I was delighted to receive a call from BBC Midlands Today reporter Ben Sidwell to say that they are filming in Shrewsbury tomorrow (Friday) as part of the weekend of celebrations at The Lion Hotel to mark the 200th anniversary of the birth of Charles Dickens.
In the morning they are interviewing me about my book which has a chapter on Dickens, hotel owner Howard Astbury and event organiser Chris Eldon Lee.
In the evening they are planning to interview Gerald Dickens, the great, great grandson of Charles, live from Shrewsbury on the news programme.
Gerald is in Shrewsbury to perform two of his most popular one-man-shows about his great, great grandfather in the stunning hotel ballroom over the weekend.
The author stayed at least twice, probably three times, at the hotel in the mid 19th century, performed at the nearby Music Hall and most likely gave readings from his novels in The Lion ballroom.
The BBC is planning to film in the ballroom, in the Charles Dickens bedroom and hopefully in the Music Hall.
It will be a great boost for tourism in Shrewsbury, for The Lion Hotel and for the Dickens weekend which is nearly completely full.
On Friday at 8pm Mr Dickens is Coming, which is a light-hearted and varied look at the life and character of Charles Dickens is sold out.
However, there are still a few tickets left for Saturday night at 8pm when Gerald will perform Sikes and Nancy, which is Victorian theatre at its most dramatic. Charles judged the success of this evening by the number of ladies who had fainted with horror.
Tickets are £8.50 each for Saturday night and £10 for the Sunday.
On Sunday, February 5 it is Christmas Carol Day, which recalls the celebrated George C. Scott’s film of A Christmas Carol which was shot in Shrewsbury in 1984 and the cast and crew stayed at Tthe Lion.
The Sunday programme is:
10.30am: The Making of A Christmas Carol, which is an illustrated talk by historian David Trumper.
11.30am: A Guided Town Walk - Enjoy a walk around various local film locations.
2.30pm: A Christmas Carol - a large screen showing of the famous film.
Signed copies of Four Centuries at The Lion Hotel, will be on sale over the weekend for the special price of £5 each. Visitors may then be able to persuade Gerald Dickens to sign the book giving them a unique memento of the weekend.
For more details please ring The Lion Hotel on 01743 353107 or email info@thelionhotelshrewsbury.com
Hi John. Saturday night is now sold out as well. Neville Street
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