Sound Recording, Devon

Description

[John Read announcement]; John Read, recorded at the home of his friend, Victor Bonham-Carter, in East Anstey, giving his recollections of country life and the dialect in south-eastern Somerset. Talks about his ancestors and family connections with Somerset; gives biographical information; describes his memories of Sparkford and the Camels [i.e. Queen Camel and West Camel] of his youth - characters, Sparkford village population, the Squire, local houses, the inn; leisure time/amusements - village containments (concerts/entertainments); Robert Dampyer, blacksmith; the Dampyer family, music and home-made concerts; limelight lectures - mostly missionaries with slides; itinerants - the Wolford family of bellringers, marionette troop, travelling pack men (drapers, etc.); the village fete; the Club Walkers of Queen Camel (Friendly Society); cricket and inter-village rivalry; horse-drawn transport and travel; cars; hunting ( Blackmoor Vale Pack); roads; bicycles; intellectual life in the village -
the Bible/religious books, newsagent from Sherborne visiting every Saturday, bringing periodicals, 'Tit-Bits' and serial stories; school; reads from the (Jubilee) address given in July 1950 to Sunnyhill Girl's School , Bruton, regarding schooling at the Dame School in Queen Camel; discusses the placename Queen Camel; Somerset dialect - bilingualism in his youth, and interest in dialect; attending the University of Zürich and writing his first dialect composition (now a popular recital piece) in 1905; giving talks on Somerset dialect - much information also in his book, 'Farmer's Joy'(Edinburgh: Nelson, 1949) - features and characteristics of the dialect, including corrupted words and the connection with historical usage of English; reference to other European languages and pronunciation; Sir Richard Padget's thoughts on Somerset dialect and pronunciation, compared with other Southern English dialects, especially the Somerset r; quotes/recites examples of Somerset dialect in

rature - verse from Plain Truth and Blind Ignorance, in Percy's Reliques; 1644/1645 broadsheet, The Western Husbandmen's Lamentation, and an adapted version (from Dorset to Somerset dialect) of William Barnes' nineteenth century dialect poem, The Zettle an' the Girt Ood Vier. [Tr. 7]


John Read reads 'Lucky John' and 'Nightfall in Farmer Wookey's Kitchen', from his book 'Farmer's Joy'; reads biblical and (unpublished) Somerset dialect versions of the essential part of the story of Ruth; reads a dialect poem, 'Jan Wride', from his book, 'Wold Ways A-Gwain: Scenes from a Western Countryside', published in Yeovil in 1914 (and dedicated to Thomas Hardy). [Tr. 1]


Announcement, made by Mr. J. A. Garton, of a performance of John Read's play, 'Wold Ways A-Gwain' (from the book of the same name), part of which can be heard on tape LAVC/SRE/A872r. The announcement gives the date and location of the performance, names the cast, pianist and producer, and includes background information on the play, details of the performance (first two scenes); with additional information on John Read's dialect plays, performed around 1910 primarily in Queen Camel and West Camel, by the Camel Play Actors (also in Wells, by the Mendip Players). A brief biographical sketch of John Read is also included.


The cast members are listed as Ivor Laber, Percy Hull, Rex James, Eileen Godfrey [also pianist], Jim Speed, John Speed, Mr. J. A. Garton [announcer], Dorothy Carrat [producer]. [Tr. 2]

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Physical and technical conditions

9.5cm/sec.

Related material

J. A. Garton speaks on one of the British Drama League's dialect discs, held in LAVC/SRE/D.



A sample from this recording, consisting of the dialect poem 'The Zettle and the Girt O'od Vier', is available through the LAVC Audio Samples web page (http://www.leeds.ac.uk/english/activities/lavc/audiosamples.htm).


Ms./typed Tape Tables of Contents are held in file LAVC/SRE/ARI/060.


John Read's book, 'Farmer's Joy', is held at LAVC/PRI/2/274.


A cassette [?copy] of these recordings [reference D DX540/1] and photographic items collected by John Read [reference P DX297] are held in the John Read Collection at the Museum of English Rural Life.

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