Colin Baker

A few weeks ago I was in Manchester and picked up a flyer for 'Invasion:Earth 2', which was a combined Doctor Who and Star Wars convention. I showed it to Dan, who is a huge Doctor Who fan, and asked if he fancied going. I hadn't realised quite how excited and enthusiastic he'd be!

I bought our tickets and Dan has been counting down the days ever since, frequently catching me off-guard. "Two weeks to go?" "Until what?" "You know! Invasion Earth!".

This morning he was fit to burst and and hovered around me as I got ready to go out. I tried my best to hurry whilst making sure I had all the things we needed; money, tickets, 'phone, CAMERA! Finally, at nine-thirty we set off. We chatted about Doctor Who *all* the way to Manchester and parked up near the hotel where the convention was taking place. While I looked at my 'phone to try and work out its precise location, Dan tugged on my sleeve: a woman dressed as the Tardis, with a little boy dressed as the sixth doctor, were making their way along the road. At a polite distance, we followed them.

Frankly, it could have been a desultory experience: a generic, characterless hotel; the room full of 'dealers' selling models, t-shirts and comics; the grown ups wandering 'round dressed as Klingons, Princess Leia and an Ood. But Dan loved it. His pleasure was simply unalloyed and infectious. (I wonder how long it is since I've enjoyed something so *purely*?) Here he is with a Dalek.

The big draw, though, was the presence of the sixth Doctor, Colin Baker. My interest in Doctor Who (never a patch on my brother's) had long waned by the time Colin was touring in the Tardis but Dan was almost overwhelmed at the thought of getting his autograph. Fortunately, we timed it just right; they'd stopped people joining the (very long!) queues as the signers - including a stormtrooper who was in some scenes that were deleted from Star Wars - were due to break for lunch. However, the man minding the door proved susceptible to emotional blackmail and Dan and I joined the now shortish queue.

The queue might not have been so long but it was still a ten minute wait and during this time I studied Colin Baker intently. By this stage, he'd been signing and smiling for two hours yet he greeted everyone with the same joy and enthusiasm. I'm a pretty good people watcher and I reckon I'd have detected the slightest sign of boredom, impatience or intolerance but he was totally charming to every single person, even some serial signing attendees whom he knew by name! ("Hello again, Richard!")

Now, as it happened, I didn't get a very good photo of my son and the Doctor and while Dan positively FIZZED with delight once we had the autograph, I was troubled by the bad photo. All through lunch - at the delightful Deaf Institute - I was preoccupied and, when it became apparent that Dan was operating on the assumption we'd be returning to the convention, I decided to go back for another photo.

It was near the end of the day now and we didn't have to queue for too long. It turned out that Colin had remained cheerful all this time, unflagging in the face of all these Whovians who wanted meet him, get his autograph, have their photo taken with him and ask him obscure questions. When we got to the front, I explained the situation and he was wonderful about it: not a hint of a sigh or a frown.

So, I'd just like to say thank you, Colin. Thank you for making so many people happy, particularly my son. Thank you for being such a decent man and I am in awe of your patience and good nature. You are a lovely fellow!