IT was, we supposed, meant to be a bit of fun.

Monsters from the TV series Dr Who “invaded” Newport last week, having “escaped” from the soon-to-open Dr Who Experience attraction in Cardiff.

One of them, an Ood, a telepathic alien who looks like a man with an octopus stuck over his head, was photographed by the Argus roaming around the city’s indoor market and bus station.

Three photographs were published on Friday June 22. Late that morning a concerned chap from BBC Worldwide contacted our newsdesk, all of a flutter.

Would we, he asked, remove the photographs of the Ood from the Argus website, as they weren’t in character.

You wouldn’t, apparently, expect to see an Ood reading a newspaper, or examining fruit.

Well no, you wouldn’t.

But not because they are evil, manipulative, would-be rulers of all galaxies, although it is reasonable to assume that such creatures might want to have an up-to-date grasp of intergalactic current affairs.

No. It is because THEY DON’T REALLY EXIST.

I’m sure the above declaration will not cruelly rob anyone of the belief that we occupy a universe riddled with aliens intent on enslaving or wiping out mankind.

It is after all, just a TV programme.

I have been warned by dark forces within the Argus newsroom not to refer to Dr Who as a children’s sci-fi drama series.

But I am a fearless explorer of the space-time continuum - at least in terms of the space I need to make at my desk in order to eat my lunch, and the time I require to eat it.

And as an intrepid prober into the forgotten corners of human experience, a rummager into the minutiae of existence - sort of a Dr Huh? - I will face down these threats.

In my view, Dr Who is a children’s sci-fi drama, because when I was a child I loved it and crouched behind the settee when the Green Death was on the rampage, all the while knowing it wasn’t REAL.

But since entering adulthood, and now I am rapidly approaching 50, I Couldn’t care less about it. Simple, really.

But the BBC has always been a bit touchy when it comes to Dr Who. Several years ago, excited schoolchildren watched from the Coed Melyn Woods side of the wall as a swathe of St Woolos Cemetery was coated in fake snow for a scene for a Christmas special involving Cybermen.

The youngsters’ presence was tolerated, but God help anyone who dared take a photograph. Crew members stationed on the edge of the set rapped out warnings to those foolhardy enough to try.

Why? After all, Cybermen DON’T EXIST EITHER.

Sorry for all the capital letters. It is just that occasionally, nonsense deserves to be emphasised.

Following the logic of the BBC’s argument, had England won last Sunday Evening’s penalty shoot-out against Italy, newspapers and news websites should not have been able to carry any photographs of the drama the following day, because such a victory would have been out of character.

We at the Argus liked our photographer’s images of the Ood so much, we’ve decided to print some more.

After all, like I said earlier, it was only meant to be a bit of fun.


Here's to County and their new home

HERE'S hoping that fans of Newport County answer the call of club chairman Chris Blight, and turn up in good numbers at Rodney Parade next season. Of course, success or otherwise on the pitch will be the key factor in whether or not that happens.

But it should not be unreasonable - even in a rugby heartland - in a city of this size to expect at least 2,000 supporters to turn up for home games. Spytty Park has played excellent host to the Exiles for many seasons, but well-publicised problems with the pitch aside, it is undeniable that its very layout mitigates against the building up of a decent atmosphere, while it is very open to the elements.

Rodney Parade is not exactly Old Trafford, but it is much more like a traditional football stadium and of course, it offers the prospect of hospitality revenue that these days is so vital to clubs at all elvels of the football leage pyramid.