Update: NALAIT/DR (not as long as I thought/did read)
Actually feels a little cruel to have is stop at the end of part 2. Been really interesting so far.
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So, Day One is behind a paywall…
And @shauny’s link isn’t working for me… 
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I’ve DM’d you…
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Day 3 Item Thoughts
A bit mysterious and confusing, but intriguing. I hope it will all come together tomorrow…
Also, I don’t think “Red, Red Robin” is a common Christmas carol here in the United States. Is it in England?
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Well Bing did a version so it can’t be that obscure…
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This is a great little story. Really nails the voice of the First Doctor whilst managing to feel like a modern take on a 60s story. Hears hoping it wraps up well.
(How come we never hear about the Doctor’s first human companion: Shivani Bajwa?)
This is the best thing the Paternoster Gang has been in.
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Well, that’s quite the cliffhanger for today. Definitely a thrilling story.
And the sontaran songs are quite amusing!
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Ohh thank you for that site, very handy! I’d come across this story while scrolling the Guide a few days ago but couldn’t read it ‘cause of the paywall. Super lovely to have another Paul Cornell story to read!
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Well, I’m happy that I waited until the evening to read today’s short story, because that cliffhanger sure is tantalising!
And what a gem of a story! It captures the First Doctor better than I’ve seen in a long time and was both funny and creepy while giving us interesting new characters and seamlessly inserting the events into the Doctor’s timeline. Intrigued to find out how it ends!
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Yes, but… I’m familiar with the song…okay, maybe not much more than the title. But I’ve never heard of it being associated with the holidays. The robin’s considered a sign of Spring, so that’s the season I’d associate it with. Round here, Bing has another song that’s much more associated with Christmas, though with global warming I think that one may get retitled “Wet Christmas” pretty soon.
If only there was a song called “When the green green froggin’ comes hop hop hoppin’ along”, now that’d be something.
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In the UK, the robin is most definitely a winter-associated bird probably stemming from Victorian times. They’re a common sight on Christmas cards.
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The European Robin (Erithacus rubecula) and American Robin (Turdus migratorius) are two very different birds. The European Robin is a year-round resident for most of Europe (except for the far north) and belongs to the Chat subfamily of the Old World flycatcher family. Whereas the American Robin is a Thrush (and more closely related to Blackbirds) and is a more migratory bird, though it is a year-round resident for most of the US. The American Robin is also a larger bird averaging around 10 inches long while the European Robin only averages around 5 inches long.
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Interesting with cultural differences! Robins aren’t associated with Christmas over here, but that’s probably because they migrate to warmer climates during winter.
In Finnish, the robin is called “punarinta”, which means “red breast”.
We have a similar red-breasted bird here in Scandinavia that we associate with Christmas, as it’s a common sight during winter. It’s the bullfinch (or Eurasian bullfinch or common bullfinch). Quite a beautiful bird that loves to feast on rowanberries.
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4
ADVENT CALENDAR ITEM
4
Doctor Who and the Horror of Coal Hill, part 3 (2017). (Pages 13-19)
Link to Read (if you need it again):
http://downloads.bbc.co.uk/tv/isite-static/doctorwho/stories/doctor-who-and-the-horror-of-coal-hill.pdf
Link to rate (You can finish now!)
https://tardis.guide/story/doctor-who-and-the-horror-of-coal-hill/
Discussion question: It’s Southern Hemisphere Appreciation Day! What is your favorite summertime activity?
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I find it really charming. It’s a nice little scene, not sure how I could rate it, but I really love how K9 sings here, and it’s overall just a charming little piece. More Mary Tamm is always good in my books.
Summary
In terms of the Activity, have a little Short Story here, not a very good one, but I think it will do the job perhaps:
The Doctor was trying his hardest to stay stable, he looked around the Console Room, before he sighed. There was not a single soul, no Ian, no Barbara, no Vicki, not even his own Granddaughter Susan. “Hmpf… yes…”, he sighed out loud to himself, tipping his chin. He looked around, wondering what time it might be where he lands next, the familiar sound of the Tardis came through. He had landed. Quickly he opened the Door to look around, it was fairly snowy, he looked around seeing a massive Tree. A Christmas Tree. He also quickly noticed a boy, a pretty young at that, maybe 6 or 7 years old maximum he thought. As he focused, he could hear this young boy, he wasn’t shouting, playing some silly game, as the old man thought, he was crying. “Hmm…”, the Doctor sighed slightly, looking around. There was no sign for a possible relative who could take care of them. “Very well…”, the Old man mumbled and walked to the young boy. “Hmm, my dear boy, what is the matter?”. The Boy looked at the old man, he had something strange about him, his crying started to slow down a bit, he didn’t answer the Old Man’s Question. “So what is the matter, hmm?”, he asked gently. “I am alone…”, the boy said in a sobbing voice, “I have no one…”. The Doctor looked around. “Hmm I see, well well, would you like to change that?”, he smiled at the Boy to reassure him, the boy looked confused and didn’t say anything for a bit. “You aren’t a talker, eh?”. “No, Mister”. “Doctor”, he corrected the young Man, “Call me Doctor, will you, my boy?”. The Boy nodded. “So, would you like to go with me, perhaps we can find for you a home, hmm?”. The Boy nodded again. “Well here we go then, my boy!”, he told the Boy and walked with him to his blue Machine. The Doctor got his key and opened the Doors of his Machine, and the boy looked in awe. “Big!”, he said in an exciting Voice, the Doctor looked at the young Boy and left a small chuckle. “Well observed, ehh… what is your name?” “Name? I am…”, the boy didn’t remember his name, did he have one, maybe, maybe not. The Doctor smiled at him reassuringly, before he frowned, looking at the Room. “The Room is empty…” “Yes I suppose a bit empty, at least we both have a chair, eh?”, the Doctor chuckled before he sat down. “Perhaps… yes perhaps I could take something!”, he said and went into one of the corridors of his unbelievable machine. The Boy wondered, the old Man was gone for quite a while, maybe 1… 3… 6… no 10… Minutes, but he returned and not just himself, he had a tree, a special tree, a Christmas tree.
“Hmeh, do you know what that is?”, the Doctor asked with a smile. “No?” “A Christmas Tree, it is Christmas my dear boy, lets shall celebrate, shouldn’t we?”. The Boy considered before he nodded. And so they celebrated, the Doctor would go to his food machine, making the Boy some hot chocolate. He didn’t have anything he could give the Boy as a present, but he knew something which might do. Yes it just might, after they celebrated for an hour or two, the young boy could feel the weight of his eyes, they slowly closed, and he started to sleep. The Doctor noticed and gave the boy a blanket, he smiled at him. “A Lost Soul helping a lost soul, hmm…”, the Doctor said before he got the coordinates right and brought the boy to a place where he would be better off.
The Boy will grow older and every time he tried to tell anybody about this encounter, they just claimed it to be a dream of his. And perhaps it was, but every time at the exact time on Christmas Day, he would hear this familiar sound he heard the first time, the Doctor’s blue box returning. Making sure the Boy is alright, even after all those other past Christmases.
Apology for taking so long, had a bit of a busy time the last few days, so I didn’t come around to writing this little Thing. I am already looking forward to reading what the others have done, if I am not mistaken somebody also wrote something, very excited to read it all soon!)
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I really enjoyed the day 3/4 story. The framing story (I don’t know what else to call it) was a neat touch. The main story didn’t need it, but it was fun to have it alongside.
As to summertime activities…tennis. I play tennis all year round, but I get to do it more in the summer. If we don’t count that, disc golf.
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Got to read some stuff written about Day Two! And a lot of great Answers, I could ramble and add a lot to some of them, but I will just keep it short and say, I absolutely enjoyed the short stories from both @JayPea and @deltaandthebannermen
Well done, you two! Glad to see somebody decide to give it a go, a nice little short story for each of your respective doctors, really beautifully written! 
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Doing Day 3/4 together, since it’s the same story:
I really enjoyed it, at points the collection of character feels at first glance a bit odd, but I did overall enjoy it. The Framing Device was really well-used and enjoyable. It’s superb seeing a great Portrayal of the complicated Emotions of Hartnells Doctor pre Season 1 it seems. I love how he simply tells that Susan is much much older and doesn’t see anything wrong with it, that’s an alien touch I always enjoyed. Shivani is a really likeable Character and loved the ending with 12! Overall, really enjoyed this one, feels like one of the Big Finish Book Short Trips at their best to me! Which is a compliment, of course. Glad I got to read this thanks to this Advent Calendar, Thank you!
Summary
To answer the Question: I dislike the Summer, since I can’t deal with the Heat. But loved reading a bit of a book before I went to bed, it works the best for me around that time honestly, not really a summer activity, but I still it still answers the Question.
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Why do Americans always have to make things bigger… 
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Bigger, yes. But better, rarely 
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