Greg Morse (writer and railway historian)

The second of our two podcasts with a John Betjeman focus, our guest is writer and railway historian Greg Morse. Topics include Betjeman and Larkin’s relationship with the media, twentieth century architecture and cultural history and, of course, lots of poetry, both Larkin and Betjeman. 

Larkin poems mentioned: Church Going, Whitsun Weddings, High Windows, This Be The Verse, Toads, Essential Beauty, Home is So Sad, High Windows. 

Betjeman poems mentioned: Executive, A Lincolnshire Church, Death In Leamington, Croydon, Devonshire St W1, Summoned by Bells. 

A Girl in Winter by Philip Larkin (Faber and Faber, 1947) 

The Real John Betjeman  (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LjQC0PdHit4, (Channel 4, 2000) 

Railways Forever ( 7min documentary released 1970 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kg4wpL2f2RE ) 

Metroland (BBC, 1973) 

Summoned by Bells (1976) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IsDb-dgXnU4 

Time with Betjeman (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SDlG7_2puao ) (BBC2, 1983) 

Railways Forever! https://player.bfi.org.uk/free/film/watch-railways-for-ever-1970-online 

Monitor: A Poet in London (BBC, 1959) https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p022kr11 

London’s Historic Railway Stations (John Murray, 1972) 

Monitor: Down Cemetery Road (BBC, 1964) (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Coe11pgoj8E) 

Samuel West’s poetry readings ( https://soundcloud.com/user-115260978/sets/pandemic-poems-by-samuel-west)  

Grayson Perry, Kingsley Amis, Evelyn Waugh, Ted Hughes, Sylvia Plath 

Passport to Pimlico https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0041737/ (1949, Ealing Studios) 

The Righteous Jazz by The Mechanicals Band The Righteous Jazz | The Mechanicals Band (bandcamp.com)

Betjeman Reading the Victorians by Greg Morse (2012, Sussex Academic Press) John Betjeman : Greg Morse (author) : 9781845195342 : Blackwell's

Betjeman by Greg Morse (2011, Shire Publications) John Betjeman (Shire Library) Greg Morse: Shire Publications (bloomsbury.com)

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Presented by Lyn Lockwood. 

Theme music: 'The Horns Of The Morning' by The Mechanicals Band.  Buy 'The Righteous Jazz' at their Bandcamp page: https://themechanicalsband.bandcamp.com/album/the-righteous-jazz 

Audio production by Simon Galloway. 

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Find out more about the Philip Larkin Society here - http://philiplarkin.com/