A Stay at the Hotel
In October, 2022, there was an event called “Letters Live” that was held at the Royal Albert Hall, in London. As best as I can tell, celebrities would read notable letters that had been written over the years – some, from well-known personages. Others, because they were unique of their own merits. This is the latter.
It’s read here by Benedict Cumberbatch.
Around 2000, a young man from Nova Scotia named Nick Burchill stayed at the legendary Empress Hotel in Victoria, British Columbia. (I’ve never stayed there myself, but have been to Victoria, and made sure to stop by and marvel at the place. The Empress is a magnificent grand dame of a hotel. In fact, 40 years ago it was designated a National Historic Site, an amenity lacking from most hotel brochures.) For reasons that will become clear, he was banned for life from the place. After a couple of decades, in March of 2018, he wrote the hotel a letter explaining his actions and to ask for forgiveness.
If you know the famous monologue by Gerard Hoffnung about the bricklayer who got caught up in a series of disastrous misadventures, this is a cousin to that. The Hoffnung letter was fictional. This is real.
By the way, as a nice conclusion to things, after Mr. Burchill sent his letter, it got printed online and was read by millions. And a few days later, the Empress Hotel lifted its ban.
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