Summer snapshot of English countryside and coast 2011

I want to show you how well chosen pictures can help you communicate a really powertful message. They really can save you a thousand words.

My shot of the  river Medway, that appears above, shows it flowing through the gap, (now known as the Valley of Visions), that it has cut through the chalk of the Kent Downs, near Medway. See how Dickens’s words add to the power of the image when set alongside as a caption.

The words of the greatest writers can be used for marketing purposes, although you must still take care that the context of their use is entirely appropriate, and be prepared to seek permission from the author’s descendants. Naturally, it’s an advanatege when the text is out of copyright, as in the case of Dickens, because no royalty is payable; but acknowledgement of the source is still a pre-requisite. Great words can help you tell a story that makes a real impression on the mind, or teaches you something that will always be remembered.

I’m sharing some of the photos I’ve been taking while walking in the local countryside of Kent this summer. See how, when the words of one of our greatest writers about the places pictured are added, the images take on an entirely  new life and significance. It all supports my belief that the Dickens connection willl encourage tourism to the countryside of Kent as well as towns and cities in 2012, which will mark the bicentenary of his birth. Read more about Dickens 2012.

Dickens actually grew up in the nearby Medway town of Chatham, and chose to live out his final years at Gad’s Hill Place, overlooking the same part of the Medway valley, above the village of Cuxton, which is shown in the picture below. I’m starting to understand why.

Dickens knew Kent well, and loved it so deeply that he chose to honeymoon in the county, spent many holidays along its coastline, and  featured it in many of his best loved novels, including ‘ Great Expectations’ and ‘David Copperfield’.

 

What has really amazed me as I’ve shot these images of beautiful countryside, is how empty some parts of the landscape still are. They must be pretty much unchanged since Dickens came this way. He spent many holidays writing in Dover Folkestone and Broadstairs.

Here’s what he wrote about his coastal walks  in south east Kent when he was writing for his magazine Household Words in Folkestone in 1851

Our situation is delightful, our air is delicious, and our breezy hills and downs, carpeted with wild thyme, and decorated with millions of wild flowers, are, on the faith of a pedestrian, perfect.

Wild flowers above the white cliffs of Kent, where Dickens enjoyed 'going for a blow'

Britain is actually a pretty crowded island.  Southern England has an average population density of around 658 people per square kilometre (which is greater than the average for the Netherlands) and yet it’s still possible, indeed I’d even say easy, to get away from it all, if you know where to go and are prepared to walk – like Dickens did – even on summer weekends, as my pictures illustrate.

This magificent view looking west from the cliffs above South Foreland towards Dover harbour is likely to have been on the route of one of Dickens's 20 mile walks from Dover.

Writers sometimes get stressed out and find themselves in need of a break. Dickens was no exception. Here he is again, writing to fellow author Wilkie Collins about taking a break from working on Little Dorritt in Folkestone in 1855:

‘You know my state of mind as well as I do. How I work, how I walk, how I shut myself up, how I roll down hills and climb up cliffs; how the new story is everywhere, heaving on the sea, flying with the clouds, blowing in the wind; how I settle to nothing’.

Dickens’s writing reaches across the years as only the greatest can. In another letter, written to his actor friend Macready the same year, Dickens wrote that he was constantly tempted  ‘to run out on the breezy downs here, tear up the hills, slide down the same and conduct myself in a frenzied manner, for the relief that only exercise gives me.’ I understand  the feeling: working hard makes me feel I need to take a trip to the gym myself to unwind.

In a letter to his wife dated May 1856, Dickens told her that he ‘did nothing at Dover (except for Household Words), and have not begun Little Dorrit no. 8 yet (his novels were written and published in instalments). But I took twenty- mile walks in the fresh air and perhaps in the long run did better than if I had been at work’. It could almost have been written yesterday.

Until next time…

Virtual Viv is part of the team at Manifold Associates, working in the UK and travelling the world independently to inform you with incisive commentary in words and pictures about things that matter in marketing.   Freelance assignments welcomed. Maybe you’re a business looking to capitalise on the opportunities that London 2012 or Dickens 2012 might bring to you. We’re flexible and versatile. If you’d like to discuss how we might be able to help you, please get in touch.

Travel by Javelin: benefit from high speed

As soon as I found myself planning to attend an event at the British Library, which is adjacent to London St Pancras, I decided it would be an ideal opportunity for me to try out South Eastern’s  new domestic Javelin high speed rail service. It started operating a permanent full daily timetable at the beginning of this week, following several months of less frequent ‘preview’ services on weekdays only.

What’s new?

The new services allow for better use to be made of High Speed One, Britain’s first and only high speed rail line,  linking London to the Channel Tunnel, and on to Paris and Brussels. Previously it was only accessible to international travellers using Eurostar services to Calais, Lille, Paris or Brussels.

Javelin trains have brought a dramtic reduction in domestic journey times between London and large swathes of Kent, making commuting from and visiting the ‘Garden of England’  a much more attractive proposition on new or upgraded track. Ashford is now down to a journey time of 37 minutes from London St Pancras; and passengers from Ebbsfleet International can make the trip to St Pancras or vice versa in under 20 minutes. It’s also now possible for domestic rail passengers to interchange with international services in Ebbsfleet International for the first time, in addition to Ashford International.

Javelins are now operating beyond Ebbsfleet International, to Gravesend, the Medway towns where Charles Dickens grew up (Strood, Rochester,  Chatham, Gillingham and Rainham) and continue down the north Kent coast to Sittingbourne, the foodie haven of Faversham, and stations to Margate and Broadstairs, including trendy Whitstable and more sedate Herne Bay. Taking the high speed line to Ashford, Javelins now continue beyond it to the World Heritage city of Canterbury(West), Ramsgate, Broadstairs and Margate; or Folkestone, and Dover. More information about visiting Kent.

Javelin timetable information

What’s different about the trains?

Once you activate and enter inside sliding doors, you’lll find smart dove grey and Air Force blue interiors with concealed lighting and overhead digital information signs updating you with information about the next station stop and connecting services, in addition to audible information announcements. Plush comfortable seats are set two by two each side of a central aisle. I particularly noticed almost half in the less popular backward facing position in my carriage. There are relatively shallow overhead luggage racks above the seating,  some space for luggage under seats, and at least one open storage rack in each carriage as well.

Currently it is not possible to make seat reservations, although I noticed an electronic system in place on the outside wall above each row of seats, to make it possible in the future.  Ticket checks were made on both legs of my particular journey. As far as I was aware there were no refreshments on offer on the train.

My opinion

As expected, both my journeys were fast, smooth and comfortable, with  smooth acceleration and braking, and no noticeable vibration, even when the train reached its top speed of 140mph/225.3kph. There are 200 Javelin services running each weekday, with a reduced service at weekends. Neither of the trains I travelled on were crowded.

In addition to making it easier for visitors to travel in comfort and style to or from 21 stations in Kent, the new service has the added advantage of making it much easier for passengers planning to travel to the north of Britain on the east coast line, to places like Leeds, Tyneside, Edinburgh or anywhere else served by rail from London St Pancras or adjacent Kings Cross. This also applies if your journey starts in the north or east of England and you’re journeying in the opposite direction to Kent. The high speed service  arrives and departs from Platforms 11-13 at London St. Pancras. To find it simply follow the signs for ‘National Rail’ and you’ll find you ascend to these platforms by escalator or lift/elevator.

On a north Kent Javelin journey from Margate, the Javelin trains only join the high-speed line at Ebbsfleet, west of Gravesend, for the final 20 miles into London, so the time saving benefits of  using the high speed services does lessen as you go further east. Services via Ashford will however run on the high-speed line for longer, and will be quicker than existing services, with  the journey from Dover  shorter by 15 minutes, and Canterbury shorter by 23 minutes, compared to other routes.

Another consideration, whichever direction you’re travelling in, is that if the high speed route is a travel option for your particular journey between Kent and Edinburgh in Scotland, the north east, or east of England, you’ll find it’s no longer necessary to endure the hassle of travel across London by bus, tube or taxi! This alone can shave an hour off your total journey time, which is another great reason to travel by Javelin. Try it soon. In many cases it’s worth the small premium on the cost of the regular service. I shall certainly use it again.

Javelin trains are also going to be used to transport people travelling to London 2012, with the Olympic Park at Stratford International, the intermediate stop between Ebbsfleet and St Pancras, just a few hundred metres away from the station. Watch the video.

Until next time…

Time to re-evaluate Charles Dickens ?

This week I was in Regent Street on the very evening that there was a co-ordinated switch on of London’s Christmas lights, across the West End and City, by the stars of Walt Disney Pictures ‘A Christmas Carol’, adapted from the Christmas story written by Charles Dickens in 1843.

There was no missing the giant silver illuminated stars which hung across the road, right down its length. The Regent Street lights were  switched on by Colin Firth, while Jim Carrey presided over similar celebrations in nearby Oxford Street.  It all coincided with the world premiere of this latest Hollywood adaptation of a work by Dickens, in Leicester Square, which was transformed into a winter wonderland especially for the event.

What makes Dickens relevant today?

The plots and characters of Dickens’s novels continue to resonate with today’s audiences, in spite of well over a century passing since the great author’s untimely death from a stroke in June 1870, at the age of 58. Many contemporary authors can only dream of emulating such long term international success.   Allow me to explain why I believe that in 2012, the bicentenary of his birth on Friday 7th February 1812, you can expect to hear almost as much about Dickens, as about London 2012. Here’s why.

Secrets of Dickens’s lasting popularity

• His works have stood the test of time and have never gone out of print
• He created a plethora of memorable characters
• He succeeds in creating pictures in the reader’s imagination with words
• He associated his key characters with memorable catch phrases
• He published his novels in serialised form to make them more accessible.
• He worked hard to promote his works in person, at public readings.
• He felt strongly and spoke up about social issues still relevant today
• His works have been widely translated and frequently used as set texts by students of English in the non Anglophone world
• The compelling storylines of his novels continue to stimulate  adaptations for television, theatre and cinema audiences

My involvement with Dickens 2012

The Mayor of London, Film London and the Charles Dickens Museum chose  the day of the Disney world premiere to announce Dickens 2012.  Planning for a major international celebration of events and activities to coincide with the bicentenary is already well underway.

This is a project in which I’m already actively involved, having recently been commissioned to research  the many Dickensian connections of Kent and Medway.  I hope to continue my involvement and lend  support to the county’s plans to launch Dickens’s country in time for 2012.

How I became a fan of Dickens

Co-incidentally, like Dickens himself, I was born in Portsmouth; but I actually became a fan largely as a result of being introduced to his works by a marvellously enthusiastic primary school English teacher, who always used passages from his novels whenever she set her class exercises in reading aloud, comprehension or dictation. This soon got me hooked into reading his novels.

Dickens in Kent

Dickens spent his formative childhood years (1817-22) in the Medway towns of Chatham and Rochester, which his friend and biographer John Forster described as ‘the birthplace of his fancy’. It was in Rochester where he first encountered the theatre, which was also to become an important influence in his life.

Contrary to popular perception,  his gimlet eye also concerned itself with observing life in the English countryside, as well as with urban life and social deprivation. Descriptions from his correspondence, work as a journalist and works of fiction, all demonstrate his enduring love of Kentish countryside and coast. Furthermore, he chose to honeymoon at Chalk near Gravesend, spent many summer holidays in Broadstairs; and used Kent as a setting for much of the action in both ‘David Copperfield’ and ‘Great Expectations’. Incidentally, it was recently announced that a new movie adaptation of the latter, to be produced by Stephen Wooley and Elizabeth Karlsen,  is scheduled to start production in London in 2010.

Dickens returned to Kent in later life, to live close to where he had grown up, finally succeeding, in 1856, in buying Gad’s Hill Place, a red brick Georgian mansion atop the North Downs above Rochester, long after first admiring it as a child, while accompanying his father on long country walks from the family home in Chatham.

Read ‘A Christmas Carol’ for yourself, and you will find Ebenezer Scrooge being taken by the Ghost of Christmas Past to a ‘little market town’ and then a school, from his boyhood, which from the descriptions sound remarkably like Rochester and Gad’s Hill Place, which remains as a school today. Here’s a wonderful later description by Dickens of Gad’s Hill, taken from ‘The Uncommercial Traveller’ (186o):

‘I have my eye upon a piece of Kentish road, bordered on either side by a wood, and having on one hand, between the road-dust and the trees, a skirting patch of grass. Wild flowers grow in abundance on this spot, and it lies high and airy, with the distant river stealing steadily away to the ocean, like a man’s life. To gain the milestone here, which the moss, primroses, violets, blue-bells, and wild roses, would soon render illegible but for passing travellers pushing them aside with their sticks, you must come up a steep hill, come which way you may.’

Dickens lived through times of great change, experiencing first hand the effects of the industrial revolution;  and how the coming of the railways revolutionised long distance transportation, and had a positive effect on property prices.  Were he alive today, I’m sure he would have been excited by the communications opportunities presented by digital media. Expect to see lots of innovative methods being used to engage new audiences with the life, works and legacy of Charles Dickens, in 2012 and beyond.

Visiting Dickens festivals in Kent

Dickens would still be able to recognise many of the places he knew well in Kent, particularly Rochester, Canterbury and Broadstairs. Those seeking the ultimate Dickensian experience should time a visit during one of the Dickens festivals: Dickensian Christmas is held every December in Rochester, and summer festivals are held annually in both Broadstairs and  Rochester in June.

Until next week…