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John Betjeman

April 2024

  • John Betjeman

    ‘This idle prig’: the truth about CS Lewis and John Betjeman’s long-lasting feud

    At Oxford, Lewis complained repeatedly in his diary about his student Betjeman’s attitude to work. A newly discovered letter throws light on their mutual antipathy

November 2023

  • Chorleywood Station platform on the Metropolitan Line of the London Tube Network, Chorleywood, Hertfordshire, England, UK,<br>2RJ11R3 Chorleywood Station platform on the Metropolitan Line of the London Tube Network, Chorleywood, Hertfordshire, England, UK,

    A return trip to John Betjeman’s Metro-land, 50 years on from his classic TV documentary

    The late poet laureate’s hymn to the commuter towns of Middlesex, Herts and Bucks is still a great guide to the Metropolitan line, the world’s first urban ‘underground’ railway

July 2023

  • John Betjeman in 1962

    John Betjeman dismissed as ‘songster of tennis lawns’ in 1967 search for poet laureate

    Records from the National Archive reveal the cut-throat world of British poetry, and the politics behind selecting candidates

November 2022

  • Plans for the proposed new Liverpool Street station development

    Betjeman’s Liverpool Street campaign revived in face of new development

    Conservationists hope spirit of late poet laureate’s 1970s protest will protect the Victorian station from ‘serious harm’

October 2022

  • Richard Austin 2000 SIR JOHN BETJEMAN RELAXES IN SIDMOUTH WITH FILM DIRECTOR JONATHAN STEDALL Richard Austin News Pictures

    Jonathan Stedall obituary

    Documentary-maker who covered politics, historical figures and great railway journeys in his nearly three decades at the BBC

September 2022

  • Queen Elizabeth receives Simon Armitage to present him with the Queen's gold medal for poetry upon his appointment as poet laureate during an audience at Buckingham Palace, London in May 2019

    Five men and one woman who took on impossible job – of poet laureate

    Several of the poets appointed by, or inherited by the Queen, had to deal with public mockery. No wonder Philip Larkin turned down the role

March 2022

  • Corfe Castle in Dorset on a misty morning.<br>DYDE51 Corfe Castle in Dorset on a misty morning.

    And did those feet: 10 walks inspired by famous poets

    Matching rich verse with great scenery, these strolls follow in the footsteps of some of our greatest wordsmiths, from William Blake to Carol Ann Duffy

December 2021

  • Moon over Christmas lights on Lake Trasimeno Lake in Castiglione del Lago, Italy.

    Top 10s
    Top 10 Christmas poems

    Poets from Thomas Hardy to TS Eliot and Wendy Cope articulate the wonder – and dread – of the festive season

July 2021

  • John McGlashan helicopter filming aerial shots of Durham Cathedral, 1963

    Letter: John McGlashan obituary

    Edward Mirzoeff writes: He brought a rare sense of poetry and spirituality to his camerawork

April 2021

  • John McGlashan with camera at Sacre Coeur in Paris in 1960.

    Other lives
    John McGlashan obituary

    Other Lives: Cinematographer who worked with directors such as Ken Russell, John Schlesinger and Ken Loach

April 2019

  • Letters from Daphne Du Maurier.

    From fan mail to fiction: the letters from famous authors that made me a writer

    As a schoolgirl Julie Myerson wrote to the likes of Daphne du Maurier and John Betjeman. Here, she reveals how their generous replies shaped the person she became

November 2018

  • Catherine Bennett

    Wanted: one royal versifier – an interest in trees and homeopathy an advantage

    Catherine Bennett
    With Carol Ann Duffy bowing out as poet laureate, others are courting the honour

June 2018

  • Mary and Harold Wilson in a carriage on their way to the Guildhall, London, in 1975. Harold was prime minister at the time, and about to receive the freedom of the city.

    Mary Wilson obituary

    An accomplished poet who brushed off the caricatures her life attracted as wife of Harold Wilson

December 2017

  • Prince Charles is interviewed by Today guest editor Prince Harry.

    The week in radio: Today; Mr Betjeman’s Class/Mr Betjeman Regrets; Just a Minute; The Great American Songbook

    Prince Harry grilled ‘Pa’, John Betjeman clutched his teddy, Nicholas Parsons communed with ghosts and Van Morrison sprang gruff surprises

September 2017

  • The Office. Probably not best described as a documentary about the joys of working in Slough.

    Pass notes
    Stop the bombs! How Slough became Britain’s most dynamic town

    John Betjeman thought the place should be razed to the ground. But a new survey says it’s now the UK’s best place to work

June 2017

  • Edward Fox as John Betjeman in Sand in the Sandwiches by Hugh Whitemore.

    Sand in the Sandwiches review – Edward Fox's Betjeman is tediously tasteful

    Hugh Whitemore’s witty but dull homage to the quintessentially English poet lacks the cleverness and drama of his Stevie Smith play

January 2017

  • Castaway - 1986<br>No Merchandising. Editorial Use Only. No Book Cover Usage. Mandatory Credit: Photo by Cannon/Uba/REX/Shutterstock (5879136i) Oliver Reed Castaway - 1986 Director: Nicolas Roeg Cannon/Uba BRITAIN Scene Still

    Desert Island Discs: 75 defining moments from 75 years of castaways

    The show’s first guest was marooned three quarters of a century ago this month. Here are the moments that made Desert Island Discs a radio classic

October 2016

  • Kate Tempest

    BBC2’s poetry night chugs along nicely

    Channel goes back to its roots with poetic train journey

July 2016

  • Evelyn Waugh

    Evelyn Waugh: A Life Revisited by Philip Eade review – an anthology of gossip

    Rather than shed fresh light on the writer’s life, this biography ignores the literature in favour of titillating whispers

March 2016

  • Ricky Gervais plays David Brent, a smug, lower middle manager in television series The Office based in Slough

    Slough debates whether to change its name

    Idea divides opinion in English town made infamous by Ricky Gervais and Sir John Betjeman
About 80 results for John Betjeman
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