It is thirty years since the death of Sir John Betjeman and here is a timely reminder of the man who would had been forgotten but for his television output, the famous being his television programme Metro-Land.
I am well aware that he was also Poet Laureate but as I would have to Google who the present Poet Laureate is, I guess its no as important a role that it used to be.
The old fogey before his time A N Wilson discusses another old fogey before his time. Wilson is Betjeman's biographer. We follow Betjeman's roots from Cornwall to Oxford where he studies and finally London where his work took him to the position of Poet Laureate. You learn about Betjeman the middle class upstart with the populist touch. He had a fondness for seaside resorts but also stately homes.
The important aspect of the man we do learn about was his quest to save some of the Victorian architecture at risk in post war Britain from demolition which includes St Pancras railway station which is graced by a statue of Betjeman.
Wilson is too much of a fan of Betjeman although he does not shy away from his contradictions and his extra marital affair. The biggest problem is that the life of this whimsical man is displayed in this rather dull documentary. Wilson lacks the television presence and the lovable eccentricity which made Betjeman an endearing television personality.
In that respect Betjeman deserves better.