The Mary Tamm Chronicles, 2nd Generation, Chapter Ten: The Windy City #...

In this episode, Mary recounts a wonderful adventure she and her husband, Marcus, had at the first ever 'Windy City Doctor Who Con': Highlights include: eggs benedict, loads of champagne, and almost being mobbed by a band of screaming adoring female fans of Romana! The Timekeys Doctor Who Fan Fiction webseries includes Hearts-Sick, HomeSick, MindSick & TimeSick. Cafe-Girl Productions, Inc is the former name of Cafe Girl Thriving Artists, LLC, all film & media produced under Cafe-Girl Productions, Inc is the property of Cafe-Girl Thriving Artists, LLC. Cafe-Girl Thriving Artists, LLC does not own the rights to Doctor Who or BBC material.

The Mary Tamm Chronicles, Second Generation: Chapter Three: The Armagedd...

In this episode, Mary recounts the filming of her final episode of the Key To Time series, The Armageddon Factor. Highlights include, her growing relationship & admiration for her Romana counterpart, Lalla Ward, detailing how she, Mary, affected the future events of Lalla's life, both professionally & romantically. Mary reflects on Doctor Who's influence and long reach overall and is ever thankful for being a part of it. The Timekeys Doctor Who Fan Fiction webseries includes Hearts-Sick, HomeSick, MindSick & TimeSick. Cafe-Girl Productions, Inc is the former name of Cafe Girl Thriving Artists, LLC, all film & media produced under Cafe-Girl Productions, Inc is the property of Cafe-Girl Thriving Artists, LLC. Cafe-Girl Thriving Artists, LLC does not own the rights to Doctor Who or BBC material.

The Mary Tamm Chronicles, V2: Chapter 2: The Power Of Kroll #romana #doc...

In this chapter, Mary recounts the making of the Key To Time episode, The Power Of Kroll, from wild, drunken nights with Tom & other cast members, to poor green tinted supporting actors, to a perilous boating excursion with Tom, & a not so glamourous working condition tramping around in the Suffolk swamp!

The Timekeys Doctor Who Fan Fiction webseries includes Hearts-Sick, HomeSick, MindSick & TimeSick.

Cafe-Girl Productions, Inc is the former name of Cafe Girl Thriving Artists, LLC, all film & media produced under Cafe-Girl Productions, Inc is the property of Cafe-Girl Thriving Artists, LLC. Cafe-Girl Thriving Artists, LLC does not own the rights to Doctor Who or BBC material.

#doctorwho #audiobook #fanart #marytamm #tombaker #fourthdoctor #media

The Mary Tamm Chronicles Episode Three: 1978 The Stones Of Blood #romana...

In the third installment, Mary recalls the exciting experience of working with some more experienced actors on The Stones Of Blood, the conditions during filming, and ponders the future of Romana. The Timekeys Doctor Who Fan Fiction webseries includes Hearts-Sick, HomeSick, MindSick & TimeSick. Cafe-Girl Productions, Inc is the former name of Cafe Girl Thriving Artists, LLC, all film & media produced under Cafe-Girl Productions, Inc is the property of Cafe-Girl Thriving Artists, LLC. Cafe-Girl Thriving Artists, LLC does not own the rights to Doctor Who or BBC material.

The Mary Tamm Chronicles, Chapter 16: 1978 The Pirate Planet

In the second episode of The Mary Tamm Chronicles, Mary recounts the joys and tribulations had while filming the second installment of The Key To Time, namely, a steering wheel coming off in her hands, being held captive in mid air in an old lift, and much more! The Timekeys Doctor Who Fan Fiction webseries includes Hearts-Sick, HomeSick, MindSick & TimeSick. Cafe-Girl Productions, Inc is the former name of Cafe Girl Thriving Artists, LLC, all film & media produced under Cafe-Girl Productions, Inc is the property of Cafe-Girl Thriving Artists, LLC. Cafe-Girl Thriving Artists, LLC does not own the rights to Doctor Who or BBC material.

The Mary Tamm Chronicles, Chapter 15: 1978 Doctor Who

This starts a short new series on this channel where the Timekeys Romana reads from the autobiographies written by Romana 1 (Mary Tamm) about her years working on the iconic Doctor Who.

The Timekeys Doctor Who Fan Fiction webseries includes Hearts-Sick, HomeSick, MindSick & TimeSick.

Cafe-Girl Productions, Inc is the former name of Cafe Girl Thriving Artists, LLC, all film & media produced under Cafe-Girl Productions, Inc is the property of Cafe-Girl Thriving Artists, LLC. Cafe-Girl Thriving Artists, LLC does not own the rights to Doctor Who or BBC material.

Premieres This Sunday at 7! This starts a short new series on this channel where the Timekeys Romana reads from the autobiographies written by Romana 1 (Mary Tamm) about working DW!

One Step Closer

One Step Closer...

The start of my production company, Cafe-Girl Productions, Inc, was formed through the stepping forth into bringing my literal dream of a Doctor Who Fan-Fiction webseries to life.  In that, my character, Jane Smyth, comes to terms with her real self that of the time lady, Romana, and reunites with her friend, The Doctor.  More to the point, I spent a great deal of time during the writing, re-writing, filming, and basically living of the character and her story listening to this song on repeat during the summers and times it was in production and then post-production.  I heard it so much that it just infused itself in the very fibre of my being, as characters are wont to do to us actors, so that even to this day it remains a song that can rekindle itself at a moment's notice or at the most minute of reminders.

I will be brave

I will not let anything, take away

What's standing in front of me

Every breath, every hour has come to this

One step closer

And there it is, the essential line of the chorus that repeats itself in my mind as I go about my day, a gentle urging that steadies me and buoys me up with hope: One Step Closer.  We all have goals, ambitions, dreams that we hope to attain, whatever they may be.  Along the course of life, it doesn't always happen in leaps, bounds, but most assuredly slow and steady, one baby step at a time.  Sometimes, the pathway to achieving can seem so gradual as if to seem as if we are falling backwards, when in fact the mere stumbling is not a failure but part of the process of moving forward.  

How do I mean? Well, what I have discovered in my path is that failures are successes in that they are lessons learned to help better us and motivate us forward on our journey.  More than that, success, prosperity,  abundance are simply not of the financial realm, but an overall mindset.  Although it has helped me to feel more secure by having the knowledge of financial wellness becoming more and more achieved, more to the point it has given me the balance needed to focus on my overall goals while not having to worry about the life factors of the 3d world.  

So, right now, in this time of the Covid-19 pandemic, as I await the stimulus check, the various online work I am acquiring and building, the unemployment funds to roll in, I have to remind myself to take a breath when the worry seeps in, when the tendency to scream out "Why me? Why does the Universe hate me? I struggle along, seemingly one step closer to getting ahead only to fall back", and stopping to ask myself, "What is the lesson here?"  I admit there is still a lag time between those thoughts yet it is getting swifter.  

 Darling, don't be afraid, I have loved you for a thousand years

I'll love you for a thousand more

(screams the Universe back to me)

So, what is the lesson then? Is it of having patience in the waiting? Trusting that some higher power has got me? Well, yes but more than that, I am learning to measure my abundance not in the financial but to continually look at what I do have, in this moment and recognize how far I have come in my path.  

Heart beats fast
Colors and promises
How to be brave
How can I love when I'm afraid to fall

So, what do I have? I have created a sizable hole in my debt that has left me with a bit of a safety net in times of woe.  This month I have paid off the majority of my bills, utilities and debt included, which places me in a position not to worry.  I know that I have the finances coming from different sources so that my basic living expenses (like a roof over my head) will be covered so that when the above mentioned finances roll in (stimulus check, etc) I can make the necessary payments needed to move even further forward.

All of my doubt, suddenly goes away somehow

One step closer

But, the real lesson here is that, now that I have a handle on the whole notion of money (Look, $, you work for me, bitch, not me struggling for you), I can finally start recognizing my worth outside of the dollar I receive.  Yes, it feels good and helps boost my self-worth when I receive the financial for my artistic endeavors and I whole-heartedly accept and believe it is essential, but as I grow deeper in my analysis of self acceptance and love, I see now that the belief in myself in achieving abundance and success is not merely measured by the material but in my outlook on life.  

So, the setbacks will come, financial or otherwise, and I can choose to make them pitfalls of failure, endlessly falling to my own despair or I can realize that they are not to push me down, but the next mountain to climb, discover, and overcome.  They are the pathway to truly appreciating and understanding myself.  I recognize that life should not be lived in the someday, but in the now, that if I continuously plan for the glorious future happiness, I will miss out on the joys of the moment and will never fully be able to achieve the happiness I seek.  

Time stands still

Beauty in all she is

I will be brave

I will not let anything, take away

What's standing in front of me

Every breath, every hour has come to this

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hrM-Bkm4c_I

Hey, hey, you like what you read and have something to say, comment below.  Don't like what you read but still want to say something, toss in your thoughts below.

The Thriving Artist is a subset of Cafe-Girl Productions, Inc, a film and media company focusing on bringing awareness to a variety of social issues to effect real change.  Want to support us? Head over to: www.patreon.com/cafegirlproductions

What 2018 taught me

"Home is where the heart," my character, Romana, from my production company's Doctor Who fan fiction web-series quoted to the Doctor upon re-uniting with him.  Truth be told, this is a long-standing held belief of mine, and no wonder my character said it, I wrote the screenplay. 

However, this year the sentiment has become all the more vivid in the core of my being.  I started this year with the loss of not just a survival job but having a dear friend move away.  A friend whose dogs I had walked, whose house had become a second home dear to me, as I had house-sat there, filmed many a scene there for our modern day Macbeth, Daggers In Men's Smiles.  So, not only was I losing a source of income, but losing a place familiar to my heart and the constant connection of a dear friend. 

Another friend told me about the dog-walking site, Rover.com, and I joined.  Thus, my survival job as a dog-walker/dog sitter grew in leaps and bounds; I have house-sat in many places around the valley this year.   Because of this, I could take you all over the valley, from Ashland to Medford, pointing out various places where I have lived and for a time, a week or more, called home. 

On top of that, my boyfriend and I had to spend a week out of our apartment due to bathroom repairs, thus lived for a bit over a week in a local, lovely, motel called the Manor Inn.  (FYI: the staff was lovely, considerate, kind, and I strongly recommend the place!)  Thus, there is another place I can point to in my travels around town.  '

In April, we were given a no-cause termination notice on our apartment, but were very fortunate enough to move into a lovely three bedroom home outside of Ashland.  Its been a dream come true.

Added to that, there are the places I frequented, the places I once resided, worked at, from years of old that are still homes within my heart.  There have been the frequent travels north, back to Eugene and Portland, where I re-visited the familiar haunts in those places.  Thus, I can truly say that the notion of "home being of the heart", not a mere location, has become an even clearer reality. 

Which leads me to the next lesson of 2018:  Community.  Or as I like to think of it, Common Unity.  In today's world, there appears to be a lack of what is a vital need for our souls.  Thus, if we are not of the religious mindset, we lack a sense of community and without knowing any real place to discover it, to fulfill that need.  What I have discovered this year is that we need to empower ourselves to seek out and design that community for ourselves, looking back at the true meaning of the word, that is, as mentioned above, common unity.  For my part, I have found and reclaimed my own community, common unity, through various means, theatre, film, my own business being able to marry the ideas of work with relationships.  Because, in the end, all of life is just that: relationships.  In these relationships and common unity, I have been able to find the honesty to fully encounter my heart's home, finding peace, strength, and solace within which gives me the bold determination to do the like for my own created community, common unity, relationships.

Lastly, the connection of home within my heart, a state of being, and the true meaning of community has given me the strength to face myself, to stand up to the detrimental effects of hatred and bullying, to those that wish to hinder my way and those of my dearest kindred spirits, and through this empowered new life focus to find the healing release of the wounds of past emotional abuse. 

Through this healing, my own sense of community within the home in my heart has given me a peace that surpasses the external reality of my life, whatever it may be good or bad, with a renewed focus, clearly described and designed, leading me higher and higher into achieving my destiny.

In 2019, I do so hope that not only will I continue to thrive, to heal, to connect more deeply with my center, but I wish the same for you, gentle reader.  Go forth into the world and seek to know, to understand, to truly see and be seen, to connect, and to arrive home within your heart, finally, at peace.

My Heart Your Home

Never Fred. Ever.

To My Lucky # 13,

 ...I am home-sick...

You are my Doctor. I love your smile, your eyes, the way you laugh at all my jokes, the way you make me laugh, and the way it feels to hug you.

I know I have my 'human companion' but I can't help thinking I want to fly off & explore time & space with you. Does that interest you? 

If so, I'll be waiting. You know how to get a hold of me, what to call me if you really need me...

Your,

Romana

PS Can you remind me what kind of animal is your favorite kind of puppet? 

Tea With Teresa

I'm not Fred.

Well, I was rescued.  By the doctor, my doctor.  But, only now in his 12th regeneration.  He's been around a bit since our last meeting.  And what a reunion it was.

Let me explain.  I passed out after being given a sedative by the officers on the tram.  The doctor flew in heroically rescuing me in his Shiny Blue TARDIS, so strange yet so familiar.  I felt suddenly at home, more ever than any other I 'd been.

At first, I was taken aback.  It was all true, the dreams and whatnot, all of it.  But, I still couldn't wrap my head around the how.

The Doctor, not so dashing rather bumbling, had dashed into my flat and retrieved the dress and the fab watch, which he promptly returned to me upon awaking in his presence.

He coaxed me to open the watch, that it would explain everything.  When I finally did, hesitantly, it all became clear, who I was and how this all came to be.

I am Romanadvoratrelundar the Fourth, or Romana if you'd like.  But, please not Fred, anything but that.  Turns out, I had to take on the persona of Jane, give up my time-lady existence in order to hide from the forces of the Universe that wanted what I had in my possession, the Key of Time.  

My TARDIS had crashed to earth, colliding with that very same metro, the one from the aforementioned accident Justin had told me about.  

Taking on this existence, I had put out of my consciousness, save for the inner, the life of Gallifrey and that I had left behind, seemingly.  My mum and dad, then, were part of the plan, keeping me safe from finding out or revealing myself to the evil out to get me.  

But, for now, I am safe.  And, as I swirl off into the great beyond, the Doctor by my side, I leave with this lesson imprinted upon my hearts, thus pass on to you:

"Time is universal, free-flowing.  We can at once be connected to the past as to the future in this moment, all is one.  All is happening forever at one time.  Dreams do come true, will come true, are coming true.  Do what you love, be who you are, never compromise.  Follow your bliss and don't hide.  You, as we all are, were born for a destined purpose.  Seek that and that alone."

Farewell to Earth, Thus to Rebirth

In search of home

On the way over there, Justin was all jokes.  He asked first if a 'car' was all he was good for, my response, 'nearly."  Then, when we drove down the lane towards my parents' house, I noticed my mum's famous rose bushes, how proud she is of those.  Justin said,  "Ha! You said, "bushes!" Oh, such an adult he is!

But later as we were getting out of the car, I commented on how strange it is to come back here, as if coming back to another life, even.  I feel distant as if I'm not really a part of it,  do you know what I mean?

Justin tried to make me feel better by saying that I had moved to the big bad city of London, got a job in a shop, became a 'grown up', (his italics, not mine), and that was why.

But its more than that.  I never know what to say to them, my parents. I don't exactly feel as if I'm at all like them.

Justin, of course, explained that that happens to us all, as we grow up, move on from our childhood home. and that others are just not as vocal about their thoughts on their parents as I am, ie youtube vlogs and all that.

But, its not just my parents, its everything in this life I lead here, on earth, that doesn't make sense. And, do you know, these dreams I've been having, they make sense. A lot of sense. Do you know what I mean?
Maybe someone out there does. I think I found him.

When we got into my old "bedroom", I wasn't sure exactly what to look for but Justin and I started sorting through old childhood memories of Jane.  The girl I'm supposed to be, the girl I was.

I just knew when I found whatever it was I would know, knew without a doubt that it was there.

All those "artifacts" I was going through seemed strange.  Artifacts?  Of my life, supposedly.
Pictures of little Jane playing football, I didn't know I played, or rather have no real memory of that.

As we were going through the boxes, I asked Justin what his take was on all this.  He then brought up something of vast interest to me.  I noted that everything before now seems a complete blank, and then I'm filled with these new thoughts, as if my brain is being pumped with images of a certain life here on earth.

That's when Justin brought up the accident.

The accident, I was stunned.

It must be almost two years ago, March it will be two years exactly,  he said.  He explained that I was making my way home from university there was an accident of sorts on the metro.  I gather I hit my head pretty bad in the collision.  I guess I was in hospital for quite awhile. And that's how we met. Justin was working there at the time, cafeteria duty.  That I can kind of remember, just not why I was there.  I guess that's when you started having these flashbacks.

I remember meeting Justin.  I recall feeling he was safe and nice to talk to, to hang around with.  I also felt that my meeting him, his coming into my life, was somehow planned from before.


And then, there it was.  

(I took this picture, that's Justin's hand.)

 I think I found what I've been looking for.  From my dreams.