SALTASH BOOKSHELF REVIEW

TENNIS WHITES AND TEACAKES
An anthology of John Betjeman’s writings.
Edited by Stephen Gaines - John Murray, 2007
ISBN 978-0-7195-6904-3

The cover of the paperback volume I’ve just read implies that it is a book by Betjeman, rather than a collection of writings gleaned from various sources from the 1930’s to the 1970’s and edited by a certain Stephen Gaines.
If you have read any of Betjeman’s poetry (especially “Summoned by Bells” his long autobiographical poem) you will soon feel that this is just a potboiler made up from well known poems and lesser articles, correspondence, radio & TV scripts.
Luckily, hidden amongst the boilings (to coin an Irish phrase), and mainly at the back of the volume, there are some real gems that Betjeman fans will relish.
Of real interest is the chapter in which Betjeman critiques various poets (including Wordsworth, Tennyson & Swinburne) and throws significant light on some seminal but now forgotten poets whose impact resonates through English poetry.
Articles on Churches, on the difficulties of country clergy in the 1930’s, and on Christian faith show his very varied prose at it’s best.
Somewhat shockingly, Betjeman (in the 1930’s at least) was a keen proponent of mass-produced steel housing:
“….the architecture of steel is an honest expression of it’s age”
“Standardisation should not impose too harsh a restraint on design and flexibility. But it should eliminate fussiness and needless variation”.
These sentences seem naïve today, and surely express all that he (and we) later detested about such “modern” architecture. And reading with the benefit of hindsight one can only worry for the inhabitants of these wonderful new buildings for the copious amounts of asbestos to which he refers as an important & ubiquitous component.
All in all, if you are not familiar with Betjeman’s output, you would be best advised not to read this book. Instead treat yourself to “The Best of Betjeman” an excellent collection of his poems. Then (if you haven’t already) go and stay in North Cornwall – preferably on the North Coast in early summer or early autumn - and read the volume again. Next buy a copy of “Summoned by Bells” (it’s worth buying rather than begging or borrowing) and perhaps dip into “Betjeman” by A.N Wilson (Hutchinson, 2006). And before you realise it, you’ll be a devoted fan!
© Tony Swain 2010

Saltash – Derek Tait
The history of Saltash dates back to well over 1,000 years ago when a small community built up around the area beside the River Tamar known as Waterside. The inhabitants would have been fishermen, ferrymen and their families. This book features many old photos and illustrations that will be of interest to people who live in Saltash and also those interested in its history. Driftwood Coast Publishing £9.99

Kisses On A Postcard : A Tale of Wartime Childhood – Terence Frisby.
It is June 13th, 1940. So begins the warm-hearted and moving story of Terry, aged seven, and his elder brother Jack, eleven. They are evacuees, travelling across the country to the Cornish hamlet of Doublebois. This is a vidid and intimate portrait of a neglected part of our wartime history. Bloomsbury Publishing £14.99.

A Newer Testament by Jean and Stanley Lewis.
Gerald Ferguson from Basingstoke – late of the Inland Revenue; husband to Janice, father to John, granddad to little Rose; habitué of the garden, the greenhouse, the loft and the Virgin and Screwdriver; and armchair devotee of Reading Football Club – gets selected to write the third great testament of the age.
It's an appalling decision but the lady in the visions seemed very sure of herself. On the Pope’s advice, and watched over by his Vatican-appointed minder, he sets off to circumambulate the coast of Britain in search of inspiration. He encounters a series of inappropriate characters only too keen to pass on their unique views on the world. A voyage of discovery in 13 instalments.
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