Annual Conference 2010

The Dickens Fellowship Conference 2010

Panoramic View of Eastbourne by David Iliff

THE 104th INTERNATIONAL DICKENS FELLOWSHIP CONFERENCE EASTBOURNE, UK 21-26 JULY 2010….. was a great success.

A delegate gives this succinct account:

The theme for the 2010 Dickens Fellowship Conference was ‘people mutht be amuthed’. The following recipe was used by the Eastbourne branch:-

Take about 150 friendly sociable Dickensians from many parts of the world.
Accommodate them in comfortable old beachfront hotels.
Provide them with excellent meals and occasional extra cream teas.
Have them welcomed by the Mayor of Eastbourne in full mayoral regalia.
Stimulate their interest with seven lectures on a variety of topics so even the most knowledgeable can gain new insights. This promotes lively discussion.
Take them on outings to local historic and scenic attractions, including the rare opportunity to see inside Dickens’ house at Gads Hill and enjoy afternoon tea in the garden. Give them the welcome news that the school currently occupying the house plans to move and the house will be restored as a museum.
Entertain them in the evenings with such delights as
- Readings from Charles Dickens’ works by his great great grandson Gerald Dickens.
- A Victorian slide show given by a passionate collector.
- Victorian music hall including melodramatic acts and audience participation in the choruses.
Throw in a banquet

Dickensians had lots of time to renew old friendships and start many new ones. The recipe was a great success. We were amuthed! Many thanks to Maggie de Vos and her team at Eastbourne.

(Joan Brandon, of the New South Wales Dickens Society contributed this account of the Conference to their Branch newsletter, Household Words. Joan was one of five members of the NSW Branch who came to the Eastbourne conference.)