{"id":35350,"date":"2022-04-30T00:51:00","date_gmt":"2022-04-29T23:51:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thedoctorwhocompanion.com\/?p=35350"},"modified":"2022-04-29T18:13:24","modified_gmt":"2022-04-29T17:13:24","slug":"making-doctor-who-history-bedford-who-charity-con-7-raises-an-amazing-10000","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thedoctorwhocompanion.com\/2022\/04\/30\/making-doctor-who-history-bedford-who-charity-con-7-raises-an-amazing-10000\/","title":{"rendered":"Making Doctor Who History: Bedford Who Charity Con 7 Raises an Amazing \u00a310,000"},"content":{"rendered":"
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It\u2019s hard to be objective about something you\u2019re very closely involved in; you\u2019re constantly anxious at the time about how well it\u2019s going, and juggling things in your head (having to do things like mentally rejig the schedule because Julian Bleach is stuck on the M25 and is going to be late; hoping someone can find the list of auction winners you\u2019ve put down somewhere in a very large conference centre — while Terry Molloy and Colin Baker kindly cover for you with an impromptu 10 minute vamp — wondering where that full size police box has turned up from and who you need to thank profusely for bringing it; trusting to Providence that your speaker isn\u2019t going to overrun and all that kind of thing).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

(More importantly, I hope the preceding wins an award for the longest sentence ever to appear on the DWC!)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019m a bit late with this article, too, because I\u2019ve been tidying up admin after the convention.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Anyway: the verdict from the guests, crew, and audience seemed to be that Bedford Who<\/em> Charity Con 7, held on Saturday 9th April 2022, was a belter. Possibly the best one we\u2019ve ever done. Colin Baker, who\u2019s always very effusive about our efforts, proclaimed Bedford Who Charity Con:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cthe standout fan and guest event of the year\u201d.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

And we raised a lot of money for Bedford Foodbank: ten thousand quid<\/em><\/strong>. Actually, \u00a310,088 and 65p, to be exact. This is our record, and it brings the total amount raised for the Foodbank by Bedford\u2019s Who<\/em> events over the years to just shy of \u00a340,000. Foodbanks have become a feature of British life in the last 12 years; Bedford\u2019s one hands out four-day food parcels to 1400 people a month. Two years ago, it was about 650. And a third of the clients are children. This is in the seventh richest country in the world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019m not going to go into full review mode for the con because Ida Wood\u2019s very kindly doing a write up later. That said, we were lucky enough to have an amazing guest list. I had an approach from an astonishingly kind agent who asked if we\u2019d like him to bring Jo Martin (yes, Jo Martin!) and Julian Bleach (who doesn\u2019t do conventions); they came, they were superb, they signed autographs for the charity, they charged no fee, and they raised just shy of \u00a34000.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a time when the headlines are dominated by thuggery, it\u2019s good to be reminded that there still are incredibly generous and kind people in the world. Is Jo Martin nice? Yes. Charming, fun, big smile for everybody, approachable, warm, and fab. And Julian Bleach? He is too. A very, very nice man indeed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We also made a little bit of Who<\/em> history because we hosted the first ever meeting between two Davroses<\/strong>. When Terry met Julian. Here is a picture. Who has the more splendid beard? (More importantly, is Terry correct in saying that the plural of Davros is Davri?)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Who else? Colin Baker, brilliant and funny as always. Sophie Aldred, who can\u2019t do enough for you. Miranda Raison, in a rare convention appearance. And David Banks, Brian Croucher, Roger Murray-Leach (a superb speaker), Mike Tucker, Gordon Warnecke, and Peter Roy. All superb.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Okay, Danes: stop gushing. I will. I ought, though, just to record my sincere thanks to the crew (from Bedford Doc Soc), to the venue\u2019s indefatigable staff, and to the agents who made the bookings possible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Finally. For the first time, the event was professionally videoed. I haven\u2019t quite finished uploading all of the material, but if you like laughing, do have a look at our YouTube channel<\/a> to see the highlights (and do subscribe because there\u2019s more going up later).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here are a few to get you started…<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You can find us on:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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