Paul Dykes
@paulodykes.bsky.social
Photographer, nerd and fan of old films. Creator of #GhostMonuments police box photos. Doctor Who obsessive, it goes without saying.
Whenever I watch Letter to Brezhnev, I have the added joy of thinking, “That’s the hotel I stayed in when I went to my first Dr Who convention.” 😁 flickr.com/photos/11725...
November 7, 2025 at 12:49 AM
Whenever I watch Letter to Brezhnev, I have the added joy of thinking, “That’s the hotel I stayed in when I went to my first Dr Who convention.” 😁 flickr.com/photos/11725...
“These Doctor Who fans are everywhere.”
November 6, 2025 at 8:42 AM
“These Doctor Who fans are everywhere.”
I remembered that there’s also this front door on a road that’s even closer to where I live. Points deducted for actual resemblance to a police box; points added (I guess 😁) for the sign to explain the effect they were going for.
November 6, 2025 at 8:42 AM
I remembered that there’s also this front door on a road that’s even closer to where I live. Points deducted for actual resemblance to a police box; points added (I guess 😁) for the sign to explain the effect they were going for.
Absolutely! The owners were lovely as well, closing the doors for me so that I could get my shots.
It was slightly too wide when viewed head-on, but, you know, that’s being unnecessarily picky!
It was slightly too wide when viewed head-on, but, you know, that’s being unnecessarily picky!
November 4, 2025 at 10:58 AM
Absolutely! The owners were lovely as well, closing the doors for me so that I could get my shots.
It was slightly too wide when viewed head-on, but, you know, that’s being unnecessarily picky!
It was slightly too wide when viewed head-on, but, you know, that’s being unnecessarily picky!
On the topic of police box doors, I was going to recommend folk go to see this splendid example in Worthing, but I’ve just found out that it’s no more 😔. It was the entrance to a real ale pub that had to move premises in 2023. I’m glad I got a photographic record of it before it dematerialised!
November 4, 2025 at 10:38 AM
On the topic of police box doors, I was going to recommend folk go to see this splendid example in Worthing, but I’ve just found out that it’s no more 😔. It was the entrance to a real ale pub that had to move premises in 2023. I’m glad I got a photographic record of it before it dematerialised!
The Doctor Who fans must’ve moved in fairly recently. Here’s the same door three years ago.
November 3, 2025 at 3:06 PM
The Doctor Who fans must’ve moved in fairly recently. Here’s the same door three years ago.
On the other side of the street is one that looks like this. It’s a shame they’re not next-door neighbours.
November 3, 2025 at 2:33 PM
On the other side of the street is one that looks like this. It’s a shame they’re not next-door neighbours.
Just spotted this front door on a road near where I live 😊.
November 3, 2025 at 2:33 PM
Just spotted this front door on a road near where I live 😊.
At no point does the writer mention the Doctor visibly touching a console control, Susan screaming, "Don't touch it! It's live!" or Barbara rebuking the Doctor.
I suppose if you ignore what's seen on screen, then perhaps you *could* theorise that the bang is Ian breaking the chameleon circuit.
I suppose if you ignore what's seen on screen, then perhaps you *could* theorise that the bang is Ian breaking the chameleon circuit.
November 2, 2025 at 9:49 PM
At no point does the writer mention the Doctor visibly touching a console control, Susan screaming, "Don't touch it! It's live!" or Barbara rebuking the Doctor.
I suppose if you ignore what's seen on screen, then perhaps you *could* theorise that the bang is Ian breaking the chameleon circuit.
I suppose if you ignore what's seen on screen, then perhaps you *could* theorise that the bang is Ian breaking the chameleon circuit.
And then there's this bit, which asserts that it's quite likely that we see the breaking of the chameleon circuit. You know, that bit in An Unearthly Child when Ian touches the console again, having touched it several times moments before, and receives an electric shock.
November 2, 2025 at 9:49 PM
And then there's this bit, which asserts that it's quite likely that we see the breaking of the chameleon circuit. You know, that bit in An Unearthly Child when Ian touches the console again, having touched it several times moments before, and receives an electric shock.
The book says the Master’s TARDIS takes on the guise of an Ionic column. It does not. It takes on the form of a Doric column.
November 2, 2025 at 3:01 PM
The book says the Master’s TARDIS takes on the guise of an Ionic column. It does not. It takes on the form of a Doric column.
The Met Police Archive has the dates of decommissioning for 95% of the police boxes. Here are a couple of charts based on that data. The first chart shows that the two big years for decommissioning were 1959 and 1970. The second chart visualises the number of police boxes in operation over time.
November 2, 2025 at 11:40 AM
The Met Police Archive has the dates of decommissioning for 95% of the police boxes. Here are a couple of charts based on that data. The first chart shows that the two big years for decommissioning were 1959 and 1970. The second chart visualises the number of police boxes in operation over time.
Again, I can help with this assertion about "during the 1970s and early 1980s". While the writer says, "across much of the United Kingdom," most police boxes were in London. 97% had been removed from service by the end of 1970, and 99% by the end of 1971, at which point there were only seven left.
November 2, 2025 at 11:40 AM
Again, I can help with this assertion about "during the 1970s and early 1980s". While the writer says, "across much of the United Kingdom," most police boxes were in London. 97% had been removed from service by the end of 1970, and 99% by the end of 1971, at which point there were only seven left.
I can help with this too. Police box S63 was demolished on 19 November 1980.
November 1, 2025 at 10:03 PM
I can help with this too. Police box S63 was demolished on 19 November 1980.
I’m reading the Black Archive on Logopolis. If you do too and were unaware, the police box scenes were actually filmed a good 10-15 miles to the southwest at Gerrards Cross.
November 1, 2025 at 10:03 PM
I’m reading the Black Archive on Logopolis. If you do too and were unaware, the police box scenes were actually filmed a good 10-15 miles to the southwest at Gerrards Cross.
Very much enjoyed watching 'The Thief' (1952) this week, an exciting Cold War thriller with Ray Milland in the lead and not a word of dialogue in its 86 minutes.
The regeneration scene was a surprise, though.
The regeneration scene was a surprise, though.
October 31, 2025 at 8:43 PM
Very much enjoyed watching 'The Thief' (1952) this week, an exciting Cold War thriller with Ray Milland in the lead and not a word of dialogue in its 86 minutes.
The regeneration scene was a surprise, though.
The regeneration scene was a surprise, though.
...every time the young Ian Marter went to the junction of Madeline Road and looked downhill to the right, he would have seen police box Z36 at the junction of Anerley Road and Anerley Park, which was in operation from 1933–1970. www.ghostmonuments.co.uk/bromley?pgid...
October 20, 2025 at 8:05 PM
...every time the young Ian Marter went to the junction of Madeline Road and looked downhill to the right, he would have seen police box Z36 at the junction of Anerley Road and Anerley Park, which was in operation from 1933–1970. www.ghostmonuments.co.uk/bromley?pgid...
What a lovely and moving documentary about Ian Marter on the S13 box set. It was a bit of a thrill to learn that he grew up on Madeline Road, SE20. For 15 years until 2022, I lived a stone's throw to the south-west across the railway line, on Maberley Road. It's also exciting to know that...
October 20, 2025 at 8:05 PM
What a lovely and moving documentary about Ian Marter on the S13 box set. It was a bit of a thrill to learn that he grew up on Madeline Road, SE20. For 15 years until 2022, I lived a stone's throw to the south-west across the railway line, on Maberley Road. It's also exciting to know that...
Hurray! The gift to all humanity has arrived.
October 18, 2025 at 10:41 AM
Hurray! The gift to all humanity has arrived.
Could it be this one? cinematreasures.org/theaters/21449 On a map from the 1950s, it’s where a BBC Studio is shown.
September 28, 2025 at 8:10 AM
Could it be this one? cinematreasures.org/theaters/21449 On a map from the 1950s, it’s where a BBC Studio is shown.
I used to work at the Tate, and so I recognised the windows! Googling some old photos of the Turbine Hall confirmed it for me 🔍.
September 22, 2025 at 8:53 PM
I used to work at the Tate, and so I recognised the windows! Googling some old photos of the Turbine Hall confirmed it for me 🔍.
Do I want to be a hero, @fubsyshabaroon.bsky.social? Well, yes. So, after rewatching Biggles for the first time in over thirty years, I popped over to www.reelstreets.com/films/biggles/ 😊
September 22, 2025 at 8:34 PM
Do I want to be a hero, @fubsyshabaroon.bsky.social? Well, yes. So, after rewatching Biggles for the first time in over thirty years, I popped over to www.reelstreets.com/films/biggles/ 😊
And Philip Hinchcliffe was his usual measured and reflective self, taking care to answer audience questions well, even an annoying one from an embittered "first-generation" fan.
I'm annoyed that the anti-flicker tool on my camera only worked at the end, but c'est la vie! flic.kr/s/aHBqjCuLMY
I'm annoyed that the anti-flicker tool on my camera only worked at the end, but c'est la vie! flic.kr/s/aHBqjCuLMY
September 20, 2025 at 9:05 PM
And Philip Hinchcliffe was his usual measured and reflective self, taking care to answer audience questions well, even an annoying one from an embittered "first-generation" fan.
I'm annoyed that the anti-flicker tool on my camera only worked at the end, but c'est la vie! flic.kr/s/aHBqjCuLMY
I'm annoyed that the anti-flicker tool on my camera only worked at the end, but c'est la vie! flic.kr/s/aHBqjCuLMY
Mike Tucker donned the new Skarasen and talked about creating it for the special edition of the story.
September 20, 2025 at 9:05 PM
Mike Tucker donned the new Skarasen and talked about creating it for the special edition of the story.
It was lovely seeing Mark Ayres pay his respects to Michael McCarthy for the Studio Sound work he did on the story. And Neil Cole shared with us stories of fighting the council over his sci-fi museum in Allendale and of restoring props and models, including the old Skarasen.
September 20, 2025 at 9:05 PM
It was lovely seeing Mark Ayres pay his respects to Michael McCarthy for the Studio Sound work he did on the story. And Neil Cole shared with us stories of fighting the council over his sci-fi museum in Allendale and of restoring props and models, including the old Skarasen.