what the anthony dickens ...

He read at the last Assylum gig and read well! He's a smashing writer and a nice bloke.

Well, I just read 'Building' - that was a good story. I like the way he opens with that narrative - heh! heh! Just like another Dickens .... It was a good read - thanks Anthony.

Alison, Mark, Carly, Many thanks for the kind words. I have been writing now for the best part of twenty years and I can only say two things with any certainty: (1) the last piece always seems to be better than the one which preceded it – whether it is or not is a different question entirely and (2) writing always makes me feel better, another cliché plucked out of the bag I know, but the urge to shape, to control, to make sense, to order and understand is a strong one and if you can find appreciative readers en route then you are starting to get lucky. Thanks for dipping into my offerings. And as for the Dickens stuff, well, that’s an interesting one. There are several connections between Charles and the Midlands, which is where I am from. I was originally born in Kingswinford and moved to Redditch in 1974 when I was 7 (before I go any further let me just add that of far more pressing concern at the moment is West Brom’s play-off chances against Bolton this weekend which transcends any waffle on the topic of my background, my contributions to the ABC website or the life of Charles Dickens), but there you go. Anyway, Dickens had an interest in the Midlands. There are descriptions of the Black Country in ‘The Old Curiosity Shop’, Little Nell’s death was placed at Tong Church in Shropshire (a beautiful part of the world) and Charles’s family had once been lords of the manor of Bobbington and Leaton (Staffs) and of Churchill (Worcs) between 1429 and 1606. Somebody called Anthony Dickens (not me – it was a few years before I was kicking about) purchased the manor of Overbury in Worcestershire in 1652 and Charles and his father were often seen together in Malvern. There is a great deal of evidence to suggest that Charles’s interest in the Midlands stems from his family origins in Staffordshire. Sprinting on a few hundred years we now have a retired schoolteacher who turned up at my uncle’s workplace enquiring after a Brian Dickens. ‘Right, well you’ve found him!’ said my uncle. ‘What can I do for you?’ (He probably didn’t say that at all; it’s the romantic coming out in me). At which point, our retired schoolteacher announced that he was doing some research into the life of Charles Dickens and in particular, the author’s connections with the Midlands. His research had led him to my uncle and he was convinced that somewhere along the line there was a link between the great man himself and my own family! But who knows … maybe one day I will get in touch with Peter Ackroyd who wrote that monumental biography of Dickens (and if you haven’t read it, shame on you). Perhaps HE can put me on to something. Until then, I guess that dad will have to make it his great retirement project and I will continue to ply my trade in the classroom, uploading stories onto the ABC website and dreaming about … a decisive victory for the Baggies against Bolton which will send us into the final in Cardiff. Dreams ... Best wishes to all

Anthony - I'd like you to go and look at my Charles Dickens crossword puzzle on Writers-Write - Internet Writing Journal http://www.writerswrite.com/journal/apr01/dickens_puzzle.htm You'll probably enjoy it.

Will do! Cheers, Carly ...