Whoopee! It’s nearly Roald Dahl Day!

‘There is nooooooo

Life I knooowwwwww

To compaaaaaare with Pure Imagina . . .’

Oh! Hello there! *blushes furiously* We didn’t see you; we’re busy practising our vocals for next Monday’s first global sing-a-long to ‘Pure Imagination’ with none other than that eccentric chocolatier Willy Wonka and the charming and delightful Charlie Bucket. We’re terribly excited, you see.

Why are you looking at us as if we’ve gone mad? We promise we haven’t eaten too many whipple-scrumptious fudgemallow delights and whipped ourselves up into a sugar-induced frenzy. Shall we start at the very beginning, would that be a good place to start?

This year, all around the world, there are glorious celebrations in honour of 50 years of Roald Dahl’s Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Everything began on February 1^st, – the day Willy Wonka’s factory gates opened, with a giant storytelling bed at Imagine Festival on the South Bank. Since then we’ve had Charlie adventures at Kew Gardens, a handcrafted chocolate factory made of biscuit dough in Waterstones Piccadilly Circus and on 13^th September (Roald Dahl Day),  Oompa-Loompas are leaping from a plane to raise money for the Roald Dahl Marvellous Children’s Charity. We’ve also invited a host of amazing chefs to create a smorgasbord of Willy Wonka-inspired recipes in our Just Desserts series – these delectable concoctions include Justin Gellatly’s  Purple Violet Blueberry Cream Doughnut of Joy and Gerhard Jenne’s Square Cakes That Look Round.

On September 4^th Guardian and Stylist journalist Lucy Mangan published Inside Charlie’s Chocolate Factory, a stunning, full-colour book showcasing the global and cultural impact of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, from film to food to stage and beyond. It’s choc-full of Charlie facts you never knew you needed to know until now. For example, Augustus Gloop was originally called Augustus Pottle and the original title of the book was Charlie’s Chocolate Boy! In this story, Charlie was accidentally covered in chocolate during his factory tour, sent to a shop and bought for a girl as her Easter present – to her understandable shock!

And – cue drumroll – on Monday 15^th September, Helen Skelton hosts Puffin Virtually Live: Roald Dahl Day at Theatre Royal Drury Lane in London, home of the new musical Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (link to C&J trailer). It’s a live interactive show broadcast across the globe and this year we are aiming to reach half a million school children and Roald Dahl fans worldwide – and you’re invited! You can sign-up here (link to PVL site) to see Sir Quentin Blake drawing virtually live and draw Willy Wonka yourself, quiz Roald Dahl expert Michael Rosen in a live Q&A, see what Claudia Winkleman has planned for her cereal boxes, feast your eyes on purple donuts of joy and of course, join in the ‘Pure Imagination’ sing-a-long with Willy Wonka and Charlie. What treats.

Now, if you’ll excuse us, we must get back to our singing.

‘There is nooooooo

Life I knooowwwwww

To compaaaaaare with Pure Imagination . . .’