The Broadstairs Dickens Fellowship

The Broadstairs Dickens Fellowship The Broadstairs Dickens Fellowship started in 1937 and has been going strong ever since. The Fellowship was founded in London in 1902.

DICKENS FELLOWSHIP COFFEE MORNINGTHURSDAY 12th MARCH AT THE HAVISHAM & CRATCHIT TEA ROOMSBLEAK HOUSE AT 10.00am. Come an...
11/03/2026

DICKENS FELLOWSHIP COFFEE MORNING
THURSDAY 12th MARCH AT THE HAVISHAM & CRATCHIT TEA ROOMS
BLEAK HOUSE AT 10.00am.

Come and join us in the lovely surroundings of the tea rooms. I don’t think we’ll be sitting outside tomorrow but hopefully next month. Meet old friends and make new friends. Lovely cake and great coffee.
Look forward to seeing you.

Bleak House Farmers Market. This Sunday. March 8th. Always lovely food and drink there. Don’t go thinking ‘I’ll just hav...
07/03/2026

Bleak House Farmers Market. This Sunday.
March 8th.
Always lovely food and drink there. Don’t go thinking ‘I’ll just have a look round’. Take a big bag and enjoy!

BROADSTAIRS DICKENS FELLOWSHIP MARCH MEETINGAnother memorable evening! The room at Bleak House was packed with every ch...
04/03/2026

BROADSTAIRS DICKENS FELLOWSHIP MARCH MEETING
Another memorable evening! The room at Bleak House was packed with every chair available to hear a brilliant performance by Annie Elliot as Kate Dickens in advance of her book launch later this month. This was not the normal author presentation with excerpts from the book read out, this was Kate, herself, giving us her story, and what a story. This is the side of Dickens not shown to the public and largely unknown even all these years later. Annie’s book tells Kate’s story.

It was great to see so many guests last night with at least 4 joining the Fellowship and once again we thank Elizabeth for her hospitality.

Before introducing Annie, Andrew presented a Certificate of Thanks from the NSPCC to the Dickens Declaimers for the money raised at the performance of Christmas Carol at the Pavilion. Val and Alan, shown below with Andrew, accepting the certificate on behalf of the Declaimers.

It is worth adding that £200 was raised for the Salvation Army at the Bleak House performance of Carol, while earlier in the year £300 was donated to Cheerful Sparrows from the Dickens Murder Mystery.

A thoroughly enjoyable and uplifting evening!

DICKENS FELLOWSHIP MARCH MEETING AT BLEAK HOUSE7pm Tuesday March 3rdCome and join us for what promises to be a fascinati...
25/02/2026

DICKENS FELLOWSHIP MARCH MEETING AT BLEAK HOUSE
7pm Tuesday March 3rd

Come and join us for what promises to be a fascinating evening with a special preview of Annie Elliot’s book. We are now firmly established at Bleak House and looking forward to an interesting and fun year.

Everyone welcome, the guest fee is £5 for the meeting but offset against the annual subscription should you wish to join us.

We look forward to seeing you .. the coffee is great!

14/02/2026

Marsha the admin here - Happy Valentine’s Day to all who love Dickens — and to all of you who bring such warmth, insight, and enthusiasm to this page. I appreciate this wonderful community of readers more than you know.

So, she leaning on her husband’s arm, they turned homeward by a rosy path which the gracious sun struck out for them in its setting. And O there are days in this life, worth life and worth death. And O what a bright old song it is, that O ’tis love, ’tis love, ’tis love that makes the world go round! ~ Our Mutual Friend by Charles Dickens

https://www.charlesdickensinfo.com/

DICKENS FELLOWSHIP COFFEE MORNINGA huge turnout today, 21 of us took just about every seat in the tea room enjoying the ...
12/02/2026

DICKENS FELLOWSHIP COFFEE MORNING
A huge turnout today, 21 of us took just about every seat in the tea room enjoying the coffee, sausage rolls and cake along with lots of lively conversation. Great to see so many friends and some new friends. Hopefully next month we can get outside and enjoy the gardens otherwise we’re going to break the tea room!

Thanks to all who turned up and made it a fun morning. Hopefully see everyone again next month.

DICKENS COFFEE MORNING, THIS THURSDAY, FEB 12th, 10.00am at the HAVISHAM & CRATCHIT TEA ROOM IN BLEAK HOUSE.Come and ...
10/02/2026

DICKENS COFFEE MORNING, THIS THURSDAY, FEB 12th, 10.00am at the HAVISHAM & CRATCHIT TEA ROOM IN BLEAK HOUSE.
Come and join us in the tea room for coffee and a chat on Thursday in the friendly surroundings of the tea room. Find out more about the parlour games enjoyed by Dickensian families and now taken up by the Fellowship!

The coffee is delicious, the cakes lovely and the sausage rolls are a meal to be enjoyed! Hope to see you there, everyone welcome.

FELLOWSHIP MEETING TUESDAY 3rd FEBRUARY at Bleak HouseI can honestly say this was a meeting like no other! After Andrew...
09/02/2026

FELLOWSHIP MEETING TUESDAY 3rd FEBRUARY at Bleak House
I can honestly say this was a meeting like no other! After Andrew outlined the plans for the rest of the year, Viv, once again, gave a short presentation on Dickensian parlour games. Two games were then played, the first of which is shown in the pictures. Two gentlemen kneel facing each other, one holding a lighted candle in his left hand, the other holding an unlit candle in his left hand. Both gentlemen then grasp their right foot with their right hand and lift their right knee from the floor. Whilst balancing on left knees the gentleman with the lighted candle attempts to light the unlit candle. All we managed to do was s***f out the lighted candle and had we not been positioned between two tables, both gentlemen would have collapsed to the floor. The second game called ‘Are you there Moriarty’ I will leave until I get the video as it has to be seen to be believed.

While knees recovered, Andrew handed out a picture quiz and following that we celebrated Charles Dickens’ birthday with a glass of bubbly and a delicious slice of cake beautifully made by Ann, seen here cutting it.

It was a highly entertaining and fun evening while paying our respects to the man we all admire and we thank everyone who came to join in.

Please note the candle game should not be undertaken at home, especially on carpeted flooring and certainly ignoring one of the instructions to place newspaper on the floor to catch any dripping wax. It is shown here being played by professional practioners of the game on a hard surface.

Thank you Viv, Andrew and Ann, for a lively fellowship evening.

BLEAK HOUSE FARMERS MARKET THIS SUNDAY.So much delicious food and drink. Well worth a visit.
07/02/2026

BLEAK HOUSE FARMERS MARKET THIS SUNDAY.
So much delicious food and drink. Well worth a visit.

DICK & VIC at the Sarah ThorneAnother production that might be of interest. It looks like a fun evening.
16/01/2026

DICK & VIC at the Sarah Thorne

Another production that might be of interest. It looks like a fun evening.

MACREADY AT THE SARAH THORNE THEATRE, FEBRUARY 7thMacready! Dickens' Theatrical FriendWritten & performed by Mark Stratf...
16/01/2026

MACREADY AT THE SARAH THORNE THEATRE, FEBRUARY 7th

Macready! Dickens' Theatrical Friend
Written & performed by Mark Stratford

The remarkable true story of the great Victorian actor-manager, Macready - the man to whom his best friend Charles Dickens dedicated Nicholas Nickleby.

“I wish I were anything rather than an actor – except a critic!”

Despite becoming head of his profession, Macready never wanted to be an actor. Instead, he dreamed of being a barrister and a gentleman. But when his father’s theatre company collapsed, the young Macready had to step in to save it, and found himself unwillingly plunged into the ungentlemanly world of the stage…

Mark Stratford brings his highly-acclaimed show to the Sarah Thorne Theatre. With passion, humour, emotion, and an array of characters and anecdotes, he will take you on a journey through the sheer graft, tribulations and joys of Macready’s life, and the fascinating world of Victorian theatre.

Trailer: https://youtu.be/kwSaJxn-R4E

Age Guide: 12+

Duration: 2 x 40 mins + interval

Press for this production:

★★★★★ "A fascinating play about the life and loves of William Charles Macready" Theatre & Arts Reviews

★★★★★ "Stratford knows his character inside out...This doesn’t feel like acting...it feels as if we are hearing from the man himself" ★★★★★ Theatre & Tonic

★★★★ "...a wonderful example of a fascinating subject beautifully brought to life by an amazing writer/actor" London Theatre 1

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED SHOW "...effortless story-telling, Stratford’s pace driving the narrative seamlessly. It is all compelling and charming" FringeReview

★★★★ "Not to be missed...Stratford’s remarkable ability to tell Macready's story and create characters brings it all to life” Broadway Baby

★★★★ "An entertaining, informative and impressive production... Stratford’s account of Macready’s life whizzes by in the company of one remarkable actor sharing the story of another" (Fairy Powered Productions)

BLEAK HOUSE FARMERS MARKET STARTING AGAINlovely food and drink and delicious coffee in the Havisham & Cratchit tea room.
10/01/2026

BLEAK HOUSE FARMERS MARKET STARTING AGAIN
lovely food and drink and delicious coffee in the Havisham & Cratchit tea room.

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