It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas, as the lyrics to the old song go.
For me, there are a number of particular traditions I like to observe at this time of year; but one specifically relates to a favourite literary figure, poet and author John Masefield.
Born in Ledbury, the son of a solicitor (there is still a Masefield Solicitors in Ledbury to this day), he spent many years at sea. Indeed, nautical themes are found in a number of his works, including ‘Cargoes,’ and ‘Sea Fever.’ Eventually despairing of life as a sailor and yearning to write, he deserted ship in New York in 1895. Holding down a series of jobs and devouring literature with a voracious appetite, he began to write poetry. By the time he was twenty four his poems were being published, eventually leading to his appointment as Poet Laureate in 1930.
A few years ago I had correspondence with an author, now sadly passed away, who wrote some local history about a village where I rented a cottage for a number of years. He remembered John Masefield when he spent time at a farm near his home. It was a delight for me to discover that walks I used to take and enjoy in the area, were also regular haunts of the great man himself. I didn’t know it at the time.
Masefield had a keen imagination, wrote books and poetry in many genres, and was known as a public speaker who could touch people’s hearts. All of these are qualities that I admire and which endear him to me, almost as much as my favourite of his children’s books: ‘The Box of Delights.’
In 1935 this sequel to his earlier work, ‘The Midnight Folk,’ received publication. It is a wondrous story about young schoolboy, Kay Harker, returning home for the Christmas holidays and getting swept up in an exciting series of events surrounding a magical box.
The book first came to my attention in 1984, when the BBC made an award-winning six part television adaptation of the tale, which used cutting-edge special effects of the day. It immediately became a story that I treasured, and naturally a reading of the books followed.
Now, every year on Christmas Eve, I sit down and watch all three hours of the production in one go. Those hours always seem to fly by, and the story is utterly timeless in its appeal and charm.
This year marks the thirtieth Christmas since it first arrived on our television screens. Thus I have made a short video reflecting on the events of those last three decades, and the constant companion that has always been there in the shape of ‘The Box of Delights.’
If you’ve never seen the production or read the book before, hopefully this little tribute will encourage you to do both.
I wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a happy and peaceful New Year.
For me, there are a number of particular traditions I like to observe at this time of year; but one specifically relates to a favourite literary figure, poet and author John Masefield.
Born in Ledbury, the son of a solicitor (there is still a Masefield Solicitors in Ledbury to this day), he spent many years at sea. Indeed, nautical themes are found in a number of his works, including ‘Cargoes,’ and ‘Sea Fever.’ Eventually despairing of life as a sailor and yearning to write, he deserted ship in New York in 1895. Holding down a series of jobs and devouring literature with a voracious appetite, he began to write poetry. By the time he was twenty four his poems were being published, eventually leading to his appointment as Poet Laureate in 1930.
A few years ago I had correspondence with an author, now sadly passed away, who wrote some local history about a village where I rented a cottage for a number of years. He remembered John Masefield when he spent time at a farm near his home. It was a delight for me to discover that walks I used to take and enjoy in the area, were also regular haunts of the great man himself. I didn’t know it at the time.
Masefield had a keen imagination, wrote books and poetry in many genres, and was known as a public speaker who could touch people’s hearts. All of these are qualities that I admire and which endear him to me, almost as much as my favourite of his children’s books: ‘The Box of Delights.’
In 1935 this sequel to his earlier work, ‘The Midnight Folk,’ received publication. It is a wondrous story about young schoolboy, Kay Harker, returning home for the Christmas holidays and getting swept up in an exciting series of events surrounding a magical box.
The book first came to my attention in 1984, when the BBC made an award-winning six part television adaptation of the tale, which used cutting-edge special effects of the day. It immediately became a story that I treasured, and naturally a reading of the books followed.
Now, every year on Christmas Eve, I sit down and watch all three hours of the production in one go. Those hours always seem to fly by, and the story is utterly timeless in its appeal and charm.
This year marks the thirtieth Christmas since it first arrived on our television screens. Thus I have made a short video reflecting on the events of those last three decades, and the constant companion that has always been there in the shape of ‘The Box of Delights.’
If you’ve never seen the production or read the book before, hopefully this little tribute will encourage you to do both.
I wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a happy and peaceful New Year.
