00:00Morning Cherries, how are you?
00:07Very nice, lovely isn't it?
00:11Good morning Rebecca.
00:13Good morning isn't it?
00:14Yes, we are preparing for summer aren't we?
00:16OK, I'm strong and I feel good.
00:23Good morning.
00:24Good morning your Majesty.
00:27This is the Dickens Fellowship Presidential Medal, and so you've become a president for
00:42two years.
00:43Mark, you've done it before.
00:44I've done it before, yes.
00:45I'm the president of the Dickens Fellowship.
00:46It was a fellowship that founded the museum originally, and in fact on the Fellowship
00:52Forum in 1902.
00:53Some of the items that relate to her, in fact her engagement ring was made at her home.
01:00It's a snake.
01:01Yes, it is a snake.
01:02So the Victorian symbol.
01:03So this is one of our special exhibition rooms, we have several in the museum, and I'll present
01:12to you Leo Roth, who's our operations manager.
01:15It's absolutely fantastic.
01:17Thoroughly enjoyable.
01:18But that's enough from Dickens.
01:19I wouldn't say that.
01:20I wouldn't go that far.
01:21You have your credits expanded.
01:22Yes.
01:23Much like Dickens himself.
01:24You can see it's very faint.
01:25This is a preparatory drawing, his first time getting his ideas on paper, and yet we can
01:26recognise Scrooge instantly, can't we?
01:27Despite the adaptation, Dickens's words really come through.
01:28much like Dickens himself with the satire. And you can see it's very faint, so this is
01:40a preparatory drawing, his first time getting his ideas on paper. And yet, we can recognise
01:45Scrooge instantly, can't we? Despite the adaptations, Dickens's words really come
01:51through.
01:52May I introduce you to Sandra Lyons-Timbrell, the Chair of our Board of Trustees.
01:57Hello.
01:58Good to meet you.
01:59So how long have you been Chair?
02:00I've only been Chair since September of last year, I think, but I've been with the Museum
02:01since 2020, so it's a good time to start.
02:02Hello again.
02:03Oh, I'm so glad to see you.
02:04I love our meeting like this.
02:05Did you get the kiss?
02:06Very nice to see you.
02:07Isn't it lovely to be here?
02:08Isn't it wonderful? Now there, we're going to have you in full cry.
02:09We picked these two for me to read, and some more for you.
02:25So why don't I just read this.
02:26They've left some for me to read and some more for you to read.
02:28Anyway, here we go.
02:29This was written in 1863, which was seven years before he died.
02:33I'm just showing my knowledge, a little bit.
02:39My dear Sir, since my whole clock was sent to your establishment to be cleaned, it has
02:46gone, as indeed it always had, perfectly well, but has struck the hours with great reluctance,
02:52And after enduring internal agonies of a most distressing nature, it has now ceased striking altogether with whom the clock can confer,
03:02I think it may have something on its works that it would be glad to make a clean breast of.
03:09Faithfully yours, Charles Dickens.
03:13For the sergeant to be put on his horse at his own residence, and for us to mount at the place where the animals live.
03:21It was Christmas time, and he had been out in the town, so to speak, when he wrote this letter to his friend.
03:27Be punctual and don't place too much reliance on our excellent friend Warburton.
03:32I arrived home at one o'clock this morning, dead drunk, and was put to bed by my loving missus.
03:40We're just going to Chapman's sister's quadrille party, for which, you may imagine, I feel remarkably disposed.
03:47No, no, certainly not, but his dramatic readings were something else.
03:54He could fill huge halls at James's Hall, 10,000 people, before, you know, today you've got everyone radio-miked for performances in our theatres.
04:03Did he have a very good voice, like he used to?
04:06He worked extremely well.
04:08We all love you, you should know that.
04:12I feel much better for knowing it.
04:16The more interesting it becomes, though, I suppose.
04:19Not really, but certainly you keep there's so much to learn.
04:26And this is Oliver.
04:28But you're an actor.
04:30I am indeed. I'm the only one in the family that's trained.
04:34I trained at Lander, yes.
04:37What's your favourite?
04:39I have to say A Christmas Carol, because when I was very, very young, I watched a Muppets Christmas Carol.
04:46And I didn't think it was anything to do with my relation, I didn't know who he was at the time, I thought it was a Muppets thing.
04:52And it wasn't until much embarrassingly later that I realised that actually Dickens himself had wrote it.
04:58Mary was the younger sister of Catherine Dickens.
05:01No relation to the painter Hogarth, that's Catherine's maiden name.
05:05So age 17, she comes to live in this house with a couple, very common for younger unmarried sisters to live with their married sisters,
05:12to help with the babies and to learn how to keep the house in your own right.
05:16And very sadly in this room occurred an absolutely tragic episode.
05:21Mary collapsed one evening.
05:23They came home from the theatre, they went up to the drawing room for drinks, all seemed well, no previous signs of ill health.
05:29They retire to bed about 1am, and then Dickens in bed next door, here's a crash and a bang.
05:34He runs in, Mary's fallen out of bed, he takes her in his arms, she seems to have semi-collapsed,
05:40they don't know what's wrong with her, they call for two doctors,
05:43and for the next sort of 20 hours Dickens sits with her and feeds her sips of brandy and water,
05:49they call for two doctors but no one seems to know what's wrong,
05:52and tragically she passes away in his arms the next day.
06:05It's quite lovely.
06:07It's rather special.
06:09Thank you very much.
06:10I rate Nicky.
06:14And just before we leave this room, I'll point out in this quiet little corner here,
06:18I sometimes call this the room of death because no one knew that Dickens wore spectacles, he was quite a vain man.
06:24Oh I see, so he always took them off when...
06:27Yes, he'd be horrified that we were standing here today looking at him on his deathbed and wearing spectacles.
06:32He'd probably be more horrified by the spectacles than anything else.
06:36Our wonderful volunteers, they're all surrounding us here.
06:50I come here every Sunday to avoid shit.
06:53Oh right.
06:56You do take people, right?
06:58Yes, we take people and sit in the marines.
07:02It comes along with something new.
07:15This is a copy of A Christmas Carol, signed by members of the Dickens family.
07:21And we have Cathy, who's one of our garden volunteers, who has a geranium for you.
07:27Oh, good.
07:32No, I'm just kidding.
07:38This is my second visit and I can't get over how it... I don't quite remember how long ago it was I came the first time,
07:45but it's filled up so much since then.
07:48You've obviously acquired a lot more objects, Dickensian objects, and I think it's absolutely wonderful.
07:56And I just wish I had more time to see more, but as always, I'm always rushed at the same time.
08:03We'll come again.
08:06Oh, thank you so much.
08:08Perhaps I could slip that privately and have a quiet talk.
08:11Please do.
08:12Anyway, thank you all very much.
08:17Where are we?
08:18I'll go on the other side.
08:19Thank you so much.
08:20There we are.
08:21I've just had time, but I'm pretty tired.
08:24What are we supposed to do?
08:25Smile.
08:26Don't smile!
08:28I want to give you a present.
08:31Now, this is the other one.
08:33This is Leon Austin.
08:34It's living, isn't it?
08:36And you'll enjoy that. Your Majesty will enjoy that.
08:39Janet Todd.
08:40Yes, somebody I was at Cambridge with, and she's a specialist on it.
08:46Thank you very much.
08:47Because one has to include the others.
08:49Yes, of course you have to.
08:51It's actually proved that ten minutes of reading a day reduces stress by 20%.
08:57Does that include reading to daily mail?
09:00No!
09:02You'll get it now.
09:04That's a round. That's a balloon.
09:10Anyway, interestingly, I shall leave you.
09:15It is absolutely true.
09:17Fabulous.
Comments