As we walked along the streets of London, we came to a cozy inn where a dining table was being prepared to welcome Charles Dickens. We were invited to sit down, just as Mr. Dickens walked through the door. He placed his top hat and coat on the rack, and then took his place at the head of the table. We engaged in some small talk, after which Mr. Dickens read from his story, A Christmas Carol. Now, I've read A Christmas Carol several times, watched many movie renditions of the story, and seen the play at the Hale Center Theater in Orem, but listening to Mr. Dickens read the story was just as good, if not better, than any version I had yet experienced. In addition to the words, Mr. Dickens' expressions added further meaning to the story. At the appropriate times, he would whisper or yell, make facial expressions of anger or horror or glee, and gesture to and fro with his arms.
During our first sitting, we learned of Ebeneezer Scrooge's disdain for Christmas and followed him until the end of his conversation with the ghost of Jacob Marley. So wonderful was our time with Mr. Dickens that we returned twice more to listen to the story as Scrooge met with the Ghost of Christmas Past and the Ghost of Christmas Future. Unfortunately, we were unable to return for the third sitting with the Ghost of Christmas Present. But we deeply enjoyed listening to and were touched by the story. I can see why President Monson makes it a point to read A Christmas Carol each Christmas season, for Scrooge helps us better understand the true meaning of Christmas. "It was always said of him, that he knew how to keep Christmas well, if any man alive possessed the knowledge. May that be truly said of us, and all of us! And so, as Tiny Tim observed, God bless Us, Every One!"
After listening to the first part of A Christmas Carol, we continued our tour of London with a stop at the docks for a sing-along with some shipmates. Then it was to the Adventurer's Club to learn about some of the techniques of British naval warfare. Then we walked through the shops filled with jewelry, fine clothing, puzzle rings, and toys. Of course, our main attraction was the food. Before the second sitting with Charles Dickens, we grabbed a gingerbread boy.
Next, we hurried off down the street, and guess who we ran into -- Ebeneezer Scrooge himself conversing with the Ghost of Christmas Present. We had enough time to snap a picture, before continuing on to the Punch and Judy Show.
The Punch and Judy Puppet Show was fun to watch. It had a good moral to the ending -- "It is nice to be important, but it is more important to be nice."
And, in fact, while we were watching the show, who else were to pass but the Queen of England herself with the royal guard. Next, we went to watch a live production of the Pirates of Penzance. This was our third opportunity to watch a live production of this comic opera, and the storyline and dialogue gets funnier every time. Wikipedia gives a good rundown of the synopsis, which I encourage you to read. The opera also has a good moral, which is that we should act out of a sense of duty, even when there is nothing else binding us to a promise but our word alone.
Somewhere in our hustle and bustle, we enjoyed a nice meal of shepherd's pie and steak and mushroom pie. We also stopped by Fezziwig's dance party several times for waltzes, polkas, and the Sir Roger de Coverley (although we probably didn't dance it as well as Old Fezziwig himself). Overall, it was a lovely trip to Old London, and we were sad to return to California.
