'A Lovely Day In Dickensian Rochester'

I had a great time yesterday during my visit to the Dickensian Festival in Rochester!

Thanks to the SUPERB Clive Richardson Coach Tours I found myself effortlessly 'whisked away' to a town with a great many connection to, Charles Dickens and the books he wrote.

If you've not been before the great thing about the festival is that the High Street in Rochester is pretty much the only main street in the town centre so anything and everything that happens during the day is in relatively easy reach from there. There is so much to do and take part in throughout the day once you are there! As well as the usual street performers & characters dressed in Dickensian costumes to meet, greet and have a photo taken with there are processions, stall holders, carol singing sessions, craft fairs a LOVELY fair ground full of fun AND 'oddities' like an ice sculpting demonstration, the chance to try your hand at bell ringing and the odd impromptu theatre re-inaction of 'A Christmas Carol' which also calls for a lot of audience participation! That's without the usual array of interesting 'curiosity' shops, museums and Churches to explore.

I got a VERY 'warm glow' whilst visiting a craft fair that was being held in (hilariously) a 'Gentleman's Night Club' (not sure what either Santa or Charles Dickens would make of that!) that was very sparkly and (ironically) Christmassy when I found just the right Christmas Present for a special friend! The lady who sold it to me was lovely and even modelled the item for me. We got on very well and she told me that she had imported the item from Dubai after holidaying there. I asked her if she liked poetry? To which she said enthusiastically that she was and was a 'creative sort'. Because it is Christmas and I liked her I then offered her a free copy of my 'In Words, In Music...Of Life, Of Death' CD. She was very surprised at this but accepted gratefully (she hasn't heard it yet! - I hear you, Ro Gardner! (lol) and we then shared a few more words. She told me that my lovely gesture was very kind and helped make up for the fact that she was actually having to sell the items I had bought one off at a loss. I'm so glad that we shared a few 'nice moments' together and I hope she enjoys at least some of my CD. I did explain a bit about a couple of the tracks because I recorded a tribute to Top Of The Pops on that Cd on which I (unfortunately as it later turned out) do a Jimmy Savile impression on! Trust me to record a 'tribute' to an iconic character who turns out to be a vile 'wrong un'! I won't forget that lady and I really hope that she had a good day at the craft fair and made a lot of money...

Scrooge is that way, I shouted! (lol)

What made going with Clive so brilliant is that we had plenty of time (about 5 hours) to be able to take our time looking around the shops, taking part in the carol singing or just soaking up the atmosphere! I hate it when you go on a Coach trip to something special and then all you have is 2 hours to 'whip round it'. Christmas is such a 'stressy' time anyway that its great when you can just 'chill' and 'watch the world go by' if you want to for a bit. I met a few nice ladies at the Carol singing session in front of Rochester Castle and even took the mic and told the crowd my 'heartwarming Christmas story' of the day I dressed up in full Santa Claus outfit (boots, bells, sack of presents, bear, bell - you name it!) and was then subsequently LET DOWN by a friend who'd promised to give me a lift to my 'newly joined' writing clubs Christmas do. Did I get a taxi? NO! I walked the mile and a quarter from my house to hilarious effect! (lol)

That was a 'long time ago' now and it's been a while since I have 'sprung' one of my festive tricks on the universe but I'm planning one for my old mate, Mr.Belton and all at The Conquest Hospital come our radio show on the 23rd!!! HA HA HA

Back to Rochester though and I have to say that the most magical part for me of the day was when I visited the huge craft fair and fairground situated in the middle of Rochester Castle! Once the light began to dim and the thousands of fairy lights and fairground ride bulbs could be seen in their full glory it was just like taking a trip back in time to my childhood!

Spinning Magic!

Standing in front of one of the loveliest of old Traction engine powered Carousel rides I was simply in heaven seeing the Carousel spin, the fairground music blaring out and breathing in that distinctive white smoke that blooms out of the top of a Traction Engine chimney along with a 'toot toot' of its whistle when its at full power! I could have stood there like a little boy for hours had I the time just watching the Mum's and Dad's take the kids for rides on it! So many HAPPY faces, giggles and pointing and bobble hats 'rushing past in a blur' to enjoy! I shall never forget how full of love my heart felt for those three or more minutes, I can tell you!

As much fun as I had though, not all of the things I saw and witnessed in Rochester made me happy. There were quite a few homeless people about and many looked so down trodden and ignored that I could hardly bear to look at them. Charles Dickens would be gutted I feel to think how, all these many years later, there are STILL people living in such a way in our country. Shamefully, the pain of engaging with these poor souls frightens the hell out of most of us and so - as thousands (for it was pretty packed) passed them by few took any notice of them. I also noted one or two 'dodgy characters' hanging around - probably looking to pick-pockets. I would not say that they were homeless but instead seemed to trying hard to dress as if they were. How rotten can you get to not only pick a persons pocket but in the same breathe try to blame it on a homeless person? Then there was a certain amount of 'disturbing graffiti' about the place. Rochester is so old fashioned and historic that to see horrid graffiti daubed about the place was deeply upsetting - especially as some of it was political and  so one- sided in its view. Councils everywhere need to do more to clamp down on Graffiti and see that it is REMOVED as quickly as possible because there is nothing more unwelcoming for a visitor to see vile, biased slogans written on walls and (in one or two cases) left to stand on raised banners.

Overall though, if Charles Dickens and the story of 'A Christmas Carol' is your thing then you should definitely make sure to visit the Rochester Dickensian Festival at least once in your life. It does get a bit too busy at times during the day and I did find it hard to find a reasonably priced place to get something to eat but the spirit of Dickens, of Bob Cratchit - and occasionally of Scrooge seeps out of every pore at this time of year and helps to bring the true meaning of Christmas to life...

'A Christmas Carol Has Worked Its Magic Again!'

It is common knowledge that I consider, Charles Dickens 'A Christmas Carol' to be the greatest story ever written bar none and I often try to watch the Alastair Sim version of the movie once as Christmas Day draws near. There have been numerous screen versions of the story and most are worth watching but for me, Alastair Sim's 'Scrooge' is the one that I can relate to more than any other. Not only does Sim play 'Scrooge' with conviction the characters gradual repentance is believable thanks to his numerous complaints that he is 'too old to change his ways' etc. In a lot of the films I've seen the transformation from the bitter and cold man Scrooge has become thanks to the harshness of the world and the loss of his beloved sister, Fan comes too easily and thus even the elation of the 'happy to be alive' Ebenezer falls a bit flat. I ALWAYS end up with a kind smile upon my face when I see Sim's Scrooge jumping about and doing silly things like a madman after the visit of the three ghosts...

'Bob The Bauble' mimics the re-born, Scrooge!

The supporting cast are all excellent as well! George Cole plays the young Scrooge (He and Alastair Sim were very close in real life as well) and a VERY young, Nicholas Parsons appears as 'Tiny Tim'.  Well, according to IMDB, Glyn Dearman plays 'Tiny Tim' but you take a look at the film and then tell me that it isn't, Nicholas Parsons!  Patrick McNee (Young Jacob Marley) and Hattie Jacques (Mrs Fezziwig) are also in it and the elder/ghost, Jacob Marley is brilliantly played by, Michael Hordern.

The film was released in 1951 and I have seen it about 7 or 8 times during my lifetime, which is easily a record for me as I'm not generally one for repetition of any kind.

The great thing about watching, A Christmas Carol though is that it helps you to 'take stock' of your life and shows you the enormous value of the people you know to your general happiness. Money is always a difficulty at this time of year and so many people get caught up in the commercialised side of it but at the end of the day it really is 'the thought that counts'. Its such a shame that nearly all of the wonderful people who made this film are now dead but their influence lives on and shall live on for future generations via this film. Alastair Sim also features in my favourite film of all time, 'School For Scoundrels' with Terry-Thomas and Ian Carmichael so in a lot of ways he is one of my favourite Actors.

I fear I may have 'forged a chain of many heavy links' like, Jacob Marley in this world not so much through greed for money or being 'tight' but for being a bit 'closed hearted' to much of the suffering in the world. Mankind should be all of our business but I feel close only to a small percentage of it. Hopefully, I do a fair job of showing how I feel to that small percentage and try to look after people I love the best way that I can but I just don't feel able to 'throw my arms around the whole world'. Whatever fate awaits me though I wish there were more time to try and help me to experience some of the numerous things I have missed out on in this world.

Photo courtesy of allposters.co.uk

Scrooge is right in one respect that it is VERY hard to tread a new path once you have spent a LIFETIME walking down a familiar one. I would love to get married one day but just think I have 'missed the boat' on that front now and with so many possessions that remind me of cherished moments in my past I can't really see how I could 'start a new life' with someone as part of an 'us'. So sad really because I do have a lot of love to give...

Oh well, maybe just one person who reads this 'revealing and honest' blog post this Christmas will manage to change their life and become  like the 'new born' Scrooge. We all feel we are 'alone with thinking this or that' at some time or other in our lives and never more so than at Christmas time so my hope is, if not for me, that these words will help one of you in your time of dilemma...

Merry Christmas xx

P.S. If you think 'Bob the Bauble' is cute I got him in the Town Hall at the Grassington Christmas Fair.

'A Christmassy Walk And Oranges'

I went for an evening walk along George Street in The Old Town of Hastings on the 9th. So much of Christmas is 'best served' when it is dark and the cobbled streets of The Old town really come into their own when you can see lots of Christmassy lights twinkling and flashing above them!

The snag with that though is that it is VERY hard to try and capture the magic of all that with a small camera - especially if like me you are no 'whizz kid' with the technical side of things! As you can see by the pics here, I did my best but ultimately failed pretty miserably!

Still, Christmas is a time when it does you good to get out into the world and give yourself a chance of meeting new people. With people traditionally busying about the shops there is often a chance to stop for a rest on a seat and share a few words with someone you don't know...

In many cases, it is words like this that can make a Christmas for many. I'm one of thousands of single people who often feel isolated at Christmas and while I while I  am lucky enough to have some GREAT friends, when the festivities really get under way they all have families of their own to visit or concentrate on and so I spend a lot of the main days of Christmas playing records in my bedroom at home. Mum and Dad are not really into Christmas at all (especially Dad, whose the ULTIMATE 'Bah Humbugger') and so I have to try and create the festive atmosphere for myself more often than not! Next time you sit down next to or near someone when Christmas shopping say a few words to them - it doesn't cost you anything and you might just make someones day!

Anyway, I made a little video of my walk! Like the photos here, its not great quality but if you want to see it you can do so here...

If you do watch the film, there is a part in it where I take a shot of the front window of the Jewellers shop . I was really taken with that scene as it transported me straight into the era of one of Charles Dickens novels. I felt like Tiny Tim lovingly staring at the toys in the window of the toy shop in 'A Christmas Carol' I can tell you! This morning I had an Orange and the citrus burst I experienced had a similar effect upon me as I imagined the look of utter delight  there would be on one of the poor little street urchins faces in that film if they could have just one segment...I think the Orange is the most 'christmassy' fruit of all and in the right circumstances can really connect with how marvellous a feeling it must have been to poor kids to find a WHOLE one all to themselves at the bottom of their Christmas stocking...

'No Wonder Its Called Boxing Day!'

Well peeps, I sincerely hope you had a better Christmas than I did this year! Christmas Day wasn't so bad... after starting with a row, coming home to find my Dads garage lock had been vandalised so he couldn't put the car away, a fight over the road from where I live - complete with shouting, an ambulance and the police and being unable to sleep! My only solace was that I finished the day by watching 'Scrooge' with Alastair Sim again. I always watch that film at some point during Christmas and left it rather late this time. No matter how many times I see it the film always makes me blub and helps to make my own life , which is far from perfect at the moment, seem better.

Boxing Day added even more misery to the pot though and was like one of Jeremy Beadle's pranks! After working for half an hour on a review for Amazon.com I was just checking it out to make sure the wording was fine when BOOM! the Internet went down... To add to my misery, the telephone connection was also down and so I was left with no way of contacting anyone, writing a blog or doing ANYTHING pretty much!

As is traditional for me on Boxing Day, I then turned my attention to the Racing and the King George at Kempton. Now I know that having a bet at Christmas time is asking for trouble but I used to gamble EVERY DAY and now only allow myself certain days on the calendar to 'have a go' so its actually quite a source of excitement and pleasure for me to 'take on the old enemy' on Boxing Day. To be honest, I really fancied my chances this year (always fatal!) and was quietly confident of a win. Well, to say that things didn't work out would be an understatement! My nap of the day ran in the first race at Kempton and I rushed home eager to watch it...only to find that Channel 4 were not showing that race!
When I heard the result my horse was nowhere! What made it even more annoying was that the 'main danger' I had made a note of WON and at 12/1! HA HA 

I tell you, whenever as a gambler you get a start like that you just know its not going to be your day. In the end I failed to get a single winner. One of my horses bolted and was withdrawn at the start, one made a bad mistake at the last and threw victory away and two others were pulled up - it was just one of those days!

Add to all this 'jollity' my Dad constantly going on about what he'd like to do to the person who keeps vandalising his garage ( this is the 4th time they have damaged the lock) and my Mum whining about stuff and you have an idea of how CRAP yesterday was! It really does tickle me sometimes how my luck at Christmas always seems to run out. I guess thats why watching 'A Christmas Carol' is such a tonic because it puts all these minor - but INCREDIBLY annoying things into perspective. It seems to me that the more you love something and are determined to enjoy it the more life does to kick you where it hurts.

Today though I will get to see how TRULY lucky I am in spite of another dysfunctional Christmas. I am going to 'Surviving Christmas' this afternoon to entertain the homeless people. My voice is not likely to be that great to be honest as I haven't sung for quite a while but all I can do is do my best. My friend, Sally, goes every year and has roped me in today. I have genuine fears (realistic ones too!) of ending up homeless myself in the near future so I will be facing a few fears by helping out today. Still, I am sure the experience will be character building and if I manage to make even one persons Christmas a bit brighter I will be fulfilled. I really shouldn't complain about my lot but it would be SO LOVELY if just once I managed to have the kind of happy Christmas I so wish for...

Oh well, roll on 2014!