Well, we took the train this week with some interesting fellow passengers: the poets Edward Thomas, John Betjeman and T S Eliot. We travelled from Adlestrop to Ruislip Gardens in Middlesex, then on to Dilton Marsh Halt in Wiltshire, before finally taking the Night Mail with Skimbleshanks and arriving in Glasgow's Gallowgate station. We learned a little about each of the poets along the way. Betjeman was taught briefly by T S Eliot and exchanged many letters with Johnny Morris. Thomas was one of the Dymock Poets and was involved with Eleanor Farjeon who wrote Morning Has Broken. Eliot was nicknamed 'Old Possum' by Ezra Pound (hence Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats). So many connections ...
And here's a challenge: read The Diary of a Nobody (1888-9) by George & Weedon Grossmith before our next meeting to discover why Betjeman referred to Lupin Pooter and Murray Posh in his poem Middlesex.
Lots to think about for our next meeting ...
