SO2E21 A Christmas Carol: The Spirit of Christmas Present

Classic Ghost Stories

Tony Walker

Fiction, Drama, Science Fiction

4.9 • 686 Ratings

🗓️ 21 December 2020

⏱️ 64 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

A Christmas Carol Part 3: The Spirit of Christmas PresentHe brought a tear to my eye and halt to my throat, did Old Dickens in this episode. I think he was a man of great humanity who genuinely did care for those who were not as well-off as he was.The only slight caution I had was Old Topper chasing The Plump Sister and getting her in a corner. We inevitably all view behaviour through the lens of our own time and of course this behaviour reminded me of the #MeToo. I certainly wouldn't want my daughters, mother or my partner cornered like this. But I read it out, because I must make some kind of editorial decisions about which stories I read out. Some, I suppose, I will choose not to read, and if I read them out, I won't abridge them.Except, I recall changing single offensive words that would just be a jolt to the reader. I suppose if the word is not used by the writer to be offensive... but that might be a cop out. It's all up for debate I know.But yes, this was a lovely episode. The descriptions are wonderful and lots of episodes are superfluous to the narrative, but great fun. The other observation is about the degree to which Dickens is reporting the Christmas festivities of his period or is actually encouraging them, and in measure therefore creating them. Were Christmasses as Christmassy as Dickens portrays them? Maybe not before, but certainly afterwards as we all began to emulate what we read and heard in this book, even if we didn't read it or hear it ourselves but only obtained it via the TV.Enjoy your plum pudding. More Christmas Ghost Stories Ebook & PaperbackOh, did I mention my https://amzn.to/3olobIJ (More Christmas Ghost Stories) it out? The paperback and ebook are done and the audiobook is being approved now. So you can get it if you want. The stories are good, and improved by the attention of my Beta Readers. I have had the most wonderful 5 star review. Thanks a million Emhack from Torquay for that. Also had a splendid and rather humbling review for the podcast from Sandra Quintal from Canda.Thanks also to my Substackers and Patreons for your ongoing support. Dracula soon, just for you. MusicThe opening music is Some Come Back by The https://bit.ly/somecomeback (Heartwood Institute). At the end I've added The Heartwood track: From The Forest, From The Furrows, From The Fields which is on their Secret Rites album. As I say in the episode, this is a canonical folk horror track.The last piece of music is from The Hare & The Moon and is called https://bit.ly/midnighfolk (The Midnight Folk). I talk about my love of John Masefield's book of that name. Of course the Midnight Folk was the sequel to The Box of Delights and that was made into BBC series which I think is enjoying its 36th anniversary this Christmas.Both Jonathan of The Heartwood Institute and Grey Malkin (ex Hare & The Moon) allow me to use their music free of charge, so if you fancy popping over to Bandcamp and getting some of their stuff, I (and I'm sure they) would be very pleased.Begging Bowlhttps://bit.ly/2GgHv9D (Sign Up For Exclusive Bonus Episodes and Get Episodes As Soon As I Make Them!)And/Or Buy A Thirsty Podcaster A https://ko-fi.com/tonywalker (Ko-Fi)And you could always https://bit.ly/dalstonvampire (Download A Free Audiobook Of My Story The Dalston Vampire)Support the showVisit us here: www.ghostpod.orgBuy me a coffee if you're glad I do this: https://ko-fi.com/tonywalkerIf you really want to help me, become a Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/barcudMusic by The Heartwood Institute: https://bit.ly/somecomeback Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Step 3rd
0:07.0	Dave 3 How do the dead comeback, mother? What's the secrets of dead comeback?
0:22.2	Stave three.
0:24.6	The second of the three spirits.
0:28.7	Awaking in the middle of a prodigiously tough snore,
0:31.7	and sitting up in bed to get his thoughts together,
0:34.3	Scrooge had no occasion to be told that the bell was again upon the stroke of one.
0:40.3	He felt that he was restored to consciousness in the right nick of time for the special purpose
0:45.3	of holding a conference with the second messenger dispatched to him through Jacob Marley's intervention.
0:50.3	But finding that he turned uncomfortably cold when he began to wonder which of his
0:55.3	curtains this new spectre would draw back, they put them everyone aside with his own hands and lying
1:00.8	down again, established a sharp lookout all around the bed, for he wished to challenge this
1:06.8	spirit on the moment of its appearance, and did not wish to be taken by surprise and made nervous.
1:13.6	Gentlemen of the free and easy sort who plume themselves on being acquainted with a move
1:18.6	or two, and being usually equal to the time of day, expressed the wide range of their capacity
1:24.6	for adventure by observing that they are good for anything from pitch and
1:28.8	toss to manslaughter, between which opposite extremes, no doubt, there lies a tolerably wide
1:35.3	and comprehensive range of subjects. Without venturing for Scrooge quite as hardily as this,
1:40.7	I don't mind calling on you to believe that he was ready for a good, broad
1:44.3	field of strange appearances, and that nothing between a baby and a rhinoceros would have
1:50.1	astonished him very much.
1:52.3	Now, being prepared for almost anything, he was not by any means prepared for nothing.
	...

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