January 2012 : "John Betjeman - Poet and Performer” talk by John Heald               
Unusually, club members  were entertained by a voice “from beyond” at their luncheon on January 5th as their speaker played recordings of the late Sir John Betjeman reading his own poetry and talking about his life. John Heald, founder member and past Chairman of the Betjeman Society, said he did not wish to give an academic lecture but just to chat about the poet and to allow him to speak for himself via recordings. He said that Sir John had claimed that he was “not a particularly good poet but had just struck lucky”. However, he had been held in high esteem by poets such as Auden and McNeice and had been able to touch both young and old.

As well as his verse he was famous for his appreciation of architecture both old and new. We heard a recording of him praising Guildford for its “handsome” High Street and fine modern cathedral and he fought to preserve The Red Lion Hotel. His valiant fight to save the best examples of Victorian architecture, especially St. Pancras, is only now fully appreciated. It was a revelation that on the outbreak of the Second World War he tried to join the Royal Marines, who thought he was a bit of a “lunatic”. He served in the Civil Service including a spell on intelligence duties in Dublin. After the war he flourished as a poet and a radio and TV personality. He was known as a gentle and kindly man but could be surprising; when asked late in life if he had any regrets he replied “not enough sex”!