Interview with Grandpa Read

Since I've had limited contact with my grandparents for my whole life, I don't actually know much about them. I've always seen my grandpa as a simple, kind man. Before my grandma passed, they lived together in a converted train station in Dorset, and he still lives there to this day. Grandpa spends his days poring over his stamp collection and tending to the large garden. My dad has taken many photos of him on his lawn trimmer, smiling like it was the best thing in the world. I remember him being humble and funny and generally a very easy going, light-hearted man. The main memories I have of us are him reading a book called Where's my Cow? by Terry Pratchett to me when I was a small child, and I remember being at his house one time and being shown around the garden. There was a rusted metal door laying on the floor on one of the furthest parts of his property, and when he lifted it up there was a small grass snake laying under there. I remember my grandma being a little more serious, but still an overall content person. She was quieter, and devoted her time to looking after the people she loved. I remember her sending my sister and I Christmas and birthday cards with handmade intricate quilling designs on the front.

What part has photography played in your life? How has this changed as you have gotten older?

Not a lot really. I can remember seeing one or two photos of my early years but these were all destroyed - without my knowledge - when my mother’s house was cleared by my brother. I do have a few photos recording moments like our wedding and our Golden Wedding Anniversary but my own contribution has been pretty limited. Most photographs I have taken have been of our travels and more recently things like flowers in the garden or colourful sunsets, largely so that Grandma could share things she couldn’t get out to see. Nowadays I just take the odd photo on my iPad.

Do you see photography as an art or a way of quickly documenting events? Has this opinion changed as you have gotten older?

Very much the latter. I am the least technically capable person you could imagine. I could never do the experimental photography that your Dad does and I’m not a very artistic person - I enjoy other people’s work but have no talents in that direction myself. That said I fully recognise that in the right person’s hands it can be a very expressive and artistic medium. Do I sound very boring?

What cameras do you remember using in you youth? And when your children were growing up?

I didn’t have a camera until I was 19 or 20 when I bought one second hand from a friend at university who was himself a keen photographer. With the cost of film and developing so high (for a student) I didn’t really do much photography. When Giles and Rosie were growing up we moved on to 35mm slides and Grandma became the main photographer. We both flirted with digital cameras and somewhere there must be the results of our efforts but I don’t think either of us ever mastered displaying the fruits of our labour. Now, as I said earlier, I just take a few shots on my iPad.

Describe your favourite photograph of yourself/family. Why is it your favourite?

One of my most treasured is a black and white print taken at our wedding in 1960. It is special because it is almost the only photo I have of my mother and father - and it was a rather special day! There are many other photos of all the members of the family which are all very special to me.

How would you describe yourself to a stranger?

I’m not sure I would! What could I say? I’m not into music - I haven’t kept up with popular trends since the 1950s. I don’t go to the cinema or the theatre. If I ever eat out it is for the company not the Michelin status of the establishment. I enjoy travel and visiting historic buildings and sites (as offered by the National Trust and English Heritage) but I don’t claim to be an expert in the field. On TV I enjoy historic documentaries, quiz programmes like QI and gentle comedy, also travelogues and the current Artist of the Year series. I like country walks, pottering in the garden, poring over my stamp collection, reading crime fiction, playing whist and just chatting to people. I can be a grumpy old man when I see the way some people behave but generally I would describe myself as placid.

What were you hobbies and interests at my age? How do these compare to your current hobbies and interests?

I don’t recall any passionate interests. I collected stamps from primary school onwards but by the time I was 18 I was just keeping anything new that came my way not buying. As a teenager (the word hadn’t been invented in my day) I did a lot of cycling, staying with friends and family or in youth hostels. Rambling the countryside, helping in the house and garden, picking mushrooms and blackberries in season, attending village functions were all part of life but school, university and work dominated life with little time for luxuries. Both Grandma and I liked travel but until the children were old enough we spent holidays in the UK, visiting Grandma’s parents in York and mine in Dorset. Eventually we took the children to France, Spain, Greece, Rhodes, Tunisia and the USA, with excursions to Canada and Mexico. Nowadays my main occupation outside the house and garden is my stamp collection. Would you believe I am fixated on the 1d red of the Victorian era and have at least 30,000 different versions of it (there are over 100,000 more different ones available but I’m not going to get anywhere near a complete run of them all). I still read (despite developing cataracts) and when COVID allows I shall go back to organising and running whist drives locally.

What places have you lived in and which was your favourite? Why?

Excluding the four years I spent at university in Oxford, I lived in three different places in Martinstown, including two periods in the bungalow that my father built in his spare time while working as a builder’s labourer, then in a bed sit in Wimbledon, followed by another bed sit in Lewisham. After we were married Grandma and I bought a house in Bromley where we lived until we moved [to Powerstock] in 1970. I have to say that this is my favourite. It is old and needs a lot of maintenance but it is so peaceful, in such attractive surroundings and with a hectare of space to wander and it holds so many memories. I hope I never have to leave.

What’s the best job you’ve ever had? Why?

Apart from working as a builder’s labourer for my father during holidays the only paid jobs I have had have been in teaching, first at Emmanuel School in SW London, then As Head of Department at Brockley County School in SE London and finally as Senior Teacher at Beaminster School here in Dorset. Although my last year at Beaminster was something of a nightmare as I was ill and barely able to cope, for the variety of the work and responsibilities, the friendliness of staff, pupils, parents and ancillary staff, and the setting of the school make it my favourite. Having said that, I wouldn’t want to go back to teaching.

How did you meet Grandma? What was your first impression of her? What drew you to her?

We met at a party thrown by a fellow student of mine to welcome some new students he had met on the train back for the new term. We talked, we were both studying the same subject, she was a very attractive young lady and we never looked back. Within weeks we were known as Briana and even some of the professors invited us to tea together. By the February of the following year we were engaged, though it was another 6 years before we married. The only people who were unaware of the friendship were Grandma’s parents! Her (step)father would never have approved. Fortunately we got on well when we finally met.

Favourite memory of Dad as a child?

The things I remember best are the scrapes he got into! We did have some good times going on cycle rides. We couldn’t let him go on his own because of the danger of traffic but together we travelled many a mile - once even going as far as my parents home where I left Giles, cycled back home and drove the car over to bring him back. He got on well with his Granny. Once when she was bathing him (he was about 2 or 3 at the time) he stood up in the bath and said ‘Quick, Granny my potty or I shall pollute the bath water!’

Favourite memory of me and my sister?

Not as many as I would like but I recall with pleasure having you both on my lap and reading ‘Where’s my cow?’ by Terry Pratchett.

Do you have any secrets or regrets?

Nothing other than things I’ve already mentioned. There’s no pleasure in something you can’t share, and dwelling on regrets doesn’t alter them.