Trains and Buttered Toast

by John Betjeman

Eccentric, sentimental & homespun, John Betjeman's passions were mostly self-taught. He saw his country being devastated by war & progress & he waged a private war to save it. His only weapons were words - the poetry for which he is best known &, even more influential, the radio talks that first made him a phenomenon.

Genres: Nonfiction, Travel, Poetry, History, Essays, British Literature, Architecture

342 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 2006

Reviews

[Mike Sumner · Rating 5 out of 5]

This wonderful book is a record of most of the best of John Betjeman’s radio talks for the BBC - most of them broadcast in the 40s and 50s, the golden age of wireless. Betjeman had a boundless capacity to delight and inspire and is undoubtedly one of our best-loved poets. His great passion was for architecture, particularly churches and he is reckoned to have visited more than 5,000 in his time. Eccentric, enthusiastic, whimsical and often belligerent he is at home here with his tales of trains, buttered toast, hymn-writing vicars and Regency terraces.

For me this is a book full of nostalgia (a word that Betjeman disliked, said it reminded him of neuralgia! He preferred the word sentimentality). Nevertheless, in these pages I am reminded so much of my own carefree childhood, spent in Kent in the period following the end of the 2nd World War. Here are a few lines taken from ’Coming Home, Or England Revisited’, broadcast on Thursday 25th February 1943:

’For me, at any rate, England stands for the Church of England, eccentric incumbents, oil-lit churches, Women’s Institutes, modest village inns, arguments about cow parsley on the altar, the noise of mowing machines on Saturday afternoons, local newspapers, local auctions, the poetry of Tennyson, Crabbe, Hardy and Matthew Arnold, local talent, local concerts, a visit to the cinema, branch-line trains, light railways, leaning on gates and looking across fields….’

These talks are a fitting memorial to what set Betjeman’s pulses racing and what he feared the loss of and are no longer of course a guide to what can be seen today. But as a picture, a snapshot of past times in the country I love, this is nostalgia (sorry, sentimentality) at its best.

Thank you Sir John. I loved it.

[Paul Gallear · Rating 2 out of 5]

I love Betjeman's poetry, but if I had to read one more reference to ilex trees, stucco walls, Georgian architecture, gimcrack, gas lighting town planners, London spreading like an octopus, or how the Victorians ruined most churches, I was going to throw the book out of a window and have done with it.

Sometimes the writing is beautiful, poetic, and nostalgic in a good way, but a lot of the time it is repetitive and comes across as stilted and as though Betjeman was hopelessly old fashioned. I like to think this has something to do with the selection and the editing, but I fear that if this is a selection of his best radio work then a lot was left out which wasn't work wasting ink on.

Also, I didn't like the edition. The occasional asterisk was used to highlight a salient point, but large lists of names went unexplained, and numerous references and points which a modern reader might not have picked up on were lost in the text. I'd like to see the text annotated in a scholarly way instead of half-heartedly.

By far and away the best chapter of the book was Eccentrics; the English have always had a penchant for producing eccentrics, and we do like to hear about the maddest. But this, again, lost a lot through lack of footnotes.

I do hope listening to Betjeman delivering these essays and talks would have been a lot more enjoyable than reading them.

[Cheryl · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the books I read recently spent a lot of time commenting on the work of Betjeman in describing England on his radio spots, so I was excited when someone passed along a copy of this book. I learned a lot about many of the smaller towns and villages in West England (a place where they define small towns and villages quite differently, instead of using the terms interchangeably), particularly the architecture and church architecture. It was a charming picture of time gone by (at least I assume a lot of these places are no longer what they were in the 1940s and 1950s, even though it is the way most Americans picture small town English life) that made me that much more interested in visiting this part of the world. I was fascinated by the lives of some of the writers and hymnists of the area and by the description of some of the great buildings of the area. And I enjoyed the poetry quoted, including that written by Betjeman himself.

[Wayne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent read. I really enjoyed reading about places that have now probably changed to some degree, however, I would still like to visit and explore. Great read for those of us who love the U.K. and England in particular.

[Gareth Evans · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have a 'nostaligic' urge to visit the 30s and 40s from time to time - 'nostalgic' because I wasn't born then. Betjemen has a similar 'nostalgia' for ages previous to his own. The 30s are too modern for him, all those squalid bungalows, and as for the Victorians, he rarely has a kind word for their buildings. His writing sparkles, but the selection is a little samey and the descriptions of West Country towns can pall a little after a while (ilex trees everywhere), but his writing and attitudes ( he is a snob, but a strangely endearing one) are so much of their time that they are a real treat for a 'nostalgic' like me.
I wrote this review before reading the last part of the book, in which Betjemen makes it clear he does not like the term 'nostalgia' preferring sentimental - I believe that this works better!

[Janice · Rating 2 out of 5]

A sentimental journey for Anglophiles. Evocative descriptions of the architecture and ambience of England before the first world war. By turns charming and insufferable. The whiff of privilege taints its point of view from time to time, but Betjeman wasn't wrong about the soul-deadening properties of urban sprawl. And besides, these were radio pieces, not meant as literary essays.

[Lukasz Lukomski · Rating 1 out of 5]

If you draw a line from London to Cardiff, anything south of it is the quintessence of England. Nay, Britain. Anything north of it is wilderness. An occasional mention of spots from the North don't really make up for it.

[Bernard Mcmahon · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a delightful book and although most of the pieces were broadcast before I was born, the references to and description of places I visited when I was a boy on family holidays and outings bring back fond memories.

[Francis Bunch · Rating 3 out of 5]

A bit saccharine.

[Victoria Osborne · Rating 2 out of 5]

Beautifully written but he comes across as a persistent whinger, against any changes from the past. Got fed up half way through. His poetry is good though.

[Tom Wilkinson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoyed it for the most part, thought it would be more about his train journeys. But learn a lot about his favourite places abs and people.

[Polly Stephens · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don't know if it's because I grew up in the Tory heartlands or my increasing obsession with the island that grew me but I found this immensely comforting. I like how he changed his mind on so many things, although I'm certain I wouldn't agree with his politics in any way. But reading a few chapters of this every night really knocked me out, can't remember the last time I slept so well. NGL I wish he would have talked about toast more.

[Kate · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Broadcasting in the golden age of wireless, Betjeman was a national treasure for millions of devoted listeners. Here his eccentric, whimsical and homespun radio talks are collected in book form for the first time. From trains and buttered toast to hymn-writing vicars and Regency terraces, his enthusiasms are infectious.

"Travel with him as he potters about at the seaside,l delves into country churches and marvels at provincial cities. And rediscover, as he did, how to appreciate our discarded heritage: 'I shan't tell you where are the lovely places are,' he says playfully, 'I want them to myself. But I'll tell you where to look.'"
~~back cover

A charming book, which has the effect of making the reader want to instantly go and explore all the places he talks about. But since most of these little reviews were given in the 1940s and '50s, it makes you wonder how many of these villages and churches remain as undiscovered, unspoiled and unmodernized today. Actually, one shudders to think ...

[Jennifer · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a book I have wanted to read for a long time and my grade assessment of "It was OK" is perhaps a reflection of the difference between my expectation and experience rather than overall quality. I enjoy all the subject matter of these talks - English eccentrics, seaside towns and so on, I like Betjeman's poetry... and I love the cover which matches very well what I thought I was getting.

The first sign that something was off was the introduction by the editor Stephen Games which paints an unattractive wheedling, idle picture of Betjeman and the texts of the talks never quite shake it off. There are, as befits a poet, some wonderful lines, but the words which come to mind are coquette, contrarian and even fraud. Granted these are the text of radio talks spread across a couple of decades but there was far too much recycling and padding going on.

[Tim Corke · Rating 1 out of 5]

The front cover testimonial quotes "a volume that no Betjemaniac will be without". I would be so bold as to say "a volume that a non-Betjemaniac won't need". Unless you're a fan, I wouldn't worry too much about this book. I consider myself to be fairly patient with books but after the first 100 pages and several talks of various topics I was soon bored and questioning whether to continue.

Yes, there's a romantic sentimentality of Betjeman's prose that will strike a chord and is definitely astute when it comes to predicting certain economic and civil changes but you get all of this very early on. It gets a bit moany and presents a singular and plain view. It reminds me of reading some 'creative' text of my early school work.

There's simply nothing that grabbed and kept my attention.

[Deborah J · Rating 2 out of 5]

I've never been a huge fan of Betjeman but wasn't sure why. I suppose I bought into the commonly held view that he was a twee conventional rhymer. Although this book of collected radio talks (inc some of his poetry) may have gone some way to disabusing me of the worst that that implies, it is tame stuff. Part of the problem is that much of the material is so specific - Bristol, Bath and the wider west country - that if you don't know the area yourself, it doesn't hold the attention. I accept that his poetry is meant to be read aloud - it certainly doesn't inspire on the page. However, I warmed somewhat to Betjeman the man so reading this book wasn't a waste of the few hours it took.

[Kay · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a series of radio broadcasts done by Betjeman around the country, each one focussing on a different area. The talk could be about an area in general or a specific town or village. I have to say that I much prefer his poetry. I found his talks very repetitive and he clearly didn't think much of the Victorians and their buildings. Any form of modernisation was anathema to him, I dread to think what he would have made of architecture and what is passed by planning committees these days.

[Steve Chilton · Rating 2 out of 5]

The book is a selection of Betjeman's radio broadcasts, but unfortunately didn't really hold my interest. It covers his passions and very evident prejudices. When reading the pieces you can almost hear that familiar voice alternating between a serious approach and then poking fun at circumstances. It doesn't really do justice to the man though.

[Pam · Rating 3 out of 5]

A collection of his radio talks from 30's to 70s. Some parts more interesting than others, but enjoyable. You certainly get to know the man - he's not afraid of expressing his opinions! Terribly English!

[Jane Riordan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I don't often give up on books, I have a 50 page rule so that I give them a good chance to engage me.

This was, I am sure, highly rated in the era in which it was written, but I am not sure that it has stood the test of time while. It failed to interest me.

[Andy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wouldn't mind buying this to dip into at my leisure.

[Lysergius · Rating 4 out of 5]

Broadcasts from the golden age of the wireless describing a bygone era with sensitivity and a poet's eye.

[Sarah · Rating 2 out of 5]

Abandoned on page 51 of 342. Just not me