By SUE NEWMAN
Newman Family Productions
It’s Christmas, again! Bah, Humbug! God Bless Us, Everyone!
Oh, these songs that go round our heads at this time of year, thanks to my late parents Ray and Virginia Newman.
Christmas With Scrooge may not be able to perform live for you again, this year, but we’ll be airing the 2019 version that ran at Fulford Hall via this Vimeo link.
I originally wrote this piece for the Driftwood and Aqua magazine from a little flat in Edinburgh, where my youngest daughter now lives. Patrice started out as a Spotty Dog, from the famous Mr. and Mrs. Fezziwig’s Ball, in our musical version of the Dickens classic Christmas tale, as did my sister, Amy. My eldest daughter, Lauren, and I did not. (You can’t have everything!)
But so many have gone through the ages of their young lives, travelling through roles into their adulthood, a Cratchit child to a Ghost, as Scrooge does, through his redemptive journey, and as only a community show that is celebrating its 50th year can!
But . . . without the show, (sometimes the show DOESN’T go on), I decided to go for a visit.
As I sat with my glass of peaty scotch in a well-worn, warm and inviting pub, I looked up to see a collection of small, leather-bound books staring at me. The one called Dickens Christmas Stories practically jumped into my lap. So, I picked it up and read. I was reminded that I needed to write something for Driftwood/Aqua editor Gail Sjuberg and my community.
Then Patrice walked in and told me about the nearby churchyard that inspired the writer. There he was:
Ebenezer Lennox Scroggie
Born 1792
Died 1836
A vintner and corn merchant, he was a “meal man.” Dickens visited the Canongate Kirk in Edinburgh in 1841, and possibly looked at a mossy headstone of the man. But whatever the reason, he mistook it for “mean man” and later wrote in his notebook that “to be remembered through eternity only for being mean seemed the greatest testament to a life wasted.” The kernel was planted.
Ebenezer Scrooge
Conceived 1841
Born 1843 in A Christmas Carol
Died ?
No! He’s still alive today, even on Salt Spring, although taking one more year to … be safe (due to Covid).
This is our 50th celebration, Christmas with Scrooge, on our little rock, and we really hope to come back next year to party with all our families, friends and neighbours. In the meantime, enjoy the 2019 version of the show with the link provided earlier in this story!