Nr.1 March, 2002 _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ London Particular The Newsletter for the Headquarters Group of the Dickens Fellowship ___________________________________________________________________ YOUR NEW NEWSLETTER YOUR 2002 COMMITTEE here are over 670 members of the f you have not served on, or had any Headquarters Dickens Fellowship, dealings with, the Headquarters many of whom live outside London, I Committee, you may wonder what it gets T and only a tenth of these members up to on your behalf. regularly attend meetings in London. This year's committee met for the first time in As a pilot project, Headquarters' Committee January and will, as usual, meet on another has decided to produce this Newsletter, so that five occasions. It is responsible not only for HQ all members have as much information as business, but serves also as the Executive possible about the Fellowship, even those Committee of the Fellowship as a whole. unable to attend meetings. The hope is that Details of its constitution and the names of its everyone will feel more included in the life of members are to be found on your membership the Fellowship. card. Although The Dickensian and Mr Dick’s Kite It is not customary for the President to become publish a great deal of information about involved in committee business and that Fellowship business, there are items of day to remains the situation, but Henry Dickens day interest which are perhaps best provided Hawksley has taken a very active role in the via a newsletter. These could be about any Fellowship since his election last year. He is a changes at HQ, such as the election of a new great great grandson of Charles Dickens, President; what is happening at the House; descended from the Henry Fielding Dickens major events; promotion of meetings/visits; branch of the family, and has had a and also letters or comments from members distinguished business career. far and wide. The onus for taking action lies primarily with The content and format of the newsletter may the other elected officers - Thelma Grove, change as we learn from readers what is Tony Williams, David Wells and Malcolm useful and interesting to them. It will not be Andrews. However, for many years, Peter easy to match the content to the variety of Duggan has shouldered the burden of members that make up the Headquarters organising social events, including the annual group, but we hope that even our most distant outing and the trips to Gad's Hill Evenings. He members, unable to attend London meetings, is well known to those who attend Swedenborg will find something of interest in what we offer. Hall meetings, as the provider of refreshments. Derek Mortimer, who chairs the committee this It would be nice to hear from our members. If year, set up and runs the HQ website and you would like to make a contribution to the looks after HQ membership business. next newsletter, please write to The HQ Newsletter, The Dickens Fellowship, 48 MEMBERSHIP RENEWALS Doughty Street, London WC1N 2LX. he Committee would like to thank all those who responded so promptly to HQ Membership Distribution the delayed renewal notices. Over London: ……………………………… 25% T 200 members had re-registered by the end of January. Another 220 or so had re- SE England, outside London ……… 25% registered by the end of February. Rest of England …………………….. 25% If you have not yet renewed your membership, please do so now. Any enquiries should be Rest of UK …………………………….. 5% addressed to the membership Secretary at the Rest of the world…………………….. 20% Dickens House, or by e-mail to: [email protected]. Headquarters website: http://www.dickens.fellowship.btinternet.co.uk LONDON PROGRAMME NEWS Cedric Dickens Evenings ad’s Hill Evenings are now known as ‘Cedric Dickens Evenings’, in honour Gad’s Hill Place was the home of Charles G of the Past President who has Dickens from 1857 till his death in 1870. As a contributed so much to Fellowship life, over a boy he used to walk past the house with his period longer than most members care to father, and came to dream then that he would remember, especially in regard to Gad's Hill own it one day. It lies on the A226 at Higham, Place. If you are not familiar with these events, some 2 miles from Rochester. you will find background details in the box on Although it is now a school, it retains the right. something of the character of the time when The next Cedric Dickens Evening is on Friday, Dickens lived there. He called it his “little 22 March . There will be a talk by Keith Ferris, Kentish freehold”. The conservatory that he a retired medical consultant, about the railway added just before he died was restored to its accident at Staplehurst on 9 June, 1865, former glory in 1996, and is the setting for entitled ‘An afternoon in the life of Charles Victorian refreshments, served at the Dickens.’ beginning of a Cedric Dickens Evening, before a talk or entertainment. Do apply early if you want to secure a place in the party organised by Peter Duggan. Contact Peter Duggan arranges for a party to travel by details are given on your membership card. minibus from central London, but there is a limit on the number of places he can offer. The talk by John Bowen of the University of Keele, on Wednesday, 27 th March , would not Information and tickets can also be obtained have faced cancellation had it been confirmed direct from Gad’s Hill School, Higham, Kent that the London Underground strikes, due to ME3 7PA. Tel: 01474 822366, or e-mail: take place in March, were to go ahead as [email protected] planned. Should it be necessary to make The Gad's Hill Place restoration fund, recently changes to the London programme, details will used to restore the hall floor, is the beneficiary be given, if there is sufficient notice, in this of the Cedric Dickens Evenings. newsletter and always on the Headquarters website _________________________________________________________________________________ The Impact of Great Silent British Film Festival London Walks Expectations Silent film adaptations of Dickens will be Sue Gane , another member BBC Radio 4 is preparing a the centre of attention on the final day of of the HQ group, has created series of programmes on this year's Silent British Film Festival at some 'Guides to walks in books which have touched the Broadway Media Centre in Charles Dickens London'. A people's lives. One of the Nottingham, 4 th to 7 th April. Information leaflet on the guides is books they hope to include is provided by Michael Eaton , a member enclosed with this newsletter. Great Expectations . If you of the HQ group, is to be found on the live in the UK, a letter from a Headquarters website. For further Website: http://www.Dickens- BBC researcher, Rachel details ring 0115 952 6600 / 952 6611. and-London.com White, accompanies this Broadway Media Centre website: newsletter and she would http://www.broadway.org.uk . love to hear from you. _________________________________________________________________________________ THE CATHERINE DICKENS GRAVE APPEAL As reported in the Summer and Winter issues of The Dickensian , the grave in Highgate Western Cemetery in which Dickens's wife, Catherine, and their daughter Dora Annie lie, is being restored at a cost of £2,230. Two stones added to provide family details are being removed to a new and more visible site, the original stone is being restored and the railings are being repaired. An appeal for funds has so far raised about £1000. Any enquiries or donations should be addressed to Thelma Grove, Joint Secretary, The Dickens Fellowship, 48 Doughty Street, London WC1N 2LX. Cheques should be made payable to The Dickens Fellowship (Grave Appeal). John and Elizabeth Dickens are also buried at Highgate. The graves in the Western Cemetery can be visited only by special arrangement or in the course of a guided tour. Tours start at noon on weekdays from April. At weekends, there are tours on the hour from 11am to 4pm, most of the year. If you plan a visit, it is wise to phone Highgate Cemetery first to ascertain opening time (020 8340 1834). __________________________________________________________________________ Headquarters website: http://www.dickens.fellowship.btinternet.co.uk Nr.2 June, 2002 _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ London Particular The Newsletter for the Headquarters Group of the Dickens Fellowship ___________________________________________________________________ TOGETHER IN FELLOWSHIP AN OPPORTUNITY TO LEARN t the conference in July, we shall be he conference will offer the usual feast celebrating our centenary in company of knowledge and insights into the life A with fellow members from around the T and works of Dickens. For the talks, the world. Once again the draw of Dickens's life Fellowship is fortunately able to call upon a and works will bring together a great diversity good many speakers who are both authorities of people from all walks of life. If previous in their field and entertaining. conferences are anything to go by, many a Sadly, Professor Chris Brooks, who was to lasting friendship will be forged during the give a talk on the Tuesday morning of the week. conference, has died. Dr Leon Litvack, who Playing their part in the furtherance of was also to speak on Tuesday morning, has fellowship will be the walks and visits arranged had to withdraw. for the Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday AN OPPORTUNITY TO HAVE ONE'S SAY afternoons. These are likely to include: onferences have an important role to Guided walks play in the running of the Fellowship. Dickens's Southwark C The Annual General Meeting held In the footsteps of Scrooge (City of during the conference has the ultimate London) authority in the governing of the Fellowship as The South Bank a whole.