try and fulfill a wish of his; after he passes my husband wants to have a portion of his cremains kept in a TARDIS urn. (The rest will be shot off in rockets he has built over the years with his friends.)" The request has led to a fund-raising page being set up for the couple. You can follow their story via Tashi's blog. [Regretsy, 13 Mar 2012]

Online:

Doctor Who has been named a National Treasure, according to a survey undertaken by network operator O2. Over 14,000 people contributed to the list, which was compiled through the company's Facebook page. Other treasures include singers Bob Marley and Cheryl Cole, 'presenter' Dame Edna Everage, and Tower Bridge. [The Drum, 28 Mar 2012]

The TARDIS has once again been spotted out and about, this time materialising at the Welsh National Assembly! The police box prop has been in residence in the Senedd building at Cardiff Bay over the last week.

Photo: Ceri-Anne, 13th March 2012

Photo: Jess Blair, 13th March 2012

Photo: Lee Tucker, 18th March 2012

The nearby Wales Millennium Centre plays host next weekend to the official Doctor Who Convention.

United Kingdom:

Toby Hadoke's stage show Moths Ate My Doctor Who Scarf arrives in Neston on 30th March, and students from the local high school helped promote the event by dressing up as the Doctor and a Weeping Angel to 'frighten' shoppers at Sainsburys! [AboutMyArea, 9 Mar 2012]

You can find a list of Toby's performances around the country in our earlier news item. Toby has notified us of an error that crept in:

Sunday 11th March would have seen writer and script editor Douglas Adams turn 60, and tribute has been paid in a lengthy feature that takes a look at his close links to Cambridge. Adams was born there, read English at St John's College (which became the inspiration for St Cedd's in his Doctor Who story Shada), and was a member of the Footlights. A tour of Adams-related Cambridge locations was taking place on Saturday. [Cambridge News, 9 Mar 2012]

Swindon's Central Library is to see a Dalek invasion on Saturday 17th March as part of a fund-raising event for charity. The day also sees sci-fi author David Johnson holding writing workshops and signing copies of his books. [Swindon Advertiser, 15 Mar 2012]

United Kindom

This coming weekend (3rd/4th March) sees Coalville play host to Robots Live at the Hermitage Centre, and a Dalek took to the streets of Loughborough last weekend to promote the event. Organiser Alan Young said: "It was really good. We had lots of people coming up to the robots and having their photos taken with them. We were trying to encourage people to come to our event next Saturday, we've got the best robots coming from all over the country to battle it out and it should be a really entertaining day." [Leicester Mercury, 28 Feb 2012]

Crosscombe village panto Sleeping Beauty had a surprise twist: "While the Princess slept, some cast members were projected 300 years forward, by a very convincing Tardis. What else? When the bad fairy finally met her demise, the Prince was ably assisted by the intervention of a conveniently placed Dalek." [Shepton Mallet Journal, 1 Mar 2012]

United States

Actor Travis Richey has been attempting to raise money to continue a Doctor Who spoof called Inspector Spacetime that appeared on NBC's Community in which he starred as a web-based series. However, having been told by NBC that he couldn't use the name, which is copyrighted to them, he has now renamed the project as Untitled Webseries About a Space Traveler Who Can Also Travel Through Time! [Topless Robot, 29 Feb 2012]

The student economics blog Centives at LeHigh University, Pennsylvania have been working out the cost of hiring a TARDIS for year: "We think that the market value of hiring the TARDIS would be £15,140,064 or $23,930,385 or 504,668,800 jelly babies." Find out how they came to that conclusion from their blog! [Centives blog, 27 Feb 2012]

Snowtime in New Hampshire and out comes the snow-Daleks - this one from Maddy! [MerrimackPatch, 1 Mar 2012]

The annual Megacon took place in Orlando, Florida over 19/20th February; the Southeast's largest comic-book/sci-fi convention saw a number of activities and of course the chance for costumes and models to be on display. [GeekSugar, 21 Feb 2012]

Australia

Aaron Climas from Mitchell Park in Adelaide has spent a year building his own Dalek. The visual effects artist completed it this week, just in time for Robert Shearman to arrive for the Adelaide Writers' Week. [Adelaide Now, 2 Mar 2012]

A tribunal has ordered Cardiff Council to hand over all its records to do with Doctor Who.

A request under the Freedom of Information Act was made last year by journalist Christopher Hastings to see all documents between the BBC and the council relating to the series. He also wanted to see complaints about the programme that had been sent to the council, as well as all the relevant civic correspondence with utility firms and other public bodies.

The council had refused to comply, saying that it would take longer than the 18 hours that legislation allows. That stance was rejected by the Information Commissioner so the council appealed to the Information Rights Tribunal. However, the tribunal ruled that Cardiff "failed to prove, on the balance of probabilities, that responding to Mr Hastings' enquiry would have involved in excess of 18 hours' work."

Ordering the council to release the information, it also reproached it for what it called poor evidence, with two officers at the civic authority - Phil Bradshaw and Dave Parsons - contradicting each other, and one of them (Bradshaw) contradicting himself.

A council spokesman said: