The wibbly-wobbly, timey-wimey WHOLIDAY

 Hello Lovelies!

This is part three of my adventurous week. The part you’ve all been waiting for—the WHOLIDAY.

I should first like to say that just as I mentioned HERE in my first post, I was surrounded by angels.

I had a little trouble figuring out which train to catch as the app just offered too many choices, so back in December I went along to the train station and got advice from a friendly employee who helped me choose the best trains to catch. Her advice: never change in Newport as you have to go over a sky bridge to change platforms. Um, no thank you. Always change in Cardiff was her motto and she helpfully printed off a list of all the trains to take on my trip there and return and highlighted the Cardiff ones. Right. Transportation sorted, now onto Accommodation.

 Using the app Booking.com I was able to find a beautiful Georgian hotel that was a seven-minute walk to the museum and was on the seafront. I got a discount for booking on my phone and my room was beautiful. The view from the outside:

The view from inside:

My plan had been to arrive at the station at about 1:30pm, take a taxi to the hotel to check in around 2pm. That was the plan. But there were no taxis in the taxi rank and I was advised to take the bus. Now you may remember my severe bus anxiety from this post about having to the take the bus to go get a mammogram HERE so I honestly wasn't sure if I could cope. I really struggle if plans have to change at the last minute and this was a big change. But the very helpful lady at the station told me I could absolutely do it. She said i would know where to get off. When I saw the pier on my left, look to the right and my hotel would be visible. And she was correct. it was MASSIVE. It was so big it seemed like you might be able to view it from space. What a relief!

I got checked in, unpacked and then used my map reading confidence to go to the Tesco Express and get some picky bits for my tea that night. Then i decided to go to the cinema.

At the end of the High Street was a Cineworld which was HUGE compared to our local VUE. It was easy to get to get and I had time before the film so I pottered around the shops on my way. I decided to go see the film Poor Things because I loved the film The Favourite (also directed by Yorgos Lanthimos). This film was funny and surreal with lush costumes and loads of sex as reanimated from the dead Bella Baxter discovers the world with no preconceived notions of what is expected. It was very arty-farty and I bloody loved it. 

The film was very long (it started at 4:20pm and got out after 7pm.) I was a bit worried walking back down the High Street after dark as there were groups of youths all drinking and shouting. But then I twigged what they were shouting about and I felt safe.

Drunk youth one: There is loads of beautiful architecture here.

Drunk youth two: That's what I'm saying. Georgian architecture! Look at those cornices!

Drunk youth one: But nobody ever looks up to see it. They just look at Caffe Bloody Nero or fecking Poundland which have no SOUL and never look up to see the beautiful Georgian architecture above it

Drunk youth two: What a fecking waste.

I was a bit worried as things look different after dark and I was concerned I might not be able to find my hotel, but i needn't have. It was lit up like a beacon making it very easy to spot. 

The next day, bright and early, I went to the Weston Museum with a quick detour to the soulless Caffe Nero to get a hot chocolate (making sure to glance up and admire the cornices.) I wore my k-9 skirt (of course I did!) and the first thing I did was have my photo made with a Cyberman (as you do.) I also brought my framed photo of Spiderman as he asked me to. 

The museum's website has this to say about the exhibit (which has been so popular, it has been extended until April)

Allons-y, time travellers and art aficionados! Weston Museum is all set to take you on a nostalgia-filled ride with “Adventures in Time and Space – 60 Years of Doctor Who Art.” Celebrating the show’s whopping six decades of wibbly-wobbly, timey-wimey greatness in November 2023. This exhibition promises to be a treat for all those who’ve shared an adventure with the Doctor.

Hold onto your sonic screwdrivers as we journey back to the roots of the longest-running Sci-Fi extravaganza known to humanity. From the classic era that graced our screens from 1963 to 1989, to the modern reboot that’s been stealing our hearts since 2005, this exhibition is a heartwarming journey for Whovians of all generations.

This is the largest collection of original and digital art from and about the programme ever shown in one location.

Expect to be greeted by the images of familiar faces of the Doctors we’ve cherished through the years – from the stern charm of William Hartnell to the iconic scarf-swirling of Tom Baker, the cheeky charm of David Tennant, the ground-breaking brilliance of Jodie Whittaker, and with the excitement of the new Ncuti Gatwa. And of course, it wouldn’t be a Doctor Who affair without our favourite villains – the Daleks, Cybermen, and a host of creatures that have given the Doctor a run for their money across time and space.

The exhibition unfolds like the pages of a well-worn book, displaying iconic book covers, a blast from the past with those VHS video covers we all remember (oh, the nostalgia!), annuals, comics, and graphic novels that have kept us hooked. To add a sprinkle of that quintessential Doctor Who magic, there’s even a painting that made its debut on the show itself.

We’ve dived into the TARDIS of artistic archives, rounding up an exceptional collection from private art collectors and dedicated fans who’ve lovingly held onto these visual treasures. Marvel at the original cover art of the very first Doctor Who Annual from way back in 1965 – the colours as vivid as a freshly regenerated Time Lord. We’ve joined forces with Doctor Who’s very own artistic time-travellers, securing their prized works from their dusty vaults and bringing them to life with high-resolution digital wizardry.

‘Don’t blink’ for an expedition that transcends time and space, as we celebrate the legacy of Doctor Who through a captivating display of artistry.

 Here are the highlights--my favourite paintings for each Doctor, their enemies and companions.

And my all time favourite thing in the exhibit--Tom Baker PANTS!

I was pretty worn out after the museum so I went back to the hotel for a nap and then out to the nearby Wetherspoons for a meal that night. In between the nap and the meal i did a practice walk to make sure I could find the train station the next day and I absolutely could. 

The next day i had time to stop again for a hot chocolate on my way to the station to catch a 10:40am train back to Wales. Weather was a bit grim--snow and ice--so there was a delay in Cardiff but I got home by 4pm and collapsed in a heap.

For the next two nights I slept about 12 hours each night, so clearly it exhausted me. But I had done it. I had planned and executed a fantastic adventure in time and space all my myself and it has been a success. 

This will open up so many more opportunities for further adventures as I am no longer afraid of doing this alone. 

Do I wish Spiderman was with me? Of course I do. But I have come to understand that I am like a Time Lord--I have two hearts, mine and his, and I will carry them both together until we meet again. 

Allons y!