London: A Dickens Christmas Carol Tour and Writing Workshop – London, United Kingdom

EXPERIENCE:

We start in Newman’s Court, a draughty courtyard off Cornhill, site of Scrooge’s counting house. A mindful consideration of our envrinment, its sights and sounds, encourages the first creative exercise. We read of Scrooge’s lonely routines as we follow the alleys round to Simpson’s Tavern, a closed Victorian eating house where Scrooge would eat his dinners, and we use this sight as a prompt to reflect on our own routines. Enter the ghost of Jacob Marley, who warns Scrooge to change his ways. As we head to St Michael’s, we read of Scrooge’s childhood, his loneliness and innocence, and use this to recover our own youthful memories. We share our work with one another and then head through Leadenhall Market, which is lit with Christmas lights, reading about Scrooge’s adolescence and the joy that he once new. Our writing exercises consider contrasts: we use Dickens’ metaphors of light and dark to make our own rich reflections on the passing of time, and as Scrooge nears his emotional transformation, filled with the joyous spirit of the holidays and flushed with gratitude once more, so our exercises conclude amid the grand lights and decorations of the City.

Designed to suit all levels of expertise, from novice to novelist, these tours and writing workshops are delivered by a qualified English Teacher with a PhD in creative writing. They combine literary history, facts and readings from Dickens’ classic text with a series of prompts, encouraging all to participate in a safe and inclusive environment. The tours are carefully structured but flexible and largely dictated by the work we create and share together.

TOUR HIGHLIGHTS:

We encounter the ghost of Jacob Marley in Newman’s Court.
Visit the inn where Scrooge ate his lonely dinners.
Through Leadenhall Market to Lime Street, we contrast our past and present.
In the churchyard, we consider the holidays as a time of change and gratitude.

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