As for the Nickleby, that is the fictional bit. I have always been a Dickens fan even though I cannot claim to have read all his novels. If I was on Desert Island Discs, though, my book choice would be "The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby". My choice of music would depend on my age and mood at the time, an I would have to think really hard about just eight favourite tunes. But this would be the book. And that is strange, too, because it is not even my favourite Dickens work. It is not as well-crafted as "Bleak House" or "Little Dorrit", nor even as gripping as "Great Expectations". But I like it because of the hero. The hero is someone with whom I empathise- especially now that my father is no longer with us, my mother is- well, a bit like Nick's mother, really, and my sister has all the attributes of Kate, including being much put-upon. But I am a good thirty years older than Nick. I guess Nicholas is the kind of guy I would like to be, really.
This is me, not looking like Nicholas, and playing a part. I am involved in amateur theatre. NOT AMDRAM!!! For me, "Amdram" is like the word "queer"- perjorative, used by sneery people to belittle others who have an interest in something that they don't. I like the word amateur, because it shows that you are doing something because you love it. You don't have to be paid for doing it, and you don't have to be particularly good at it. But you do not have to be sneered at for doing it, nor should people believe that you are only an amateur because you aren't good enough to do it professionally. I would never think that about an amateur golfer- good on him for doing something he likes to the best of his ability!
In the picture above, I was playing the role of a real-life character who has become a hero of mine. The character is Alan Turing, whose work on cracking the Enigma Code in World War II was never appreciated by the public in his lifetime. In fact, the public treatment of him was shocking, and an official apology was eventually given him for the way in which he was treated a couple of years ago. He was a brilliant mathematician, and if he were a child today, he might well have been diagnosed as autistic, and therefore classified as having special needs. His work at Bletchley Park shortened the war by at least two years.
In "Nicholas Nickleby", Nick befriends a guy with special needs called Smike, and they travel around the country together. Much of the story revolves around the different attitudes that other characters have towards Smike. Some treat him harshly, and others- most particularly the theatrical troupe they join for a while- treat him like one of their own.
Well, I think that's all for now.
