The various Centenary events raised a total of £140,000 for Sane, £30,000 for The Parkinsons Disease Society, and £27,000 for the RNLI.
The John Betjeman Gala
in aid of Sane, sponsored by Shell.
The John Betjeman Variety Show at the Prince of Wales Theatre on September 10th raised over £112,000 for the mental health charity SANE
Bruce Dessau of the Evening Standard wrote: Tributes do not come classier than this. The late poet laureate died in 1984 but the calibre of performers at last night's celebration of his work., in the presence of the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall, spoke volumes about the esteem in which he is still held in fields as diverse as soaps and rock music.
They came from all aspects of the arts to pay homage. Hugh Grant, looking the epitome of bespoke cool in black suit and crisp white shirt, chipped in with Betjeman's paean to his Cornish home, "Trebetherick". Bill Nighy bagged a peach of a piece, Miss Joan Hunter Dunn…Almost every participant had a Betjeman connection. Peter Baldwin and Thelma Barlow- Mavis and Derek- from Coronation Street were a reminder of the poets love of the northern soap. Ronnie Corbett in blue tartan trousers -"my wife bought them for me in the sales- at Mothercare" -harked back to his beloved music hall.
The evening's host Barry Humphries, forged an intimate, lasting friendship with Betjeman in 1960 after writing an admiring letter to his hero. When there was not a tangible connection there was an emotional one. Sugg's band Madness shared the Laureate's fascination with Metroland's underbelly. The singer confirmed his interest in the dark side by delivering On a Portrait Of a Deaf Man, with its bleak, comically cadaverous images. Nick Cave, another musician drawn to the offbeat, added sublimely moving piano to the lustful lyrical Senex.
Despite a bill that boasted Stephen Fry, Joanna Lumley, Richard E Grant, Rachel Stirling, Joanna David, Timothy West, Prunella Scales, Miriam Margolyes, Sinead Cussack, Diana Quick, Jonathan Cecil, Anne Hart and an immaculately funny turn from Edward Fox, it was the footage of Betjeman himself that stole the show. Whether hacking a golf shot or famously admitting that his greatest regret in life was not having had enough sex, that playful, avuncular smile was enough to melt the hardest of hearts…….anything missing? Perhaps, Ricky Gervais reading Slough. But maybe that would have been too much of a glorious thing.
After a plaque unveiling ceremony at Marylebone Station to the strains of music played by members of the philharmonic orchestra, 500 passengers boarded the train bound for Quainton Road, the station at the end of the Metroland line.
The actress Phyllida Law and the writer and broadcaster Jonathan Glancey read poems at various pauses along the way like Harrow on the Hill. At Quainton Road Railway Centre the Mayor of Aylesbury, a jazz trio and street entertainers welcomed the passengers and four children from the local drama school read JB poems in the old constructed Oxford station, re built at Quainton. The return journey was via a different route and Phyllida read the poem Middlesex during a pause at Ruislip Gardens.
Saturday 9 September 2006
The great Western Band played on Platform one at Paddington as a steam engine pulling the Northern Belle Pullman drew out of the station. Celebrities on board included Sir Trevor MacDonald. Richard Briers, Rachel Stirling, the Duke of Gloucester and the poet laureate, Andrew Motion.
There was a three minute stop at Slough where the Lord Mayor was presented with a book of poems inscribed with an apology. A reply to JB’s poem Slough was presented to members of the Lycett Green family by local schoolchildren.
Bristol dignitaries met the train on its arrival at Temple Meads and the ensuing service of Celebration in St Mary Redcliffe was filled to capacity with a thousand people. The bells rang out after Sir Trevor’s reading of “Bristol”, and Andrew Motion presented the prize for the JB Young Peoples’ Poetry Competition to Jamal Msebele. The Northern Belle returned to Paddington in the late evening.
Eight thousand people attended the birthday party in a field above the sea near Polzeath.
The event started at 11 am. Shona Watt’s banners 30 feet high adorned the field. In the central arena there was a continuous programme of Cornish dancing, Cornish wrestling, a tug of war, and local brass and silver bands. In the poetry tent there was a programme of hand bell ringers, performance poets, both from Cornwall and elsewhere, an open mike session and a grand poetry slam judged by the comedian Harry Enfield and others.
In the big tent there were shanty singers, the Bishop of Truro and Bert Biscoe performing, Ralph mc Tell singing, John Nettles presenting the prizes to winners of the primary schools art competition which had been judged previously by Peter Blake, the performance poet Murray Lachlan Young and the indie rock group and JB fans, British Sea Power.
In the evening the poetry boy band Aisle 16 performed a tribute to JB in their ode to Service Stations. Martin Clunes and Harry Enfield read poems and a local theatrical group, Hopeful Monsters, performed a short adaptation of Summoned by Bells. During the day the Archbishop of Canterbury was spotted in the pasty queue.
The John Betjeman Young People’s Poetry Competition
2006, sponsored by the Esmée Fairbairn foundation 
Andrew Motion presented the Prizes at St Mary Redcliffe, Bristol on September 9th.
The first prize of £500 for a poem about the applicant’s local surroundings went to 12 year old Jamal Msebele. Read the winning poems here.
Andrew Motion writes - “The standard of the 2000 odd entries was certainly high enough to justify the existence and continuance of the competition: the theme helped applicants to concentrate their attention on real things in real places (which has a lot to be said for it), the styles and techniques covered an impressive range (from free to formal), and the language was generally both concentrated and lively. At the same time though there was enough evidence among poems which did NOT make the final shortlist to suggest that the competition has a value in encouraging schools as well as individuals to give more time to poetry. To become a rallying-point for ideas about the need to use a more concentrated language, more definite structures, and more animated rhythms. The competition has already achieved a good deal- and has a bright future ahead of it.
