Candida Lycett Green (born 1942) is a writer and journalist who did much to keep alive the memory of her father, Sir John Betjeman (1906-84), Poet Laureate 1972-84. Sir John Betjeman CBE (28 August 1906–19 May 1984) was an English poet, writer and broadcaster who described himself in Whos Who as a poet and hack. He was born to a middle-class family in Edwardian London. ...

Candida Lycett Green (left) unveilling a plaque commemorating her father, John Betjeman: Marylebone station, 2006

Image File history File linksMetadata Bejeman_plaque_unveiled. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Bejeman_plaque_unveiled. ...

Early years

Candida Rose Betjeman was born Paula Rose Betjeman ^{[attribution needed]} in September 1942 in Dublin, Ireland, where her father was wartime press attaché at the British Embassy. She later adopted the name Candida. WGS-84 (GPS) Coordinates: 53. ... Mushroom cloud from the nuclear explosion over Nagasaki rising 18 km into the air. ...

Her mother, the Hon Penelope Valentine Hester Betjeman, née Chetwode (1910-86), was the daughter of Field-Marshall Sir Philip, Lord Chetwode (1869-1950). Her paternal grandparents, Ernest and Mabel ("Bess") Betjemann (her father dispensed with the second "n"), died in 1934 and 1951 respectively. In 2007 Lycett Green attributed to Ernest Betejmann, said by her father to be a hater of verse, a poem found in the log book of a yacht he had sailed on the Norfolk Broads in the 1920s ^[1] and regretted not asking her father more about his parents: "but it's not vital when you're young" ^[2]. Philip Walhouse Chetwode, 1st Baron Chetwode (21 September 1869–1950) was a British cavalry officer during World War I. He served on the Western Front in smaller cavalry commands receiving little distinction. ... The Norfolk Broads are the northern part of The Broads National Park. ...

An elder brother, John, was born in 1937. The Betjemans returned to England in 1943, moving from Uffington, which was then in Berkshire, to Farnborough, Berkshire in 1945 and thence to Wantage, Oxfordshire in 1951 (these all being situated close to the border between the two counties). Uffington is a village in Oxfordshire, close to one of the United Kingdoms best-known archaeological sites, the Uffington White Horse. ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... Farnborough is a small village and civil parish in Berkshire, England. ... Wantage is a small town in the Thames Valley, southern England. ... Oxfordshire (abbreviated Oxon, from the Latinised form Oxonia) is a county in the South East of England, bordering on Northamptonshire, Buckinghamshire, Berkshire, Wiltshire, Gloucestershire, and Warwickshire. ...

Education

Known to her parents as "Wibz", Candida was educated at St Mary’s, Wantage (founded 1873), from which she was expelled at the age of 15 ^[3] after taking a late evening drive in a motor car with a boy who had just passed his driving test ^[4]. In 2007 she revisited the school after its merger with Heathfield, near Ascot and shortly before its demolition. She recalled, among other things, trying to learn tap dancing in the gymnasium behind which she smoked her first cigarettes and how, when playing the part of Cecily Cardew in Oscar Wilde's play The Importance of Being Earnest, tissue paper that had been used to give her the appearence of a bust had fallen out during a performance ^[5]. Driving licences within the European Union are subdivided in different categories. ... Statistics Population: Ordnance Survey OS grid reference: SU925685 Administration District: Windsor and Maidenhead Region: South East England Constituent country: England Sovereign state: United Kingdom Other Ceremonial county: Berkshire Historic county: Berkshire Services Police force: Thames Valley Fire and rescue: {{{Fire}}} Ambulance: South Central Post office and telephone Post town: ASCOT... Tap dance was born in the United States during the 19th century, and today is popular all around the world. ... Oscar Fingal OFlahertie Wills Wilde (October 16, 1854 – November 30, 1900) was an Irish playwright, novelist, poet, and short story writer. ... The Importance of Being Earnest The Importance of Being Earnest is a play by Oscar Wilde, a comedy of manners in either three or four acts (depending on edition) inspired by W. S. Gilberts Engaged. ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ...

In her teens Candida rode ponies competitively; on one occasion, her distinguished father, having spelt out his surname for the purpose of sending a telegram, was asked by a local telephonist if he were "any relation of the little girl who wins all the prizes at the horse shows" ^[6]. A Shetland Pony A pony is any of several horse breeds with a specific conformation and temperament. ... Telegraphy (from the Greek words tele = far away and grapho = write) is the long distance transmission of written messages without physical transport of letters, originally over wire. ...

Candida took a course in sculpture at a technical college in Oxford. There she met John Wells and Richard Ingrams, then undergraduates at the University, who, shortly afterwards, founded the satirical magazine Private Eye, to which she became a regular contributor. Ingrams, who had gone up to Oxford after National Service, was disappointed to find that it was (as he put it) "just a lot of men in duffel coats wandering up and down the High Street" ^[7], while another Eye journalist Paul Foot, not known for hyperbole, described Candida as "the most beautiful woman in Oxford" ^[8]. This article cites very few or no references or sources. ... John Wells (November 17, 1936 - January 11, 1998) was a British actor, writer and satirist. ... Richard Ingrams (born 1937) was the second editor of British satirical magazine-cum-newspaper, Private Eye, taking over from Christopher Booker. ... The University of Oxford, located in the city of Oxford in England, is the oldest university in the English-speaking world. ... Private eye may mean: Look up Private eye on Wiktionary, the free dictionary Private Eye a fortnightly British satirical magazine-newspaper, edited by Ian Hislop (as of 2005) A private investigator, a private detective for hire (see also crime fiction and detective fiction) Private Eye, a song by Alkaline Trio... National service is a common name for compulsory or voluntary military service programs. ... Carfax, at the west end of the High Street, Oxford. ... Paul Foot addressing a miners rally, June 1984 Paul Mackintosh Foot (November 8, 1937 – July 18, 2004) was a British radical investigative journalist, political campaigner, author, and long-time member of the Socialist Workers Party (SWP). ...

1960s

In May 1963 Candida Betjeman married Rupert Lycett Green (unhyphenated), a rising figure in the tailoring business, whose shop Blades opened first in Dover Street, London and later in Savile Row. His particular kind of entrepreneurialism was said at the time to "typify the revolt of the upper class young" ^[9]. The couple had five children. Savile Row Savile Row Savile Row is a road in the City of Westminster in central London that runs parallel to Regent Street between Conduit Street at the northern end and Vigo Street at the southern. ...

During the "swinging" sixties the Lycett Greens were associated with members of London’s "in" crowd, Blades being frequented by many stars of the period, including the Beatles, actor Terence Stamp and John Aspinall, founder of the Clermont Club. In 1967 Candida wrote a poem called the Knightsbridge Ballade that was evocative of the period. In this, the subject (aged 18 as opposed to the poet’s 25) declared that she was "frightfully keen" on Terence Stamp and wished she had a bigger bust: Swinging London is a catchall term applied to a variety of dynamic cultural trends in the United Kingdom (centred in London) in the second half of the 1960s. ... The Beatles appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show in 1964 as part of their first tour of the United States, promoting their first hit single there, I Want To Hold Your Hand. ... Terence Stamp (born July 22, 1939) is an English actor. ... John Aspinall (1926-2000) was a gambler and zoo owner. ... The Clermont Set was an exclusive group of rich British gamblers who met at the Clermont Club in Londons Berkeley Square, Mayfair. ...

Though Mummy says it's frightfully smart

And any more would beckon lust.

Journalism and writing

Lycett Green edited two volumes of her father’s letters (1994-5) and an anthology of his prose, Coming Home (1997). In the second volume of letters she described herself as a hoarder of correspondence (unlike her brother) and referred to her late father (with her husband) as her best friend. Lycett Green contributed to a number of magazines, including Queen (from which she was dismissed because of her association with Private Eye ^[10]), Vogue, Country Life and The Oldie. It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Harpers & Queen. ... For other meanings, see vogue. ... Country Life is a British weekly magazine. ... The Oldie is a unique monthly magazine – a haven for fun, good sense and quality writing in a media obsessed with celebrity and yoof. The magazine was launched in 1992 by Richard Ingrams, who for 23 years was the editor of Private Eye, and is now published monthly. ...

Lycett Green shared some of her father's campagning zeal, as regards, in particular, the perceived erosion of England's fabric. They both found an outlet in the "Nooks and Corners" column in Private Eye (to which Betjeman was the first contributor in 1971) and she later contributed to "Unwrecked England" in The Oldie (also founded by Richard Ingrams). In an article in Country Life in 2003 Lycett Green identfied several aspects if English life which had become "universal fixtures in our mind's eye": cricket on the village green, Trooping the Colour, bands playing in a town park, the Women's Institute singing Jerusalem, pearly kings and queens at the Lord Mayor's show and discussions about the weather over a pint of beer in the local pub ^[11]. Motto (French) God and my right Anthem God Save the King (Queen) England() – on the European continent() – in the United Kingdom() Capital (and largest city) London (de facto) Official languages English (de facto) Government Constitutional monarchy  -  Queen Queen Elizabeth II  -  Prime Minister Tony Blair MP Unification  -  by Athelstan 967  Area... For the insect, see Cricket (insect). ... Elizabeth II riding to Trooping the Colour for the last time in 1986 Trooping the Colour is a military pageant or ceremony performed by regiments of the Commonwealth and the British Army. ... The Womens Institute (WI) is a membership organisation for women in England and Wales. ... // And did those feet in ancient time is a short poem by William Blake from the preface to his epic Milton: a Poem (1804). ... A pearly King and Queen A Pearly King (feminine form Pearly Queen) is a person dressed in a traditional cockney costume covered in mother-of-pearl buttons. ... In 1747, the Lord Mayor went to the City of Westminster on a barge via the River Thames. ... Beer in the glass Schlenkerla Rauchbier direct from the cask Beer is the worlds oldest[1] and most popular[2] alcoholic beverage; a beverage, it has been argued, which is responsible for humanitys ability to develop technology and build civilisation[3][4][5][6]. It is produced by... An amusingly named pub (the Old New Inn) at Bourton-on-the-Water, in the Cotswold Hills of South West England A pub in the Haymarket area of Edinburgh, Scotland A public house, usually known as a pub, is a drinking establishment found mainly in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Canada...

Betjeman centenary (2006)

In 2006 Lycett Green organised various events to mark the centenary of her father’s birth. These included a gala at the Prince of Wales Theatre in London and a jamboree in Cornwall for eight thousand people. There were also excursions by train from London to Bristol and, through “Metro-land”, to Quainton Road; Lycett-Green unveiled a commemorative plaque at Marylebone station to mark Betjeman's fond association with the railways. Presenting the Mayor of Slough, Berkshire, with a book of her father’s poems ^[12], she made clear that he had regretted his mildly notorious poem of 1937: Cornwall (Cornish: ) is a county in South West England, United Kingdom, on the peninsula that lies to the west of the River Tamar and Devon. ... Metro-land (or Metroland) refers, broadly speaking, to the suburban areas north-west of London, in the counties of Buckinghamshire, Hertfordshire and Middlesex, served by the Metropolitan Railway, an independent company until absorbed by the London Passenger Transport Board (LPTB) in 1933. ... Quainton Road railway station at Quainton in Buckinghamshire, England was a through station on the impoverished Aylesbury & Buckingham Railway (A&BR), a branch line running from Aylesbury station, connecting with the GWR, to Verney Junction, connecting with the LNWR cross-country route between Oxford and Cambridge. ... The main entrance to Marylebone station. ... For slough as a type of aquatic feature, see Slough (wetland). ...

Come, friendly bombs, and fall on Slough

It isn’t fit for humans now.

She herself wrote about the organisation of these various events, noting the intricacies of the rail schedules ("How long will the train stop at Ruislip so that [the poem] Middlesex can be read over the tannoy?" ^[13]) and being followed around Cornwall by a television crew ("I have had a microphone down my bra for almost two days now" ^[14]).

In 2007 Lycett Green was a member of "an alarmingly grown up" panel of judges to select a sculptor for a bronze statue of her father to be erected on the concourse of the redeveloped St. Pancras station in London ^[15]. The Gothic Revival facade and clock tower of the disused Midland Hotel are the most visible part of St Pancras station. ...

Notes