The Scrooge Effect

In which I finally got my driving licence (for real this time).

I went to go see A Christmas Carol by Dickens. The RSC are putting it on in Stratford-upon-Avon at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre (slight mixing of the genres there but never mind).

I’d never been to Stratford and you may recall I just passed my driving test, so any excuse to drive across the Cotswolds on a Tuesday night. You may also recall that the driving test examiner, Examiner Ben, fucked up my pass certificate and issued me with the wrong category of licence - an automatic, instead of the manual I was most justly due, having sat the test in a manual car.

But that’s all sorted now. I achieved the impossible and got a man in a position of power to admit fault, apologise (!) and undo his error. It’s all water under the Driving Test Centre now so let’s move on. I passed my test, got my licence and ticked off the new year’s resolution I made for myself this year.

Now I’m in the market for a new one.

Anyway, the production is stunning. There’s a scene when Marley first appears - rises f…