“We are the music makers, and we are the dreamers of dreams.”

Roald Dahl

I was first introduced to Roald Dahl at the age of nine.  My teacher at the time, Mr Mether, read the class an epic adventure of a chocolate fantasy world. Not all at once mind you, but chapter by chapter. Sort of like a serial. That book was of course, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. 

Roald Dahl was born in Wales to Norwegian parents on the 13^th of September 1916.  Dahl wasn’t just a writer though. During WWII he became a flying ace and an intelligence officer and rose to the rank of Wing Commander. I could go on to tell you about the terrible plane crash and also about his family, but I’d rather visit the magical mind of one of the greatest story tellers of the 20^th century.

Table of objects in his writing hut

Dahl wrote in an enviable style. He was a master of invention, especially when it came to naming things. For four hours every day he sat in his writing hut working. Roald Dahl could start and stop just like that. His stories are mysterious and a little on the dark side and the characters are quirky enough to bring the dullest tale to life.

When I first heard of how Charlie Bucket nibbled at his chocolate each birthday, I imagined what it would be like if your family were so poor that all of your grandparents slept in the same bed and cabbage soup was the only thing on the menu.  But like every good story teller, Dahl came up with a solution to the problem. He rescued the wretch by giving him a golden ticket which invited him on that magical adventure through the factory that nobody ever went into and nobody ever came out of. This would have been a dream come true for all chocolate lovers and I really did wish it were me at the time, because as you may know, when you’re a child you believe everything is real.

Dahl reappeared in my life a few years ago when I read My Uncle Oswald.  This book is definitely worth reading and just like the children’s stories, the characters are quirky and the story outrageous enough to suck you into the pages and hold you captive until the end.

Roald Dahl Museum

In Great Missenden in Buckinghamshire, there’s a Roald Dahl Museum and it’s crammed with the delights that you experience in his work and a lot of his personal belongings too.  Whether you’re a fan of Gremlins or Oompa Loompas, you’ll enjoy taking a moment to step back into your nine year old self and remember what it was like when you first discovered the stories, just like I did. I was lucky enough to take an archive tour and I soon learned that his family kept everything.  Before I knew it, I was looking at the original manuscripts and work of the writer.  I actually had the opportunity to read some unpublished work and found out that the original story of Charlie and the Chocolate factory was very different than the one we all know and love. I could reveal it, but I would rather you went to the museum and found out for yourself.

BFG footprints near his grave

On a much sadder note though, Roald Dahl passed away on the 23^rd of November 1990 and he is buried in the churchyard of St Paul’s in Great Missenden. But like his life, every story must finish and the ending to this one goes something along the lines of, Once upon a time in the UK, a storyteller presented us with a golden ticket to a literary world that continues to tantalise your tastebuds whether you’re nine or forty-nine.


His grave at St Pauls where somebody has left him a Kit Kat

We have tears in our eyes,

As we wave our goodbyes,

We so loved being with you three.

So please now and then,

Come and see us again,

The Giraffe, the Pelly and me.

Roald Dahl 1916-1990

 

www.roalddahlmuseum.org