2016 marks 100 years since the birth of Roald Dahl – the world’s number one story teller, and my personal favourite author from my childhood, yet there are so many Roald Dahl facts we just don’t know.
To put it simply, I cannot imagine my childhood without the stories that captured my imagination – from the Witches (where I had to skip the scary parts), to The Enchanted Forest and the Magic Faraway Tree (I was obsessed with Moon Face!). I also loved The Twits, James & The Giant Peach, and of course Charlie & The Chocolate Factory. As soon as Erin is older, I will enjoy reading these books all over again with her, including the Roald Dahl yoto cards and toniebox characters which are great fun audio options for kids.
Throughout 2016, there were various celebrations held across the UK to celebrate the life of Roald Dahl, and although I am not London based, I was really excited about The BFG Dream Jar Trail- which ran from 9th July and continued until the 31st August #BFGDreamJars
Similar to the Owl Trail that took place in Birmingham for Birmingham Children’s Hospital, the streets of London and key locations around the UK were transformed by magical giant dream jars to celebrate Roald Dahl’s 100th birthday and the release of The BFG Movie.
The phizz-Whizzing public art trail will see the childhood dreams and aspirations of celebrities and top artists such as Steven Spielberg, Sophie Dahl, Mark Rylance and Quentin Blake placed in GIANT six foot jars located in iconic spots around the UK.
The trail will run from 9 July – 31 August and the jars will then be auctioned in aid of Save the Children and Roald Dahl’s Marvellous Children’s Charity, which provides Roald Dahl specialist nurses for seriously ill children in the UK. Although the majority of the jars will be in central London, there will also be the odd one creeping up in Birmingham -so I will be keeping my eye out for those! For those in London, you can see the full trail map here – http://www.visitlondon.com/bfg/maps-and-trails
In the meantime, here are some fascinating Roald Dahl facts that you may not know about the legend that is Roald Dahl!!!
- Roald was a bit of a giant himself – at 6″6 inches tall, he used to hate going to the cinema or theatres as his legs were so long that he often found the seats uncomfortable.
- As well as an award winning author, Roald was a fighter pilot.
- Roald was born in Cardiff to Norweigen parents and was named after a Norweigen explorer, Roald Amundsen.
- He wrote the majority of his books in a small hut at the bottom of his garden.
- He didn’t write his first children’s book until he had children of his own. He had 5 children in total Olivia, Chantal, Theo, Orphelia and Lucy.
- He wrote every day between the hours of 10-12 and 4-6.
- He always wrote in pencil, on yellow paper.
- He had started a third Charlie and the Chocolate Factory book called Charlie Bucket and the White House, but unfortunately died before he completed it.
- He was buried with a snooker cue and a bottle of his favourite red wine.
- Sophie Dahl, his model granddaughter was who Sophie in the BFG was named after.
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