MEETING REPORT
The Cornish Weekend 6-8 October
by Robert Scott-Puttock

On Friday 6 October 2006, eleven members of our Fellowship gathered at 7.30 p.m. in the dining room of the Cobweb Inn, Boscastle for dinner/supper. This is a pleasant occasion where we catch up with the news and views of all things Hardy. We were delighted to see John and Jo Pentney present following Johns recent spell in hospital. It was particularly pleasant to be joined by Dr. Simon Curtis on the Saturday, when we met on the bridge in Boscastle for what was alleged to be a ‘gentle walk’. This, amusingly, involved some mountaineering which left the sick, lame and plain lazy sitting on a wall watching the Harbour Lights café’s re-opening celebrations. This building had been severely damaged by the notorious flood of August 2004. As if by
Divine purpose, the walkers arrived back at the very moment of the opening ceremony. The local vicar read a prayer and Boscastle residents entered the small building for an ‘esoteric gathering’. An attenuated silver band was playing, giving the scene a quaint and pleasant atmosphere.
We then set off by cars for Tintagel Church where in 1916 Hardy and Florence had been asked by the priest to move from their chosen seats in the south transept and ‘retaliated’ by pointedly leaving the building during the sermon. John addressed the small gathering and mentioned this incident. Janet Scott-Puttock read Chapter 13 from the First Epistle of Paul to the Corinthians, for no other reason than she felt like it. It was a nice day and the air was bracing outside the church, standing high on the cliffs. The programme now took a ‘Betjeman’ turn, to mark the centenary of his birth, and we made our way to Daymer Bay car park overlooking the Camel estuary, assiduously putting our money in the honesty box to park our cars (who could doubt it?). Most of us made the pleasant walk across the golf course to St. Enodoc Church to pay respects at the grave of Sir John Betjeman. The weather was glorious as we strolled across with our own poet, Simon Curtis, recalling the dreadfi.il weather in which Sir John’s fellow poets carried his coffin along that same path.
In the church there were several appropriate readings by Jo Pentney, Stephen Mottram, Olive Blackburn and Simon Curtis before we strolled back among the delights of Trebetherick to view properties connected with the Betjeman family, the main interest being ‘Treen’ owned by Sir John and where he died. We remembered his many holidays spent in this lovely spot. Luckily the ‘Neighbour’s cesspit like a body blow’ had been sorted and we were subjected to nothing so unpleasant. We were entertained by Stephen’s considerable knowledge of Betjeman and listened with interest as he gave an impromptu talk on the subject. The motorcade then left for St. Endellion Church where most of the party paused to read more of ‘Betch’s’ poems. St Endellion church, now
famous for its concerts, was the subject of a radio talk by Betjeman, later published with other architectural essays.
That evening we dined at the round table, strangely appropriate, in ‘The Crossbow’ restaurant in Arthurian Tintagel. This is the restaurant in which we spent the final evening of the Fellowship’s last visit two years ago and at the same table.
At 10.00 a.m. on the Sunday we met at St. Juliot Church, where after the necessary perusal of the Simon Whistler memorial window to Hardy, we settled down to more appropriate readings, seated in the north aisle under the Hardy plaques on the wall. Our minds were focussed on the great love poetry which flowed from Hardy’s pen following Emma’s death in 1912. After our return to Boscastle, a few chose to walk about a mile up the Valency Valley, observing the changes wrought by the flood. It was then time for lunch in a Boscastle café. Many of us had planned to attend the service of Holy Communion in St. Juliot that day but, unfortunately, this was timed for 3.00 p.m. when some wanted to be on the road home. Some intrepid spirits, however, stayed and shared the Eucharist with the Vicar of Boscastle.
We are indebted to John Pentney’s indomitable spirit and to his and Jo’s scholarship for leading our Fellowship, and in particular this weekend visit, and for the constant support and attendance at these gatherings of Stephen Mottram who is always on hand to read and to make contributions from his considerable knowledge. We are very grateful!