The Old Curiosity Club discussion
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The George
Good to be here at The George. I do like that Dickens always has his warm and cozy pubs. Just tea for me these days. It is 34 degrees this morning in Coastal Carolina and I am enjoying my cup of mint tea.
I like the idea of mint tea on the morning of a warm day. For me it's green tea with lemongrass at the moment, and so many nice things to read! I also just started on another book I got for my birthday last year. I won't tell I got more books as birthday presents yesterday xD So I am happy with a cozy spot by the fire to read.
Ah, that's the best birthday present ever... books! Enjoy and Happy Birthday to you, Jantine!
Tristram wrote: "Dear Curiosities,As of now, The George has opened its doors for you, and as usual we have a cosy fire in the fireplace, soft cushions on demand for our settles, any drink your fancy lets you thir..."
Why thankee, Tristram! As a side note one of my favorite and most snug pubs of all time is the Maypole Inn or, simply The Maypole, in Dickens's Barnaby Rudge.
There is an old video on YouTube of the Whyte Harte Inn in Bletchingly (which you can find by typing in "Oldest Inn 1958") that is lovely to see.
And Happy Birthday, Jantine!
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Jantine
Books and tea. Who could ask for more. Happy Birthday!
Thank you all! I must admit, I did have a teeeeeny tiny meltdown last Saturday, when I realised I couldn't even get a cuddle from my husband officially because last Thursday some *bleep* decided to travel by public transport and sit near me for more than 15 minutes. Just like I couldn't even have the two allowed visitors, or go into the office today to welcome the new people I am going to train, because I have to be quarantined until tomorrow's PCR test comes back negative. I can handle it all, but not being allowed to come close to that one person you love and live with because of 'what ifs' while you don't feel sick, it was the straw that broke the camel's back. So we cheated, and I got a minute of cuddle anyway. He is still banned to sleep on the couch for safety, but as he said 'well, if you're going to get it from being in the same bus as someone else while both masked, I'm definitely going to get it too anyway'. I hope not, and I'm happy we're both vaccinated and boostered.
My husband and I have it now. I really did think it was just my usual sore throat due to drainage, etc. but no, it was positive. Tonight I am up with a sore runny nose like a cold and yesterday I felt fine but I can't complain since it is very mild thanks to the vaccines. Stay safe everyone.
I came across this article about decoding Dickens. I am unsure what to make of it.https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-l...
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Bobbie
Take care. We are thinking about you. A little dose of Little Dorrit should help this week. : -).
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https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-l..."
Looks like both an interesting and difficult project. I hope it reveals new Dickens material to read but confess the task looks too difficult for most to take on.
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While my family has managed to stay out of the grips of Covid, I feel as if I know more people who have had it than not at this point, all of whom have survived with no apparent lasting effects. May this be the case for you and your husband, too, Bobbie. Hopefully if will give you some immunity going forward.
Thanks! Pretty sure it is Omicron because it is pretty mild and we are doing all right. My worst symptom has been drainage and constant throat clearing but that is a common problem for me. Oh well.
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But now we don't have to argue about this anymore. Or discuss it at all. The last week of November he woke up one day and didn't feel well. He was tired, fever, felt like he had a cold kind of thing. His wife wanted him to go to the doctor, he said it wasn't that bad and went to work that day, and the next, and the next. Then one morning when she was ready to go to work she was surprised he wasn't awake yet, so she went to wake him up and couldn't. He ended up being taken by helicopter to the closest hospital - about an hour away - and was put in a medically induced coma and a ventilator. And there he stayed all through December into January. And after his kidneys wouldn't work right anymore, a blood clot formed in his lung, and he developed pneumonia, the now obvious thing happened, he died. From something no worse than the flu.
And today was the funeral, to give you an idea of how things are around here, he died two weeks ago but we couldn't have the funeral until today because of the big backup at the funeral home. It's the first day they could fit the funeral in. So there we were today in a room full of people, about 300 and probably 100 of us had masks on, vaccinated or not. And the pastor tells us - no one seems to know what church he is from, but he says he's a pastor - he told us that our friend did not die from Covid, he died from evil. He knows we all agree with him that the death was evil and came from evil. Whatever. Then he goes on to tell us what good friends they were and how many things they agreed on. One of the things they apparently agreed on was that if you come to our country illegally you should have to learn English and not speak other languages. I'm not sure how he got that message into a funeral service, but he did. It went on and on. According to him they agreed that since we have our "new" government they know it can't last much longer so they've started building up supplies, generators, lanterns, candles, etc. for when nothing works anymore. At least I was so busy trying to figure out what this guy was going to say next, I forgot to be sad for a little anyway.
And that's what I've been doing these last few hours, days, weeks, it feels like it will never end. I'm just so tired of it all. Stay safe guys.
Oh, Kim, I have heard so many similar stories lately. We had our vaccines and booster so this case is very light, but the man who came to our house to do a job said he had not been vaccinated. Then when he came back he was coughing like crazy but not until he was here for several hours so that may be where we got it. He said he had a "cold".
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What I found saddest about your story was how that "preacher" used your friend's funeral in order to present his own political propaganda. It's a shame that a thing like that should happen, and it makes me wonder whether I ought not write my own funeral speech because I am no longer a member of the official church, having fallen out with our pastor years and years ago.
We are staying home a lot and I hope to get to reading more. I did start labeling some pictures that my cousin sent me so getting more motivated to get some things accomplished. My husband falls often and needs assistance so most of my reading takes place at bedtime. We are both feeling much better this morning thankfully.I may have to alter my reading challenge since I have several very long books planned for this year.
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Hi Bobbie
If we take an average book’s length as say 350 pages then any book longer could count as two. ;-)
While the official book count would be lower than your “pledge” you could justify it to yourself. I won’t tell.
Kim, I am so sorry you have (had) to go through this! I wish it were not so, but as Bobbie says, there are so many stories like this lately. It is so sad that it are people like you, people who do everything they can to protect themselves and others, who lose their friends this way.
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I am glad to hear that you are getting better. I wish all the best to you and your husband. As to the reading challenge, if you throw in a short story, now and then, you might still fulfil your goal ;-)
Bobbie, so glad you are feeling better, and may that continue!Kim, I am so sorry you have lost another friend. What a rough year.
Tristram, I hope it will be a very long time before any self-written funeral speech of yours would be of use to anyone--but I will say we lost a friend to cancer last year and he did have time to arrange his own funeral, complete with speakers to whom he gave instructions before he passed, and everyone agreed they'd never seen the job better done. So it's not a bad idea I guess!
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As I might have said somewhere, I did the funeral speech for my grandma, and this gave me the idea that it is always better to have a speech from someone who knew the deceased personally.
Tristram wrote: "Dear Curiosities,As of now, The George has opened its doors for you, and as usual we have a cosy fire in the fireplace, soft cushions on demand for our settles, any drink your fancy lets you thir..."
Hi Tristram
I'm eager to know which 'The George' Dickens mentioned in his writing. The most famous 'The George' is not far from Marshalsea Prison in Southwark and Borough Market. It is also the same pub that Shakespeare used to frequent (apparently), with it not being too far from The Globe. I've visited it many years ago. It is certainly one to visit when in London.
A message to all those who are sick at the moment. Wishing you a speedy recovery.
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As of now, The George has opened its doors for you, and as usual we have a cosy fire in the fireplace, soft cushions on demand for our settles, any drink your fa..."
Kate,
As yet I don't really know what The George is like and the reason is this: When we started the Old Curiosity Club, our friend Everyman had the idea that it would be fun to start a different pub thread in the General section for each of the novels we read and to name it after one of the pubs mentioned in the respective novel. He then made a list of pubs mentioned in each novel, and for Little Dorrit, he came up with The George. Well, he could also have chosen The Break of Day, but somehow he must have thought The George a cosier place. We'll have to wait and see - but first of all, I'm going on a web-hunt for The George you mentioned in your post ;-)
Tristram wrote: "he could also have chosen The Break of Day, but somehow he must have thought The George a cosier place."Somehow. :)
A rare photo of Charles Dickens is on display. The reason for its rarity is that it shows him with just a mustache and not a beard. It was apparently taken around the time he was writing Bleak House.https://www.finebooksmagazine.com/blo...
I realize daily shampooing was not the custom in Victorian England, but that hair! Surely Dickens could have run a comb through it before sitting for a portrait! I realized that wasn't the point of your post, John, and I'm sorry to shift focus. But it's like a bad accident, and I can't help but stare as I go by.
Mary Lou wrote: "I realize daily shampooing was not the custom in Victorian England, but that hair! Surely Dickens could have run a comb through it before sitting for a portrait! I realized that wasn't the point ..."
Mary Lou, funny you mention this, because before I posted it, I was looking at the hair and just shaking my head. Shampoo needed.
I am grateful to be away from snow, but wow is it cold for this part of coastal North Carolina. As I write this, it is 16 degrees.
John wrote: "I am grateful to be away from snow, but wow is it cold for this part of coastal North Carolina. As I write this, it is 16 degrees."We're up to a balmy 17 degrees here, John ( -8 Celsius ). The snow stayed mostly north and east of us - just a dusting over the ice that still remains on the ground from the last storm. I haven't been able to do much walking outside since spraining my ankle before Christmas, and then, per doctor's orders, only on flat pavement. My poor dog, Pip, is very bored without his walks through the woods, as am I.
Mary Lou wrote: "John wrote: "I am grateful to be away from snow, but wow is it cold for this part of coastal North Carolina. As I write this, it is 16 degrees."We're up to a balmy 17 degrees here, John ( -8 Cels..."
Mary Lou, I am hoping to golf 9 holes this afternoon. A little cold for golf, but I get some air and walking in, too.
John wrote: "I am hoping to golf 9 holes this afternoon..."Intrepid! Be sure to bundle up!
Some personal news that I feel compelled to share with someone, but can't do so publicly just yet, so you guys are the first to know. :-)I've just sent in my letter of resignation to the library. It's been a long time coming. I went to "on-call" status when the grandchildren came home from Germany so I could spend time with them. Then Covid hit and the library went from being shut down to various stages of reopening. I worked a bit during some of that, but circumstances eventually led to me not being on the schedule for the past several months. So, there will be no real change to my day-to-day life, but I still feel a bit of loss. I no longer have that identity ("What do you do?"), nor do I have that financial safety net, threadbare though it always was. God help me if, at my age, I ever have to interview for a job again! It's a funny feeling. I can see why people who have been in a career all their adult lives (as opposed to my part-time job) have a hard time adjusting to retirement, no matter how much they may be looking forward to it.
As I've had nothing but time for reading, watching movies, etc., allow me to propose a toast to an early Spring in the hopes that all of us can at least get outside to be with friends and family, regardless of whatever restrictions or fears may still be with us. To retirement!
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I've just sent in my letter of resignation to the library...."
Mary Lou
This evening I will raise a glass and send a long distance toast from Toronto, Canada. To Mary Lou, to retirement, to the next chapter in your life.
Welcome to the club!
Mary Lou wrote: "Some personal news that I feel compelled to share with someone, but can't do so publicly just yet, so you guys are the first to know. :-)I've just sent in my letter of resignation to the library...."
Congratulations, Mary Lou. And you still have that identity. A retired librarian is still a librarian!
I resigned from my job too, last November effective in June, and am moving to a new position next fall, still teaching. It was also pandemic-influenced. I had a lot of time on my own and realized I was frustrated in my job and other programs would make better use of me. So I asked one and the program said yes. I am not remotely pro-pandemic, but this has been a silver lining to it for me.
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I raise along, to the good changes in life :-)
Thanks, all. And good luck with your new position, Julie. I know of so many people who have made career changes in the last two years. Hope this will be a good move for you. Cheers.
I also wish you both, Mary Lou and Julie, the very best in your future endeavors.
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Peter wrote: "Happy birthday to Boz. Let’s meet and raise a glass or mug or whatever is handy at The George in an hour."Ah, yes, Happy Birthday to CD. One of those dreaded birthdays that ends with a zero — he would have been 210.
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As of now, The George has opened its doors for you, and as usual we have a cosy fire in the fireplace, soft cushions on demand for our settles, any drink your fancy lets you thirst for, and an over-zealous waiter. Frankly speaking, I don't remember anything about the George in Little Dorrit but I find it quite remarkable that, with the possible exception of A Tale of Two Cities, there is at least one pub in every single Dickens novel. Can we say the same for any other Victorian novelist? If not, what might this tell us about Dickens?