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When it comes to Christmas.
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I wonder if I am a bit of a Scrooge.
3
00:00:06,464 --> 00:00:08,299
Well, I don't wonder.
4
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I am.
5
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I never celebrate Christmas.
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I think it's become far too expensive
and horribly stressful.
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I can't even get the hands around it. Oh,
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but of course, I know
people who absolutely adore it.
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Well, you have gone to town, including my
all time literary hero, Charles Dickens.
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My whole life has been enriched
by the work of this man.
11
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And through a Christmas, Carol Dickens
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helped create
so many of our Christmas traditions.
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Mrs. Cratchit entered,
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flushed, but smiling proudly.
15
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I'm going to immerse myself
wow in a truly Dickensian Christmas
16
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to see if I can discover its magic.
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Even though I can't cook, I'm not sure I
18
00:01:04,147 --> 00:01:05,815
can't decorate.
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How could you? Sorry.
20
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Oh, Duncan Dickens.
21
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And I can't bear all this season
of good cheer.
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Nonsense. Again, again, again.
23
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I'm going to get you
24
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back to get to that sense.
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See cruelty work.
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But maybe, just maybe, my Mr.
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Dickens can help me uncover
why that special festive spirit.
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I have always said Christmas.
29
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Bah humbug.
30
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Ooh. Let's see if he can mend my being.
31
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Scrooge
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and what irritates me
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about Christmas is the hypocrisy.
34
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There's such a compulsion to celebrate
with hollow gestures.
35
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People buying presents for people
they don't like with money
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they don't have.
37
00:02:13,466 --> 00:02:17,387
It used to be about goodwill to all men,
but now
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we're more interested in Christmas jumpers
and John Lewis adverts.
39
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I just bake that.
40
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Nobody ever gives me a candle.
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00:02:26,771 --> 00:02:29,232
Even though I grew up
in a Jewish household.
42
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We did have a Christmas of sorts.
43
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My mother cooked a turkey
and invited people to lunch,
44
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but my father loathed the
idea of a tree in the house.
45
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He would
46
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certainly have balked at where
I'm headed now.
47
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Thank you very much.
48
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One of London's
most famous festive emporiums,
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which first opened its doors in 1707.
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Well, this is the pudding section.
51
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But Dickens was smitten,
52
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describing it as beautiful
and astonishing,
53
00:03:03,683 --> 00:03:06,978
filled with the gourmand
dicing pleasures of the whole world.
54
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He's a man I admire,
55
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but I wonder if he's right.
56
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Hello, love. Welcome.
57
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I'm Miriam. Lovely to meet you.
58
00:03:17,238 --> 00:03:21,492
I'm Emma Hawkins, the Christmas buyer here
For the Christmas buyer, Mrs.
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Christmas says.
60
00:03:22,160 --> 00:03:24,579
People say they're actually. Yeah.
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What do you.
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You've been buying, haven't you?
63
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We have.
64
00:03:28,791 --> 00:03:31,211
Okay, so now what's here?
65
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So it's a slave
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on the table.
67
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They're really, really popular.
Who buys them?
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Somebody really wants
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that kind of traditional piece in the home
that they'll keep every single year.
70
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How much is that home? £775.
71
00:03:47,227 --> 00:03:49,896
Oh, quite a purchase.
72
00:03:50,146 --> 00:03:51,189
It's.
73
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I took my breath away. 775.
74
00:03:57,695 --> 00:04:00,240
Of course,
they don't have to be so expensive.
75
00:04:00,240 --> 00:04:00,949
But still,
76
00:04:02,450 --> 00:04:04,661
I hope nobody will buy anything for me.
77
00:04:04,661 --> 00:04:07,372
Like it's.
78
00:04:07,372 --> 00:04:10,792
Why would anyone want to buy up
all these knickknacks
79
00:04:11,209 --> 00:04:13,628
just to pack them away again
in a couple of weeks?
80
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Where's the fun in that?
81
00:04:16,881 --> 00:04:19,300
These are beautiful Christmas crackers.
82
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They are beautiful.
83
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But can we Sterlings?
84
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Well, yes. No, I'll do it.
85
00:04:25,515 --> 00:04:28,643
I can't even you found it.
86
00:04:29,602 --> 00:04:31,813
Oh, what have we got?
87
00:04:31,896 --> 00:04:34,023
The Fortnum Mason waiter's friend.
88
00:04:34,065 --> 00:04:35,566
So it's a bottle opener.
89
00:04:35,566 --> 00:04:37,986
Oh, can I keep course
90
00:04:38,569 --> 00:04:42,532
I present to this day the price.
91
00:04:42,573 --> 00:04:43,866
No, I do do.
92
00:04:43,866 --> 00:04:46,536
95. Nearly 300 quid latterly.
93
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So is this one cost the same as that one.
94
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Nice.
95
00:04:49,872 --> 00:04:50,206
For that one.
96
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Retails for 595
97
00:04:53,626 --> 00:04:56,713
and I top top end
presented in the wicker hamper.
98
00:04:57,130 --> 00:05:01,301
And this is £1,000.
99
00:05:01,301 --> 00:05:02,552
£1,000.
100
00:05:02,552 --> 00:05:04,095
Yeah very very special.
101
00:05:04,095 --> 00:05:06,764
I can't get my head around that.
102
00:05:06,764 --> 00:05:10,601
Thank you for sharing that
and thank you for this.
103
00:05:11,019 --> 00:05:12,854
You can take the set.
104
00:05:12,854 --> 00:05:15,023
No, I know when to stop.
105
00:05:16,357 --> 00:05:19,527
Few would believe that, but I do.
106
00:05:19,777 --> 00:05:22,322
Wonderful.
107
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I don't know.
108
00:05:28,369 --> 00:05:30,538
I feel a bit
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conflicted about it all coming here
because I know that Christmas
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is for joy and fun and celebration,
111
00:05:38,880 --> 00:05:41,257
but needn't be so expensive.
112
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What about all those that
just really don't
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00:05:46,220 --> 00:05:49,474
have that much?
114
00:05:52,602 --> 00:05:53,019
To me,
115
00:05:53,019 --> 00:05:57,523
it feels like we're constantly being
pressured to spend more than we can afford
116
00:05:57,899 --> 00:06:00,610
in a continual merry go round of excess.
117
00:06:01,486 --> 00:06:04,238
It's an obscene selling extravaganza,
118
00:06:04,906 --> 00:06:08,409
and I feel sure that Dickens
was trying to show us something else.
119
00:06:09,494 --> 00:06:11,871
I want to find out what
120
00:06:13,122 --> 00:06:15,166
the spirit of Christmas really is,
121
00:06:15,166 --> 00:06:19,837
because it certainly eluded me,
but it hasn't eluded Dickens.
122
00:06:20,129 --> 00:06:24,467
And I think this is a journey of knowledge
and understanding to me.
123
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Maybe at the end of it
I'll know what Christmas really is about.
124
00:06:30,765 --> 00:06:32,892
In 1843, he wrote one of the
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most successful
Christmas books ever, A Christmas Carol.
126
00:06:37,146 --> 00:06:39,190
This little book was an instant hit.
127
00:06:39,649 --> 00:06:43,486
Within weeks, it had been adapted
for the stage and there have been hundreds
128
00:06:43,486 --> 00:06:47,073
of versions since, including an opera
and even The Muppet
129
00:06:47,073 --> 00:06:49,909
Christmas Carol.
130
00:06:51,244 --> 00:06:55,915
But more remarkably, it's helped
revolutionize Christmas from a boozy,
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00:06:55,915 --> 00:07:00,545
bawdy Georgian feast into a celebration
with family at its very hard.
132
00:07:02,171 --> 00:07:04,382
So I'm going to be using it as my guide
133
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to see if I can uncover Dickens true
Christmas message.
134
00:07:09,011 --> 00:07:09,554
Right.
135
00:07:09,554 --> 00:07:16,394
Roll credits.
136
00:07:16,394 --> 00:07:21,774
I'm going to watch Scrooge,
which is the 1951
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film, A Christmas Carol.
138
00:07:26,070 --> 00:07:28,322
I'm greatly looking forward to this.
139
00:07:28,322 --> 00:07:30,950
I haven't seen this film.
140
00:07:30,950 --> 00:07:33,035
Oh, gosh, since I was a little girl.
141
00:07:34,370 --> 00:07:35,079
Oh, my God.
142
00:07:35,079 --> 00:07:36,164
It was as dead as a door.
143
00:07:36,164 --> 00:07:38,708
Now, this must be distinctly understood.
144
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Nothing wonderful can come of the story.
145
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I am going to relate.
146
00:07:41,919 --> 00:07:45,131
For me outstrips all the subsequent
147
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Christmas carols
that have stretched through the years.
148
00:07:49,343 --> 00:07:52,472
You couldn't
not see the quality of the work.
149
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Looking.
150
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That is Scrooge,
the pent up rage, disappointment,
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venom towards people.
152
00:08:02,899 --> 00:08:07,361
You want the whole day of movies
but is quite convenient, so convenient
153
00:08:08,488 --> 00:08:09,739
and it's not there.
154
00:08:09,739 --> 00:08:14,619
And it's a marvelous story
of a businessman, rather
155
00:08:14,619 --> 00:08:19,207
a menial businessman is visited
by three spirits,
156
00:08:20,082 --> 00:08:22,210
the greatest of Christmas cards,
157
00:08:22,210 --> 00:08:24,962
and they take him back through his life
158
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and he realizes he's
159
00:08:28,799 --> 00:08:31,469
sacrificed everything
in the name of money.
160
00:08:32,803 --> 00:08:38,309
And the next morning, Andrew's elegant.
161
00:08:38,309 --> 00:08:41,812
He has become a different man.
162
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The magic of this story is a nasty person
who is redeemed,
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and it means that every single one of us
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00:08:51,614 --> 00:08:54,408
could do the same.
165
00:08:56,410 --> 00:09:01,832
I think of myself
as a very generous person,
166
00:09:01,832 --> 00:09:06,128
but I know I'm not really,
167
00:09:06,128 --> 00:09:09,757
and he makes me face that
168
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and deal with it
169
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rather like Scrooge.
170
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I've shut Christmas out of my life,
but to discover
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the real meaning, I'm prepared to embrace
it in all its shining glory
172
00:09:26,857 --> 00:09:28,776
and I've decided to
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throw a Christmas party
for the first time in years.
174
00:09:32,655 --> 00:09:36,284
Of course, food will be playing
a crucial role and we've got Mr.
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00:09:36,284 --> 00:09:38,953
Dickens to thank for our most famous
tradition.
176
00:09:39,829 --> 00:09:42,665
Goose had always been
the festive bird of choice,
177
00:09:43,207 --> 00:09:48,254
but this changed forever
when Scrooge sent his clerk, Bob Cratchit,
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a turkey on Christmas morning.
179
00:09:53,384 --> 00:09:57,096
Do you know whether they've sold the prize
turkey that was hanging up there?
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00:09:57,638 --> 00:10:00,433
Not the little prize turkey.
181
00:10:00,683 --> 00:10:02,768
The big one.
182
00:10:02,768 --> 00:10:04,979
Well, the boat is bigger than me.
183
00:10:04,979 --> 00:10:06,188
The Ted, the boy.
184
00:10:06,188 --> 00:10:08,858
What a delightful boy, said Scrooge.
185
00:10:08,983 --> 00:10:10,985
It's a pleasure to talk to you.
186
00:10:10,985 --> 00:10:13,279
Yes, I. But.
187
00:10:13,279 --> 00:10:15,906
Oh, off, isn't it?
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00:10:16,073 --> 00:10:18,409
Let's.
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00:10:19,035 --> 00:10:21,454
He conjures up such magic.
190
00:10:22,079 --> 00:10:25,124
But if I'm going to have any chance
of hosting a feast in the spirit
191
00:10:25,124 --> 00:10:28,210
of Dickens, it's clear
I'm going to need a lot of help.
192
00:10:29,337 --> 00:10:31,797
Let's start with this.
193
00:10:31,797 --> 00:10:35,009
So I've enlisted the support of food
historian Dr.
194
00:10:35,009 --> 00:10:36,636
Annie Gray.
195
00:10:37,428 --> 00:10:38,929
She's by Maria Clutterbuck.
196
00:10:38,929 --> 00:10:39,722
Oh, yes.
197
00:10:40,097 --> 00:10:42,224
What a lot of people don't know
198
00:10:42,642 --> 00:10:46,812
is that Dickens wife,
Catherine was also a successful author
199
00:10:47,563 --> 00:10:50,358
under the pseudonym of Lady
Mariah Clutterbuck.
200
00:10:50,775 --> 00:10:53,444
She wrote a popular cookbook,
which we're going to use
201
00:10:53,444 --> 00:10:57,490
to find out what a Dickens family
feast would have looked like.
202
00:10:57,907 --> 00:11:01,827
The good bit is actually the menus
at the front here.
203
00:11:02,036 --> 00:11:05,831
Scotch, mutton broth, cold pigeon.
204
00:11:05,873 --> 00:11:09,752
I that's definitely whetted my appetite.
205
00:11:09,960 --> 00:11:12,338
That's a really kind of Christmasy menu.
206
00:11:12,797 --> 00:11:16,467
But I really want to get some more
inspiration for my Christmas gathering.
207
00:11:17,468 --> 00:11:19,387
Am I supposed to do anything?
208
00:11:19,387 --> 00:11:21,222
Oh, well, I mean, I can.
209
00:11:21,222 --> 00:11:21,806
I can.
210
00:11:21,931 --> 00:11:25,184
I could shop and I could. Chris Excellent.
211
00:11:25,226 --> 00:11:28,562
I'll go and get the central ingredient
for the first dish in that case.
212
00:11:28,562 --> 00:11:29,105
Okay.
213
00:11:30,690 --> 00:11:33,734
Yum, yum.
214
00:11:39,073 --> 00:11:40,866
What is that?
215
00:11:40,950 --> 00:11:43,119
This is for one of the most quintessential
216
00:11:43,327 --> 00:11:47,289
winter recipes for the bourgeois Victorian
such as Charles Dickens.
217
00:11:47,498 --> 00:11:50,584
And it is mock turtle soup.
218
00:11:50,584 --> 00:11:53,504
Mock out of soup isn't based on a turtle.
219
00:11:53,963 --> 00:11:56,132
It is based on
220
00:11:57,133 --> 00:11:58,676
calf's head
221
00:12:01,721 --> 00:12:03,097
limey.
222
00:12:03,931 --> 00:12:06,350
Oh, it's revolting.
223
00:12:06,684 --> 00:12:09,395
That veal was really prestigious
in the Victorian period
224
00:12:09,395 --> 00:12:13,232
because you were killing a cow
before it reached maturity.
225
00:12:13,232 --> 00:12:18,529
So obviously you've got a level of expense
involved which was so screamingly
226
00:12:18,529 --> 00:12:20,906
middle class Victorian
that I don't think your Christmas dinner
227
00:12:20,906 --> 00:12:22,283
really can happen without it.
228
00:12:22,283 --> 00:12:25,035
Frankly.
229
00:12:25,661 --> 00:12:26,954
Mock turtle soup might
230
00:12:26,954 --> 00:12:31,459
well have been a Dickens family favorite,
but if this is the best
231
00:12:31,459 --> 00:12:34,879
Andy's got to offer, I might just cancel
232
00:12:34,879 --> 00:12:49,935
my Christmas party.
233
00:12:51,187 --> 00:12:54,482
This is just a signal to say, Wait, it
234
00:12:55,816 --> 00:12:57,234
is a Victorian dinnigan?
235
00:12:57,234 --> 00:12:59,445
Yes, exactly.
236
00:12:59,570 --> 00:13:02,740
To decide what I might like to cook
for my Christmas feast,
237
00:13:03,073 --> 00:13:05,534
I'm making a Dickens family favorite
238
00:13:07,536 --> 00:13:09,079
with food historian Dr.
239
00:13:09,079 --> 00:13:10,623
Annie Gray.
240
00:13:10,623 --> 00:13:13,292
This is a mock turtle soup,
241
00:13:14,126 --> 00:13:18,380
and he's trying to win me round
to the pleasures of a Victorian banquet.
242
00:13:18,839 --> 00:13:22,176
But mock turtle soup made from calves head
and tongue
243
00:13:22,510 --> 00:13:25,304
doesn't appeal one bit.
244
00:13:25,304 --> 00:13:27,056
We also have some meatballs.
245
00:13:27,056 --> 00:13:28,307
Very much.
246
00:13:28,307 --> 00:13:30,351
It's been simmering for 4 hours.
247
00:13:31,227 --> 00:13:32,853
Thank you. That's enough.
248
00:13:32,853 --> 00:13:35,981
So I'm intrigued
to find out what it tastes like
249
00:13:36,941 --> 00:13:39,401
right.
250
00:13:40,903 --> 00:13:43,531
Will it earn a place
on my Christmas table,
251
00:13:45,282 --> 00:13:46,659
or is it better left in Mrs.
252
00:13:46,659 --> 00:13:48,911
Dickens cookbook?
253
00:13:51,372 --> 00:13:54,625
What do you think for Christmas Day
starter?
254
00:13:54,625 --> 00:13:57,586
I. I honestly don't think that
255
00:13:57,586 --> 00:14:01,924
this is quite up to snuff.
256
00:14:02,299 --> 00:14:05,594
No, I didn't.
I'll tell you what. I will try
257
00:14:06,720 --> 00:14:08,472
a meatball
258
00:14:09,765 --> 00:14:10,266
just.
259
00:14:10,266 --> 00:14:13,310
Just to show Willie.
260
00:14:17,439 --> 00:14:18,315
I don't like.
261
00:14:18,315 --> 00:14:20,985
Don't just.
262
00:14:21,318 --> 00:14:25,030
Just do that.
263
00:14:26,156 --> 00:14:28,284
Thank you for going to so much trouble.
264
00:14:28,784 --> 00:14:32,496
You're very welcome, ma'am.
265
00:14:32,830 --> 00:14:37,626
And he's not giving up so easily
and has yet to play a trump card.
266
00:14:38,127 --> 00:14:42,006
Her all time favorite Christmas dish.
267
00:14:42,715 --> 00:14:44,133
You could be an elf.
268
00:14:44,133 --> 00:14:47,261
Or possibly is be the queen bee.
269
00:14:47,261 --> 00:14:49,930
The queen.
270
00:14:50,139 --> 00:14:53,434
Tied up with stringy
271
00:14:54,977 --> 00:14:56,979
Christmas pudding time. Wow.
272
00:14:57,646 --> 00:15:01,191
Annie's
Christmas pudding is based on a recipe
273
00:15:01,191 --> 00:15:02,860
that would have been very familiar to Mrs.
274
00:15:02,860 --> 00:15:04,361
Dickens.
275
00:15:04,361 --> 00:15:07,865
Victorian recipes for Christmas
pudding are much lighter
276
00:15:08,240 --> 00:15:09,867
and much less over the top.
277
00:15:09,867 --> 00:15:11,452
The modern ones, really.
278
00:15:11,452 --> 00:15:13,746
Thank you very much.
279
00:15:13,746 --> 00:15:16,999
Now you can make like Bob Cratchit,
280
00:15:16,999 --> 00:15:19,627
especially with the wine sauce in it.
281
00:15:19,627 --> 00:15:24,131
Plum pudding has become an integral part
of our Christmas Day tradition.
282
00:15:25,341 --> 00:15:28,928
Well, it tastes very nice.
283
00:15:30,429 --> 00:15:33,307
Oh, a wonderful pudding.
284
00:15:33,307 --> 00:15:35,559
Bob Cratchit said.
285
00:15:35,559 --> 00:15:38,437
And so did Miriam McKinney's.
286
00:15:38,437 --> 00:15:40,814
And calmly to that,
287
00:15:40,814 --> 00:15:44,652
he regarded it as the greatest success
achieved by Mrs.
288
00:15:44,652 --> 00:15:48,405
Cratchit since their marriage.
289
00:15:48,614 --> 00:15:51,825
But one decent Christmas pud amongst
290
00:15:51,825 --> 00:15:54,161
a whole sea of mock turtle soup
291
00:15:55,329 --> 00:15:57,164
isn't going to change my antipathy
292
00:15:57,164 --> 00:15:58,666
to Christmas.
293
00:16:03,879 --> 00:16:06,840
However, I do want to try and step
294
00:16:06,840 --> 00:16:09,385
into the magical world
that Dickens created.
295
00:16:09,969 --> 00:16:15,057
He knew what the message of Christmas was,
and so I'm going to his old house to see
296
00:16:15,057 --> 00:16:19,186
if I can find out what he's been trying
to tell me all these years.
297
00:16:20,229 --> 00:16:22,982
Extraordinary things took place
298
00:16:23,273 --> 00:16:26,235
in this room.
299
00:16:27,987 --> 00:16:30,155
Charles Dickens wrote Oliver
300
00:16:30,155 --> 00:16:32,533
Twist in this role.
301
00:16:34,034 --> 00:16:37,246
And that gives me real goose bumps.
302
00:16:37,663 --> 00:16:38,414
Makes me
303
00:16:39,581 --> 00:16:42,459
it just
thrills me more than I can tell you.
304
00:16:42,710 --> 00:16:47,589
Because Oliver Twist was the very
first Dickens book that I ever read.
305
00:16:47,589 --> 00:16:49,425
I was 11,
306
00:16:49,800 --> 00:16:53,345
and it just grabbed me by the throat.
307
00:16:53,679 --> 00:16:56,473
And from that time, from my Oliver Twist
308
00:16:56,473 --> 00:16:58,642
moment, I was hooked.
309
00:16:59,810 --> 00:17:03,063
And so when I see this
310
00:17:03,147 --> 00:17:06,567
slightly grubby old piece of furniture,
311
00:17:06,567 --> 00:17:09,737
why does it make me cry?
312
00:17:09,737 --> 00:17:12,614
Because my whole life
313
00:17:12,614 --> 00:17:16,994
has been irradiated, delighted,
314
00:17:17,953 --> 00:17:35,512
and enriched by the work of this man.
315
00:17:35,679 --> 00:17:39,016
Dickens was just 25
when he and his wife Catherine, moved
316
00:17:39,016 --> 00:17:42,394
into what he described
as a frightfully first class mansion.
317
00:17:43,020 --> 00:17:46,356
They'd only been married a year and
would go on to have two daughters here.
318
00:17:47,232 --> 00:17:48,067
I'm lucky enough
319
00:17:48,067 --> 00:17:51,820
to be friends with his great, great,
great granddaughter, Lucinda Hawksley.
320
00:17:52,404 --> 00:17:54,907
Miriam, we're going into the drawing room
and I've got something really,
321
00:17:54,907 --> 00:17:56,325
really special to show you in here.
322
00:17:57,367 --> 00:17:58,660
Who knows all about her
323
00:17:58,660 --> 00:18:01,622
distinguished relative.
324
00:18:02,956 --> 00:18:04,958
So you were a great big fan of Dickens?
325
00:18:05,292 --> 00:18:07,336
I am. But you don't like Christmas.
326
00:18:07,586 --> 00:18:08,712
That is so.
327
00:18:08,712 --> 00:18:12,049
And yet this book probably is most famous
book.
328
00:18:12,382 --> 00:18:14,218
This is not a first edition.
329
00:18:14,218 --> 00:18:14,510
Yeah.
330
00:18:16,136 --> 00:18:18,889
Crikey,
331
00:18:18,889 --> 00:18:24,186
that is exciting. Wow.
332
00:18:26,021 --> 00:18:29,108
This nearly bankrupted him
because the publishers.
333
00:18:29,108 --> 00:18:32,361
But it was uncommercial
for Archbishop at Christmas,
334
00:18:32,569 --> 00:18:35,197
and so he partially self-published
a Christmas Carol,
335
00:18:35,614 --> 00:18:38,242
having to pay for things
like the illustrations
336
00:18:39,493 --> 00:18:42,538
and of course,
the illustrations are brilliant.
337
00:18:43,205 --> 00:18:46,792
You know,
when you see that physically born,
338
00:18:47,876 --> 00:18:51,130
I mean, your your heart dances
along with them.
339
00:18:52,297 --> 00:18:54,925
Scrooge was an apprentice
when he was working for Mr.
340
00:18:54,925 --> 00:18:58,053
Physique,
who every Christmas threw a party
341
00:18:58,053 --> 00:19:00,639
for all his employees.
342
00:19:01,807 --> 00:19:03,600
Would you have liked to have gone to 50
weeks?
343
00:19:03,600 --> 00:19:05,144
Well, I mean, we can see. Oh, yes.
344
00:19:06,937 --> 00:19:09,356
I'm just not completely
345
00:19:10,482 --> 00:19:13,944
relaxed about being identified
346
00:19:14,403 --> 00:19:17,531
as a Christmas freak.
347
00:19:17,948 --> 00:19:22,369
I don't think will ever turn
you into a Christmas freak.
348
00:19:25,539 --> 00:19:27,040
I mean, this is the dining room.
349
00:19:27,040 --> 00:19:28,834
Oh, yes.
350
00:19:28,834 --> 00:19:32,087
Dickens loved all the drama of Christmas,
351
00:19:32,087 --> 00:19:35,799
and it's exciting to think that this is
where he would have carved his turkey.
352
00:19:37,050 --> 00:19:41,138
But Lucinda's got a unique insight
she wants to share with me.
353
00:19:42,014 --> 00:19:44,683
When Dickens wrote A Christmas Carol,
of course, he was frustrated
354
00:19:45,058 --> 00:19:50,022
by how Christmas had become all about
feasting, the smart dresses, the parties.
355
00:19:50,189 --> 00:19:53,400
So even in those days, Christmas
356
00:19:53,400 --> 00:19:56,236
had lost the original message?
357
00:19:56,445 --> 00:19:57,696
Absolutely.
358
00:19:57,696 --> 00:19:58,780
That's why Christmas Carol
359
00:19:58,780 --> 00:20:02,159
was really believed to have kind of
brought about a renaissance in Christmas,
360
00:20:02,534 --> 00:20:05,329
because it was set at Christmas
and become too commercial.
361
00:20:05,829 --> 00:20:08,415
And this was in the 1830 and early 1850s.
362
00:20:08,707 --> 00:20:10,542
Just what people say today.
363
00:20:10,542 --> 00:20:12,544
And yet when we look back at that time,
actually
364
00:20:12,544 --> 00:20:16,840
the volume of presents and things was
nothing like people would get today.
365
00:20:17,883 --> 00:20:19,301
Fortunately for us,
366
00:20:19,301 --> 00:20:22,512
Lucinda's brought a memoir of Dickens
written by his daughter
367
00:20:22,512 --> 00:20:23,680
Mamie
368
00:20:25,891 --> 00:20:28,268
in our childish days.
369
00:20:28,268 --> 00:20:31,980
My father used to take us every 24th
day of December
370
00:20:32,648 --> 00:20:35,275
to a toy shop in Hoban,
371
00:20:35,275 --> 00:20:38,820
where we were allowed
to select our Christmas presents.
372
00:20:39,112 --> 00:20:42,658
Although I believe we were offered an hour
or more in the shop,
373
00:20:43,158 --> 00:20:46,245
he never showed the least impatience.
374
00:20:46,453 --> 00:20:49,998
In fact, maybe talks in this book
about the one president
375
00:20:49,998 --> 00:20:53,835
that they got
when the boys came home for the holidays.
376
00:20:54,378 --> 00:20:59,383
They were constant rehearsals
for the Christmas and New Year's parties.
377
00:21:00,050 --> 00:21:00,759
How nice.
378
00:21:00,759 --> 00:21:01,635
It is really lovely.
379
00:21:01,635 --> 00:21:04,721
I love the idea of rehearsals for a party.
380
00:21:04,888 --> 00:21:06,139
It was a big party.
381
00:21:06,139 --> 00:21:08,600
I don't necessarily mean a big party
in terms of lots of people,
382
00:21:08,600 --> 00:21:11,603
but something that
the family really made a great deal of.
383
00:21:12,354 --> 00:21:15,190
But there had to be a piano
because for Dickens,
384
00:21:15,190 --> 00:21:18,318
it wasn't a party
without music, without the singsong.
385
00:21:19,403 --> 00:21:20,279
I'm on the hunt
386
00:21:20,279 --> 00:21:22,906
for some old fashioned fun for my party,
387
00:21:23,323 --> 00:21:26,285
computer games and gadgets will be banned.
388
00:21:26,910 --> 00:21:30,872
I want to know more about home
entertainment, Victorian style.
389
00:21:31,999 --> 00:21:34,293
But what I am looking forward to
390
00:21:34,293 --> 00:21:36,920
is going to see something
391
00:21:37,838 --> 00:21:40,966
very much like what Dickens himself
392
00:21:41,758 --> 00:21:44,553
would have seen, bought and enjoyed
393
00:21:44,553 --> 00:21:46,179
at Christmas
394
00:21:47,931 --> 00:21:51,226
Pollack's Toy Theater.
395
00:21:51,226 --> 00:21:57,065
Now you talk.
396
00:21:57,065 --> 00:22:00,777
I can't stand the way that we're all glued
to our screens at Christmas.
397
00:22:02,446 --> 00:22:04,156
Hello? Hello.
398
00:22:04,156 --> 00:22:06,533
But don't look away from yours just yet,
399
00:22:06,992 --> 00:22:10,120
because I've come to meet Jack,
the owner of the shop,
400
00:22:10,495 --> 00:22:15,125
to see if Victorian toy theaters
still hold any of their old magic.
401
00:22:15,334 --> 00:22:20,881
It's amazing, Jack.
402
00:22:20,881 --> 00:22:25,344
Still making these beautiful toy theaters
with the original copper plates
403
00:22:25,344 --> 00:22:26,678
that the very first Mr.
404
00:22:26,678 --> 00:22:28,722
Pollack would have used in Dickens Day.
405
00:22:30,724 --> 00:22:32,517
So we've got here this plate.
406
00:22:32,517 --> 00:22:35,103
This is the title page for Oliver Twist.
407
00:22:35,270 --> 00:22:37,356
This dates from about 1850.
408
00:22:37,356 --> 00:22:39,066
And you've got a little model figures
that you would
409
00:22:39,066 --> 00:22:41,526
then cut down and mount them onto sticks.
410
00:22:41,526 --> 00:22:43,904
Oh, I see. Then do your performance.
411
00:22:43,945 --> 00:22:48,492
It's the equivalent of Harry Potter
model of Dumbledore.
412
00:22:48,533 --> 00:22:49,368
Yeah, exactly.
413
00:22:49,368 --> 00:22:52,245
And Dickens
definitely played with one and had one.
414
00:22:52,454 --> 00:22:55,207
They're a huge part of London life.
415
00:22:55,207 --> 00:22:58,335
All the hit plays were reproduced as toy
theaters.
416
00:22:58,543 --> 00:22:59,836
That's going to go over the top.
417
00:22:59,836 --> 00:23:02,172
So this was like buying a DVD.
418
00:23:02,547 --> 00:23:06,635
But in Victorian times
you can reveal the Oliver
419
00:23:06,635 --> 00:23:09,679
Twist one.
420
00:23:09,679 --> 00:23:14,559
Oh, how gorgeous.
421
00:23:16,353 --> 00:23:17,813
Well, I think it's time
422
00:23:17,813 --> 00:23:20,732
to breathe some life into these miniature
theaters.
423
00:23:21,149 --> 00:23:23,777
Hi there. Hi.
424
00:23:23,777 --> 00:23:27,322
So we're going to act out
a classic Victorian melodrama.
425
00:23:27,614 --> 00:23:30,033
Mary, the maid of the in.
426
00:23:30,033 --> 00:23:33,912
Got to show you a few scenes
that you're going to be able to join in.
427
00:23:34,454 --> 00:23:36,957
With the help of Philip, a theater
428
00:23:36,957 --> 00:23:40,001
impresario on the set, the waves go.
429
00:23:40,544 --> 00:23:44,339
I want to see if I can coax these children
to imagine another world
430
00:23:45,465 --> 00:23:47,801
who would like to be the smuggler
431
00:23:47,926 --> 00:23:52,013
as they're performing their parts.
432
00:23:56,560 --> 00:23:57,310
The storm
433
00:23:57,310 --> 00:24:04,693
raging in Rio Brierley.
434
00:24:04,693 --> 00:24:07,529
The fact is against the rocks.
435
00:24:07,696 --> 00:24:09,823
You're terrified out of your life.
436
00:24:10,365 --> 00:24:13,243
You're going to drown. It
with a bit of feeling
437
00:24:13,952 --> 00:24:17,247
is quite spatters against the rock.
438
00:24:17,289 --> 00:24:18,999
That's it.
439
00:24:18,999 --> 00:24:21,710
I think Mary rushes across the stage
shouting.
440
00:24:21,918 --> 00:24:24,087
No one helped to save an innocent man.
441
00:24:24,129 --> 00:24:26,506
I'm not getting any emotion.
442
00:24:26,506 --> 00:24:28,884
No. Begging someone to save him.
443
00:24:30,760 --> 00:24:31,636
Do it.
444
00:24:31,970 --> 00:24:34,306
Well, no one helped save an innocent man.
445
00:24:34,431 --> 00:24:37,434
Yes, that's emotion.
446
00:24:37,476 --> 00:24:38,643
That's what we want.
447
00:24:38,643 --> 00:24:40,896
And then finally, Richard sends us
the cook.
448
00:24:40,937 --> 00:24:43,356
Let this night not be forgotten.
449
00:24:43,356 --> 00:24:43,815
When I.
450
00:24:43,815 --> 00:24:48,153
Richard, a poor excuse for a man
was rescued by Mary.
451
00:24:48,195 --> 00:24:50,322
True brave Mary.
452
00:24:56,286 --> 00:24:58,788
Did anybody enjoy it?
453
00:24:58,788 --> 00:25:00,415
Yeah, you did.
454
00:25:02,209 --> 00:25:05,086
Well, I think that might just be a victory
for imagination
455
00:25:05,295 --> 00:25:09,090
over screens and technology
456
00:25:09,132 --> 00:25:13,845
and it's a genuine re-experiencing of what
457
00:25:14,930 --> 00:25:17,516
Dickens himself would have played with.
458
00:25:17,641 --> 00:25:20,977
Saw encouraged his children to use.
459
00:25:22,604 --> 00:25:24,981
I want that spirit of fun
and entertainment
460
00:25:24,981 --> 00:25:28,401
to be at my Christmas party.
461
00:25:28,944 --> 00:25:38,203
Oh. Oh.
462
00:25:40,330 --> 00:25:41,456
This year, I'm having
463
00:25:41,456 --> 00:25:44,292
my very first festive party
in a long time,
464
00:25:44,918 --> 00:25:49,464
but I'm shunning the excessive Christmas
and looking to my hero,
465
00:25:49,464 --> 00:25:53,051
Charles Dickens, to see how
he would have celebrated the occasion.
466
00:25:53,051 --> 00:25:55,637
He loved, Happy, Happy Christmas.
467
00:25:56,012 --> 00:25:59,683
The Cannes winners
back to the delusions of our childish days
468
00:26:00,308 --> 00:26:02,519
that can recall to the old man
469
00:26:03,061 --> 00:26:05,981
the pleasures of his youth.
470
00:26:05,981 --> 00:26:08,066
I'd love to know how the Dickens family
471
00:26:08,066 --> 00:26:10,193
would have decorated
for their famous parties.
472
00:26:11,069 --> 00:26:14,739
But making decorations
is certainly not my forte,
473
00:26:15,824 --> 00:26:16,199
and this
474
00:26:16,199 --> 00:26:19,202
will be the first time I've ever tried.
475
00:26:19,202 --> 00:26:24,499
I am totally outside my comfort zone
and I'm cack handed.
476
00:26:24,791 --> 00:26:28,503
So Victorian crafts expert
Ruth Goodman is here.
477
00:26:29,045 --> 00:26:30,463
Hello, Ruth.
478
00:26:31,256 --> 00:26:34,968
To show me how it's done.
479
00:26:34,968 --> 00:26:36,428
How good your sewing.
480
00:26:36,428 --> 00:26:39,723
Oh, don't be ridiculous.
481
00:26:39,723 --> 00:26:41,016
You have some glue.
482
00:26:41,016 --> 00:26:44,227
Yeah, well, show me how I glue it,
which is sticking them to cover the paper.
483
00:26:44,352 --> 00:26:49,482
I can see I'm going to make a dog's
dinner of this, but I will try.
484
00:26:49,482 --> 00:26:52,319
I will try.
485
00:26:53,236 --> 00:26:56,865
Christmas decorations can be traced
as far back as the Romans.
486
00:26:57,532 --> 00:27:01,536
But crafting didn't
take off here until after the 1850s.
487
00:27:02,245 --> 00:27:05,040
Ivy is the Victorian Leaf.
488
00:27:06,082 --> 00:27:10,211
Instead, British festivities
had a slightly different custom.
489
00:27:10,837 --> 00:27:14,466
I mean, there is an old tradition
that was before Victorian,
490
00:27:14,716 --> 00:27:16,593
and that's about eating lots,
491
00:27:16,593 --> 00:27:18,511
drinking lots
and hanging out with your mates,
492
00:27:18,511 --> 00:27:20,388
which they traditionally done
for centuries.
493
00:27:20,388 --> 00:27:22,349
I don't know if you've ever seen
the earliest Christmas card.
494
00:27:22,349 --> 00:27:25,268
It's got a lovely image
and all it is is loads of people drinking.
495
00:27:27,020 --> 00:27:27,562
Well, some
496
00:27:27,562 --> 00:27:31,566
things never change then.
497
00:27:31,566 --> 00:27:35,862
The first mass produced
Christmas card was published in 1843,
498
00:27:36,488 --> 00:27:40,325
and it wasn't long before they'd become
a popular part of our festive season.
499
00:27:40,950 --> 00:27:43,411
But if you look at the sort of Victorian
explosion
500
00:27:43,411 --> 00:27:46,289
of interest in Christmas, it
grows exponentially.
501
00:27:46,456 --> 00:27:49,334
Well, they were great inventors,
great inventors.
502
00:27:49,376 --> 00:27:52,462
One year after the invention
of the electric light bulb,
503
00:27:52,837 --> 00:27:55,215
there are fairy lights
504
00:27:55,507 --> 00:27:57,133
as quick as that.
505
00:27:57,133 --> 00:28:01,179
The very first fairy lights
were on, a fairy on stage at the Savoy.
506
00:28:01,221 --> 00:28:03,556
Oh, that's
why they're called fairy lights.
507
00:28:03,556 --> 00:28:06,685
And then you could buy them for your house
or for your tree.
508
00:28:07,018 --> 00:28:11,564
Within months, virtually, of that
first outing of the fairy life.
509
00:28:12,399 --> 00:28:15,568
So it's really the Victorians
we have to thank for so many
510
00:28:15,568 --> 00:28:18,279
of our favorite traditions,
such as crackers,
511
00:28:18,613 --> 00:28:20,782
cards and Christmas trees.
512
00:28:21,700 --> 00:28:23,660
Oh, that looks beautiful.
513
00:28:23,660 --> 00:28:25,787
The sewing is better because it holds.
514
00:28:25,995 --> 00:28:27,789
I can see that it holds.
515
00:28:27,789 --> 00:28:30,041
No need to be nice.
516
00:28:33,586 --> 00:28:34,337
Now, would you
517
00:28:34,337 --> 00:28:37,716
say that this is pretty darn good?
518
00:28:38,508 --> 00:28:41,094
Look at it.
519
00:28:42,721 --> 00:28:43,888
I never thought I'd
520
00:28:43,888 --> 00:28:47,225
enjoy becoming Miriam Margolyes crafts
woman.
521
00:28:47,267 --> 00:28:49,060
My goodness.
522
00:28:49,060 --> 00:28:52,105
So maybe there's a chance
Dickens is changing me
523
00:28:52,105 --> 00:28:54,649
from being a bah humbug Christmas cynic.
524
00:28:55,525 --> 00:28:58,027
I think it looks fecund and festive.
525
00:28:58,278 --> 00:29:00,822
Yeah, that's a lovely word.
526
00:29:01,156 --> 00:29:02,866
It is a second.
527
00:29:02,866 --> 00:29:05,201
Nice.
528
00:29:10,957 --> 00:29:12,167
But before I get carried
529
00:29:12,167 --> 00:29:15,712
away, Dickens descendent,
Lucinda, has unearthed
530
00:29:15,712 --> 00:29:19,883
something she thinks is pivotal
to my understanding of a Christmas Carol.
531
00:29:21,509 --> 00:29:24,637
I'm going to show you now, Miriam,
something really special
532
00:29:24,637 --> 00:29:27,056
that I don't think
you've actually seen before.
533
00:29:27,932 --> 00:29:32,771
This is what is known
as the lost Portrait.
534
00:29:34,481 --> 00:29:36,608
What Dickens looked like at the exact time
535
00:29:36,608 --> 00:29:40,028
he was writing A Christmas Carol.
536
00:29:41,863 --> 00:29:44,491
He looks incredibly
537
00:29:45,658 --> 00:29:47,285
feminine.
538
00:29:47,368 --> 00:29:49,537
He does look like. Yes.
539
00:29:51,706 --> 00:29:53,750
But look at those eyes.
540
00:29:55,001 --> 00:29:57,837
It was exhibited in London in 1844,
541
00:29:58,546 --> 00:30:01,841
and then it wasn't seen for nearly 175
years.
542
00:30:01,841 --> 00:30:03,927
Right. I remember reading about this.
543
00:30:04,260 --> 00:30:05,845
And where was it?
544
00:30:05,845 --> 00:30:08,765
Well, it was discovered in 2018,
545
00:30:08,765 --> 00:30:11,309
in South Africa, in a box of junk.
546
00:30:11,976 --> 00:30:14,646
And we still don't know how it got there.
547
00:30:14,646 --> 00:30:16,773
Who who painted that?
548
00:30:17,190 --> 00:30:19,776
This was painted by a remarkable woman,
a Scottish woman
549
00:30:19,776 --> 00:30:22,612
called Margaret Gillies.
550
00:30:22,904 --> 00:30:25,365
Gillies wasn't only a portrait painter.
551
00:30:26,115 --> 00:30:28,618
She illustrated a damning royal commission
552
00:30:28,618 --> 00:30:32,205
reporting on child labor.
553
00:30:33,706 --> 00:30:37,961
It laid bare the truth about children
working in mines and factories
554
00:30:37,961 --> 00:30:44,217
of Victorian Britain, the most common age
for boys to be taken to Labor
555
00:30:44,217 --> 00:30:48,346
in the coal mines of this
district is at seven, eight or nine.
556
00:30:49,055 --> 00:30:51,850
But in the mountain mines
or smaller collieries,
557
00:30:51,933 --> 00:30:56,813
they will go as early as six, five
or even four years of age.
558
00:30:57,605 --> 00:31:00,650
Some are so young,
they go in their bed gowns.
559
00:31:03,069 --> 00:31:04,779
Margaret Gillies told
560
00:31:04,779 --> 00:31:07,657
Dickens about this
when she was painting his portrait,
561
00:31:08,241 --> 00:31:10,577
which inspired him
to write A Christmas Carol.
562
00:31:11,077 --> 00:31:14,956
And reading
the report had really broken his heart.
563
00:31:15,081 --> 00:31:15,999
He, of course,
564
00:31:15,999 --> 00:31:19,252
had been a poor child himself, and Dickens
never, ever forgotten.
565
00:31:19,294 --> 00:31:19,794
Never.
566
00:31:19,836 --> 00:31:21,337
What it was like to live in poverty.
567
00:31:21,337 --> 00:31:23,590
That's his great strength.
568
00:31:23,590 --> 00:31:28,303
Dickens was only 12 years old when he was
forced to work in a blacking factory.
569
00:31:29,095 --> 00:31:31,598
He never forgot this painful experience,
570
00:31:32,307 --> 00:31:36,394
and he wanted a Christmas Carol
to be a warning about greed and avarice,
571
00:31:37,103 --> 00:31:39,731
which he delivered
with all the might of his pen
572
00:31:40,273 --> 00:31:43,735
through the character
of the Ghost of Christmas Yet to come.
573
00:31:45,194 --> 00:31:48,031
No doubt.
574
00:31:48,031 --> 00:31:53,202
Yeah, exclaimed the Ghost.
575
00:31:53,286 --> 00:31:56,122
They were a boy and the girl
576
00:31:56,122 --> 00:32:00,376
yellow need the ragged, scowling,
577
00:32:01,210 --> 00:32:05,298
wolfish Scrooge started back appalled.
578
00:32:05,924 --> 00:32:07,759
Having them show to him in this way.
579
00:32:07,759 --> 00:32:10,345
He tried to say they were fine children,
580
00:32:11,095 --> 00:32:13,389
but the words choked themselves
581
00:32:13,389 --> 00:32:17,435
rather than be parties
to a lie of such enormous magnitude.
582
00:32:18,436 --> 00:32:20,980
This boy is ignorant.
583
00:32:21,898 --> 00:32:26,235
This girl is one.
584
00:32:27,278 --> 00:32:29,489
Don't you shiver
585
00:32:29,489 --> 00:32:32,200
when you read that?
586
00:32:33,117 --> 00:32:41,501
I do.
587
00:32:47,173 --> 00:32:48,925
Dickens wanted Christmas
588
00:32:48,925 --> 00:32:51,803
to be
about more than feasting and merriment.
589
00:32:52,220 --> 00:32:55,223
He couldn't enjoy himself
if he knew there were children outside
590
00:32:55,223 --> 00:32:58,476
who were starving and cold.
591
00:32:58,476 --> 00:33:00,478
This might explain why what was called
592
00:33:00,728 --> 00:33:04,148
the Hospital for Sick
Children was so close to his aunt.
593
00:33:04,482 --> 00:33:07,318
Oh, my.
594
00:33:08,069 --> 00:33:12,115
It's quite an unexpected chap, isn't it?
595
00:33:12,281 --> 00:33:15,702
I've come to meet Jim Linthicum,
the chaplain, to find out
596
00:33:15,702 --> 00:33:18,621
what Dickens involvement
was with Great Ormond Street.
597
00:33:19,288 --> 00:33:22,166
What a beautiful
598
00:33:22,208 --> 00:33:23,418
church. Chapel.
599
00:33:23,418 --> 00:33:25,503
Church chapel.
600
00:33:25,503 --> 00:33:28,923
Quite glorious.
601
00:33:29,048 --> 00:33:33,219
Dickens was a passionate champion
of the hospital, supporting it
602
00:33:33,219 --> 00:33:35,888
from the moment it was founded in 1852.
603
00:33:37,181 --> 00:33:39,225
Tell me what Charles Dickens
604
00:33:39,559 --> 00:33:43,021
actually did to help a hospital.
605
00:33:43,104 --> 00:33:48,317
He did a lot publicizing it
to raise the profile of this place.
606
00:33:49,444 --> 00:33:50,862
He wrote a wonderful
607
00:33:50,862 --> 00:33:52,947
article called Drooping Birds
608
00:33:56,075 --> 00:33:58,578
of this Great City of London,
609
00:33:59,412 --> 00:34:03,166
which until a few weeks ago
contained no hospital.
610
00:34:03,666 --> 00:34:06,878
Where in to treat and study
the diseases of children.
611
00:34:07,754 --> 00:34:10,798
More than a third of the whole population
612
00:34:11,174 --> 00:34:14,260
perishes in infancy and childhood.
613
00:34:15,136 --> 00:34:18,306
24 in 100 die
614
00:34:19,057 --> 00:34:21,476
during the first two years of life.
615
00:34:22,393 --> 00:34:25,354
I love the way he's so specific.
616
00:34:25,354 --> 00:34:26,647
Spins you down.
617
00:34:26,647 --> 00:34:28,649
You can't get away from this.
618
00:34:28,649 --> 00:34:31,027
Listen to these figures.
619
00:34:31,027 --> 00:34:35,198
He just makes it sound like
we can do something about it.
620
00:34:35,490 --> 00:34:37,825
Did he raise money for it?
621
00:34:37,867 --> 00:34:38,951
Did he?
622
00:34:39,118 --> 00:34:40,745
Yes. What did he do?
623
00:34:40,745 --> 00:34:42,789
Back then, we had no NHS.
624
00:34:43,247 --> 00:34:46,751
So in order to actually get
625
00:34:47,835 --> 00:34:52,673
professional medical staff
in, you had to raise the charitable funds.
626
00:34:52,715 --> 00:34:54,967
And he was
sort of the rolling Stones of his day.
627
00:34:55,384 --> 00:34:59,180
And if you can imagine the Rolling Stones
doing a benefit for one institution,
628
00:34:59,889 --> 00:35:05,103
he did a dramatic reading of A Christmas
Carol and was a huge fundraiser
629
00:35:05,103 --> 00:35:09,649
for the hospital, and it almost enabled it
to double in size.
630
00:35:10,149 --> 00:35:12,819
That's an achievement. Yes.
631
00:35:12,819 --> 00:35:14,278
He took it to a whole new level
632
00:35:16,781 --> 00:35:18,282
through his public readings.
633
00:35:18,282 --> 00:35:23,162
He raised over £3,000, nearly
half a million in today's money,
634
00:35:23,621 --> 00:35:27,750
enabling the hospital to expand
dramatically and buy the building
635
00:35:27,750 --> 00:35:31,295
next door at number 48,
Great Ormond Street.
636
00:35:32,588 --> 00:35:35,424
What a wonderful legacy.
637
00:35:36,968 --> 00:35:39,887
But what I really admire
is that he never stopped
638
00:35:39,887 --> 00:35:48,104
supporting the hospital
throughout his life,
639
00:35:48,104 --> 00:35:50,690
as I've traveled alongside
Charles Dickens.
640
00:35:51,190 --> 00:35:55,069
He's opened my eyes
to what Christmas should really be about.
641
00:35:55,736 --> 00:35:58,489
It's more than fun and festivities and
642
00:36:00,158 --> 00:36:03,995
he insists that the less fortunate
also deserve our compassion.
643
00:36:04,579 --> 00:36:07,456
I'm so moved by this I now know
644
00:36:07,456 --> 00:36:09,584
exactly how to host my party.
645
00:36:10,501 --> 00:36:13,129
People feel special about Christmas.
646
00:36:14,046 --> 00:36:15,339
And maybe this year.
647
00:36:15,339 --> 00:36:17,175
So do I.
648
00:36:17,925 --> 00:36:19,760
Oh, my first guest
649
00:36:19,760 --> 00:36:34,317
has a laugh.
650
00:36:34,734 --> 00:36:37,778
I'm looking forward to the friends
and the food.
651
00:36:38,696 --> 00:36:42,408
And that's for me,
what a celebration is all about.
652
00:36:43,826 --> 00:36:46,746
I'm determined to channel my inner dickens
653
00:36:46,954 --> 00:36:51,125
and not be a bah humbug host.
654
00:36:54,045 --> 00:36:55,671
I've invited three of Dickens
655
00:36:55,671 --> 00:36:58,507
relatives, Marian and Gerald.
656
00:36:59,050 --> 00:37:01,177
Is somebody coming?
657
00:37:01,177 --> 00:37:04,305
Yeah. Oh, hello.
658
00:37:04,305 --> 00:37:09,227
And, of course, my good friend Lucinda.
659
00:37:09,227 --> 00:37:10,478
Come on in.
660
00:37:10,561 --> 00:37:14,315
And joining my festive feast luncheon
the next year.
661
00:37:14,649 --> 00:37:15,566
Welcome back.
662
00:37:15,566 --> 00:37:18,819
So you gave
663
00:37:18,945 --> 00:37:20,238
crucially drinks.
664
00:37:20,238 --> 00:37:22,865
Historian Jared is in charge of the booze.
665
00:37:24,158 --> 00:37:25,117
Jared,
666
00:37:26,077 --> 00:37:29,497
This is the moment when you water
667
00:37:29,497 --> 00:37:32,083
everybody down or gin them up.
668
00:37:33,793 --> 00:37:37,964
I want every aspect of my party
to be authentically Dickensian,
669
00:37:37,964 --> 00:37:43,302
drawing inspiration
from his brilliant Christmas Carol.
670
00:37:44,804 --> 00:37:48,849
We'll start with the punch
that Bob Cratchit served his family,
671
00:37:49,308 --> 00:37:52,019
which was normally called Gin Twist.
672
00:37:52,353 --> 00:37:54,981
So we're going to add some gin.
673
00:37:56,274 --> 00:38:00,611
Luckily, gin is my favorite tipple,
so we're off to a very good start.
674
00:38:01,821 --> 00:38:03,990
And then this is simple sirup,
675
00:38:05,074 --> 00:38:06,742
lemon juice,
676
00:38:07,326 --> 00:38:10,204
and we just drop in a twist.
677
00:38:10,871 --> 00:38:13,082
Then we just need a bit of fruit
678
00:38:15,084 --> 00:38:16,836
before central heating.
679
00:38:16,836 --> 00:38:19,588
Drinking
hot punch was a great way to keep warm
680
00:38:20,256 --> 00:38:22,883
and Jared is making it the Victorian way.
681
00:38:23,217 --> 00:38:26,095
When are we going to be able to drink?
682
00:38:27,013 --> 00:38:28,931
Have you got a red hot vodka?
683
00:38:28,931 --> 00:38:31,600
Sounds brewed.
684
00:38:32,143 --> 00:38:36,856
Ask a mountain that not the microwaves
back then to get a drink.
685
00:38:37,148 --> 00:38:39,275
Hot and cold
686
00:38:40,818 --> 00:38:44,196
and ridiculous.
687
00:38:44,196 --> 00:38:46,991
You like doing this? You
688
00:38:47,783 --> 00:38:48,993
is great.
689
00:38:48,993 --> 00:38:52,038
Happy Christmas, Carol.
690
00:38:53,664 --> 00:38:56,500
Yeah.
691
00:38:56,667 --> 00:38:58,961
Oh, I like that genre. The classic. Here.
692
00:38:59,337 --> 00:39:00,546
Thanks, Blazing.
693
00:39:00,546 --> 00:39:01,213
Enjoy.
694
00:39:01,213 --> 00:39:03,716
Really?
695
00:39:05,051 --> 00:39:05,343
Yeah.
696
00:39:05,801 --> 00:39:09,347
Well, it's going well at the moment,
but it could all go horribly wrong.
697
00:39:10,097 --> 00:39:11,140
My gosh.
698
00:39:11,140 --> 00:39:16,020
I know Dickens much enjoyed
a supposedly fun parlor game on DAX.
699
00:39:16,479 --> 00:39:21,400
So we're having a go at a Victorian
version of Jenga bullet pudding.
700
00:39:21,734 --> 00:39:23,986
Here we go. Nice little easy was.
701
00:39:23,986 --> 00:39:26,697
The aim of the game is to slice away
the flower.
702
00:39:27,615 --> 00:39:29,700
Oh, my gosh. All so great.
703
00:39:29,700 --> 00:39:34,246
And whoever topples the grape
has to pick it up with just their mouth.
704
00:39:34,330 --> 00:39:37,541
Oh, this is what I
705
00:39:37,541 --> 00:39:40,920
call antisemitism.
706
00:39:43,214 --> 00:39:52,431
Oh. Oh, oh, I
707
00:39:53,516 --> 00:39:54,850
heard behind you.
708
00:39:54,850 --> 00:39:58,187
Now I'm going to get the credit for.
709
00:39:58,187 --> 00:40:01,774
Ow, ow, ow, ow,
710
00:40:02,400 --> 00:40:06,028
ow, ow! Wow.
711
00:40:06,028 --> 00:40:07,988
Very good. Welcome.
712
00:40:07,988 --> 00:40:10,783
You are a monster.
713
00:40:10,783 --> 00:40:13,369
Well, my guests
all seem to be enjoying themselves,
714
00:40:14,078 --> 00:40:17,623
and we're nearly ready
to tuck into my Victorian feast.
715
00:40:18,916 --> 00:40:24,755
Well, everybody, I am completely
intoxicated now from this wonderful.
716
00:40:24,755 --> 00:40:26,590
A gin twist.
717
00:40:26,590 --> 00:40:31,971
But the point of it is to welcome you
all to my Christmas dinner.
718
00:40:32,138 --> 00:40:33,305
Thanks to Mr.
719
00:40:33,305 --> 00:40:38,644
Dickens, we're having Christmas together.
720
00:40:40,771 --> 00:40:43,274
Unsurprisingly, mock turtle
721
00:40:43,274 --> 00:40:46,193
soup doesn't feature in my Christmas menu,
722
00:40:47,528 --> 00:40:49,738
and I have to admit to a bit of cheating
723
00:40:50,072 --> 00:40:53,534
when it comes to the cookie.
724
00:40:53,617 --> 00:40:57,663
I know this is going to be good
because it hasn't been cooked by me.
725
00:40:58,873 --> 00:41:03,544
This has been cooked
by the wonderful, amazing Leona
726
00:41:12,428 --> 00:41:15,097
who loves the roof
727
00:41:16,140 --> 00:41:18,225
tiles, everybody.
728
00:41:18,642 --> 00:41:21,395
Now I know I've got help
and we're not eating turkey,
729
00:41:22,021 --> 00:41:25,399
but there's a reason why
I think Dickens would approve.
730
00:41:25,941 --> 00:41:28,694
There's one
very special thing about all this food.
731
00:41:29,111 --> 00:41:32,865
It's been done by an amazing
charity called
732
00:41:33,157 --> 00:41:37,536
the Felix Project, and I would like Leon
to tell you about it.
733
00:41:37,578 --> 00:41:40,873
So all the food you have
today is made out of surplus food.
734
00:41:40,873 --> 00:41:43,000
So food
which would normally go to landfill.
735
00:41:44,460 --> 00:41:47,213
We didn't buy one single ingredient
for this lunch.
736
00:41:47,505 --> 00:41:48,214
Amazing.
737
00:41:48,214 --> 00:41:51,884
It's incredible that we raised
all this food and, you know, 400,000
738
00:41:51,884 --> 00:41:54,762
children in London every day
don't have the proper meal.
739
00:41:56,263 --> 00:42:00,476
As well as cooking three and a half
thousand meals a day for Londoners
740
00:42:00,476 --> 00:42:04,939
who would otherwise go hungry,
Leon provides a catering service
741
00:42:05,564 --> 00:42:10,027
and using it has allowed me
to help fund his charity a very tiny way.
742
00:42:10,611 --> 00:42:11,654
Yeah, we're going to enjoy it.
743
00:42:11,654 --> 00:42:12,571
We are hungry.
744
00:42:12,571 --> 00:42:16,033
I'm absolutely starving.
745
00:42:18,619 --> 00:42:19,119
Dickens
746
00:42:19,119 --> 00:42:21,247
believed Christmas should include fun.
747
00:42:22,206 --> 00:42:24,375
Mr. Dickens. God bless.
748
00:42:24,917 --> 00:42:28,170
But crucially,
also involves caring for others.
749
00:42:28,796 --> 00:42:31,298
I hope I remain true to his message.
750
00:42:31,924 --> 00:42:34,927
I love you so.
751
00:42:35,010 --> 00:42:38,681
At the beginning,
I was rather dreading the idea of a party
752
00:42:39,848 --> 00:42:41,684
solution. Yeah.
753
00:42:41,684 --> 00:42:44,562
Will not approve,
but it's turned out to be
754
00:42:44,562 --> 00:42:48,399
a Dickensian triumph.
755
00:42:50,401 --> 00:42:52,987
When I was little,
756
00:42:53,112 --> 00:42:55,906
we did have a Christmas celebration.
757
00:42:56,323 --> 00:43:00,160
But it was Mummy inviting
all the lonely people
758
00:43:01,245 --> 00:43:02,913
who were always very boring.
759
00:43:02,913 --> 00:43:06,875
So it wasn't very interesting having me.
760
00:43:07,209 --> 00:43:10,004
But they were something.
761
00:43:10,212 --> 00:43:12,756
Lame ducks, you know.
762
00:43:12,756 --> 00:43:15,217
However, I have to say,
763
00:43:15,884 --> 00:43:17,886
I have loved today.
764
00:43:19,054 --> 00:43:22,600
I've really enjoyed all your companies.
765
00:43:23,225 --> 00:43:25,769
And the gin twist.
766
00:43:27,313 --> 00:43:33,110
I like that.
767
00:43:33,652 --> 00:43:37,197
I think Dickens
might have had the right idea all along.
768
00:43:37,823 --> 00:43:40,242
Merry Christmas, Bob,
769
00:43:40,826 --> 00:43:43,537
said Scrooge,
as he locked him on the back.
770
00:43:44,204 --> 00:43:45,998
A merry Christmas, Bob.
771
00:43:45,998 --> 00:43:49,043
My good fellow
that I've given you so many a year,
772
00:43:49,460 --> 00:43:54,381
I raise your salary and endeavor
to assist your struggling family,
773
00:43:54,965 --> 00:43:57,468
but make up the fires
774
00:43:57,885 --> 00:44:01,013
and buy
another coal scuttle there for you.
775
00:44:01,013 --> 00:44:05,517
Daft another I, Bob Cratchit.
776
00:44:07,686 --> 00:44:08,103
So that
777
00:44:08,103 --> 00:44:10,689
just leaves one last Christmas tradition
778
00:44:11,106 --> 00:44:13,609
but never fails to raise your spirits.
779
00:44:14,610 --> 00:44:17,571
One Give it to me
by the very title of the book
780
00:44:17,946 --> 00:44:20,866
I Live A Christmas Carol
781
00:44:25,704 --> 00:44:30,125
and Nothing is My Way.
782
00:44:30,125 --> 00:44:32,169
But I
783
00:44:32,378 --> 00:44:34,880
was born on Christmas.
784
00:44:34,880 --> 00:44:40,302
This tired old Christmas
fairy has had a lovely time.
785
00:44:40,302 --> 00:44:43,222
Oh, much nicer
786
00:44:43,222 --> 00:44:45,015
than I actually expected.
787
00:44:45,015 --> 00:44:49,728
I've always been a bit anti Christmas
because I felt that it was insincere.
788
00:44:51,814 --> 00:44:53,565
But I'm not sure I'm
789
00:44:53,565 --> 00:44:55,776
right about that from God,
790
00:44:56,985 --> 00:44:59,655
because the real Christmas message,
791
00:44:59,655 --> 00:45:02,199
which is the one that Dickens
792
00:45:02,658 --> 00:45:06,078
wrote about in A Christmas Carol, it's
793
00:45:06,328 --> 00:45:10,332
a message of hope and redemption.
794
00:45:10,541 --> 00:45:14,002
And above all, be kind to
795
00:45:15,129 --> 00:45:20,676
happy Christmas
to all tidings of concerns.
796
00:45:20,676 --> 00:45:22,845
I enjoy conversation, joy.
797
00:45:23,470 --> 00:45:36,400
Otherwise it's all gone.
798
00:45:36,400 --> 00:45:38,652
And you can get more of Miriam
as she explores
799
00:45:38,652 --> 00:45:42,364
some Dickensian swear words
with our pal Susie Dent on Channel Fours
800
00:45:42,364 --> 00:45:46,160
YouTube and Susie's here Friday
and the ten souls everywhere
801
00:45:46,160 --> 00:45:50,080
in a brand new each over ten cats does
Countdown Christmas special from nine
802
00:45:50,414 --> 00:46:04,595
next to one that's not so new.
60814
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