On the 2nd October there will be a reunion of some Brittas Empire cast members as we will be gathering at Ringwood Leisure Centre to attend the relaunch of the recently refurbished facility. We came to know this place as Whitbury New Town Leisure Centre in the 90s and it became the spiritual home of The Brittas Empire, being the main location for all of the series. One of the most popular questions at conventions continues to be, “will there be any more series of The Brittas Empire?” well, I am certainly going to renew my efforts to see if there is any possibility of this…

Earlier in the summer, I was asked by Major General Peter Gilchrist CB, Chairman of Trustees at the Tank Museum to be an Ambassador for the Museum. Of course I accepted without hesitation. I spent some excellent days filming there for the ‘Massive’ and ‘Britain’s Greatest Machines’ series, unbelievably, some 10 years ago now and I very much look forward to promoting the Museum hence forward…

I have attended some fantastic conventions this year. I haven’t been to Liverpool for many years and at the MCM event in mid March it was great to discover that the people of that great city have lost none of their fine spirit and humour. I look forward to a return visit. Apparently, more conventions are being staged in 2017 than in any previous year. I haven’t been able to attended all the shows I would’ve liked to have attended but I have certainly clocked up the miles! The events listed below are confirmed. Others will be added as and when – hopefully with at least a months notice…

16th/17th September – Northampton Comic Con
1st October – Barnsley Comic Con
7th/8th October – Norcon
15th October – Stoke Con Trent
27/28/29th October – MCM London
18th/19th November – MCM Birmingham
25th/26th November – Reading Comic Con

As far as I know, Red Dwarf XII will transmit in the Autumn of this year. RDXI seemed to be popular with 99.9% of fans that I have met this year and I am confident that XII will hit the mark as well.

As usual I must apologise for not responding to emails. Thank you so much to all of you who have taken the time to write to me with such positive sentiments. Suffice to say I am most grateful for your kind comments about RDXI and previous shows and I shall endeavour to keep you informed of any news.

I have also received emails requesting my involvement in podcasts but frankly, I am not overly keen to participate. I need to clarify that I do not have Twitter or Facebook accounts, so if you do see or hear of a Chris Barrie on either of the two, it definitely isn’t me. As I have said above, I struggle to keep up with the webmail, without wanting to further disappoint anyone on social media.

My chosen charity for 2017 (and hopefully beyond) is SSAFA (The Soldiers’ Sailors’ and Airmen’s Families Association). SSAFA has been serving the armed forces community for more then 130 years, making it the oldest national tri service charity. Every year SSAFA staff and a team of volunteers help over 60,000 people whether they be WWII veterans or young men and women who have returned from Afghanistan. I recall my father being involved with SSAFA in the 70′s and early 80′s, so when it came to finding a charity to support, the choice was straightforward.

Best Wishes
Chris Barrie