Visions of the Future

Mondoshawan costume from and a poster for
The Fifth Element

In 2009, I had the pleasure of attending an exhibition of science fiction items at Torquay Museum, called Alien Invasion, containing all manner of wonderful things from films and television series Alien, Predator, Forbidden Planet, Mars Attacks!, Star Wars, Terminator 3, Robocop, The Abominable Snowman, Hellraiser, Doctor Who, The X-Files, Invaders from Mars, and V. It was wonderful and since then, I've hoped that there would be another, similar event that I could attend. (Of course, I did go to LonCon 3 last August, which is a massive science fiction and fantasy convention, but I'll just ignore that right now, haha). 

Anyway, my wish was finally granted and from the 27th of June this year there has been a new exhibition called Visions of the Future. Yesterday, I went along to see it and was certainly not disappointed! 

Props, costumes & posters from
Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines
and I, Robot

This time, the items on show were from/relating to: Alien, Prometheus, Predator, Frankenstein, Metropolis, Star Trek, Doctor Who, Andromeda, The Fifth Element, Star Wars, Back to the Future, Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines, I, Robot, Moon, Ultraviolet, Children of Men, Chariots of the Gods?, Chronicles of Riddick, and there was even a prototype of the Beagle 2 lander as well.

General Utility Android costume from Andromeda,
with a design inspired by the "Robotrix" from Metropolis
(film poster behind)

Most of the items were either on loan from other museums / institutes or from private collectors, so it was quite a random assembling of artefacts, but that just made it all the more fun to look around. Also, even though there was a lot to see, the museum is small enough that you have time to read the accompanying information boards, take photographs (without flash, as per the rules, of course!), and look at everything as much as you want before moving onto the next piece, which was really nice. 

Visions of the Future is running until the 5th of September, so if you have a chance to see it, you absolutely should! More photos below:

On the Moor...

A wind-battered tree and its reflection in a pool of rainwater.

Yesterday, I went to Haytor on Dartmoor with my mother; despite the cold, wind and rain, I was, as always, amazed by its stunning natural beauty. Dartmoor and Exmoor are two of my favourite places, so it's always a pleasure to visit them!

Just to put the size of the rocks in perspective, here's a shot of my mother (circled in green) standing near them) and one of me being weird next to some of the others:

Here are a few more photos from the outing as well: