Summoned By Bells John Betjeman - BBC

DVD, PAL, Region 2, Run Time: 1 Hour 7 Mins, Subtitles: English SDH

SUMMONED BY BELLS - Sir John Betjeman tells the story of his childhood.

"..Childhood is measured out by sounds and smells and sights, before the dark reason grows..."

Sir John Betjeman takes an unashamedly nostalgic journey through his earliest memories in a classic BBC documentary based on his autobiography.

This is a story of a solitary schoolboy who cared more for architecture than games; who who was devoted to a teddy bear called Archibald and entranced by steam trains and cinema. Sunny memories of family holidays in Cornwall contrast with the shivering doom of Marlborough College and his ultimately frustrating studies at Oxford. Betjeman may have famously failed in Divinity but his formative experiences helped to make his the nation's best loved poet.

Join John Betjeman as he explores the world which first inspired him to translate his passions into verse.

SPECIAL FEATURES

• John Betjeman reads his poem "Christmas" on the arts programme Aquarius (1970)
• Indoor games near Newbury from Betjeman's Britain (1980) featuring Eric Morecambe

- Exempt From Certification