Lance Parkin and Vehicle registration plates of the European Union: Difference between pages

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[[Image:European flag in the wind.jpg|thumb|The stars from the [[Flag of Europe|European Flag]] are featured in most national plates.]]
'''Lance Parkin''' is a [[United Kingdom|British]] [[author]], best known for writing [[fiction]] and reference books for [[television series]], in particular ''[[Doctor Who]]'' (and [[spin-off]]s including the [[Virgin New Adventures]] and [[Faction Paradox]]) and ''[[Emmerdale]]''. He also worked on the ''Emmerdale'' television series as a production assistant.
'''Vehicle registration plates of the European Union''' are the mandatory number plates used to display the ''registration mark'' of a vehicle in the respective [[European Union member state|Member States]]. Most [[motor vehicles]] which are used on public roads are required by law to display them.


The common EU format of having a blue section on the left with EU stars and the country code was introduced by [http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=CELEX:31998R2411:EN:NOT Council Regulation (EC) No 2411/98 of 3 November 1998] and entered into force on the 11 Nov 1998. It was based on a model registration plate which several member states had introduced, [[Ireland]] [http://www.irishstatutebook.ie/ZZSI287Y1990.html 1991], [[Portugal]] [[Portuguese car number plates#Colours|1992]], and [[Germany]] [http://www.worldlicenseplates.com/world/EU_D6XX.html 1994]. (This 'common format' has since been claimed to be "stolen" from a registered design - number 2053070 - registered at the UK Patent office by David and Nansi Mottram in 1995, some years ''after'' the introduction of the plate format in Ireland, Portugal, and Germany. [http://www.intelligentinnovation.eu]. No successful challenge has been launched by the registered "designers" to date.)
==Doctor Who==
Parkin first became known in ''Doctor Who'' fan circles, writing both criticism and fan fiction. His most notable work was for Seventh Door Fanzines, including the novella ''Snare'' in the ''Odyssey'' series (which he edited for a period) and 1994's ''The Doctor Who Chronology'', a detailed timeline of events in the ''Doctor Who'' universe. The ''Odyssey'' series later included novellas by Parkin's then-girlfriend Cassandra May and his later protégé [[Mark Clapham]].


The EU format is optional in [[Finland]], [[France]], [[Sweden]], [[Cyprus]] [http://www.licenseplatemania.com/landenframes/cyprus_fr.htm] and the [[United Kingdom]]. [[Belgium]] has not yet implemented the common format. [http://www.trafikken.dk/wimpnews.asp?page=document&objno=83727]
Parkin went professional with ''[[Just War (Doctor Who)|Just War]]'', published in 1996, for [[Virgin]]'s [[Virgin New Adventures|New Adventures]] series of original fiction ''Doctor Who'' novels. This was rapidly followed by ''A History of the Universe'' (a re-working of his ''Chronology'') and a second novel, ''[[Cold Fusion (Doctor Who)|Cold Fusion]]'', for Virgin's [[Virgin Missing Adventures|Missing Adventures]] series. Parkin proved immediately popular with his readership.


Some motorists in [[Scotland]], [[Wales]] and [[Northern Ireland]] (constituent countries within the United Kingdom) use EU-style plates with their national flag and the codes SCO, CYM and NIR respectively. Although not officially recognised, they are permitted by the UK government as an expression of national pride. Some motorists in England have started to display ENG codes in response to this fashion.<ref name="UKnumberplates">{{cite web
Virgin lost their licence to do ''Doctor Who'' fiction and Parkin landed the prestigious job of writing the last New Adventure to feature the character of the Doctor, 1997's ''[[The Dying Days]]''. This was also the only Virgin novel to feature the [[Eighth Doctor|eighth incarnation of the Doctor]], played in the 1996 ''Doctor Who'' [[Doctor Who (1996)|television movie]] by [[Paul McGann]]. The Virgin ''Who'' books went out of print with the loss of the ''Doctor Who'' licence and ''The Dying Days'' was one of a number of Virgin books that began to attract vastly inflated second-hand prices. Copies of ''The Dying Days'' went for over $100 and still regularly go for over £25. The New Adventures continued without the ''Doctor Who'' label and Parkin returned to the series with 1998's ''Beige Planet Mars'', written with Mark Clapham.
|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/1731653.stm
|title=Flag day for patriotic drivers
|date=2001-12-28
|accessdate=2007-10-22
|author=BBC News
}}</ref>.


==CAR plates==
Parkin continued writing official ''Doctor Who'' prose fiction for [[BBC Books]], including a number of event books, including the 35th anniversary celebration ''[[The Infinity Doctors]]''. ''The Dying Days'' became the first of several Virgin ''Doctor Who'' books to be re-worked as [[e-books]] for the BBC's ''Doctor Who'' website. He wrote the last in BBC series of [[Eighth Doctor Adventures|eighth Doctor novel adventures]], ''[[The Gallifrey Chronicles]]'' (2005). In 2006 he updated ''A History of the Universe'' for Mad Norwegian with ''AHistory: An Unauthorized History of the Doctor Who Universe''. In June, 2008 it was announced that he would write a [[New Series Adventures (Doctor Who)|New Series Adventures]] novel, ''[[The Eyeless]]'', starring the [[Tenth Doctor]] alone for release on [[Boxing Day]] 2008.<ref>{{cite web | last = Cooper | first = Jarrod | title = December Novels - Updated | work = The Doctor Who News Page | publisher = [[Outpost Gallifrey]] | date = 2008-06-05 | url = http://www.gallifreyone.com/cgi-bin/viewnews.cgi?id=EkEkyVyuFAkLljcpKZ&tmpl=newsrss&style=feedstyle | accessdate = 2008-06-06 }}</ref>
<gallery align=right widths="200px" heights="65px" perrow="1">
Image:Belgian vehicle registration plate for EU.jpg|EUR vehicle registration plate: Belgian plates for [[European Commission]] officials
</gallery>
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
! [[European Union member state|Member State]] || [[Abbreviation|Abbr.]] || CAR Example ||
|-
| style="background:#F2F2F2; text-align:left" | '''{{AUT}}''' || [[Austrian car number plates|A]] || [[Image:Austrian license plate.svg|200x50px]]
|-
| style="background:#F2F2F2; text-align:left" | '''{{BEL}}''' || [[Belgian car number plates|B]] || [[Image:Belgian license plate.svg|200x50px]]
|-
| style="background:#F2F2F2; text-align:left" | '''{{BUL}}''' || [[Bulgarian car number plates|BG]] || [[Image:Bulgaria-automobile-license-plate for eu.png|200x50px]]
|-
| style="background:#F2F2F2; text-align:left" | '''{{CYP}}''' || [[Cypriot car number plates|CY]] || [[Image:Cypriot license plate.svg|200x50px]]
|-
| style="background:#F2F2F2; text-align:left" | '''{{CZE}}''' || [[Czech car number plates|CZ]] || [[Image:Czech registration 4542.jpg|200x50px]]
|-
| style="background:#F2F2F2; text-align:left" | '''{{DNK}}''' || [[Danish car number plates|DK]] || [[Image:Danmark-europlate.jpg|200x50px]]
|-
| style="background:#F2F2F2; text-align:left" | '''{{EST}}''' || [[Estonian car number plates|EST]] || [[Image:Estonian license plate.svg|200x50px]]
|-
| style="background:#F2F2F2; text-align:left" | '''{{FIN}}''' || [[Finnish car number plates|FIN]] || [[Image:Finnish license plate.svg|200x50px]]
|-
| style="background:#F2F2F2; text-align:left" | '''{{FRA}}''' || [[French vehicle registration plates|F]]
|| [[Image:French registration 2624.jpg|200x50px]]
|-
| style="background:#F2F2F2; text-align:left" | '''{{GER}}''' || [[German car number plates|D]] || [[Image:German license plate.svg|200x50px]]
|-
| style="background:#F2F2F2; text-align:left" | '''{{GRC}}''' || [[Greek car number plates|GR]] || [[Image:Greek license plate.svg|200x50px]]
|-
| style="background:#F2F2F2; text-align:left" | '''{{HUN}}''' || [[Hungarian car numbers|H]] || [[Image:Hungarian registration 2135.JPG|200x50px]]
|-
| style="background:#F2F2F2; text-align:left" | '''{{IRL}}''' || [[Irish vehicle registration plates|IRL]]
|| [[Image:Irish license plate.svg|200x50px]]
|-
| style="background:#F2F2F2; text-align:left" | '''{{ITA}}''' || [[Italian car number plates|I]] || [[Image:Italian license plate.svg|200x50px]]
|-
| style="background:#F2F2F2; text-align:left" | '''{{LVA}}''' || [[Latvian car number plates|LV]] || [[Image:Latvian license plate.svg|200x50px]]
|-
| style="background:#F2F2F2; text-align:left" | '''{{LTU}}''' || [[Lithuanian car number plates|LT]] || [[Image:Lithuanian registration 2691.jpg|200x50px]]
|-
| style="background:#F2F2F2; text-align:left" | '''{{LUX}}''' || [[Luxemburgian car number plates|L]]
|| [[Image:Luxemburgian license plate.svg|200x50px]]
|-
| style="background:#F2F2F2; text-align:left" | '''{{MLT}}''' || [[Maltese car number plates|M]] || [[Image:Maltese license plate.svg|200x50px]]
|-
| style="background:#F2F2F2; text-align:left" | '''{{NLD}}''' || [[Dutch vehicle registration plates|NL]]
|| [[Image:Dutch license plate.svg|200x50px]]
|-
| style="background:#F2F2F2; text-align:left" | '''{{POL}} || [[Polish car number plates|PL]] || [[Image:LBL77RN.jpg|200x50px]]
|-
| style="background:#F2F2F2; text-align:left" | '''{{PRT}}''' || [[Portuguese car number plates|P]] || [[Image:Portuguese license plate.svg|200x50px]]
|-
| style="background:#F2F2F2; text-align:left" | '''{{ROU}}''' || [[Romanian car number plates|RO]] || [[Image:Romanian license plate.svg|200x50px]]
|-
| style="background:#F2F2F2; text-align:left" | '''{{SVK}}''' || [[Slovak car registration plates|SK]]
|| [[Image:Slovak license plate.svg|200x50px]]
|-
| style="background:#F2F2F2; text-align:left" | '''{{SVN}}''' || [[Slovenian car number plates|SLO]] ||
[[Image:Slovenian license plate.svg|200x50px]]
|-
| style="background:#F2F2F2; text-align:left" | '''{{ESP}}''' || [[Spanish car number plates|E]] || [[Image:Spanish license plate.svg|200x50px]]
|-
| style="background:#F2F2F2; text-align:left" | '''{{SWE}}''' || [[Swedish car number plates|S]] || [[Image:Swedish licenseplate.jpg|200x50px]]
|-
| style="background:#F2F2F2; text-align:left" | '''{{GBR}}''' || [[British car number plates|GB]] || [[Image:GB EUROPLATE.jpg|200x50px]]
|}


A trademark of Parkin's ''Doctor Who'' novels is the inclusion of a character written as if played by [[Ian Richardson]], beginning with Oscar Steinmann in ''Just War''. Parkin has said "I’m sure there was a very good reason for that at one point, but if there is, I’ve forgotten it".<ref>{{cite web | last = Parkin | first = Lance | title = Author Notes - Chapter 3 - Return To Mars | work = Doctor Who - Classic Series - Ebooks - The Dying Days | publisher = [[BBC]] | url = http://www.bbc.co.uk/doctorwho/classic/ebooks/dyingdays/notes/page5.shtml | accessdate = 2008-06-06 }}</ref>


==Other works==
Around 1999, Parkin joined Virgin alumni [[Rebecca Levene]] and [[Gareth Roberts (writer)|Gareth Roberts]] to work on the production team of television soap ''[[Emmerdale]]'', though he also once appeared as an extra in the series. Though he never scripted episodes for television he later wrote both non-fiction (including ''30 Years of Emmerdale'') and fiction (''Mandy's Secret Diary'', ''Their Finest Hour'') connected to the series. Since leaving ''Emmerdale'' he has not worked for TV but concentrates on books and comics.


Parkin wrote non-fiction as well, including guides to ''[[Star Trek]]'' (''Beyond the Final Frontier'') and [[Philip Pullman]]'s ''[[His Dark Materials]]'' series (''Dark Matters: An Unofficial and Unauthorised Guide to Philip Pullman's 'Dark Materials' Trilogy''), both written with long-time friend [[Mark Jones (writer)|Mark Jones]], and ''Secret Identities: An Unofficial and Unauthorised Guide to [[Alias (TV series)|Alias]]'' with [[Mark Clapham]].


{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
This was followed by ''[[Miranda (Doctor Who)|Miranda]]'', a comic based on a character in his ''Doctor Who'' novel ''[[Father Time (Doctor Who)|Father Time]]''. Published through the small independent company of Comeuppance Comics, it stalled after its third issue, but other comic work followed. Though in 2003 Comeuppance said it hoped to publish the three remaining issues at some point in the future nothing more was heard from them. With her creator's permission Miranda was killed off in the ''Doctor Who'' book [[Sometime Never...]] by [[Justin Richards]].
! [[European Union member state|Member State]] || [[Abbreviation|Abbr.]] || Motorcycle example ||
|-


==Motorcycle plates==
Parkin also wrote ''[[The Winning Side]]'', the first in the ''[[Time Hunter]]'' novella series, a spin-off from [[Telos Publishing]]'s line of official ''Doctor Who'' novellas, and ''[[Warlords of Utopia]]'', the third in [[Mad Norwegian Press]]'s ''[[Faction Paradox]]'' series of novels.
| style="background:#F2F2F2; text-align:left" | '''{{SVN}}''' || [[Slovenian car number plates|SLO]] ||

[[Image:Slovenian license plate.svg|200x50px]]
Parkin has a regular column, "Beige Planet Lance" in the ''Doctor Who'' [[fanzine]] ''Enlightenment'', which is published by the [[Doctor Who Information Network]].
|-

==Selected bibliography==
===''[[Doctor Who]]'' and related works===
*[[Virgin New Adventures]]/[[Virgin Missing Adventures]]:
**''[[Just War (Doctor Who)|Just War]]'' (1996; featuring the Seventh Doctor)
**''[[Cold Fusion (Doctor Who)|Cold Fusion]]'' (1996; featuring the Fifth and Seventh Doctors)
**''[[The Dying Days]]'' (1997; featuring the Eighth Doctor)
**''[[Beige Planet Mars]]'' (with [[Mark Clapham]], 1998; featuring [[Bernice Summerfield]])
*[[BBC Books]]' ''Doctor Who'' series:
**''[[The Infinity Doctors]]'' (1998; featuring an unspecified Doctor)
**''[[Father Time (Doctor Who)|Father Time]]'' (2001; featuring the Eighth Doctor)
**''[[Trading Futures]]'' (2002; featuring the Eighth Doctor)
**''[[The Gallifrey Chronicles]]'' (2005; the last novel in the regular series featuring the Eighth Doctor)
**''[[The Eyeless]]'' (December 2008; a forthcoming tenth Doctor novel)
*[[Big Finish Productions]]:
**''[[Just War (Doctor Who)|Just War]]'' (1999; Bernice Summerfield audio by [[Jacqueline Rayner]], based on the novel by Lance Parkin)
**''[[The Extinction Event]]'' (2001; Bernice Summerfield audio)
**''[[Primeval (Doctor Who audio)|Primeval]]'' (2001; ''Doctor Who'' audio featuring the Fifth Doctor)
**''[[Davros (Doctor Who audio)|Davros]]'' (2003; ''Doctor Who'' audio featuring the Sixth Doctor)
**''[[The Big Hunt]]'' (2004; Bernice Summerfield novel)
**''[[I, Davros: Corruption]]'' (2006; third title in ''[[List of Doctor Who audio plays by Big Finish#I, Davros|I, Davros]]'' audio miniseries)
*Other ''Doctor Who'' related works:
**''[[A History of the Universe]]'' (1996; reference book published by [[Virgin Publishing|Virgin]])
**''[[The Winning Side]]'' (2003; [[Telos Publishing]] ''[[Time Hunter]]'' novella)
**''[[Warlords of Utopia]]'' (2004; [[Mad Norwegian Press]] ''[[Faction Paradox]]'' novel)
**''[[AHistory]]: An Unofficial History of the Doctor Who Universe'' (2006; revised and vastly expanded version of ''A History of the Universe''; Mad Norwegian Press)

===Other works===
*''[[Emmerdale]]: Their Finest Hour'' (2001; novel)
*''[[Alan Moore]] (Pocket Essentials: Comics)'' (2001)
*''30 Years of Emmerdale'' (2002; reference work)
*''Beyond the Final Frontier'' (with Mark Jones, 2003; unauthorised guide to ''Star Trek'')
*''Secret Identities: An Unofficial and Unauthorised Guide to ''[[Alias (TV series)|Alias]]'' ''(with [[Mark Clapham]], 2003)
*''Dark Matters: The Unofficial and Unauthorised to [[Philip Pullman]]'s International Bestselling '[[His Dark Materials]]' Trilogy'' (with Mark Jones, 2007)
*''The Prisoner: The Other'' (planned, no release date set; novel based upon the TV series ''[[The Prisoner]]'')

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*[http://www0.bbc.co.uk/cult/news/drwho/2004/01/01/13699.shtml Lance Parkin interview on BBC Doctor Who site]
*[http://www.bbc.co.uk/cult/doctorwho/ebooks/dyingdays/index.shtml ''The Dying Days'' e-book on the BBC website]

{{DEFAULTSORT:Parkin, Lance}}
[[Category:British science fiction writers]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Year of birth missing (living people)]]
[[Category:Alumni of the University of York]]

Revision as of 06:37, 11 October 2008

File:European flag in the wind.jpg
The stars from the European Flag are featured in most national plates.

Vehicle registration plates of the European Union are the mandatory number plates used to display the registration mark of a vehicle in the respective Member States. Most motor vehicles which are used on public roads are required by law to display them.

The common EU format of having a blue section on the left with EU stars and the country code was introduced by Council Regulation (EC) No 2411/98 of 3 November 1998 and entered into force on the 11 Nov 1998. It was based on a model registration plate which several member states had introduced, Ireland 1991, Portugal 1992, and Germany 1994. (This 'common format' has since been claimed to be "stolen" from a registered design - number 2053070 - registered at the UK Patent office by David and Nansi Mottram in 1995, some years after the introduction of the plate format in Ireland, Portugal, and Germany. [1]. No successful challenge has been launched by the registered "designers" to date.)

The EU format is optional in Finland, France, Sweden, Cyprus [2] and the United Kingdom. Belgium has not yet implemented the common format. [3]

Some motorists in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland (constituent countries within the United Kingdom) use EU-style plates with their national flag and the codes SCO, CYM and NIR respectively. Although not officially recognised, they are permitted by the UK government as an expression of national pride. Some motorists in England have started to display ENG codes in response to this fashion.[1].

CAR plates

Member State Abbr. CAR Example
 Austria A
 Belgium B
 Bulgaria BG
 Cyprus CY
 Czech Republic CZ
 Denmark DK
 Estonia EST
 Finland FIN
 France F
 Germany D
 Greece GR
 Hungary H
 Ireland IRL
 Italy I
 Latvia LV
 Lithuania LT
 Luxembourg L
 Malta M
 Netherlands NL
 Poland PL File:LBL77RN.jpg
 Portugal P
 Romania RO
 Slovakia SK
 Slovenia SLO

File:Slovenian license plate.svg

 Spain E
 Sweden S
 United Kingdom GB



Motorcycle plates

Member State Abbr. Motorcycle example
 Slovenia SLO

File:Slovenian license plate.svg

  1. ^ BBC News (2001-12-28). "Flag day for patriotic drivers". Retrieved 2007-10-22.
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