THERE are “Great Expectations” for an unusual family reunion at this year’s Lymm Festival – for two members of a very famous family!
Gerald Dickens – great, great grandson of the legendary author Charles Dickens – will be bringing his Great Expectations show to the Festival on Monday 26 June. And at this show, one member of the audience has a very special reason for being there. Ollie Danby, who is the Manager at Lymm Tennis Club, is also related to the great man. He’s Charles Dickens’ great, great, great grandson. So a family reunion is on the cards!
Ollie said: “I’m fairly sure that I’ve met Gerald once before, but it was some time ago, when I was a kid. I obviously keep in touch with other members of the family (including some of Gerald’s cousins) but I’ve not seen Gerald for a long time and I’m looking forward to the chance to meet up with him once again.”
He added: “It’s not obvious that I’m a member of the family – my grandmother was a Dickens who married a Danby – so it’s fortunate that someone knew of the connection and mentioned it before the event, or it could have been a missed opportunity. I’ll be there on the night for the Great Expectations show and the Festival organisers have promised to arrange a meeting with Gerald. I’m sure we’ll have plenty to catch up on!”
Gerald commented: “It’s always interesting to learn how members of the audience have come across Charles Dickens and his work – but it’s certainly not every show where I find that there’s another member of the family present! I was already looking forward to the Lymm Festival show, having heard about the Festival many times before. The fact that one of my relatives will also be there means I’m anticipating it even more keenly, and I look forward to getting together with Ollie during my visit to Lymm.”
Lymm, of course, is home to its own Dickensian Day event which takes place each December, but the arrival in the village of a real member of the Dickens family to perform an adaptation of one of Charles’ most famous novels is certainly something a little bit unusual.
The event takes place at the United Reformed Church in Lymm on Monday 26 June and tickets are still available from the Lymm Festival website priced at £15. You can also see details there of all the Festival’s events – covering Art & Literature, Comedy & Drama, Music, Food, Heritage, Family Fun and much more. The site is: www.lymmfestival.org.uk
This year’s Lymm Festival runs for 11 days from 22 June to 2 July and has over 50 events.
Ollie Danby
