Merry Christmas, Armitageworld
What RAFrenzy said. In spades. Thanks, Mr. Armitage, for this message, and to Annette for posting it — I had sort of resigned myself to the likelihood that the last years had offered such a struggle for you in your attempts to deal with fans that you’d be silent this year. Since I wasn’t a fan this time last year, that made me sad, as I couldn’t participate in the general euphoria over a new message. Don’t get me wrong — I would totally have understood a silence, as I’m doing my best not to misunderstand you. But thanks for not leaving one.
Merry Christmas, Mr. Armitage, and Merry Christmas, Armitage fans. The desire for tikkun olam, peace on earth, and love for our fellow humans, I hope sincerely, unites all of us, Christians and gentiles.
Me + Richard Armitage 
I’ve said before he’s never yet disappointed me, and yet again, he does not disappoint. I would have totally understood, albeit with sadness, if he had not left us a message this year, but I am completely thrilled and touched he did so. This is my third Christmas message as a fan, and I simply find myself adoring this special actor and lovely human being more than ever. Merry Christmas, Richard Crispin Armitage, and the same to all those who admire and love you. I hope you all have a peaceful, yet festive, healthy and safe time together with those you love. Thank you again, Servetus, for your shared insights over the past months since I discovered your blog, and for your support of my creative efforts. You’ve been a blessing in my life.
Happy holidays, y’all.
LikeLike
You’ve been a blessing in mine, Angie!
LikeLike
Awwww, thanks, Servetus. I appreciate it!
LikeLike
Nice Post servetus, as always.
To my dear Mr. Armitage I say, thank you for taking the time to write us, to acknowledge our interest and faith in you. I take comfort in the fact that you have been enjoying the “silence”, it is better that way. As someone interested in your success and who admires your talents, skills and humor I think it is best that you make your career decisions based on what is best for you and yours away from our collective and individual opinions.
If you were ever to read this I would offer a word of care out of concern for you…in 2011 you will be working, working, working…and turning 40, a huge milestone, remember that work isn’t everything. I am blessed to have a glorious love in my life and I wish the same for you.
And finally, thank you for Sir Guy of Gisborne and all of your characters. They give me hours of enjoyment and brighten my life. And rest assured while you’re off in the wilds of New Zealand that we’ll keep the home fires burning and a light in the window for you.
To you all who write and read this blog, you are a very special group of people, I am happy to know you, even virtually, and wish you all a Merry Christmas, peace, blessings and joy.
LikeLike
This is really important: remember that work isn’t everything.
And thanks for your consistent support.
LikeLike
Absolutely good advice about work. As hard as he works at his craft, and as good as he is at it, he needs more. I don’t want him to wake up one morning and regret he didn’t find that personal happiness, too. Like anyone I care about, I want him to be happy and fulfilled in all areas of his life.
LikeLike
Couldn’t have said it better. All I wish for him is to be “happy and fullfilled in all areas of his life”.
I’ve been ‘away’ this last 3 or 4 days, I wasn’t really expecting it and so I’m at awe (after the silly grin left my face) at the simple yet deep message he sent us, it really touches you everytime you read it (…and the grin comes back)
OML 😉
LikeLike
Hey, OML! Many of us were wearing that same silly grin . . . happy holidays!!
LikeLike
Yup, he’s really a born communicator.
LikeLike
@servetus (and everyone else), fair warning, I now feel as if I have permission to not worry about my really atrocious typos and grammar mistakes. 🙂
LikeLike
definitely. Although I am always very tolerant!
LikeLike
Very exciting to see how appreciative and caring he is for his fanship. This is my second Christmas since I developed Armitagemania. It hadn’t even occurred to me to expect a letter this year, so it was a lovely surprise!
All the best to you Servetus, at this time of year and always.
Shalom.
LikeLike
I agree, and I also felt like there was more self-confidence in this message: he was saying, “I’ve been out of touch, and that is ok.” Good for him.
But I am still grateful. Best wishes to you, too, Phylly3.
LikeLike
Yeah, I don’t think he’s worrying so much anymore about what we think, and hooray for that. Which makes the message mean even more, for me.
LikeLike
Chipping in belatedly on this, because although I’m delighted and relieved he kept up the tradition this year (perhaps his last year of relative normality) I’m still not sure what to make of the Oscar Wilde quote.
I’ve no doubt he feels the weight of expectation from his fans (and maybe his mum, as respondent in chief, said ‘Oh go on love, you know they’ll be looking forward to your message…’). But there’s something almost wilfully obscure about all those double negatives. What a tease.
Still, whatever the message behind the message the general tone, as you say Servetus, comes across as confident and somehow grown-up (as opposed to just playful, whimsical, placatory, or any of the other notes he’s struck).
I’d love to hear more of your thoughts on it, if it doesn’t feel too much like reheating the Christmas leftovers!
LikeLike
feefa, I hadn’t said anything about the specific interpretation of the text (and that portion of it) as a main post, out of terror of being misunderstood, because I am indeed a truly dull person who takes herself too seriously, and there are some people in the world who not only take me very seriously, they take the time to write me about it privately. My new years’ resolution for 2011 is to stop reading stressful email from people who understand me (grin). I’m on record as loving the emphasis on giving and service that’s repeated here. I appreciated the mention of other holidays besides Christmas, of course, and the thanks to Annette for her site and to others. Annette really deserves a lot of thanks for her steadfast work over the years — like he should take her out to dinner annually or something, I am thinking.
You hit one of the two main points that seem to me comment-worthy: First, quoting Oscar Wilde means that Mr. Armitage truly has no fear, I think, as Wilde is so often (apparently following his own desires) misunderstood. At the least, he weaves a web in his works that make them hard to pin down. 🙂 When I see something like “The Importance of Being Earnest,” for example, I laugh myself silly all throughout though in the end I think “is that all there was”? So merely the decision to quote Wilde to me speaks of playing with illusion and its interpretive traps.
I had also noticed the double negatives and thought about the way that they open up potential (mis)understandings of this text. I read _Artist as Critic_ in grad school and didn’t feel like warming it all up for this space, but the aphorism taken alone I understand to mean something along the lines of “if you understood me, I would be truly dull — the only way to be exciting is to be misunderstood.” That stance is quite obviously constitutive of the avantgarde in which he participated, of course, but Wilde himself is almost always speaking tongue in cheek. So the question is when Mr. Armitage says “in a brief moment of terror, I succomb [sic]” does he mean literally “terror of not being misunderstood,” i.e., “terror that you might understand me?” Which he almost has to be saying tongue in cheek, since who truly fears being understood? In which case it might mean something like “on the off chance that you’d actually understand what I mean, since you usually misinterpret me.” But I don’t get the feeling in the least that the message was intended cynically. The only person who fears being misunderstood, one suspects, is the one with significant privacy concerns, who started to realize long ago (and here acknowledges) that he most likely won’t or can’t be understood by his fans in the way he means to speak, and has given up trying.
So I agree, there’s a willful obscurity or teasing in this message: “understand me if you can” said with a grin on his face and twinkle in his eye.
What do you (and others) think?
LikeLike
I’ve been thinking along the same lines as you, Servetus. We all know he has a slightly wicked sense of humor (one more thing I love about the dear man); I saw this as tongue in cheek, teasing us as he so enjoys doing. (And yes, I can easily imagine the grin on that lovely face and a merry twinkle in those azure eyes of his as he wrote that message).
I have also speculated he might have already been into the (alcoholic version of) wassail a bit, leading to the misspellings and typos *giggle* Pfobably not, but the thought makes ME smile.
LikeLike
“probably” . . . I assure you I haven’t been into the wassail today, but I DID have to take a Lortab due to the Back That Would Not Behave.
LikeLike
There’s wassail and then there’s wassail — probably the trees would rather have some painkillers than that spiked apple punch anyway 🙂
LikeLike
LOL Now I am imagining the older trees, stricken as they are with tree-thritis, wishing for some nice aspirins or the like instead of all that singing and ladling on of that bloody punch!
LikeLike
Celebrex!
LikeLike
I think he had to have written this message a great deal earlier than it was posted because of the number he gives in his description of the donations. He says “over 8000 pounds,” but I was looking at the page off and on, mostly because I was hitting the theme heavily during Chanukkah, and it went over 9,000 sometime during the third week of December.
So I think he must just have been rushed while writing — and maybe he’s not a total master of the conventions of English punctuation. 🙂
LikeLike
Good point, Servetus, which shows once again how he was planning ahead, bless him (and totally understandable if he was rushed, the busy fellow).
As I have said elsewhere, I did feel the impulse to take out my pen and correct the mistakes, but given the sweetness, humor and charm of the message, I will let it pass. So he isn’t perfect, after all! *grin* His heart’s in the right place, even if his apostrophes always aren’t.
LikeLike
lol, He may or may not have been wassailling but I’m sure those spelling and grammar mistakes were deliberate.From his interviews, I can see that his command of the language is pretty solid. IIRC, he has also mentioned before that he puts them in including inappropriate humour to appear more down to earth. 😉
LikeLike
Agree that he is orally very skilled, although not perfect (he misuses nouns off and on — but then my standards are probably off the map in comparison to what most people expect). But written and spoken language are two different skill sets. I see a lot of papers written by students who are in full command of spoken English that make my eyes hurt.
LikeLike
That is true. I also meant to say that from his interviews, you could see that he’s quite an avid reader and is interested in literature, people like that would generally have a good command of the language, both orally and written.
I’ve managed to find the message where he said he added the bad grammar and spelling deliberately, it is from his earlier Christmas messages to us. Got to love him for his humour.
[RA is being held under the controversial ‘365 day Showbiz detainment bill’. He is charged with never actually writing any of the messages posted on any web site, ever.
Gagged from speaking publicly about anything, ever, and voluntarily refusing to comment, RA said:
“Its not true, I always wrote everything myself. I even put in bad grammar, spelling and inappropriate humour to appear more down to earth.” RA was dragged from his interrogation screaming that he had an English degree.
Professors of English from Oxford, have been brought in to examine the archives of said messages, in a bid to get to the bottom of RA’s claims.
“If he really is as clever as he says we’ll find out” but an preliminary examination of the material suggests that the poor content, style and mundane subject matter, along with the grammatical errors would be impossible to fake.]
LikeLike
Yes, I assumed this message was humorous / ironic — that some commentator had noted errors in a previous message and so he said that he did that on purpose. 🙂
LikeLike
Professor — love your New Year’s resolution!!!! I am going to hold you to that one. Life is waaay to short to endure too much crap and negativity.
I wonder how well we can know someone we have never met, there are people I have known my entire life that I don’t really know. I love the cheeky nature of this note. I do hope that he takes a few moments to enjoy his recent achievements. That for a brief moment he can stand on top of the mountain and survey the land before feeling compelled to climb the next mountain.
LikeLike
@Rob,
You have a way with words, I do so like the way you express yourself.
LikeLike
@ Ann Marie — Thank you for saying so. I have spent 29 years finding my “voice”. In a strange way, I owe it to Mr. A for inspiring my “work.” I hope you are enjoying your achievement and are really soaking in your accomplishment of finishin your dissertation.
@ Angie — as Shrek said,”I am like an onion.” Or something like that.
@ Sev on a non-related note. What time zone is the time stamp on your blog in? I know what time it is in my time zone, I know what time it is in your time zone, but in the blog-o-sphere I am at a loss.
LikeLike
Rob,
It’s European, isn’t it, the time stamp? I am in US Central Time and it’s six hours ahead of me, which is about what my Brit friends are . . .
I remember reading some poem back in high school about peeling back layers like an onion and it stuck in my mind. Also, have to say Mr. A has definitely been a source of inspiration for me and for a great many others, it would seem. I think I am still finding my “voice,” and it’s an interesting, challenging experience.
LikeLike
This is YOUR year, @Rob!
The time zone is either GMT or GMT +1, I forget. Wherever I was when I first started blogging, back in 2007.
LikeLike
@ Sev As my dear chaining smoking martini drinking, hamburger eating 77 yr old mother always says… “from your mouth to G-d’s ears.” 🙂
LikeLike
Amen, @Rob, we all have layers, depths inside us which have not been uncovered by others.
Having two high-profile people of my asquaintance take their own lives in a span of six months–two people I would never have thought would do such a thing–reminds me of the truth of what you said.
Now I am envisioning our boy standing high on the mountain, the wind tousling those dark locks, smiling down at the green valley below, hands tucked into his favorite pair of well-worn jeans, taking a deep breath and enjoying. Just–enjoying for a moment.
LikeLike
@Angie
Really beautiful imagery.
LikeLike
That’s why they pay me the (not so) big bucks to write, Ann Marie. *wink*
Rob’s comment coupled with the image of the lovely man himself inspired me.
LikeLike
Maybe with someone he cares about deeply on his arm, or standing next to him.
LikeLike
Mmm, I think ‘won’t or can’t be understood by his fans’ kind of nails it.
For me there’s a slight undertone of reluctance and even of resignation here. It’s as if he’s saying ‘I know I’m expected to communicate with you and part of me wants to but another part of me knows it’s pointless or unwise to try, even if I wanted to be fully known by you (which I don’t). And the longer this situation goes on, the harder this communication thing gets for me and the more I feel the urge to withdraw from it.’
Like angie I’m torn between itching to correct his misspellings and mispunctuations and feeling disarmed by them. They’re entirely consistent with his previous messages and also with attending a school where the emphasis was on other, possibly more important things.
LikeLike
Nicely put — my spin is a little different, i.e., there’s a way in which he does want to speak, as to thank fans for donations and for the websites, and to urge them to be better people. But agree on the resignation about what it’s possible to say and the growing sense that it’s not possible.
On the correcting misspellings impulse — in a way, it wouldn’t be “his” message if he got everything right, would it? And on the school issue: yes. When he speaks I have to remind myself constantly that he’s not a university graduate in the conventional sense — he is so well spoken — but in his writing it’s obvious that correct mechanics and syntax were not focuses of his education.
Hmm. It gives me an idea for a post. More anon.
LikeLike
Thank you for the nice post Servetus. It’s very sweet that Mr. Armitage wrote to us the fans of Christmas wishes. It is a very nice surprise for me. I hope and wish that the results of his work in New Zealand will be as impressive as all his previous characters.
As it now is a time of joy, so I wish all the fans happy holidays.
LikeLike
I hope you had a wonderful Wigilia!
LikeLike
Seasons Greetingd from the “other side of the planet” …lol. I think this is my fourth RA Christmas message – he has a similar theme about giving each time. I’m trying to get my head around the quote from Oscar Wilde though. (The Critic as Artist).
I hope all is well with you, Servitus. I haven’t been around much lately and I have been very remiss in keeping in touch with my fellow bloggers.
LikeLike
I’ve been thinking of you and your daughter a lot and praying that everything is ok.
I agree, interesting message. It would be intriguing to know if he’s read that text (which is all about how criticism should be understood by the artist and the extent to which critics praise mediocrity) or whether he was just quoting a well known aphorism.
LikeLike
Feliz Navidad Everyone!
What a lovely and funny Christmas message from Richard Armitage. How can we not love him 🙂 You can almost hear his amazing voice when reading the message.
This is my first year also Servetus of being around to read the message LIVE at the same time as my fellow RA fans. It has made this Christmas and New Year’s very special, and all of you have made this year lovely and special for me. Thank you.
Happy Wassailing!
LikeLike
¡Feliz Navidad! to you, too! I agree, this sounded just like him. Hope you have a wonderful holiday!
LikeLike
Merry Christmas to you all. Such a lovely site this is. We were blessed with a new calf Christmas Eve. He is a lovely black bull. What shall I name him? Any ideas are welcome. Since he is a Scottish Highland baby bull with tight black curls (think Persion lamb) I’ll need a Scottish name. The steers are called Rob and Roy, the current big blonde bull is Scotty. The yearling bull is Brave Heart. In keeping with my obsession I thgught of Crispin. Is that a Scottish name? Please send me your suggestions. I hope St. Nicholas was really good to you. Peace. Shloom (sp)
LikeLike
Hi Mary Lou,
Here are my name suggestions:
Laddie
Wallace
Angus
Baird
LikeLike
corrected spelling, shalom.
LikeLike
🙂
LikeLike
Thank you Ann Marie for the sugestions. We named a previous bull Baird as it is one of our family names. I like Wallace. So lets call him Wallace. He is out in the upper pasture with his Mom. I gave them a big feed of alfalfa and they are napping.
LikeLike
I think Wallace is an excellent name for this young fellow. I confess I love a new calf. Those spindly legs and huge, long-lashed brown eyes . . .
LikeLike
The traditional epithet for the Greek goddess Hera is “ox-eyed,” which is thought to refer to her beauty.
LikeLike
I can understand that. As a child, I remember going out on the Jeep or truck to visit a new calf and falling in love with its beauty. Those eyes!! Although somehow I doubt if Layla would appreciate John calling her “Ox-eyed”? (though he does love his brown-eyed girl . . .)
LikeLike
Another reason for calling Hera that was that she was sometimes represented as a cow and when Zeus had sex with her he appeared as a bull. I think that’s right. It’s been a long time since I was interested in Gk mythology.
Yes, of course nowadays calling a woman a cow or cow-like in anyway is not a compliment 🙂
LikeLike
Well, John as a bull could work (although Layla is more inclined to see him as a lion or stallion) but no, don’t think she’d care to be described as a cow. Although, mind you, I find cows quite lovely creatures.
I have a painting my invalid grandmother did of cows drinking from a pond that I prize. Miss having them in the pasture below the house (someone rented it out for their cattle for a while).
Something about those big, lovely eyes and their generally gentle, placid nature.
They rarely seem to get rattled (except when separated from their babies, and that is a horrible sound, trust me).
LikeLike
I am too late for Names for Mary Lou: Busby, Bram, Fairbairn, Glendon and Kade??? Darn it. Maybe next time.
I can’t make out the quote for the life of me. “Another hill to climb,” it seems as though he will never just rest on his laurels. You’d think being cast in a Peter Jackson film would be the hill. I hope he takes time to enjoy his recent success. I thought the note was charming.
LikeLike
Agree that the note was charming. This “one more thing to climb” is a pattern in his speech. In the N&S DVD interview he says that getting cast as Thornton was a huge thing but that he still had a mountain to climb to play the role.
LikeLike
I think the “hills and mountains ahead” will always be a part of his pysche, perhaps. Looking ahead to new challenges to take on, new arenas to conquer? I do want him to get some rest and relaxation along the way, but resting on his laurels doesn’t seem to be part of the equation. Then again, it’s part of what I admire about him.
LikeLike
My suspicion is that his acting style requires him to concentrate so constantly and heavily that a long role like Thorin is going to take a lot out of him. But that’s just a guess.
LikeLike
Well, you can’t be that good at your craft, that detailed, without some sort of solid commitment of time and energies, I’m thinking. I just hope it doesn’t take too much out of him (why am I so darned protective of a grown man who is perfectly capable of taking care of himself? But I am . . .)
LikeLike
Yeah. Good question. I wonder this too. Why this reaction to him?
LikeLike
I’m a little late but ‘Merry Christmas’/’Happy Holidays’ to you all fellow RA fans, I hope you had a lovely time with family and friends.
Hugs to you all and a special one to Servetus for this wonderful blog.
OML 😀
LikeLike
Happy Holidays to you, too, OML!
LikeLike
[…] we all geek out over, though perhaps our geeking out itself is a little silly. That relieved both me and Frenz. That screams out for interpretation with its citations and its references to double […]
LikeLike
Sheltering Armitage: or, Whence the protective impulses? « Me + Richard Armitage said this on December 28, 2010 at 9:10 pm |