Perfect Day is quite a short story. There was absolutely no way I could make it longer. It is yet another story that uses the park where, in good weather at least, I write a lot of these stories as a backdrop. And in this case, it is JUST a park. It has become transposed to London, since it is supposed to be an ordinary day in the summer of 1963 when The Doctor and his granddaughter take a walk in the park.

Julia’s trust in the old man who tells her he is Chrístõ in the far future is obviously something that only happens in fiction. In any other situation a twelve year old girl in such a situation would want to start yelling quite quickly. But here, of course, she was in no danger at all.

It was a challenge, though an enjoyable one, to capture the First Doctor’s elderly manner of speech with a lot of repetition and pauses in strange places. I think I got it about right. It is for moments like this, of course, that I had to give young Chrístõ brown eyes. Because the older version of his first incarnation WAS brown eyed.

At the time of writing, I hadn’t actually decided what the information would be that The Doctor gave to Julia. Or when I might use that information. The eventual story was not even kicking around my mind at the time. But when it did, it fitted perfectly well.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avenham_Park

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miller_Park%2C_Preston

http://www.avenhamandmillerpark.org.uk/