A collection of humorous Cheshire monologues
Written by Margaret Dignum
ISBN: 978-1-901253-20-7
188 pages, paperback, 146mm x 208mm.
Price: £ 9.99 Postage and Packing:
and illustrated by Patricia Kelsall
9 Pen and Ink Drawings
including a CD "I wish I was Young" containing 14 of the monologues.
Published by Leonie Press, December 2000.
Reprinted January 2002
Fourteen of the amusing monologues have been recorded onto the accompanying CD so that readers of the book can imagine how they should sound when they read the text to themselves. The subjects cover all sorts of topics from the practical to the whimsical: a canal boat trip, washdays, slimming, keep fit, dental appointments and even the usefulness of eyebrows... They all have a characteristic twist in the tail and are full of acute observations.
An Up and Coming Star! If you you would like to hear an example of her work and find out why she's a star, click to hear Margaret's monologue "Fame", which she wrote specially for the party to launch the book and CD. If you don't know Margaret, you will need to know that she is a regular helper in the Dr Barnado's charity shop in Winsford. It is a live recording taken from our video camera tape so it isn't up to the standard of Phil English's recordings on the CD accompanying the book. (You will need Windows Media Player V6.4 or later to be able to play it. The latest versions of Windows Media Player are downloadable from the Microsoft site via the Help option within earlier versions of the program. Be very careful to get the correct version for your operating system.)
Margaret Dignum was born in Winsford, Cheshire in the year 1930. Her parents owned a footwear business situated in the Over end of the main High Street. On leaving school at the age of fourteen, she went to work for I.C.I. as an office worker and stayed with them for fifteen years.As a member of Central Methodist Church from her early years, she started writing monologues at the age of 16 and recited them on special occasions at the Church. Also it was here that she started singing in the choir. To improve her singing voice she attended lessons and eventually competed at Macclesfield and other eisteddfods in the soprano classes.
She married Howard Dignum in 1959 and they later adopted three daughters. These are now grown up and married with children of their own.
Margaret started broadcasting her monologues for BBC Radio Stoke in 1990, the first one being for Children In Need Day in November of that year. Over a period of about five years she had a regular monthly spot on a chat show that went out live from BBC Radio Stoke in the late afternoon. Two audio cassettes were recorded by the radio station, called "Curtain Up" and "Act Two". Each contains about twelve monologues.
Margaret has attended all kinds of functions as a guest speaker and, thanks to the BBC Radio Stoke broadcasts, she now covers a wide area with some forty engagements a year.
Hartford artist Patricia Kelsall has illustrated some of the monologues with light-hearted pen and ink sketches.
