Travelling Back to the Mid West

Tags

A Christmas Carol, Aldi, American Airlines, Charles Dickens, Ebenezer Scrooge, LOnghorn Steakhouse, Mid Continent Public Library, Pelaton, Soccer, Steve McQueen, The Great Escape

On Thursday morning it was time to wake early and leave the Philadelphia apartment after a most enjoyable stay. I had done most of my packing during the previous afternoon, so it was just a case of finishing off and closing up the cases. At 6am I ordered an Uber cab and shortly afterwards Ivan helped me load my cases into his car and off we set to the airport as a beautiful sunrise lightened the skies. Ivan was from Honduras and on discovering that I came from England he instantly starting talking about soccer – congratulating the England team on their performances at the recent European Championships, ‘they are a young team, will only get better!’ His loyalties (soccer-wise) lay conflicted between USA and Honduras, ‘I don’t mind which wins, but Honduras were leading USA last time and then the manager changed 4 players – 4 players! And they lost!’ Next onto the World stage: ‘So Barcelona or Madrid? Ronaldo or Messi? Boxing, you like boxing? The English crowds at boxing are amazing!’ I was beginning to wish that I had touched the ‘No Conversation’ tab on the Uber app! However the drive was short and he was a very friendly and nice man.

I checked my cases in and, as previously, was given the offer of checking my smaller roller case for free as once again the flight would be full and there was only limited overhead bin space. As my boarding group was 7 it seemed unlikely that I would find room so I checked both. From bag drop to security and the line was long, very very long. Not only was the zig zag area marked out with extendable fabric barriers completely packed, but another line disappeared way up another hallway and what was worse the line didn’t seem to be moving. This was exactly why I had left the apartment at 6 – Philadelphia airport often has these long lines, especially for American Airlines flights which, as Bob had pointed out the evening before, all seem to leave at the same time of day. Eventually a representative of the airport came along the line saying that he had opened another checkpoint over in concourse A and it was empty, just walk down those stairs, along the rail platform and back in the next door, and it was clear. Many people bolted for that option, with the result that for those off who elected to remain the queue started moving very quickly and in a matter of minutes my ID was being checked and I was taking my boots off for the security check. Gratifyingly the lady in line behind me said ‘what great socks!’

The next priority was breakfast but there were no good restaurants or grills open so I made do with a Breakfast Sandwich from a burger joint. Not desperately appetising but it filled a hole. At the table I got out my laptop and wrote the previous day’s blog post which I finished before it was time to board. Sure enough when group 7 was called the bin space was already used, so I had made the right decision earlier. I settled into my seat and prepared for a 2 hour flight back to the Mid West. As soon as we were airborne I scrolled through the entertainment options on the American Airlines App and decided to watch the classic war film, The Great Escape, with Steve McQueen, James Garner, Dickie Attenborough, David McCallum Charles Bronson and many other great names from that time. For some reason The Great Escape was often shown as a Christmas film in my childhood, I don’t know why, but it was lovely to watch again. The movie passed the time very effectively and as the pilot brought us in to land, so the iconic Steve McQueen motorcycle chase was taking place and as our wheels touched the earth so The King of Cool’s wheels left it as he jumped over the barbed wire border between Germany and Switzerland.

It was strange to be back in the Mid West just a few days after leaving it, normally I would drive from Kansas City to Omaha or from Omaha to Kansas City, but because of this years’ disrupted schedule and the original plan to appear in California, the journey that would usually take me around 3 hours had actually taken me 5 days to complete.

We taxied to the terminal building and at baggage claim I was reunited with Kimberly Howard who has been bringing me back to the Kansas City area for more years than either of would care to mention!

There was no pressure on the day, as my first show for the Mid Continent Public Library Service was not scheduled until Friday evening, so Kimberly drove to Liberty, where I stay, and we exchanged our respective news. Once more the weather was beautiful,. clear and sunny and the colours of fall foliage, not something I would usually associate with Missouri, were absolutely stunning. Apparently there are warnings of bad weather coming, but for now it was beautiful.

I got checked in to the Hampton Inn which is so familiar to me now, and dropped my bags to my room before joining Kimberly again for lunch at a nearby Panera Bread, where I had a delicious avocado salad. While we ate we discussed the coming days and once again the question came up of how to organise the question and answer sessions, especially at the larger venues. I told Kimberly about the plan Bob and I had come up with regarding getting people to write their questions as they arrived for the show and then having a hosted session at the end, and she liked that idea and decided to instigate it.

Lunch over I returned to the hotel and Kimberly went to the office to get everything finalised for the next three days, My first job was a good old laundry session! I got a roll of quarters from the front desk and spent the next couple of hours making repeated trips from the third to the first floor where I loaded and unloaded the washer and loaded and unloaded the dryer until I had a bag of fresh clothes to see me through to the end of the trip.

The rest of the afternoon and evening was my own, and after doing some more blog writing, I lay on the bed and watched TV. It amazed me that the Christmas ads are already on the screen and dear old Ebenezer Scrooge has been pressed into action again, on this occasion by Peloton fitness equipment. Grumpy old Scrooge finds happiness and gets his mojo back by working out on an exercise bike. Incidentally I have also been sent a link to a Christmas ad from the UK for Aldi supermarkets, The story is set ‘In Dickensian Days’ and is called A Christmas Carot, featuring as its central character a miserly banana, called Ebanana (a rotten banana). He has been made jealous because all of the other delicious produce from the supermarket is devoured with relish, whilst he is left alone on the plates. It is beautifully made with some excruciatingly awful puns along the way. I shall post the link at the end of this so that you can make your own minds up about it! Not only are Christmas ads being played but also Black Friday sales are being flagged up already!

Afternoon drifted into evening and it was time for dinner decisions. As I didn’t have a car I would need to walk to a restaurant (I could have ordered something to be delivered to the hotel but having been in the room since lunchtime I rather wanted a change of scenery). Fro previous years I had remembered that there was a Longhorn Steakhouse on the strip mall, so I walked down there only to be told that there was a 40 minute wait for tables, unless I didn’t mind sitting at the bar, which option I took. Whilst sitting I got into conversation with a guy who was doing the same, and we chatted again about soccer (it turned out that both of our daughters had taken the sport up this year). Eventually his wife arrived and a table was found for them, so I continued my dinner at the bar alone. A Ribeye steak and baked potato where perfect, and as I ate I wrote a few notes on a pad for possible book ideas.

It was still quite early when I returned to the hotel (of course I had lost an hour in flying from east to mid) so I watched a little more television before beginning to feel tired. I knew that by sleeping early I would wake early, but that’s OK. Another day came to a close.

Here is the link for the Aldi ‘A Christmas Carrot’ ad

Black Friday Eve and Nashua

Tags

A Christmas Carol, A Christmas Carol film, Black Friday, Christmas Pudding, Fortin Gage Flowers and Gifts, Laughter, Mrs Cratchit, Nashua, NH

The memory posts on my phone will come in thick and fast now, as traditionally the week following the Thanksgiving weekend sees me hopping from venue to venue spending only a day at each. Sure enough I had quite a collection pop up on my screen this morning.

The first picture was that of a broken suitcase. At this point of the tour the opportunity to launder clothes can be limited so I have to pack around 10 white shirts, as well as two complete costumes (black frockcoats, gold waistcoats, grey high-waisted trousers, cravats, top hat and a woollen scarf). I need to bring along props such as my walking cane, a candlestick with candle and a red cloth which changes from a bedspread into Tiny Tim and back again. Besides that there may be other costume and props to use for any other shows which I may be performing during the trip, and that is all before packing any ‘normal’ clothes. All of that needs the largest suitcase I can find and for many years a suitably cavernous grey model gave sterling service. But being lifted in and out of cars, dragged into hotels, thrown around airports eventually takes a toll and sure enough a few years ago as I checked into a hotel the extendable pulling handle broke clean away in my hand and I was left with the immediate need to find replacement case. I was in Connecticut at the time and remember saying to the hotel desk clerk ‘if only there were to be a day when all of the major stores offered discounts….’ the words being spoken on Black Friday Eve (formally known as Thanksgiving Day) .

The following day I made my way to the nearest large mall with a sense of trepidation (for years I’d watched news footage of near riot conditions) but was pleasantly surprised at the ease with which I was able to find a case and make my purchase, In fact, maybe secretly I was a little disappointed!

The Black Friday Case did a couple of tours of duty but has also fallen by the wayside and I am on to yet another model now, which is certainly having an easy time of it this year.

More pictures from years past see my memories settling in Nashua, New Hampshire. My sponsors in Nashua have always been the Fortin Gage Florist and Gift Store which is located in the heart of the old city. Nashua was originally a textile town and along the banks of the River Merrimack sit wonderful old red brick mills and warehouses that would not look out of place in an illustration from a Dickens novel.

As part of the gift side of Fortin Gage’s operation the store carries the collectable Carollers made in Pennsylvania by Byers’ Choice and when I began to work with the latter company some twelve years ago a number of the new venues were those who had a professional relationship with them. Fortin Gage has remained a constant on my tours ever since.

Originally my performances were held in the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Nashua, which was great for me because that is also where I stayed, meaning that I didn’t have too much trouble getting to the theatre on time! We took over a ballroom where a large stage was set up with plenty of seating for a large audience and enthusiastic audience.

The Crowne Plaza stage

The events were organised by Jody and Jill Gage who were assisted in their marketing by Sandy Belknap: we became quite a team and the post show celebrations in the hotel bar have become a little hazy in the memory.

Although the large show in the ballroom was the main event of my visits to Nashua we also staged dinner performances where I would perform each chapter of the book in between the courses of a dinner. It was during those evenings that the ‘Supposin!’ curse settled on Nashua. As those of you who are familiar with the show will know there is a moment when poor Mrs Cratchit leaves the room to see if her Christmas pudding has cooked properly and in her nervous state she ponders: ‘supposin….supposin it should not be done enough! ‘Supposin….supposin it should break in the turining out! Supposin….supposin somebody should have climbed across the wall and stolen it!’ at which she goes running, screaming from the room. Well, Jill Gage would become almost hysterical during the ever longer pauses and eventually gave up trying to stifle her laughter. As Dickens himself points out in A Christmas Carol ‘there is nothing in the world so irresistibly contagious as laughter….’ When Gill laughed it infected others throughout the room, until even I was not immune – keeping a straight face when I heard the titters start in the darkness was not easy, I can assure you.

In more recent years we have moved our show to the superb auditorium at the Nashua Community College where I even have a back projection representing the skyline of London to help me create the scene.

Nashua Community College

The audience has swollen with the move but the old familiar faces who have been loyally coming to every show in Nashua are still there too, waiting until the signing line has cleared so that we can chat, catch up and exchange news.

Over the last few years I have also been performing at the Nashua Senior Centre and these shows have shows have become a fun addition to the trip: Mr Dickens is Coming, Nicholas Nickleby, A Child’s Journey With Dickens, The Signalman, Doctor Marigold and Sikes & Nancy have all been performed in the sparse, bright meeting room to a most enthusiastic audience.

Nashua Senior Center

As with so many of the venues I have been writing about it will be such a shame not to be in Nashua this year but Fortin Gage have taken the role of promoting my new film to all of the customers on their database, so the show will still be part of the Nashua Christmas celebrations, and they can giggle at Mrs Cratchit without fear of putting me off my stride.

With Jody

The other great connection from my years in New Hampshire is that Sandy, who helped Fortin Gage with their promotion in those early years and again more recently, has come on board to handle the publicity and promotion of the film. She is coaching me in the use of social media and how to take the message to as many influential people as we can. She is a great asset to the the team and it is a pleasure to work with her alongside Bob and Pam Byers.

To rent the film: http://www.geralddickens.com/films.html

#AChristmasCarol2020

Mass, Maine and Christmas Begins

Tags

Boston, Charles Dickens, Kate Douglas Wiggin, Maine, Massachusetts, Portland, Portland Press and Herald, Press Hotel, Santa Claus, Vaillancourt Folk Art

It has been a week or since last I reminisced on my American adventures as prompted by my phone and Facebook, because this has coincided with a period when traditionally I could spend a few days at home with Liz and my family.

But now the great memory generators have cranked back into life again and provided me with a series of images from Massachusetts and Maine. For the last 12 or so years the second part of my tour has begun in Sutton Mass. at the wonderful premises of Vaillancourt Folk Art where the senses are assaulted by Christmas! As you walk into the store every inch is utilised to display a variety of Christmas gifts but mainly the beautifully hand-painted chalkware Santa Claus figures which are cast from antique chocolate moulds.

The company was formed by Judi and Gary Vaillancourt in 1984. Originally based in their house, the demand for the collectables soon outstripped the confines of a kitchen, dining room and bedrooms and over the following years the business expanded until it eventually landed in its present home the Manchaug Mills in Sutton. The buildings date back to 1826 and are a perfect venue for the Vaillancourt family to promote tradition.

Gary and Judi are justifiably proud that they are one of a very few Christmas businesses which are truly American, and it was their connection with Byers’ Choice, another genuinely American Christmas company (it feels so right to be writing about both businesses on Thanksgiving Day), which led to my performing in the mill.

For my first visit The Vaillancourts made an arrangement with the owners of the mill to convert an empty space next to the store into a theatre, which they named Blaxton Hall. With Judi’s artistic flare a stage set was created surrounded by 200 seats, and over the years my performances of A Christmas Carol have become as much a Christmas tradition for me as they have for the audiences who return every year.

I always have a wonderful time with the Vaillancourts and we have had our fair share of adventures over the years. On one occasion my flight from Philadelphia was delayed by thick fog and it quickly became apparent that I wouldn’t get to the store in time for the show. After a flurry of panic, phone calls and emails were exchanged and a plan was hatched: Luke Vaillancourt (Gary and Judi’s son, now very much a part of the team) was dispatched to wait for my arrival at Logan airport ready to drive me back as fast as was legally possible, whilst his father-in-law Bob was placed on the Blaxton Hall stage with his guitar in hand to entertain the crowd until I could take over: that warm-up performance is still spoken of in Sutton to this day! When I eventually arrived and relieved Bob, whose repertoire was beginning to get rather stretched, the atmosphere in the room was fantastic: a real sense of camaraderie among friends, and when Scrooge woke up on Christmas morning and discovered that there was ‘no mist, no fog….’ there was a great ironic cheer.

Vaillancourt Folk Art is more than a venue to me, I count the family as close personal friends and it feels most odd not to see them this year.

The other memory that my phone provided me with this week was from Portland, Maine. Portland is a more recent addition to my tour but the city has a special resonance for me. Many years ago when my father David was the President of the International Dickens Fellowship organisation (a post that I was greatly honoured to hold a few years later and one that my brother Ian now undertakes with a great sense of duty, wit and professionalism), he asked me to perform with him a short story that he had discovered. The ‘show’ was based on a piece of writing titled ‘A Child’s Journey With Dickens’ and recounted the childhood memories of Kate Douglas Wiggin, the author of Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm. In 1868 Charles Dickens was touring America, performing his readings in cities along the Eastern seaboard. Most of the events were in Boston and New York but there were other venues too, one of which was in Portland. The young Kate, 10 years old at the time, was a huge fan of Dickens and devoured his works, even naming her pets and belongings after his characters – her dog was named Pip whilst her red sled was christened ‘The Artful Dodger.’

Dickens’ reading was one of the biggest events ever seen in the city and the tickets sold out in no time. Of course there was no possibility for a ten year old girl to attend and so Kate simply lingered outside the hall hoping to catch a glimpse of her hero. Sadly she did not.

The next day Kate and her mother were due to take the train to Boston and during the journey the little girl discovered that Charles Dickens was actually sitting in the next carriage and in a moment of Victorian infant chutzpah she plucked up courage to run up and sit down next to the great author! Once he overcame his surprise Dickens fell into conversation with Kate, asking her about her favourite books and characters. She told him that she’d read all of his books and he questioned her, ‘those great thick long books and you such a slip of a thing?’ She simply replied that she skipped the dull bits – ‘not the short dull bits, just the long ones!’

A Child’s Journey with Dickens is a charmingly beautiful account of the meeting and a visit to Portland always brings it to mind. When I was in the city I performed on behalf of the Maine Historical Society and as well as staging a lovely evening in a beautiful venue, they were extremely generous with their research resources and enabled me to build a complete picture of Charles’ visit.

As a final observation when last I was in Portland, two years ago, I stayed at The Press Hotel on Exchange Street which is housed in the old offices of The Portland Press and Herald (formally the largest newspaper in the State and mentioned by Kate in A Child’s Journey). The owners of The Press have honoured the newspaper trade in the décor and dressing of the rooms and it is a fabulous change to the many identikit boxes that proliferate.

My main memory however was the breakfast I ate there – a Fruit and Quinoa Bowl, which comprised of: Pineapple, Banana, Blueberry, Black Quinoa, Basil, Orange Blossom Ricotta and Local Honey. It was quite simply one of the most delicious things I have ever eaten and won my award for ‘Breakfast of the Tour’!

Back in England in 2020. 26 November has really felt like the beginning of Christmas. We have spent the day listening to Christmas songs and driving through neighbourhoods looking at Christmas lights. I even bought myself a Christmas sweater!

What else happened on 26th November? The film has finally been unleased upon the world!

Happy Thanksgiving to all of my readers in America

http://www.geralddickens.com/films.html

#achristmascarol2020

Counting Down to Thanksgiving and the launch of A Christmas Carol

Tags

A Christmas Carol, A Christmas Carol 2020, A Christmas Carol film, Ebenezer Scrooge, Emily Walder, Gerald Dickens, Ghosts of Christmas, Medway, Rochester

It seems to have been a long time coming and for much of this year it has felt that, between the pandemic and the various political situations across the globe, there has not been much to thank 2020 for. However as we begin the week of American Thanksgiving I can reflect of a year of opportunity and positives as I prepare to launch my first film: A Christmas Carol.

When last we left the saga I had wrapped filming in the ancient city of Rochester and left the entire project in the talented hands of Oscar-winning editor Emily Walder. During the days of filming in Cooling Churchyard, in Rochester Cathedral at The Six Poor Travellers House, in Eastgate House and around the streets of the ancient city, I had told Emily directly, and indirectly, what my vision for the film was, so when we said goodbye in a Rochester car park I was saying a temporary farewell to the project and leaving the next stage to her.

A few weeks passed and from America Bob Byers of the Byers’ Choice company, who not only book and manage my annual tours but also who had commissioned the film, got in touch to ask if there was anything he could see yet? I contacted Emily to ask if there was any way she could create a short trailer for the piece – a few scenes possibly, just to show how the end product may look. I hadn’t been prepared for the amazing production that duly arrived!

I had told Emily that I wanted the tone of the film to be dramatic, dark and sombre – capturing the innermost fears of old Ebenezer Scrooge and as soon as I watched the trailer I knew that she had succeeded. The music she had chosen was exciting with a racing heartbeat of a rhythm, and with lots of fast cutting together of various scenes from all of the locations it served up a tantalising glimpse as to how the film would look. As I watched I just smiled: Emily had created something very special indeed.

The trailer was circulated to all who needed to see it and the response was always the same: ‘Wow! I can’t wait to see the full film!’ Of course that is the point of a trailer but the superb reaction heaped the pressure on Emily to get the entire project completed as soon as possible, whilst juggling her other work which was beginning to make greater demands on her time.

Eventually after many emails back and forward she announced the there was a preview to be watched which she duly forwarded via WeTransfer, and which after an hour or so of gradual downloading I was able to watch. Actually I prevaricated for quite a while as I hate watching and listening to myself, but in the end I opened the laptop and began.

The film is everything that I had hoped it to be, Emily had been true to my wishes and used the specific shots that I had suggested, but also given it so much more. Her use of balancing the colour and the sound, of including carefully selected sound effects and music, of using special cinematic effects sparingly but very effectively turned the production from one man telling a story to a completely immersive film experience. As I watched I laughed and I cried, which considering that I am quite familiar with the book is quite surprising and a testament to her skills.

I am not arrogant or narrow minded enough to suggest that this film is a fully finished perfect piece of work, for there is plenty within its 70 minutes that I would like to either touch up or re-film but of course that is out of the question for now (although I would love to come back to the project next year for a second release!) However my main disappointment could be corrected and that was the opening sequence. Rather than using the dramatic music from the trailer Emily had gone with a melody that reminded me of the famous Hedwig Theme from the Harry Potter franchise, and somehow it didn’t bestow the menace and sense of doom that I wanted. The scene wasn’t helped by my voiceover narrative: ‘Marley was dead to begin with’ which I had recorded in slightly conversational, almost jovial, tones. I asked Emily if it was too late to make a change and she said she would indeed be able to do what I wanted, so I quickly set up my microphone and laptop and recorded a much darker version of ‘Marley was dead….’

Within a few hours Emily sent the new beginning and it was transformed: crows squawk and flutter among the silhouetted branches of a skeletal tree and as the (original) music plays. The viewer flies through the graveyard around ancient tombstones as my voice intones the opening lines, almost spitting out the final ‘Marley was as DEAD as a doornail!’ The screen fades to black and the title A Christmas Carol fills the void. We are off on our journey with Ebenezer Scrooge.

Frustratingly there are also a few moments in the film when we should have done better with continuity as well as ensuring that the numerous ‘Fire Escape’ and ‘Mind Your Head’ signs didn’t feature in the story, not to mention a stack of very modern chairs that I don’t know how we manage to miss on the day.

There are other moments which having seen the end result I would like to re-shoot from a point of view of my own performance, I would like to play about with characterisations a little more at certain moments, and use a few more of the cinematic tricks that we learned were possible as we filmed, but that is all for another time.

For now I think that with a crew of only three, all socially distancing in masks, and on a very short timescale and on a limited budget, Emily, Jordan and I have produced something that I am very very proud of!

On Thursday 26 November you can see for yourself for that is when the finished product goes live. To view the film go to the dedicated page on my website, Films (geralddickens.com) and click the button! Once you have paid for the rental and clicked to watch you will have access to the film for seven days, during which time you can view it as often as you like. From the launch date there is month until Christmas – so why not rent the piece as a gift for family, friends or for colleagues in lieu of a cancelled office party?

Yes 2020 has been a hard, difficult, and frightening year for us all but through it all rose the opportunity to make this film and that is something that I am truly thankful for!

http://www.geralddickens.com/films.html

#AChristmasCarol2020