Persevering with a vacation Custom – Information – The Register-Guard

It started out as a simple bargain about 35 years ago at the Mount Hoods Timberline Lodge: reading for a hot meal.

David Stuart Bull gave four readings by the Welsh poet Dylan Thomas ?? Ode to childhood Christmas this weekend in front of the lodge’s large fireplace.

The show was so well received that Bull says he and seven friends were given free ski passes.

?? I thought I was on something here ?? said the cheerful, English-born actor on Saturday.

Since then, Bull, now 74, has had several dramatic readings of “A Child’s Christmas in Wales” almost every year. for small crowds in Eugene during the holidays, accompanied by violinist Linda Danielson and guitarist Chico Schwall, who accompany the hour-long show with Celtic music.

On Saturday, about 25 people drank canapés and drank wine and cocktails while watching Bull ?? s reading ?? one of eight appearances this season ?? at Cafe Soriah in downtown Eugene.

Thomas’ descriptive story, heavy with ironic humor, reminds us of Christmas past through the eyes of a child: the snow, the chocolate cigarettes, the Christmas carol, the street cats and the drunk adults. It was first broadcast on BBC Wales radio in 1945.

For Bull, who grew up in Worchester in the Midlands of England and near the Welsh border, Thomas’s memories are “dead alarm clocks for the Christmas I knew growing up”.

Bull, a hoarse man who works as a chimney sweep, starred in local productions. He has been married for 55 years.

With a full of gray, curly hair, Bull rushes into reading with enthusiasm even after all these years.

When asked if he remembered one of his many appearances, Bull laughed and quoted from Thomas’ poem: “One Christmas was so similar to the other.”

The nice thing about it is that the story is so solid that a bit of freshness pops up almost every time ,? he added.

Ruth Romoser and Evelyn Nagy from Springfield have been coming to Bulls every year for the past four years.

??It is wonderful,?? said Romoser. ?? I love hearing great literature read aloud. The music also contributes to this.

Nagy added: It just gets me in the vacation mood.

Bull says Thomas found more esteem ?? and received greater financial rewards ?? for his work in the United States than in Great Britain.

Thomas toured the United States four times in the early 1950s as he struggled to support his wife and three children. A heavy drinker, he died in New York at the age of 39.

?? All poets of this era fought for money, ?? said bull. ?? Thomas always borrowed money and people lent him money. ??

Bull said Thomas might be amused to know that he is best known in the United States for his Christmas death, which is much more lighthearted and less dense than some of his other poems.

?? Some of (Thomas ?? poetry) are only suitable for English majors and for poets, ?? Bull joked.

Thomas, in urban legend at least, might even have a connection with Eugene himself, Bull said. Thomas visited Seattle and San Francisco during his American tours and possibly performed at the University of Oregon in between. A small table in Max’s tavern even claimed that Thomas had “drank”. a couple of beers there, said Bull.

?? But maybe that’s more myth than truth ?? he confirmed with a smile.

Follow Saul on Twitter @SaulAHubbard. Address emails to saul.hubbard@registerguard.com.