Charles Dickens & 2012

February 7, 2012 was an important date in the world of arts and literature as that marked the bicentenary of the birth of one of the most well known authors in the Victorian era – Charles Dickens. 

Born on February 7 1812 in Landport, England, Charles John Huffam Dickens grew up in a working-class family under harsh conditions.  At age 12, after his father was thrown into jail for failing to pay off debts, he was forced to work at a blacking factory.  This experience later influenced many of his famous novels, including Oliver Twist, David Copperfield and Great Expectations.

Although Charles Dickens’s work has been around for the last hundred plus years, their influence to contemporary movies, TV and literature in general is still prominent and strongly felt.  To celebrate this special and historic occasion, an international celebration of the life and work of Charles Dickens called “Dickens 2012” is taking place throughout 2012 in countries all over the world.


On February 7 2012, many special events took place to celebrate the birth of this Victorian writer.  For example, Google put out a special “Google Doodle,” featuring characters from some of Dickens’ more famous novels.  Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip threw a star-studded reception at Buckingham Palace in his honour.  Prince Charles and actor Ralph Fiennes, who is starring in the latest film version of Dickens’ masterpiece Great Expectations, attended a wreath laying ceremony in Poets’ Corner at the Westminster Abbey, where Dickens was buried in 1870.  That congregation included the largest ever gathering of Charles Dickens’ descendants, with over 200 in attendance.  Many public readings of his work also happened on that day.  There was even a global “read-a-thon” with 24 readings from 24 Dickens’ writings in 24 hours, starting in Australia and included countries such as Iraq, China and Pakistan.

Happy Mother’s Day

First off, happy Mother’s Day to all mothers, grandmothers, moms-to-be, etc.

If you are visiting your mother, give her a great, big hug and maybe take her out for a meal or get her a nice treat! :)  If you are a mother yourself, enjoy your day, you definitely deserve it!!     A special call out to Loretta – wishing her a wonderful Mother’s Day!

Our May meeting is fast approaching and the meeting organizers have come up some nifty activities to celebrate the 200th birthday of Charles Dickens.  Go to our Club Event page for details.

By the way, here are some photographs from the soon-to-be-released mid-year introduction from Department 56.  Harley Davidson’s fans should be very happy and there is a new “dolomite” Village series called Memory Lane.   Interesting?!

Last but not least, there will be a Department 56 Gathering in the US Northeast area in 2013.   Check out our Gatherings page for upcoming events.

Yay!   I stumbled upon photographs from our January meeting.   I did have a backup of those after all.   Click here to see what fun we had at the meeting.  Thanks to Gail, I have also added a few photographs to our March meeting.  Please venture to our Past meeting highlights area to see for yourself.

I’m back!!

After my computer crashed in late January, after being whisked away in the “Land of Tin Tin” for the entire month of February due to work commitment, and after a death in the family in late March, think it is about time for me to get back to this blog.

Due to my computer problem, I have lost all the photographs taken at our January meeting.   But I can assure you – we all had fun making gingerbread houses.     I missed the March meeting which was our Annual General Meeting.    We now have a new president.   John H., our previous vice president, has taken the new role as our club president.   I am sure after 4 years of “on the job training” that John will do a great job.   Of course, we must all thank Martha J. for being our “fearless leader” in the past couple of years.   Her dedication, hard work and leadership for our club was absolutely and totally appreciated by all club members.   Our new executives for the term of 2012-2014 are:

President – John H.
Vice President – Patricia J.
Treasurer – Don H.

This is all the updates for now.   I am sure I will be posting more in the very near future.   In the meantime, please go check out our club events page for all the latest information about our past and upcoming club meetings.

The Globe Theatre

Subject: Famous Buildings
Question: Recent evidence suggests that, despite its name, this 1599 building was a 20-sided icosagon

The above was the final Jeopardy question on the popular TV game show televised on December 19, 2011.   The answer was the Globe Theatre. 

The original Globe Theatre was built in 1599 on the Southbank of the River Thames in Southwark, London.  It was built by a master carpenter and his workers using timbers and other material from another old theatre.  In six months’ time, the Globe Theatre was completed and opened for performances.   

Unfortunately, the theatre caught fire on June 29, 1613 during a performance of Henry the Eighth.  A new Globe Theatre was quickly re-built in the following year.  Then in 1644, the Globe Theatre was closed down and destroyed by the Puritans who had strict religious views and disapproved social activities within England.

A modern reconstruction of the Globe Theatre, called “Shakespeare’s Globe”, was opened in 1997 approximately 750 feet from the site of the original theatre.  The reconstruction of the new theatre was meticulously researched so that it would be a faithful replica of the original building.

In December 1997, Department 56 introduced “The Old Globe Theatre” as the second piece of the Historical Landmark Series.  Due to its unique shape and unusual design (the center of the piece is open), the Old Globe Theatre was a popular building highly coveted by Department 56 village collectors.

Year of the Dragon

Just in case you don’t know, the above title is NOT a reference to a martial art movie.  Today, one of the most important dates in the Chinese calendar, marks the start of a brand new year, the Year of the Dragon.  According to the Chinese zodiac, dragon is the mightiest and the most powerful of all zodiac animals and the Year of the Dragon has always been considered as the luckiest year.  During the Chinese New Year celebration, one greets friends and family with the following phrase that loosely translates as "Congratulations and be prosperous": Kung Hei Fat Choy (恭喜發財)

And just in case you don’t know, our Home Tour page has been updated recently with photographs from the tour of Darlene and Lucy’s homes.  Both ladies and their spouses greeted their guests with big smiles and even bigger hugs.  From those of us who were able to visit these two ladies and their lovely homes, a great big thanks for a job well done!

New 2012 Department 56 introduction

No sooner than we posted our last blog that Department 56 announced their new product introduction for 2012 on their web site.  Besides the usual Village and Snowbabies collection, don’t forget to check out other Christmas and Halloween items the company has to offer.  

For example, do you know that there is a collection called “A Christmas Story Village” based loosely on a 1983 classic holiday movie called “A Christmas Story”.   It is about a boy called Ralphie growing up in the 1940’s who wants, among many things, a BB gun for Christmas.  Then, there is the “Peanuts Village” featuring everyone’s favourite comic strip character Charlie Brown and his endearing friends Snoopy, Woodstock, Lucy, etc in a classic American setting created by Charles Schultz.  The “Grinch Village” is a collection of wacky and colourful characters and buildings based on Dr. Seuss’s popular children story ”How the Grinch Stole Christmas!”.  Last but not least,  the “Legends of Sleepy Hollow-een” collection is inspired by Washington Irving’s short story “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow”.  Originally published in 1820, it is a story of Ichabod Crane and his encounter with the Headless Horseman in a secluded glen called Sleepy Hollow.

What 1599 building was a 20-sided icosagon?

Happy New Year!    Welcome to 2012 (and hopefully, the Mayans’ prediction is wrong).   After a relaxing and wonderful Christmas season, life is finally back to normal once again.  

As this is the start of a brand new year, let turns our focus to what Department 56 has planned for its faithful collectors.   Last I heard, there will be exciting new introductions for both the Village and Snowbabies collections.    Here are some “unofficial” sneak peeks of what might be arriving at a retailer near you in 2012:


Be mindful that the above is still “unofficial” and is subject to change.   Let’s hope we don’t have to wait too long before Department 56 releases its official announcement.

Our club’s home tour will take place this Saturday.  Looks like the weather is co-operating and we will not be running into any inclement weather.    Hopefully, I will have some photographs to show in the next blog update.

So, do you know the answer to the question posed at the top?   This was a final question on the TV game show Jeopardy! aired last month.   The reason I ask this question is obvious – there is a connection between the answer and Department 56.  As a matter of fact, Department 56 produced a lit-house for the building in question as part of the Historical Landmark Series in 1997.   I will reveal the answer in the next blog.   In the meantime, stay happy and healthy!

Merry Christmas to you and yours

As Christmas is only a couple of weeks away, everyone is busy preparing for the holiday and trying to get presents bought and wrapped.  I am here to wish everyone a happy and healthy holiday and a wonderful time to enjoy with family and friends.

Guess what – think I have finally caught up with this blog:

1. September and November club meeting highlights have now been posted, please check them out at the Club Events page
2. Annual Christmas brunch for 2011 has been added to our Christmas Brunch page
3. Thanks to Barry and Martha for their wonderful Halloween display photographs, you can see them in the Club Member Displays area

Looking forward, our club is busy as usual in the new year.   Our Home Tour date has been set on Saturday January 7 between 11am and 3pm.  We are lucky that Darlene and Lucy have decided to open up their homes for the tour this year.   I am sure everyone who walks through their doors will be amazed by their wonderful displays and warm hospitality.   Please contact us if you need Darlene and Lucy’s contact information.

On September 2012, there will be a Department 56 collector’s convention taking place in Chicago, Illinois.  Click here for more details on the event.

Last but not least, Department 56 will be announcing new Village introductions early in the new year.  So far, I have heard that there will be East Village Shops for Christmas In the City, Devon County for the Dickens’ Village, Christmas Lane addition to the Snow Village, Salem Willows for the New England Village, etc.  Stay tuned to this blog for more details!

Department 56 Retirement Announcement

It is THAT time of the year again.  Yes, we are talking retirement – but not yours or mine.   On Friday November 4, Department 56 sent out an email to publicize its 2011 product retirement announcement.  This year, quite a few Village and Snowbabies collection pieces were retired for good.  Click here for the list of Village retired pieces and here for Snowbabies retired pieces.  If you want to purchase any of these retired pieces, you better start visiting your favourite local retailers now before they disappear off the store shelves.

Department 56 announced 2011 mid-year introductions

In May of every year, Department 56 builds up collectors’ excitement by introducing new products that are to be available in retailer stores in the fall.   This year is certainly no exception.  Besides Village and Snowbabies collection introductions, the company also offers new Christmas and seasonal items for collectors and consumers alike.     In terms of lighted buildings, Department 56 announces new items added to their popular village series: Alpine Village, Christmas in the City, Dickens’ Village, New England Village, North Pole, the Original Snow Village and Williamsburg.

To further enhance its customer/collector base, Department 56 also announces a brand new village called the Jim Shore Village.    An extremely popular artisan in the world of collecting, Jim Shore, who grew up in rural South Carolina, is most famous for his “Heartwood Creek by Jim Shore” collection.  Easily recognizable with its unique designs of German quilting, Scandinavian rosemaling (Norwegian for decorative painting) and English appliqué, Heartwood Creek encompasses a line of seasonal and everyday decorative and colourful items in various subject matters such as traditional American folk art, Nativity/Christmas, Easter, Nursery Rhymes, Disney, etc.

Click on the following links for details about all of Department 56’s 2011 mid-year introductions: Villages, Snowbabies, Christmas, Seasonal.

First off, it is with great sadness that a former club member, Frank N., passed away
on May 14, 2011 at the age of 91.  Born in Winnipeg, Frank was an Royal Canadian Air Force WWII veteran.  Our thoughts and prayers are with Helen, his wife of 65 years and his family.

Finally, Department 56 has found itself a new home.  The latest Spring edition of the NCC
bulletin listed Department 56’s address as

        7400 Flying Cloud Drive, Suite 100, Eden Prairie, MN 55344. 

Note, however, that the telephone number (1-800-LIT TOWN /1-800-548-8696) and email address (mslittown@dept56.com) for their Consumer Services division remain the same.

For those who are interested in attending Department 56 collector conventions, here is some great news for you.  "MY KIND OF TOWN! Chicago 2012" has just been announced.  It will take place on September 21 to 23, 2012 in Rosemont, Illinois.  Stay tuned for more details.

Spring is in the air, at last!

March certainly went out like a lion.  Although we still see the occasional snow in the air, we can definitely feel that spring is upon us.  With cool sunny weather interrupted by rain showers here and there, the temperature in the city has finally reached double digits.

As for our club, spring is also the time for our “renewal” or “rejuvenation”.   Every year, our members gather at our March meeting to review our past 12 months’ activities, hold elections for outgoing executive members and look forward for new and exciting events during the Annual General Meeting.  For more details of our AGM and our March meeting that took place a couple of weeks ago, please visit this link.

In case you have not noticed, our March-April 2011 newsletter is now available online.  You can view it here.

And for those readers who are not members of this club but are thinking of joining, our membership application form is now posted on our “About Us” link.   All you have to do is to print a copy of the membership form, complete the form and send it to us in the mail along with your membership fee.