Many Happy Returns Doctor Who!

Today is The Day of The Doctor - 50th anniversary special on BBC1 tonight!

https://www.facebook.com/DoctorWho

What better way to celebrate the 50th birthday of this world famous series than to download and help spread the word of the companion audio produced by out-of-this-world Big Finish with 100% proceeds to Invest in ME? http://bigfinish.com/releases/v/many-happy-returns-775

100% proceeds to Invest in ME

Its release last year was featured in Doctor Who magazine.  All involved gave their time for free and all proceeds go to Invest in ME.  The initial £4454 raised helped the charity to fully fund the foundation research project at the University of East Anglia which began last month.

Some of the lovely writers, directors and actors involved met our "Let's do it for ME!" Bear. 

Lisa Bowerman and Ayesha Antoine

Scott Handcock

Katy Manning

Paul Cornell

Louise Jameson 

Simon Guerrier

Nicholas Briggs

Read all about it and see photos here: http://ldifme.org/many-happy-returns/ —

The history of Big Finish is told in Justyce Served by Alun Harris and Matt West, who are also generously donating their profits to Invest in ME and Amnesty International.

Authors' profits to Amnesty International and Invest in ME

The authors write:  In 1984 a group of Doctor Who fans began a project which would continue for another decade and eventually lead to much greater things.

Audio Visuals: Audio Adventures in Time & Space were a non-profit, fan endeavour creating full-cast audio Doctor Who drama. 27 plays later the majority of the creative team would go on to be involved with Big Finish, an officially licensed range of Doctor Who audio dramas.

For many fans Audio Visuals  seem almost canon. Nicholas Briggs was our Doctor. We remember the Daleks’ destruction of Gallifrey before it even happened on TV. We supported our Doctor through drug addiction, companion-loss and the horror of Justyce.

This book is a guide to those days. 

With contributions from Nicholas Briggs, Gary Russell, Nigel Fairs, John Ainsworth, Heather Barker, Patricia Merrick, Richard Marson, Jim Mortimore, Andy Lane and no doubt many others between now and September, all wrapped up in a new cover by Tim Keable.

Celebrate Doctor Who fan creativity at its very best.

The first review of the book was courtesy of Starburst Magazine

THE AUTHORS' PROFITS FROM THIS BOOK WILL BE DONATED TO AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL UK and INVEST IN M.E.

http://www.miwkpublishing.com/store/index.php?_a=product&product_id=7

Huge THANKS to all the above for helping to bring the research and treatment of this disease into the 21st century and giving us realistic hope for the future by supporting Invest in ME.

Let's do it for ME!

MANY HAPPY RETURNS: A HUGE THANK YOU!

"We'd like to take the opportunity to say a huge thank you to everyone who supported last year's Bernice Summerfield story Many Happy Returns, the celebratory release featuring a wealth of talent in front of and behind the camera. It's so far raised £4454 for the charity Invest in M.E. And it's still on sale!" 

Bernice Summerfield: Many Happy Returns is available on the website for only £10, as a download only, with all proceeds to Invest in ME charity, for biomedical research into myalgic encephalomyelitis (M.E)

A feature-length tale, it's written by Xanna Eve Chown, Stephen Cole, Paul Cornell, Stephen Fewell, Simon Guerrier, Scott Handcock, Rebecca Levene, Jacqueline Rayner, Justin Richards, Miles Richardson, Eddie Robson and Dave Stone and stars, amongst others, Lisa Bowerman, Stephen Fewell, Ayesha Antoine, Miles Richardson, Katy Manning, Nicholas Briggs, Sylvester McCoy and Sophie Aldred.

Cast: Lisa Bowerman (Bernice Summerfield), Stephen Fewell (Jason Kane), Steven Wickham (Joseph), Miles Richardson (Irving Braxiatel), Louise Faulkner (Bev Tarrant), Harry Myers (Adrian Wall), Thomas Grant (Peter Summerfield), Ayesha Antoine (Ruth), David Ames (Jack), Marcus Hutton (Leonidas), Katy Manning (Iris Wildthyme), David Benson (Panda), Nicholas Briggs (The Curator), Sylvester McCoy (Late Arrival), Sophie Aldred (Dave Stone), Christopher Allen (Adam), John Ainsworth (Casino Robot), Gary Russell (Vice Chancellor) 

Big Finish produce an officially licensed range of Doctor Who dramas.  Here are some responses from fans of their Facebook page to the exciting announcement above:

"Great news. Having M.E myself, it would be great to see some breakthrough medically . Well Done Big Finish !"

"Amazing! Thanks again to everyone involved in this and being so generous in giving the proceeds to charity x"

"This was a truly amazing release. The scenes with Benny and Jason at the end literally had me sobbing my heart out. This is how to do an anniversary story, Doctor Who producers, I hope you've taken notes."

"I cried my eyes out as well at the end! Well done! Good story.. great characters and a good cause! How about another one next year!!"

"Congrats on money well raised."

Future archaeologist and adventurer, Bernice Summerfield, is the creation of top novelist, comics and TV writer Paul Cornell; an enthusiatic supporter of the Let's do it for ME campaign, having seen the devastating effects of ME first hand.  He has already done a lot to raise awareness by featuring characters with ME in his work.  Many Happy Returns was directed by John Ainsworth, Gary Russell and Scott Handcock; who also organised, produced, and generally ensured this happened. On its release in November, Scott had said:

'I was overwhelmed by how many people wanted to be involved with the project. Not only actors, but writers, sound designers, Toby at the Moat Studios - everyone! Everyone gave their time for Jac Rayner and her charity, Invest in ME, and this adventure has been truly worthwhile to pull together on every level!'

Upon receipt of the whopping cheque for £4454 earlier this week, Invest in ME said:

"This is quite an amazing achievement on top of what Scott already raised with his marathon running. It is a privilege to be supported by such generous people like Scott and his colleagues".
Many Happy Returns featured in an article in BBC Dr. Who magazine in October - you can see it on our website here - and you can see photos of Let's do it for ME Bear meeting some of the wonderful writers and cast in the photo gallery here. 

Bernice Summerfield: Many Happy Returns is available on the Big Finish website.   

A huge thank you to everyone involved in this production and to all supporting it!

You might also like: 

Justyce Served - A Small Start with a Big Finish - a book by Alun Harris and Matt West about the early days of Audio Visuals: Audio Adventures in Time & Space - the majority of the creative team went on to be involved with Big Finish.  The authors' profits from this book will be donated to Amnesty International and Invest in ME.

Running To Stand Still - an audio play about M.E. written by Barnaby Eaton-Jones. 

Our previous posts:
March 2012: Big Finish Helps Our Big Cause!
December 2012: Bernice Summerfield: Many Happy Returns Out Now!

Bernice Summerfield: Many Happy Returns Out Now!

Posted by Big Finish Productions 30th November:

"Following the recent release of Doctor Who: Love and War, Big Finish is pleased to announce that a special Bernice Summerfield charity adventure - Many Happy Returns - is now available to download.

Celebrating twenty years of the popular archaeologist character first introduced in the Doctor Who New Adventures books, one-off drama Bernice Summerfield: Many Happy Returns reflects elements of Bernice's entire life and reunites her with a whole host of familiar faces.

'I was overwhelmed by how many people wanted to be involved with the project,' says producer Scott Handcock. 'Not only actors, but writers, sound designers, Toby at the Moat Studios - everyone! Everyone gave their time for Jac Rayner and her charity, Invest in ME, and this adventure has been truly worthwhile to pull together on every level!'

Invest in ME works to raise awareness and funding into research of ME, a serious neuro-immune condition that affects 250,000 people in the United Kingdom. Its latest project - Let's Do It For ME! - is a patient-driven campaign raising vital funds for a Centre of Excellence at the University of East Anglia. The centre aims to translate scientific findings and evidence from research into applicable treatments for people suffering from ME, focusing on immunology and virology.

The hundred-minute adventure is available to download now, and every penny from sales will go to supporting Invest in ME and its projects. Click on the product page now to order, and for full details of the cast and crew who have come together to celebrate Bernice's birthday!"

"Bernice Summerfield: Many Happy Returns" is featured on the LDIFME website here , you can also see photos of some of the lovely people involved meeting LDIFME Bear here.

Jac Rayner is a core member of the Let's do it for ME Team.  She said,

"Invest in ME have been busy creating hope, and now Big Finish have gift-wrapped little bits and put them in our Christmas stockings. Thank you so much to everyone who has worked on, bought, or otherwise supported this project. You’re great." 

To help celebrate all these achievements and raise ME awareness, Jac has devised a competition, click here for details and the prizes on offer, closing date is 5th December.

A big THANK-YOU to everyone involved at Big Finish from the Team at Let's do it for ME!

ps. Barnaby-Eaton Jones is also a fellow member of the Let's do it for ME Team. His audio play about ME, available for download and on CD, was released earlier in November and is featured on our website here, "Running To Stand Still".  Many thanks to all involved! 

LDIFME Bear Meets - Part 2

LDIFME Bear loves to get out and about and raise awareness of Myalgic Encephalomyelitis! He was spotted back in January boarding a train to London and we were left wondering how he'd cope in the big city. Well it turns out he's a very independent little bear.. in fact we're a little jealous back at LDIFME headquarters that he's been having such fun and meeting.. well we'll get to that in a minute.

Bronte Barbe

Some of you will know Jessica Daley (formerly Robinson) has been chaperoning Bear for us after they met backstage at Middlesbrough's 'Little Theatre' during her role as Snow White (see Part 1). She quickly took him under her wing and on a train back to London and it didn't take long before he was ready for his "close-up" once again.

After hearing about Jessica's time in the BBC1 programme 'Over The Rainbow' Bear was excited to meet some of the other Dorothy's who sang and danced their way into the final ten for the leading role in Andrew Lloyd Webber's West End production of 'The Wizard of Oz'. Bronte Barbe from Cheshire has qualities similar to Dorothy being a small-town girl determined to make her own way in life. Since her experience on the live shows Bronte has gone on to train at Mountview Academy honing her skills to increase her chances of making it big in showbiz – good luck Bronte!

Jenny Douglas

Edinburgh's Jenny Douglas studied Musical Theatre at Motherwell College in Scotland and was 18 when she became one of the final ten girls for Andrew Lloyd Webber's search for Dorothy. Although she made it through eight live shows before being voted out of the competition Jenny feels it was for the best and as a self-confessed rock-chick that she's much more suited to her current role of Meat in a National touring production of the Queen musical “We Will Rock You”.

Stephanie Fearon had her West End debut in ‘Whistle Down The Wind’ when she was 10 and has appeared in Channel 4 teen drama ‘As If’ and the BBC1 drama ‘Casualty’. Her biggest TV break, however, was the role of ‘Harriet’ ("Harry"), in the out of this world CITV programme ‘My Parents Are Aliens’.

Stephanie Fearon

The daughter of hit-makers, Phil Fearon, of the 1980s band Galaxy, and Dorothy Fearon, a member of 1990s chart-toppers Baby D Londoner Stephanie Fearon is a former Dorothy finalist with showbiz blood in her veins. Stephanie came fourth in the competition and landed a role in a revival of the Tony Award-winning production of Smokey Joe’s Café less than a month after leaving the show. She has also played ‘Dorothy’ in a production of the ‘The Wiz’ at the Milton Keynes Theatre as well as a touring production of 'The Wizard Of Oz'. October was the highlight of 2011 for Stephanie when she played Diana Morales in 'A Chorus Line' directed by Baayork Lee and played at the Tel Aviv Opera House, Israel.

Meeting Dorothy finalists Bronte, Jenny and Stephanie on what was dubbed a 'Dottie Reunion' night-out was a real treat for Bear but more was to come. He also got to meet talented young singer, actress and model Lucie Jones. Lucie is probably best known for being a 2009 X-Factor finalist but went on to star as Cosette in 'Les Miserables' and has also been signed by top London Modelling Agency Select Models and is currently the new face of Wonderbra’s ‘Full Effects’ campaign.

Lucie Jones

Interestingly, Lucie also starred as Gemma in two episodes of Doctor Who spin-off series 'The Sarah Jane Adventures'. Bear is now quite the Dr Who fan after meeting actresses Lisa Bowerman and Ayesha Antoine at Big Finish Productions last year following the recording of unique feature-length audio drama 'Many Happy Returns' a Dr Who spin-off starring Bernice Summerfield. The project was initiated by LDIFME planning group member Jac Rayner who has close connections with the character and first approached Big Finish about making a charity download late last year. Every penny made from the audio will go to Invest in ME. More details on the project can be found in our previous post. *The download is not due to be released until November - we will update you nearer the time!

A big thank you to Bronte, Jenny, Stephanie and Lucie for supporting Let's do it for ME! and of course to Jessica for getting us these great photos, looking after LDIFME bear for us and continuing to raise awareness of ME.

*News Just In: After a brief shortage LDIFME Bears are available for adoption once again via our shop – see them sporting two new t-shirt designs here.

Let's do it for ME!

Big Finish helps our Big Cause!



Lisa Bowerman and Ayesha Antoine

Big Finish Productions is pleased to announce a very special release to celebrate the twentieth anniversary of archaeologist and adventurer Bernice Summerfield. Many Happy Returns will be a unique feature-length drama where every penny will go to supporting the charity Invest in ME.

'Jac Rayner first approached Big Finish about possibly doing a small charity download late last year,' explains producer Scott Handcock. 'Gary Russell and I discussed the idea with David Richardson and quickly came to the conclusion that the Bernice Summerfield range would be the perfect platform - not least because of Jac's close connections with the character. So I started sounding out a few actors, writers, sound designers - as you do - and nobody we asked said no... so it ended up being the sort of epic rolling adventure we never anticipated!'

'It's amazing how many people have donated their time not only for Jac's charity, but for what will hopefully be a very special release for Benny fans. We've tried to reunite as many familiar faces as possible. It's the Bernice Summerfield equivalent of The Five Doctors - twenty years, a whole host of old friends, and all in the name of charity! I know I speak for everyone involved when I say it's been an absolute pleasure, honour and delight to work on - and one of the maddest days in studio we've ever had!'

Invest in ME works to raise awareness and funding into research of ME, a serious neuro-immune condition that affects 250,000 people in the United Kingdom. Its latest project - Let's Do It For ME! - is a patient-driven campaign raising vital funds for a Centre of Excellence at the University of East Anglia. The centre aims to translate scientific findings and evidence from research into applicable treatments for people suffering from ME, focussing on immunology and virology.

Big Finish stalwart Scott Handcock will also be running the Edinburgh Marathon in May on behalf of Invest in ME. For more information - or to sponsor him - please visit www.justgiving.com/scott-handcock/

Many Happy Returns will be released for download only later in the year. Please click on the link to pre-order and for full details on what the adventure has in store!

A BIG THANK-YOU to all involved with this fantastic project at BIG FINISH!

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