The Emporium is bustling this week. There are plans afoot, projects underway, and the faint smell of soldering iron and old videotape hanging somewhere in the air.

Before the boxes are opened, conversation turns to future endeavours. Gavin is preparing a video celebrating the work of the great Michael Ferguson, one of Doctor Who's most accomplished directors. This leads naturally to a discussion of The Seeds of Death, and the curious way in which that story was filmed. Somehow grander, somehow more cinematic, and somehow unlike almost anything else the programme was producing at the time.

But the shelves are restless, and the boxes are eager to be opened.

The Memory Box is first to reveal its contents, transporting us back to 1989 and an evening at Liverpool Empire Theatre. There, before packed audiences, Doctor Who: The Ultimate Adventure brought the Time Lord to the stage, with Jon Pertwee taking his final bow as the Doctor. The memories remain vivid: dazzling laser effects, theatrical spectacle, and the sheer excitement of seeing Doctor Who performed live. Other recollections are perhaps a little less glowing. In particular, certain musical numbers have not improved with age, despite the best efforts of memory and nostalgia.

Next comes a newcomer to the Emporium's collection of curiosities.

The Toy Box creaks open for the very first time and immediately reveals treasure. Mike recalls the joy of acquiring a Louis Marx Dalek from Woolworths in 1965. Never mind that the head wasn't quite the right shape. To a young Doctor Who fan it was perfection. From there, the discussion wanders into the extraordinary influence that toys can have upon imagination. Plastic Daleks became film stars, cardboard sets became alien worlds, and childhood play evolved into lifelong creativity. Along the way we hear how Paul very nearly electrocuted himself attempting to construct a "spark generator" from the pages of Doctor Who Magazine, while Gavin's own youthful experiments with electronics culminated in a feat of engineering so ambitious that it succeeded only in plunging the entire house into darkness. To Mike's enduring horror, this appears to have been considered a successful experiment.

And so the Emporium acquires yet another box, another collection of stories, and another route back to childhood. The toys may have been made of plastic, the special effects fashioned from cardboard and optimism, but the memories remain remarkably real.

After all, every adventure has to begin somewhere.

Sometimes it begins with a toy Dalek from Woolworths.

You can get in touch with us on all sorts of social media.

Gavin's Twitter and Bluesky: @themindrobber

Gavin's Instagram: gav_themindrobber

Paul's Twitter: @paulcarmichaelv / Paul's Bluesky: @paulcarmichaeluk

Music by Graeme Allan

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