Most of my early morning walking friends would be aware that this blog is also read by my children, grandchildren and other family overseas. Living in Holland, they probably enjoy reading about our warm summer weather here, particularly when their own winter is cold and often bleak.
In contrast, when it is very hot here, I sometimes think about the beautiful Christmas markets in Holland and about how I would love to join in their traditional Christmas celebrations in December, with snow outside, a warm fire inside and a Christmas tree decorated with real candles.
Christmas in Holland was always a very special time of the year for me and last December a particular photo, sent to me by my brother-in-law, Laurens, had me immediately captivated by what it showed. Laurens, who plays the trumpet, was dressed in period costume, which he would be wearing when playing in the Charles Dickens Orchestra, during their performances in the weeks before Christmas.
I was particularly interested in this because Dickens is one of my all-time favourite authors. We have many of his books at home and I have read them all, some more than once. Our daughter, Nikki, also had a special interest in Dickens when she was studying literature, and this inspired me to read more of his books. Nikki’s specific focus was to learn more about Dickens as a walker, a “flâneur”. The French word “flâneur” is used to refer to “a person who strolls around in a seemingly aimless way”.
Dickens did a lot of walking in his life. He travelled widely and on his many walks he had the opportunity to observe “the everyday life” of people all around him, just as we do here, when walking along the Sandgate waterfront. His walks would have helped him to create and shape the amazing characters and storylines for his many books and publications.
Charles Dickens (1812-1870) was arguably the best-known English writer of the 19th century. By the time he died he was famous throughout the English-speaking world. I guess that many of us would have read one or more of his books, such as “David Copperfield”, “Great Expectations”, “Oliver Twist”, “Little Dorrit, “A Tale of Two Cities”, and more.
Today there are still many associations promoting the study and appreciation of Dickens’ works, but I wonder how many people know that the “World’s largest Dickens festival” is held in mid-December each year in the Dutch city of Deventer.
Deventer is a very old city in the east of the Netherlands and the festival is always held in its beautiful medieval centre. It all began in 1991, soon after limited Sunday trading was reintroduced in Holland. A shopkeeper in Deventer, a Mrs Emmy Strik, decided to make weekend shopping a bit more fun by organising a fancy dress party. She was inspired by her father, an anglophile, who often travelled to England and “read a lot of Dickens”.
The event, which began in 1991, has since developed into a major festival, with more than 125,000 visitors enjoying the street theatre performed by close to a thousand volunteers in period costume. Visitors will see the many characters from Dickens’ books walking in the streets, as well as Christmas carol singers who go from door to door, while roasted chestnuts, gingerbread, hot punch and Victorian treats are being offered to the passers-by. There is even a “Dickens Walk”.
In 2003, Sue, Nikki and I visited the beautiful Huon Valley in Tasmania, where we met a woodcarver, who worked in a large barn and who introduced us to the “Deepings’ Dolls”, which are individually crafted figures made out of Tasmanian White Sassafras wood. We asked him if he could make us a “Charles Dickens” figure and he said that he could. True to his word, it was sent to us, weeks later, at our home address. The figure, which was hand-painted by Jilli Roberts, is only 12cm tall but has pride of place on a shelf in my study.
There is much more to discover about Charles Dickens, his books and his connections with the Danish fairy-tale writer, Hans Christian Andersen, and other writers. Perhaps you’ll be inspired to explore what’s out there. For now, I’ll leave you to do your own “walking and talking” and hopefully to create a story or two for others to enjoy.
O.P.
P.S. Next Sunday’s post is about two unsung heroes, volunteers for 19 years.