Transport of Delight - Drew Family Diaries

Rev Jack Burton

Rev Jack Burton is mentioned a number of times in family diaries, particularly those of my mother Sheila Drew, see Chapter 124.

As a Methodist Minister, he sometimes spoke at services at the church my mother attended, St Peter’s Park Lane Methodist Church, for example, in August 1975, January 1978 and October 1979. Mum commented that she found his talks interesting because he sometimes raised his voice which was different from the monotonous “one note” that she was used to from the church’s Ministers at that time.

Jack Burton had been born in Norwich in 1939. He studied theology at Handsworth College in Birmingham and served as a Minister in Glasgow and Littleport in the early sixties. However, he then left full-time Ministry becoming a “worker-priest” employed as a bus driver by Eastern Counties. He wrote a number of books and was a columnist for the Eastern Daily Press. He married his wife Molly in 1961. In the late eighties, he became Sheriff of Norwich. In August 2023, he died aged 83.

Photos of Rev Jack Burton from local news cuttings including driving a bus (left), with his book “*Transport of Delight*” (centre left) and as Sheriff of Norwich (centre right). Right – front cover of “*Transport of Delight*”. This book follows the form of a one- year diary from September 1974 to September 1975

My Recollections

As far as I recall, I don’t believe I ever met Jack Burton but I think mum had told me about him on at least one occasion. I have vague memories of hearing about a bus-driving clergyman! I confess to being intrigued by him and his story.

“Transport of Delight“

I got a copy of his book “Transport of Delight” mainly so that I could photograph it for inclusion on this site. When I got it, I discovered that it was in diary format and this, of course, piqued my interest because of this project with my own family’s diaries. I therefore resolved that I would read a page a day alongside Brian Bilston’s book “Days Like These“, writing my own diary and producing blogs from the diaries from 50 and 100 years ago.

Purpose of the Book

In the introduction, Rev Burton explained that he wrote the book with two objects in mind. First, he wanted to show the interconnectedness of various parts of life and, second, he wanted to give insights into his daily routine as what he called a “worker-priest“.

Period Covered

The period covered is from 2 September 1974 to 1 September 1975. During the entirety of this period, my grandfather was keeping a diary as was my mother from 1 January 1975. With this in mind, I have particularly looked for areas of overlap, that is where Rev Burton described something that is also covered in a family member’s diary.

The date on which he started his diary is highly idiosyncratic but he stated in his opening words that, in his view, there was “no reason why a journal has to begin on January 1^st“. The reason he started on 2 September was that was when he felt inspired to do so!

However, his reason for finishing on 1 September 1975 was not clearly explained. I guess he felt that the book needed to cover a year of his life. However, I am not sure where that expectation came from nor why Rev Burton felt any more bound by that than an expectation of starting a diary-based book at the start of a year. Indeed, on 19 August, he told a story involving Charles and Steve, two of his work colleagues who were first introduced on 2 September 1974. He commented that, if he “had been willing to cheat“, he could have ended the book there in the company of the duo we had met at the outset. I am not sure why he felt that would have been cheating unless he had committed to something like “a-year-in-the-life-of…” which, as far as I know, he had not!

Diary Entries

His diary entries were highly variable in both length and content. Most were short but some ran to multiple pages. There were no gaps. My impression is that the material in the book may not be the entirety of particular diary entries. His diary entries differed markedly from those in my family’s diaries. There was much less description of what might be called “events of the day” and much more focus on thoughts and feelings.

Indeed, in one of his entries, in November 1974, he specifically said “this record is not a detailed diary. I’m not concerned to chronicle everything I do – each meeting, service, conversation and engagement. I was at three services today, preaching twice but those are not matters of interest. I want to note the amusing and significant events and my thoughts and reactions“.

Self Introduction

He introduced himself in his first entry pointing out at the very start that he was the sort of person who “can be persuaded at the last moment to spend an evening in the pub rather than attend an ecclesiastical gathering“. Then, he gave a concrete example of this happening! He also gave more conventional biographical details, such as his age, marital status and the fact that he was an ordained Methodist Minister.

Living in Colegate

However, he also dropped important biographical facts into other parts of the book, for example, that he lived in Colegate. This explains, I think, why the churches he was mostly involved with were in Colegate, for example, St Clement’s, St George’s and the Old Meeting House Congregational Church. He also refers to other churches in Colegate including St Michael’s and the Octagon Unitarian Chapel, see Chapter 124.

This photo of St Clement’s in Colegate was taken in 1934 © George Plunkett. I am grateful to Jonathan Plunkett for permission to include these photos here

Converted in 1955

In his entry for 28 April 1975, Rev Burton noted that it was on this day 20 years earlier that he converted to Christianity. He had been sent to Sunday School as a child but had rebelled against this, He claimed to have had “natural religion” linked to his love of nature. In 1954, he was keeping a diary and he noted that he started attending Christian Endeavour and youth club. Then, on 18 April 1955, he went to Silver Road Baptist Church for a relay of Billy Graham’s crusade at Kelvin Hall in Glasgow. He felt that he should have responded but did not. However, ten days later, he went to a similar relay at Chapelfield Road Methodist Church and, on that occasion, he did go forward.

Ordained in 1965

In his entry for 6 July 1975, he noted that it was on this day ten years earlier that he had been ordained as a Methodist Minister. However, during the time he was a “worker-priest“, he was based at an Anglican church as an ecumenical gesture, He was extremely disappointed at the failure of the Anglican-Methodist Unity Conversations and urged his fellow Methodist Ministers to be willing to accept re-ordination. Personally, he wanted what he called more solid liturgical fare and a greater sacramental emphasis. So, in 1973, he asked the President of the Methodist Conference for permission to seek Anglican ordination. Apparently, he did not receive a response so decided to proceed anyway. He applied for Anglican ordination twice but was turned down on both occasions possibly, he thought, because he also wanted to remain a Methodist Minister.

“Worker-Priest“

Central to the book, in general, and to his self-introduction, in particular, is the idea of the “worker-priest” which meant that, in his case, Rev Burton had worked for the previous six years as a full-time bus driver. He had done this with only the reluctant permission of the Methodist Church and some powerful disincentives, such as having his Ministerial pension frozen. Nevertheless, he was strongly motivated by a desire to live in the world with people who did not go to church, and to identify with them without overtly seeking to convert them or to make them into churchgoers. He describes this as Christian presence. This is a recurring theme in the book.

French Roman Catholic Origins

It appears that the type of “worker-priest” envisaged by Rev Burton originated in the French Roman Catholic Church in 1941 through the work of a Dominican priest, Jacques Loew. The concept spread but was actively suppressed by the Roman Catholic Church in the fifties because many of those involved were active in left-wing politics. Apparently, a similar movement developed in the Anglican church in the sixties becoming known as Ministers in Secular Employment.

While I have encountered working clergy/preachers before, these have differed from the “worker-priest” envisaged by Rev Burton in a number of ways. While the “worker-priest” is a type of non-stipendiary or self-supporting role, they differ from others in that manual labour is seen as an essential part of their ministry rather than seeing work, often of a professional nature, as a way of reducing financial burden on the church. They also differ from those pastors who may work while seeking to plant or build a church. In such situations, work is a means to an end with the long-term aim that a full-time Minister might be supported by the church. Similarly, while many lay or local preachers may work in various roles, those roles are not usually seen as part and parcel of their ministry and such preachers are not ordained clergy.

Novel in Methodism

Rev Burton indicated that there was reluctance to allow him to implement this vision from within the Methodist Church. While his ministerial colleagues could respect what he was doing, they largely did not understand it! This is perhaps unsurprising. As far as I know, Methodist Ministers are rarely, if ever, referred to as priests so referring to himself as a “worker-priest” would leave Methodist colleagues with something of an unknown quantity on several counts! Consequently, it seems that his role was often confused with one that was familiar to Methodists, namely that of industrial chaplain, a form of workplace chaplain. However, Rev Burton was keen to point out that he was an ordinary worker and not a chaplain to industry.

Religious Conversations

While Rev Burton emphasised that he was not a bus driver to talk to workmates about God or religion, the book includes numerous examples where such conversations did take place rarely, if ever, initiated by Rev Burton himself. For example, one of his workmates and three of his friends waylaid him when he was coming from church dressed in his “church gear“. They dragged him to a pub where they had a “first class discussion” on spiritual healing and the authority of the Bible which they started!

Indeed, his workmates often asked him about religion, but sometimes this was clearly a “wind-up“. For example, on one occasion, his conductor Roy asked if there was an Observer book of sermons! Nevertheless, Rev Burton acknowledged that Roy also sometimes helped him develop ideas for sermons, for example by providing illustrations.

One thing his workmates disliked was when people would talk about something only as a way of getting on to the topic of religion. On one occasion, Roy complained about “War Cry” because he had been reading an article about football only for it to turn into an article on religion. This is perhaps unsurprising given that “The War Cry” is a Salvation Army magazine but I am not sure if Roy knew that.

Criticising Modern Christianity

Another reason why the leadership of the Methodist Church might have been reluctant to embrace the “worker-priest” concept was that they might have seen it as a criticism of the church, particularly if they were aware of the movement within the Roman Catholic Church. Rev Burton did not shy away from this issue in his book acknowledging that his work was an implicit criticism of the church and the ministry. He described it as a “prophetic demonstration against modern, middle-class, out-of-touch Christianity“. He felt that the church, as an institution, risked concealing the very reality they existed to embody.

Inspired by Others

There are some within the “worker-priest” tradition who clearly inspired Rev Burton. For example, in his entry from 22 December 1974, he quoted French Jesuit “worker-priest” Henri Perrin who, during the second world war, worked to give spiritual support to French people taken as forced labourers to Germany. He was imprisoned and deported to France where he became a “worker-priest“.

As a total aside, this example led me to a blog by Hugh Williamson focused on “worker-priests” inspired by the life of his own father Tony Williamson who, in the same time period as Rev Burton, was an Anglican priest who worked as a forklift truck driver in a car factory in Oxford. Hugh’s blog also contains a focus on “worker-priests” today citing an article which appeared in the Church Times in 2022 including a focus on two priests, one of whom was a hairdresser and one who worked in a supermarket.

In his entry for 15 April 1975, Rev Burton referred to some letters exchanged in The Times, The first from the Carlisle diocese saw the priest of the future offering “specialized and professional services of leadership and guidance, high standards spiritual and intellectual, as upheld by frequent intervals of advanced training“. Rev Mervyn Wilson argued that there should be space for some to take another way, “I might be a park keeper in the old churchyard: easy to find, with time to study and write. There the modern pastor could tend his flock. Or a priest might be a window-cleaner or petrol-pump attendant. His chosen job should be (a) below his capacity (b) have his heart free and his mind uncluttered. There is charm in this and a good gospel challenge to the world’s values“. Unsurprisingly, this letter gained Rev Burton’s warm approval.

Less Time Not More

Although Rev Wilson argued that a priest employed in a role below his capacity might be expected to have more time than one working in a more conventional way, Rev Burton found that he had much less time than he had as a full-time Minister. He commented that then he had had more time but little contact with non-church people. Now, as a “worker-priest“, he struggled with time and ended up not having time for people which undermined his whole raison d’etre for being a “worker-priest“. He had found this particularly difficult when he had taken on a leadership role in the trade union.

I am not sure how this worked for other “worker-priests” but a problem I see that existed for Rev Burton was that, not only was he doing a full-time secular job, but he was also fulfilling many of the normal expectations of a priest, e.g. preaching; visiting the sick; conducting funerals, baptisms and marriages etc. It is not really surprising that he had little time just to be with people. If the role of “worker-priest” is actually about being present with people I wonder if any of those who have done the role have reduced, or even stopped doing, conventional priestly roles.

One way Rev Burton tried to resolve this issue was by doing less. So, he noted, that on one Sunday morning, instead of going to church, he went to watch his conductor play football. While this might appear to have involved him doing less, this was only possible for him because he went to communion at 8 am!

Limitations on Promotion

Rev Burton noted that sometimes staff positions were advertised within the bus company. However, he noted that the reason he was a bus driver meant that he would not apply for promotions and this clearly had financial implications for him and his family.

Criticisms of the Established Church

Rev Burton was highly critical of the established church and observed that formal attendance was declining. He was concerned about ending up with a world without religion. He felt the church could be revitalised only if it addressed three issues, namely unity; tithing; and more flexible ministry.

I am not sure about these prescriptions. Clearly, unity might be considered a good thing but people only seem to focus on this when numbers are reducing and there is need to make better use of buildings and people! Historically, splits and divisions, on the one hand, and increasing church numbers, have often been associated with each other.

Those churches which continue to increase in number, for example those in the Pentecostal and charismatic tradition, place a strong emphasis on dynamic, personal Christian faith and this is likely to be a prerequisite for any meaningful discussion about tithing.

I am not exactly sure what kind of flexible ministry Rev Burton envisaged beyond making his own “present ministry seem unremarkable“. Elsewhere, he declared himself opposed to women in ministry which would seem to be one major area of flexibility, where Methodists have been at the forefront, closed off!

Rev Burton made these observations when attending Synod on 7 May 1975. He was highly critical of changes the churches were making which he described as altering “all the wrong things.” Examples, he gave were of Salvation Army women abandoning the bonnet and of nuns eschewing the habit. He saved his most vitriolic criticism for Synod itself comparing it with his work canteen saying “one world is coarse and dirty and ribald and real while the other is woolly, clean, slightly pompous and manifestly irrelevant“.

My Mother and Synod

As far as I know, mum did not go to the Synod meeting mentioned by Rev Burton. However, she did attend District Synod between at least 1976 and 1978, see Chapter 124. Her assessment was fundamentally different from Rev Burton’s. After her first District Synod in Yarmouth in May 1976, mum noted that she had found the meeting very interesting after a confusing first hour. She commented that she thoroughly enjoyed it and wished she could always attend.

Different Perspectives

Why then did Rev Burton and my mother draw such different conclusions about Synod? On the one hand, Rev Burton was relatively privileged, as an ordained Minister, in that he was presumably a member of Synod. From that position, he was able to conclude that the Synod was not particularly relevant to his specific ministry and the context in which he worked.

As an enthusiastic lay woman with a flair for administration, I suspect mum often felt excluded from what she considered to be important decision-making bodies in the church, the circuit and the district. Having access to district-level discussions and decision-making was something she valued. In addition, she relished, rather than disliked, clear administrative processes.

Not a Good Word

As well as being critical of the church, Rev Burton was also critical of other clergymen. In his entry for 28 July 1975, he noted that his wife Molly said that since he had become a busman “there is not a clergyman for whom I have a good word to say”. He considered this a little harsh but then went on to pretty much confirm what she said!

He felt he began to think and feel like a non-churchman and that many clergymen struck him “as being not only upper-middle class in their demeanour, but incredibly immature in their behaviour. Often they embarrass me with a kind of childishness which would not go down well in our canteen. We could do with more clergy who combined sternness with tenderness, dignity with warmth, strictness with compassion and manliness with receptivity. “

Towards the end of his diary year, one of the thoughts which came to him in his bus cab was how many “scruffy parsons” he saw combining a clerical collar with an assortment of casual wear. While he did not say so explicitly, his tone is undeniably critical.

Critical of Modern Methodism

In his entry for 17 August 1975, Rev Burton quoted George Eliot’s “Adam Bede” on two types of Methodism. The first is “an amphitheatre of green hills, or the deep shade of broad-leaved sycamores, where a crowd of rough men and weary-hearted women drank in a faith which was a rudimentary culture, which linked their thoughts with the past, lifted their imagination above the sordid details of their own narrow lives, and suffused their souls with the sense of a pitying, loving , infinite Presence…”

The second noted that Methodists developed into “that modern type which reads quarterly reviews and attends in chapels with pillaried porticoes…”[with] “sleek grocers, sponging preachers and hypocritical jargon“. Rev Burton noted that the first kind of Methodism, with Wesley’s hymns and powerful preaching, was the one that was dear to him. However, when he joined Methodism in 1955, both forms were visible. But, he feared the former had largely gone as old members died. They were followed in by “church members… with little feeling for the tradition of the denomination“. He claimed that there had been a loss of identity and that this had gone forever.

Criticisms of the Modern World

Rev Burton was critical of much of “modern” 1970s society. He considered that there had been an erosion of respect for authority and a spread of violence. However, he saw some changes as positive giving an “invigorating flavour” to life. Some of these changes were perhaps surprising from a clergyman as they included dabbling in drugs and the occult as evidence of hunger and longing; economic independence of the young; interest in meditation and prayer; sexual openness; action for aged, homeless and refugees; and a sense of freedom.

Life as a Bus Driver

One of the two objects of the book was to give insights into Rev Burton’s daily routine as what he called a “worker-priest“. On an initial read, I felt that there were fewer details of his day-to-day work as a bus driver than I expected. However, having read the book again, in order to write these notes, I have largely revised that opinion. I think I probably overlooked these first time round because the diary format means they are inevitably scattered across different entries.

Amusing Anecdotes

There are a substantial number of amusing anecdotes in the book, such as the time Rev Burton “helped” a conductor by ringing the bell for him so that the bus could leave, not realising that the conductor was not actually on the bus! On another occasion, Rev Burton and his conductor were amused by a woman carrying a stuffed badger down the street. Then, on another occasion, Rev Burton switched from one service to another but then drove the bus down the route of the previous service! More of these anecdotes are included in a later section entitled “Quotes from Day to Day Life“.

Daily Routine

While such anecdotes are interesting and amusing, they do not in themselves give a clear idea of daily routine. Perhaps one of the clearest examples of this came when Rev Burton described his experience of working a split shift. On this occasion, he got up at 6 am and worked from 7-11 am. He spent from 11 am to 1 pm reading and typing before breaking for an hour for “dinner and The Times“. Between 2-3 pm, he made three hospital visits. One of these was directly church-related while the other two related to his work as a bus driver. From 3-7 pm, he was back at work and then spent time reading and typing before concluding the day with prayer and silence in a church, and then a pint!

Workmates

Clearly Rev Burton was a people person and the book is full of enchanting stories about his workmates, the drivers and conductors with whom he worked, including Brian, Charles, David, Dick, Frank, Geoff, Michael, Neill, Neville, Roy, Steve, Terry and Tony. Many of these were of a humorous nature, see for example the later section entitled “Quotes from Day to Day Life“. One thing that interested me was how his work colleagues apologised to him for things they did, particularly when they used bad language!

Another thing that I particularly noticed was the close relationship that was built up between driver and conductor. In Rev Burton’s case, he had two conductors during this year, Roy and then Tony. I wonder how a bus driving “worker-priest” would function now given that buses no longer have conductors. I guess he/she could be present with passengers and with colleagues in the “canteen“, if such a thing still exists! It made me wonder if it would be easier or more difficult to be a “worker-priest” now than then. I wonder if there are any “worker-priests” in call centres or fast food outlets?

Accident

Rev Burton noted that sometimes buses are involved in accidents and these can be serious even involving fatalities. In his entry for 31 May 1975, he noted that such an accident had occurred the previous evening when a woman had been run over and killed. He noted that conversation was subdued in the garage and there was sympathy for the victim and her family and also for the driver and conductor.

Based on a local news report, the accident had occurred on the Boundary roundabout on Aylsham Road. The woman killed had been riding a moped. She was identified as Phyllis Blanch aged 46. The bus driver was named as Darren Wilson. Somewhat shockingly perhaps, for the modern reader, the full addresses of both the person who died and the driver are given.

News cutting of report of fatal bus accident mentioned in “*Transport of Delight*” in May 1975

Pastoral Ministry

I am not sure the extent to which pastoral ministry was considered a core part of Rev Burton’s “worker-priest” role. It seems to me that he had an extensive pastoral ministry as he clearly loved, and was concerned for, people. He exercised this role in a conventional way toward his church flock but he also talked about his “pub flock“. He also sometimes supported friends and other people who were thinking of applying to become priests or who were in training.

On 9 January 1975, he noted that he was consulted about pastoral matters four times on his way into work! While that number was unusually high for one day, as a rule, only a few days passed between such enquiries. He sometimes noted that pastoral visits he made benefited him more than the person visited.

While many of his pastoral visits appear to have been to people in hospital, he did note, in August 1975, visiting a former busman in prison.

Baptisms, Weddings and Funerals

While few, if any, of Rev Burton’s workmates were regular churchgoers, there were quite a number who called on him for special services, such as baptisms, weddings and funerals. On 17 January 1975, he received perhaps his most unusual request which was for exorcism of a poltergeist! Sadly, Rev Burton did not describe what he did!

Inspired by Nature

When Rev Burton described his earlier conversion experience, he noted that he had always loved nature. This comes out extremely strongly in his book with frequent, and often poetic, references to things in the natural world including sunsets; moonlight; trees; moths; flowers; seasons of the year; weather including rain; birds and animals.

He seemed to be particularly interested in birds and often named the birds he had seen that day including bramblings; chaffinches; fieldfares; goldfinches; grey wagtails; house martins; kestrels; long-tailed tits; redwings; rooks; sand martins; sparrows; swans; swifts; tawny owls and waxwings. He described two birdwatching trips with a driver’s son John, one to Breydon, and one to one of the Norfolk broads. Interestingly, on both occasions they recorded 44 species.

In his entry for 10 December 1974, Rev Burton noted that he watched a late night TV programme about the lammergeier. Based on a TV Guide in the local press, I think this might have been “Edge of the Abyss” which was on Anglia from 10.30 to 11.30 pm and was part of the “Survival” series. It focused on the “lost world” of the Simien Mountains in Ethiopia. Apparently, this is a well-known location for its lammergeier population.

News cutting giving details of the “*Survival*” programme “*Edge of the Abyss*” which Rev Burton watched in December 1974

Rev Burton considered engagement with nature a spiritual experience and was concerned that people living in deprived, urban areas were often unable to be in touch with nature. He particularly enjoyed religious services linked to nature such as Harvest Festival. He used the term sensual to mean of the senses and noted that sensual experiences, such as the sight of the countryside bathed in moonlight, stimulated his spirit and provoked attitudes that he described as religious.

Dislikes

While Rev Burton’s book contains a lot more about things he loved and inspired him, he also noted a few things he disliked. These included backslappers, plastic flowers and tourists in the Cathedral during services!

Sources of Inspiration

There are a number of things in the book which Rev Burton identified as sources of inspiration. Some of these surprised me a bit coming, as they did, from a Methodist Minister.

Inspired by Old Churches…

First, Rev Burton was greatly inspired by old church buildings and refers to a few in his book. These include St Simon and St Jude, St George, Colegate, St Clement’s and Ely and Norwich Cathedrals. He devoted an entire page to the Elizabethan chalice housed at St Clement’s. He regularly attended evensong at Norwich Cathedral when he was on an “early” shift and often referred to how inspiring he found it. Sometimes, he could not go as his shift prevented it.

All the churches he mentioned were, I think, Anglican and this is perhaps surprising for a Methodist Minister. However, if his interest was old churches, this is perhaps less surprising. I think it is fair to say that I don’t think he found Methodist church buildings so inspiring. While I would consider some of these to be old, I guess none of them are that old in comparison with the Anglican churches that inspired Rev Burton.

Generally, he did not like new buildings but, on one occasion, he noticed the rising sun caught a new building of glass and concrete so it looked ablaze. He also noticed this building when illuminated at night.

… and Church History

Another thing which inspired Rev Burton was church history and he was well-read and well-informed in this area. Perhaps this area of interest and inspiration is not that surprising in a Methodist Minister.

In his entry for 8 October 1974, he commented that “if it is simply and vividly presented, history – especially church history – possesses a quality of inspiration to which many types of people respond“. He gave two examples of lectures on church history that he had given which had resulted variously in applause and continued hymn singing. He quoted Bishop Creighton saying church history is “a cordial for drooping spirits“.

On 25 March 1975, Rev Burton completed a five-year study of 30 churches and religious houses which once existed in the quarter of old Norwich where he lived. He noted that his thinking had been stimulated and his Christian faith stirred and enriched.

Four days later, on 29 March 1975 he noted that going to Shipdham reminded him of the Congregational martyr Henry Barrowe who was born there. He was executed with John Greenwood in 1593 having been convicted of devising and circulating seditious books.

Rev Burton devoted the whole of his entry for 20 April 1975 to consideration of the “Old Meeting Church Booke” which I believe relates to the Old Meeting House Congregational Church in Norwich. He recalled at length an entry relating to a young woman, Elizabeth Townsend, who was “withdrawn from” by the church because of what they considered to be her scandalous behaviour!

Which Denomination?

In his entry for 19 May 1975, Rev Burton noted that he often wondered which side he would have taken when it came to some of the church’s historical disputes, including between the Primitive Methodists and the Wesleyans; the Methodists and the Anglicans; the Act of Uniformity and the Independents; and the Protestants and Papists. He did not however draw any conclusion except to say “the insights of all godly men are our heritage”.

While three of these four disputes were familiar to me, the third one on the list, the Act of Uniformity, was not. For the sake of completeness, I include brief notes on each of those disputes here.

Primitive Methodists and Wesleyans

Hugh Bourne and William Clowes led the Primitive Methodists to break away from the Wesleyans in 1807. The Wesleyans had become increasingly respectable, formal and controlled by a strong stationing committee. The main areas of dispute were over style of worship and church governance. The Primitive Methodists favoured passionate, outdoor revival camp meetings. As a result of declining memberships, the two branches reunited with others as the Methodist Church of Great Britain in 1932.

The Methodists and the Anglicans

John and Charles Wesley originally founded Methodism in the mid-18^thcentury as a revival movement operating entirely within the Church of England, the Anglican Church. The main areas of dispute were over evangelical zeal, church authority, and preaching boundaries. Anglican bishops strongly opposed the Methodists’ emotional services, outdoor preaching and use of unordained lay preachers. As a result of this deep institutional friction, the movement formally severed ties to become an independent denomination in 1795 four years after John Wesley’s death. While multiple attempts have been made to reunite the two denominations in the decades since, modern reconciliation efforts have broken down over unresolved disagreements over episcopal ordination and conflicting views on human relationships.

The Act of Uniformity and the Independents

The English Crown passed multiple Acts of Uniformity, most notably in 1559 and 1662. These enforced strict state control over religious worship and legally forced all English citizens to conform to the Church of England, use the Book of Common Prayer and attend Anglican services under penalty of severe fines. The main areas of dispute were over church liturgy, pastoral ordination, and the monarch’s ecclesiastical supremacy.

Early Protestant Separatists like Henry Barrowe rejected state control entirely, leading to his execution in 1593 as mentioned above. Later, following the 1662 Act, over 2,000 Puritan-leaning ministers refused to comply and were forced out of their parishes during the Great Ejection, permanently dividing English faith between the State Church and independent “Dissenters” whose modern descendant denominations remain separate today. However, the legal basis for the splits has been largely removed and steps towards greater ecumenical cooperation have been made at national and local levels.

Protestants and Roman Catholics

While the divide at the time was often articulated as between Protestants and Papists, and this is the language used by Rev Burton, I have preferred the non-derogatory term Roman Catholics. The European Reformation of the 16^th century fractured Western Christianity and sparked centuries of bitter conflict between Protestants and Roman Catholics. The main areas of dispute were over papal authority, salvation theology and scriptural supremacy. Protestants rejected the Pope, arguing for the supreme authority of the Bible and salvation by faith alone. As a result of these deep ideological divides, Europe and Britain endured generations of political warfare, state persecution, and restrictive Penal Laws. While there has been significant theological and social resolution, there has, as yet, been no structural merger. The relationship between Protestants and Roman Catholics has transitioned from centuries of war, state persecution, and condemnation into an era of diplomatic friendship and official dialogue.

A Note on Terminology

Rev Burton used quite a lot of terms to describe different types of churches. In particular, he referred to non-conformity and free churches. Essentially, he uses these terms interchangeably to refer to Protestant denominations outside the state church, that is, in England the Anglican church also known as the Church of England. The term non-conformist is an older term that may be considered to have negative connotations. In contrast, the term free church is considered more modern and perhaps is free of some of the negative connotations.

I confess that I am more familiar with the term non-conformist and was not aware of any negative connotations. The problem with the term free church is that this may refer to a church without denominational affiliation. In addition, within Methodism, there was a strand which was referred to as the United Methodist Free Churches who were distinct from both the Primitive Methodists and the Wesleyans.

I am also suspicious of labels within church titles because often a church with a particular label is anything but the characteristic described, e.g. “united” in the same way as countries with “democratic” in their title are anything but!

High Forms of Worship

Linked perhaps to Rev Burton’s love of old church buildings and church history was his enjoyment of, and reverence for, what might be called “high” forms of worship as are found in Roman Catholic and Anglo-Catholic traditions. This is a very strong focus of his book which has become clearer to me as I have looked at it more deeply and understood it a bit better.

Rev Burton considered that churches with side-altars, images, banners and incense felt to him more like churches than many modern places of worship. He spoke positively about Catholic reverence for the Virgin Mary and was a lover of tradition and ceremonials, citing the regalia of judges and courts as a positive example.

Genuflection and Kissing the Altar

In February 1975, he noted that he was perfectly happy to genuflect and kiss the altar. In the same entry, he commented that candles and incense are a delight after “long draughts of Non-conformity at its most dreary“.

Distinguishing Worship and Fellowship

In an entry in May 1975, he wanted to distinguish more clearly between worship and fellowship while recognising that the two were linked. He defined worship as set piece and formal. He disliked “folksiness, unseemly heartiness or extreme informality“. In particular, he was doubtful about modern liturgical changes considering that they were driven by restless clergy who altered things to justify their existence! In summary, he described himself as “not very sympathetic towards what I consider gimmicky and anaemic changes for the sake of change“.

He Gave Me a Bloody Candle!

He gave the example of what he called “Series II Infant Baptism” which was an attempt within the Church of England to modernise the 17^th century Book of Common Prayer. Apparently, the parson was delighted with it but the bus driver was less impressed. He said “then he gave me a bloody candle to hold; I felt a right…”

However, this example does not appear to really support Rev Burton’s argument. Indeed, it could be seen as supportive of the counter-argument given that the busman reacted so negatively to what was essentially an old high church ritual. He did not react to it because it was “folksy” or “informal” but because of the profound cultural disconnect between the high-church ritual involving candles, loved by Rev Burton, and the working-class reality of people he worked and identified with.

Views on Bible Versions

While Rev Burton recognised the value of using different versions of the Bible in bible study groups, he described dropping the Authorized Version from worship as “madness“. He said he was “heartily sick” of the New English Bible! The New Testament in this version has been published in 1961. However, the version with Old Testament and apocrypha was only published in March 1970. My grandfather noted that, for his birthday in December 1970, mum and dad bought him the New English Bible with “apocrafer”, see Chapter 106.

Copy of 1970 New English Bible including the Old Testament and the apocrypha

Rev Burton noted that some of his views on these matters surprised some of his friends and, to some extent, they surprise me. The same arguments concerning the Authorized Version of the Bible could be, and I think were, made resisting translation of the Bible from Latin into English. I don’t think such changes were made for change sake but to try to make the Bible more intelligible for ordinary people. Apparently, the introduction of the Authorized Version was similarly resisted by traditionalists who wanted to stick with the Geneva Bible!

Saints

In an entry in May 1975, Rev Burton asked himself the question “what is a saint“? He answered this by saying it is someone who “has achieved a remote human possibility” which he thinks is to do with “the energy of love“. I confess to not really understanding this! However, it seems to be a fairly secular humanist definition of sainthood.

All Christians as Saints

My understanding is that the Bible refers to all Christians as saints although some branches of Christianity, for example Roman Catholicism, have reserved the term for Christians who demonstrated heroic virtue and posthumous miracles.

Patron Saints

Rev Burton describes himself as having four patron saints, namely Edith Piaf, DH Lawrence, John Donne and Sir Thomas More. I confess I am not familiar with the concept of an individual choosing their own patron saints and I wonder the extent to which this is common practice or was a particular idiosyncrasy of Rev Burton. To be honest, I suspect the latter, particularly for a Methodist Minister.

Personal Heroes

I am also not sure what he meant by making these people his patron saints over and above just identifying four people he admired and esteemed. Indeed, when he introduced the third, John Donne, he described them as “personal heroes“. However, “by elevating them from “personal heroes” to “patron saints“, perhaps he was signaling that their messy, passionate lives provided him with a form of spiritual companionship that traditional church figures couldn’t offer.”

Guardians and Anchors

Perhaps he saw them as guardians or anchors for his own personality traits. By grouping a tragic French singer, an erotic novelist, a preacher-poet and a Catholic martyr together, Rev Burton was perhaps creating a visual mosaic of his own complex personality and faith. It is also possible that he included some of them for shock value! I explore each of these people in more detail later including reasons why Rev Burton chose them as his patron saints.

Festivals of the Lord

Rev Burton particularly enjoyed what he described as “the festivals of the Lord which the free churches never celebrated“. It appears he was referring to commemorations of Christ’s life outside the main festivals, particularly of Christmas and Easter. These include the presentation of Christ in the temple (Candlemas) on 2 February; the annunciation of our Lord to the Virgin Mary on 25 March; the transfiguration of Christ on 6 August; and a celebration of the cross as a symbol of victory over death on the day of the dedication of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem in 335 on 14 September (Holy Cross Day).

In Defence of the Christian Calendar

Towards the end of August 1975 and the end of his diary year, Rev Burton quoted at length an article by Methodist Minister and historian Frederick C Gill in the Methodist Recorder on the importance of the Christian calendar. I think this is a view my grandfather would have supported as he was strongly opposed to replacing the Whit bank holiday with a spring bank holiday. However, while the arguments put forward might make sense within the church they seem rather dated now given that the UK has many people of other faiths and of none. Another practical issue, for me at least, is that because many of the festivals are timed from Easter, and this moves around each year, it is difficult to really understand when different festivals fall.

Enthroning an Archbishop

In January 1975, Rev Burton watched the enthronement of the Archbishop of Canterbury on TV. This was on BBC2 from 1.55 to 3.45 pm. The archbishop was Donald Coggan. Rev Burton was able to watch it because it was his day off. He commented positively on the service noting that he was enthralled by “the sheer splendour of the occasion”.

News cutting with article and photos of the enthronement of the Archbishop of Canterbury in January 1975. Rev Burton watched on TV. I love how the article contrasted the splendour of dress of the Orthodox, Roman Catholic and Anglican clerics with the “*bleakly-dressed Methodists*“!!

End of the Free Churches?

In a long entry at the end of May 1975, Rev Burton argued that the need for the free churches has largely passed. He believed that the specific political and social reasons and religious controversies which led to the formation of the free churches had, by and large, passed into history. While there is some truth to this, some of the splits that occured, e.g. Methodism from Anglicanism and Primitive Methodism from Wesleyanism were driven, at least in part, by the desire for more genuine and dynamic spiritual experience and less ritual and form. Some of those issues remain as do some religious controversies, e.g over infant baptism, although not all free churches have a common position on this.

True Driver of Mergers

My observation would be that different denominations are likely to remain separate as long as they are able. If numbers of attendees remain steady or rise, there is likely to be little focus on joining with others. The reality is that those denominations that are most focused on joining others, such as the Methodist Church, are those churches whose numbers have declined most dramatically. I think Rev Burton was right that some free churches may face an existential threat but this is primarily because of declining and ageing memberships, in my view.

Positive Spin on Declining Relevance

While it may be comforting to argue, as Rev Burton did, that the work of the free churches is “largely done“, this seems to me to be a case of very positive spin. On the contrary, the problem seems to be that those churches no longer appeal, or seem relevant, to many people, particularly, in the UK and also in Western Europe, especially among the young.

Free Church Worship Lacks Appeal…

Rev Burton argued that he had a growing awareness that “free church worship will never recapture a wide appeal“. I suspect that this conclusion was based on a narrow understanding of the free churches and a limited geographical focus on the UK and possibly Western Europe. I get the sense that Rev Burton understood free churches as the more traditional churches, Methodist, Congregational, Presbyterian, Baptist etc. and excluded other Protestant groups, such as Pentecostals, charismatics and independent fellowships.

…Or Does It?

When figures of numbers of adherents globally are considered, it is clear that free churches, that is Protestant churches other than the Anglican communion, have grown dramatically since 1900 and particularly since Rev Burton’s time in the mid seventies. However, it is fair to say that most of this growth has occurred outside the more traditional free churches, e.g. Methodist, and outside the UK and Western Europe.

Estimated global adherents of different Christian groups from 1900 to 2025

Rev Burton also seemed to view free church worship as intrinsically dull. He described it as “black and white” devoid of colour, movement, symbols, light and dance. However, again this possibly refers to the more traditional free churches, such as the Methodist Church. It certainly would not describe some such churches in the Pentecostal or charismatic tradition. Rev Burton considered that Catholic worship was more colourful, was regulated by the Christian year and was vital and enduring.

Another point Rev Burton made is that the Eucharist is not central to free church worship. However, while this may be true of some free churches, it is again certainly not true of others, such as Brethren or some Pentecostal churches where “breaking of bread” is a weekly event.

Rev Burton closed this entry by stating that “in all the free churches we are now in great peril“. While this may have been, and is still true, for some free churches in some geographical locations, for example, the Methodist Church in the UK, this is not the case for all Protestant churches outside the Anglican church particularly when viewed from a global perspective. Some of the fastest growing churches in the world are in this group.

Ecumenicalism

There are many entries in Rev Burton’s book which show that he valued ecumenicalism, namely a drive for different church denominations to work more closely together and to seek greater unity wherever possible.

In a long entry, in January 1975, he started off by celebrating that God made us all different. Therefore, he argued, it is not surprising that we worship God in different ways and interpret his word differently. He wanted to put aside theological considerations arguing that differences in human temperament guaranteed differences in religious practice. He concluded that churches needed to cater for different types of people and also noted that the same individual may need variety in their “religious diet“.

This passage perhaps argued for the continued existence of different denominations and different traditions and also for varying approaches to services within a specific church. This could perhaps be seen as at odds with other parts of his book which seem to consider certain forms of worship as better than others, e.g. “high” forms versus “folksy informality“. In addition, while persistence of different traditions may be possible within an ecumenical framework of cooperation and working together, is there a risk that greater unity, and particularly mergers, may result in more uniformity?

Love of Music

It is clear from his book that Rev Burton had a great love of a relatively wide range of music including Wesley hymns; traditional English church music; and Gilbert and Sullivan operas. He noted that he was captivated by organ voluntaries and the fanfare of trumpets. Throughout his book, he describes himself as a “sensual” person meaning that he revelled in the use of all his senses. In this context, he described listening to music as part of finding fullness in life.

Little Overlap

However, despite the range of his musical taste, I found little, if any, overlap with my own preferences. As a result, I found it hard to engage with the particular musical pieces he described as almost none were known to me! Partly, I think this might be due to our difference in age. He was just five years younger than my mother so, perhaps unsurprisingly, his musical tastes were closer to hers than to mine! I suspect much of the music I like he would have dismissed as “strange pop-songs“… with “no melody“. For my part, I find much of his music obscure and dated! Nevertheless, I have learned a lot by exploring the music he liked and listening to some of it.

Popular Music

While Rev Burton’s musical taste was mainly for classical music, particularly classical church music, he did like what might be called “popular” music of a certain era. He recalled everyone listening to “Music While You Work” on the wireless (radio) when he was a small boy. This BBC programme was broadcast during the day from 1940 to 1967. Songs he recalled from then were “Moonlight Madonna“, “Shine Through My Dreams” and “Mary“.

“My Moonlight Madonna“

I believe the song he was referring to was “My Moonlight Madonna“. Published in 1933, this was popular with dance orchestras of the time. It was based on a classical piano piece called “Poème” written by Zdeněk Fibich in 1893. Paul Francis Webster added lyrics.

“Shine Through My Dreams“

This song was composed in 1935 by Ivor Novello. It was a tenor aria from the Drury Lane musical “Glamorous Night“. It was particularly popular during the second world war.

“Mary”

This song formally known as “What Are You Waiting for Mary” was written in 1927 by Walter Donaldson. It was popularised by Gene Austin and the Paul Whiteman Orchestra.

A New Song?

Rev Burton concludes one of his entries in June 1975 by quoting Psalm 98:1 “O sing unto the Lord a new song; for he hath done marvellous things“. However, it seems to me that he was somewhat opposed to new songs as such. Where he did learn new hymns, they were almost entirely old hymns that were new, that is previously unknown, to him. This conclusion is possibly harsh as he did embrace new church music in some cases provided it was of traditional form. Later, we will see that some of the music he encountered at evensong in the Cathedral was relatively modern having been composed in the sixties or seventies.

Methodist Hymns

Clearly, Rev Burton knew and loved a large number of Christian hymns, particularly those in the Methodist tradition, and especially those by Charles Wesley who apparently wrote more than 6,500 hymns including some that are extremely well-known such as “And Can it Be“; “O For a Thousand Tongues“; “Love Divine, All Loves Excelling“; and “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing“.

Wesleys’ Eucharistic Hymns

However, Rev Burton does not focus on these well-known hymns but on those that are lesser-known. For example, towards the end of his book, he noted completing a manuscript on which he had spent “many hours“. This focused on Eucharistic hymns by both John and Charles Wesley. He believed these had been neglected and he considered this a scandal.

Breaking of Bread/Lord’s Supper/Communion/Holy Communion/ Eucharist

Before proceeding, it may be helpful to briefly consider the different terms that are used to describe the same Christian practice. At one level, these terms are effectively interchangeable. This was how the Wesleys used them although they most frequently used the term “Lord’s Supper” although they did use other terms including “Eucharistic“. In general, evangelicals and low church people tend to refer to “Lord’s Supper” and “Breaking of Bread” while high church people have tended to refer to “the Eucharist“. The terms “communion” and “holy communion” represent something of a middle ground. Over time, at least in its hymn books, the Methodist Church has moved from reference to the “Lord’s Supper” to talking about “Holy Communion“. In the remainder of this post, I use the terms interchangeably mostly using the terms used by others.

166 of Them

It surprised me to learn that there were 166 Eucharistic Wesley hymns published in 1745 in a book called “Hymns on the Lord’s Supper“. J Ernest Rattenbury wrote a book about these in the late forties entitled “The Eucharistic Hymns of John and Charles Wesley“. Rev Burton’s own manuscript was privately published in the early eighties under the title “The Richest Legacy: The Eucharistic Hymns of John and Charles Wesley“. In the late nineties, a selection of 66 of these hymns was published by the Methodist Sacramental Fellowship with an introduction by Donald G Rogers. I give brief details of each of the books and the Methodist Sacramental Fellowship below.

Front cover of Rev Burton’s book on the Eucharistic Hymns of John and Charles Wesley

“The Eucharistic Hymns of John and Charles Wesley” by J Ernest Rattenbury

Published in 1948 and dedicated to the members of the Methodist Sacramental Fellowship, this book is not merely a collection of the relevant hymns but is a long and detailed explanation of the Christian sacrament and the Christian sacrifice based on these hymns. Nevertheless, the book does include, at the end, all 166 hymns from “Hymns on the Lord’s Supper.”

“The Richest Legacy” by Jack R Burton

By way of contrast, Rev Burton’s book is primarily a listing of a selection of 120 hymns from “Hymns on the Lord’s Supper” with the meter noted and a selected tune included. In a few cases, musical score is also included. Some of the hymns are introduced with a biblical verse or two while others include a comment or quote from elsewhere. The book notes the hymn number in “Hymns on the Lord’s Supper” and, where relevant, in other Methodist hymn books.

“A Selection of John and Charles Wesley’s Hymns on the Lord’s Supper” introduced by Donald G Rogers

This more recent selection, published in 1995 by the Methodist Sacramental Fellowship, is, like Burton’s book, mostly focused on presenting the hymns themselves, in this case a selection of 66. However, it does contain a five-page introduction which I found interesting and informative. It references other books on the topic. It also explains changes made, e.g. on spelling and wording. A suggested tune is included for each hymn. The hymn numbers are from the original book and are therefore no-sequential. There is no index.

The Methodist Sacramental Fellowship

The first of the three books mentioned above, by J Ernest Rattenbury, was dedicated to the Methodist Sacramental Fellowship who published the third book that was introduced by Donald G Rogers. This Fellowship was founded in the 1930s and exists to affirm the catholic and universal tradition of Christianity within Methodism. It also seeks to promote the sacramental faith and practice which John and Charles Wesley drew from scripture and Christian tradition.

Given the strong advocacy from this Fellowship for a greater focus on the Eucharist in Methodism, it surprises me that I could find no reference to this Fellowship at all in Rev Burton’s book. I am not sure how to interpret this.

Neglected in Methodist Hymn Books?

Given the existence of these books focusing specifically on Eucharistic Wesley hymns, I am not sure in what sense these hymns have been neglected. Quite a lot has been written about them. Perhaps, Rev Burton did not consider that they featured adequately in Methodist hymn books. This view is broadly accepted by Donald Rogers who says, “only a few of these hymns have ever been included in the standard hymn books of Methodist and other churches.”

140 — Selection of Methodist and related hymn books including from left to right: “*Sacred Songs and Solos”; “Singing the Faith*“; “*Partners in Praise*“, “*The School Hymn Book*“, “*Hymns and Psalms*“, *Hymns and Songs*” and “*The Methodist Hymn Book*“

I have gone through a number of Methodist hymn books looking for hymns related to the Lord’s Supper/Communion/Eucharist and counting how many of them are by John or Charles Wesley.

The Methodist Hymn Book

The original “The Methodist Hymn Book” from 1933 contained a section on the Lord’s Supper. This featured 18 hymns of which six were by Charles Wesley. I can’t say I recognise any of them!

Hymns and Psalms

In “Hymns and Psalms” published in 1983, there was also a section on the Lord’s Supper which featured 38 hymns of which eight were by Charles Wesley. I think I recognise one of the hymns “Lord Jesus Christ, You have come to us” but this is relatively modern and is therefore not a Wesley hymn. Donald Rogers identified 17 of the original 166 hymns in “Hymns and Psalms“. It seems likely that some of these hymns were included in other sections of the hymn book.

Hymns and Songs

“Hymns and Songs” published in 1969 does not have thematic sections but listed hymns largely in alphabetical order of first line. The 1979 ecumenical hymn book “Partners in Praise” does have thematic sections but not one on the Lord’s Supper.

Singing the Faith

In its most modern hymn book “Singing the Faith“, published in 2011, the Methodist Church included a section on Holy Communion with 35 hymns of which six were by Charles Wesley.

Little Evidence of Neglect

Given this, I find it hard to say that the main Methodist hymn books neglected the Lord’s Supper/Holy Communion itself or Charles Wesley’s Eucharistic hymns in particular. Given the overall size of the hymn book, the number of hymns dedicated to the Lord’s Supper seems reasonable. It also seems reasonable that between 17 to 33% of those hymns were by Charles Wesley. It is perhaps understandable that that percentage has declined over time.

Did Methodism Neglect Communion/the Lord’s Supper/the Eucharist?

Rev Burton perhaps was raising a wider point which was his view that the Methodist Church of his time placed inadequate emphasis on the Lord’s Supper/Eucharist and less emphasis than the Wesleys themselves had done. In my view, this argument perhaps has more merit. I recall that when I was a child, communion was only rarely offered at the Methodist Church my family attended, possibly once a month. I also remember that it was delivered as an add-on to the main service with people explicitly being invited to leave if they wished to. Personally, I think it is likely that another factor was the Methodist Church’s decision to restrict the delivery of communion to Ministers only. This appears to have been a carry over from Roman Catholicism and Anglicanism and was somewhat at odds with Methodist traditions of lay ministry.

Interestingly, J Ernest Rattenbury noted the decline of sacramentalism in “modern” Methodism and contrasted it with the “outstanding enthusiasm for the Lord’s Supper in the eighteenth century“. He identified two key factors. First, John Wesley did not leave behind him satisfactory provision for the administration of sacraments. He did not allow unordained men to administer sacraments and expected Methodists to continue receive communion at parish churches. Second, there was an overgrown fear of what was termed “popery” which meant that simplicity and clarity was valued above pomp and ritual.

Promoting Wesley Eucharistic Hymns

Rev Burton was keen to promote rediscovery of Wesley eucharistic hymns. In addition to privately publishing a book on this topic, he also included verses from two of the 166 Eucharistic Wesley hymns in “Transport of Delight” and details of those are given here. It is worth noting that, when he quoted them, he did not say explicitly what they were although he did identify them as Wesley hymns.

“Why Did My Dying Lord Ordain“

On Maundy Thursday, Rev Burton wrote out the entire third verse of one of Charles Wesley’s Eucharistic hymns “Why Did My Dying Lord Ordain?” This was hymn number 54 (LIV) in “Hymns on the Lord’s Supper“. Rev Burton included it as hymn 37 in his book “The Richest Legacy“.

Unsurprisingly, he included all five verses but he did make a number of wording changes. Some were minor spelling changes such as “sense” for “sence“, “mixed” for “mixt” and “filled” for “fill’d” while others were stylistic, such as “mount of sin” for “Mountain Sin” and “the life of God” for “larger Draughts of God“. Others might perhaps reflect a desire to avoid the language of conflict and battle, for example changing “holy Violence” to “holy passion“.

This hymn was also included in “A Selection of John and Charles Wesley’s Hymns on the Lord’s Supper” although the final verse was omitted. Both “The Richest Legacy” and the later Rogers’ selection suggested it be sung to the hymn tune “Dura“.

Saviour, Thou didst the mystery give
That I Thy nature might partake;
Thou bidd’st me outward signs receive,
One with Thyself my soul to make;
My body, soul and spirit join;
Inseparably with Thine.

Hymn number 54 (LIV) from “*Hymns on the Lord’s Supper*” accessed from the Internet Archive

“All Hail Redeemer of Mankind”

On Thursday 29 May 1975, the feast of Corpus Christi, Rev Burton quoted two “verses” from another of Charles Wesley’s Eucharistic hymns “All hail, Redeemer of Mankind!” This was hymn number 124 (CXXIV) in “Hymns on the Lord’s Supper“.

In the original, there were two numbered verses with each verse divided into two. Rev Burton quoted the second half of the first verse and the first half of the second. Rev Burton included it as hymn 86 in his book “The Richest Legacy” as four numbered verses. Again, he made some changes from the original including some minor spelling changes such as “resigned” for “resign’d“, “offered” for “offer’d“, “exposed” for “expos’d“, “opened” for “open’d“, “complete” for “compleat” and “through” for “thro“.

It was also included in “A Selection of John and Charles Wesley’s Hymns on the Lord’s Supper” although it was presented there as four unnumbered verses. Both “The Richest Legacy” and the later Rogers’ selection suggested it be sung to the hymn tune “Dresden“.

Angels and men might strive in vain,
They could not add the smallest grain
T’augment Thy death’s atoning power;
The sacrifice is all complete
The death Thou never canst repeat,
Once offered up to die no more.

Yet may we celebrate below,
And daily thus Thine offering show
Exposed before Thy Father’s eyes;
In this tremendous mystery
Present Thee bleeding on a tree,
Our everlasting Sacrifice.

Hymn number 124 from “*Hymns on the Lord’s Supper*” accessed from the Internet Archive

“New” Hymns and Hymn Tunes

Sometimes, albeit not often, Rev Burton noted coming across a new hymn or hymn tune. These were not new in the sense of being modern but rather were previously unknown or “overlooked” by him.

Naming Hymns and Tunes

I confess to being slightly confused by giving names to hymn tunes which are completely separate from the name of the hymn which is often its first line. I have come to understand that this is because some hymns can be sung to different tunes and it is an efficient way of saying which tune it is as long as those communicating know the names!

“Alleluia“

At the start of his book, Rev Burton noted coming across “Alleluia” by S S Wesley who was, in fact, the grandson of Charles Wesley. Rev Burton does not say any more about it nor which hymn it was paired with. In the 1933 “The Methodist Hymn Book“, this tune was paired with Henry Downton’s “Lord, Her Watch Thy Church is Keeping.” Apparently, it is commonly paired with William Chatterton Dix’s Eucharistic hymn “Alleluia! Sing to Jesus“. However, although that hymn was included in “Hymns and Psalms“, it was consciously excluded from “The Methodist Hymn Book” as it was considered too high church by the Primitive Methodists and the United Methodists. Also, when that hymn was sung in Methodist churches, it was more commonly paired with the tune “Hyfrydol” with which I am familiar.

“Beulah“

A month later, in October 1974, Rev Burton noted learning another hymn tune “Beulah” by George Mursell Garrett. Rev Burton noted that “There is a Land of Pure Delight” could be sung to this. “The Methodist Hymn Book” has two tunes by this title. They are distinguished as CM and DCM which I believe refers to the tune’s meter, common meter or double common meter. It is the former one he is referring to and in “The Methodist Hymn Book“, it is indeed paired with Isaac Watts’ hymn “There is a Land of Pure Delight“.

“St Alban” and “Farley Castle“

Towards the end of the book, in August 1975, Rev Burton noted learning two “new” tunes. These were “St Alban” for the hymn “Ave Maria, Blessed Maid!” by John Keble and “Farley Castle” for the hymn “Her Virgin Eyes Saw God Incarnate Born” by Bishop Thomas Ken. Neither of the hymns or tunes appear in “The Methodist Hymn Book” possibly, for the hymns, because the content, focused on the Virgin Mary, would have been seen as too high church and, for the tunes, because of their high church style.

“Hark the Gospel News is Sounding“

Perhaps at the other end of a theological spectrum, Rev Burton noted that, in October 1974, at the end of a long lecture to a men’s group on “The Origins of Wesleyan and Primitive Methodism with Special Reference to Methodism in Norwich” they sang what he called “The Primitive Methodist Grand March” “Hark! The Gospel News is Sounding“. Apparently, those at the lecture sang the first verse over again. Rev Burton noted that this rarely happened in Methodism at that time although the implication was perhaps that this was common in early Primitive Methodist circles.

This hymn was included in “The Methodist Hymn Book” credited to William Sanders although the hymn was originally written by both Sanders and, one of the founders of Primitive Methodism, Hugh Bourne. In “The Methodist Hymn Book” it was set to the tune of “St Raphael” by E J Hopkins although in Primitive Methodist circles it was more commonly sung to the rousing tunes of “Rousseau” or “Gra c e“.

However, it was dropped from later Methodist hymn books, such as “Hymns and Psalms” although it was included in other hymn books, such as “The Redemption Hymnal” which was used by the Assemblies of God church I attended in the late seventies and eighties, see Chapter 124.

The Redemption Hymnal was used in the Pentecostal Church I attended in the seventies and eighties. First published in 1951, it was reset and republished in 2006 and reprinted in 2015

A Conductor Asked About Hymns

On two occasions in June 1975, a bus conductor working with Rev Burton, whose mother had been a Methodist, asked him if he knew hymns that he recalled.

“Twas Just a Hundred Years Ago“

The first one was “Twas just a hundred years ago when on Mow Hill there stood a little band with hearts aflame to preach Redeeming Blood. Singing “Glory! Hallelujah! The Lord is with us still” – and that little band increaseth that grew upon Mow Hill“. The conductor wondered where Mow Hill was so Rev Burton explained to him that it was where the original Primitive Methodist camp meetings had been held. It is also sometimes called Mow Cop. It led to an interesting discussion in the bus depot’s canteen about the influence of Primitive Methodism among the working classes. Rev Burton told the conductor about Robert Key who missioned and transformed the Watton, Mattishall and East Dereham area of West Norfolk. Unsurprisingly perhaps, given the very specific Primitive Methodist context, that hymn did not make it into “The Methodist Hymn Book“!

Photo of Mow Cop Camp Meeting from postcard obtained from Engelsea Brook Primitive Methodist Museum

“Pull for the Shore“

On the second occasion, the conductor asked Rev Burton if he knew a hymn called “Pull for the Shore” which he recalled from the Seamen’s Bethel, which I believe refers to some form of seamen’s mission, possibly somewhere on the Norfolk coast, e.g. Yarmouth. Rev Burton not only knew this hymn by P P Bliss but was able to sing a few lines from it! Again, this does not seem to have made it into “The Methodist Hymn Book“.

“Blessed Assurance“

On the anniversary of his conversion, on 28 April 1975, Rev Burton summed up his experience in the words of a hymn, “Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine: O what a foretaste of glory divine!” This appears in “The Methodist Hymn Book” where it is credited to Frances Jane van Alstyne, the formal married name of Fanny Crosby. Although she was universally known as Fanny Crosby, the Methodist Church insisted that married women be known by their formal married name! The hymn also appears in “Hymns and Psalms” and “Singing the Faith“.

Quoting Charles Wesley’s Hymns

In addition to quoting and promoting Wesley eucharistic hymns, Rev Burton also sometimes wrote down verses of other Charles Wesley’s hymns.

“Hail the Day that Sees Him Rise“

On 8 May 1975, Ascension Day, Rev Burton quotes verses three and four of Charles Wesley’s hymn “Hail the Day that Sees Him Rise” specifically:

Him though highest heaven receives,
Still he loves the earth he leaves;
Though returning to his throne.
Still he calls mankind his own.

See! He lifts his hands above;
See! He shows the prints of love;
Hark! His gracious lips bestow
Blessings on his church below.

This hymn appears in “The Methodist Hymn Book” [221], “Hymns and Psalms” [197] and “Singing the Faith” [300]. There are five verses in “The Methodist Hymn Book” but six in the other two.The wording of the sixth verse differs between “Hymns and Psalms” and “Singing the Faith“.

“Jesus, The Conqueror, Reigns

On the same day, Rev Burton quoted the first half of the first verse and all of the second verse of another of Charles Wesley’s hymns, “Jesus, the Conqueror, Reigns” specifically:

Jesus, the Conqueror, reigns,
In glorious strength arrayed
His kingdom over all maintains,
And bids the earth be glad.

Extol his kingly power
Kiss the exalted Son
Who died; and lives, to die no more,
High on his Father’s throne;

Our advocate with God,
He undertakes our cause,
And spreads through all the earth abroad
The victory of his Cross

This hymn appears in “The Methodist Hymn Book” [243] and “Hymns and Psalms” [262] but it appears to have been dropped from “Singing the Faith” apparently because of the battle-themed words.

“Where Shall My Wondering Soul Begin”

On Sunday 24 May 1975, which was both Aldersgate Sunday and Wesley Day, see Chapter 124, Rev Burton wrote out the first two verses of Charles Wesley’s hymn “Where Shall My Wondering Soul Begin?” specifically:

Where shall my wondering soul begin?
How shall I all to heaven aspire?
A slave redeemed from death and sin
A brand plucked from eternal fire
How shall I equal triumphs raise
Or sing my great Deliverer’s praise?

O how shall I the goodness tell,
Father, which Thou to me hast showed?
That I, a child of wrath and hell,
I should be called a child of God.
Should know, should feel my sins forgiven,
Blest with this antepast of heaven!

This hymn appears in “The Methodist Hymn Book” [361], Hymns and Psalms” [706] and “Singing the Faith” [454]. Some of the words were changed over time. For example, in verse 4, Wesley’s “Harlots, publicans and thieves” becomes “Christ’s love invites you to believe” and, in verse 5, “brethren” becomes “kindred“.

Closing Words

Rev Burton closes his book by quoting in full, not the words of a Wesley hymn, but the third and fifth verses of Adelaide Anne Procter’s hymn “My God, I Thank Thee, Who Hast Made”:

I thank Thee, too, that all our joy
Is touched with pain;
That shadows fall on brightest hours;
That thorns remain;
So that earth’s bliss may be our guide;
And not our chain.

I thank Thee, Lord, that here our souls,
Though amply blest,
Can never find, although they seek,
A perfect rest.
Nor ever shall, until they lean
On Jesu’s breast.

This hymn appears in “The Methodist Hymn Book” [524], Hymns and Psalms” [564] but appears to have been dropped from “Singing the Faith“, possibly as part of a move away from Victorian sentimentality.

Funeral Songs

In June 1975, Rev Burton identified a number of hymns and songs that he wanted at his funeral.

“He Wants Not Friends That Hath Thy Love“

This thought was triggered at evensong when he heard Richard Baxter’s hymn “He Wants Not Friends that Hath Thy Love” sung to the tune “O Jesu mi Dulcissime” and commented that he wanted this at his funeral. This hymn is in “The Methodist Hymn Book” [714] set to “O Jesu Mi Dulcissime” from the Clausener Gesangbuch. It appears to have been dropped from later Methodist hymn books such as “Hymns and Psalms“.

“Give Me the Wings of Faith to Rise“

Another hymn Rev Burton identified for his funeral was Isaac Watts’ “Give Me the Wings of Faith to Rise” sung to the tune “Mylon“. Again, this combination appears in “The Methodist Hymn Book” [831] where the tune is credited to J A Naumann. This hymn also appears in Hymns and Psalms” [815] and “Singing the Faith” [747].

“Come Let Us Join Our Friends Above“

Yet another hymn Rev Burton identified for his funeral was Charles Wesley’s “Come, Let us Join Our Friends Above” sung to the tune “St Matthew“. I confess to finding the tune familiar! Apparently, it is well-known in British culture having been a staple of grand national occasions, BBC broadcasts, and school assemblies for many years. Again, this combination appears in “The Methodist Hymn Book” [824] where the tune is credited to W Croft. This hymn also appears in “Hymns and Psalms” [812] and “Singing the Faith” [744].

The Russian Contakion

The Russian Contakion (now more commonly Kontakion) is an ancient Orthodox funeral chant that honours the dead while expressing hope for eternal life. It uses a traditional Kiev melody translated into English by William John Birkbeck. It has recently come to prominence as it was used in the funerals of both Prince Philip and Queen Elizabeth II. I don’t believe it is in “The Methodist Hymn Book” and confess I would not know how to look for it!

Reflections on Choices

It is perhaps unsurprising that Rev Burton’s choices might be considered introspective, solemn and deeply classical drawing on a range of religious traditions which he valued from early Methodist, high Anglican and Orthodox. In an entry, in May 1975, he was critical of the tendency among Christians to dispense with church funeral services. He felt that full Christian services were needed. He commented that the two most spiritually satisfying funerals he attended were both requiem masses involving a sermon, holy communion and interestingly the singing of the Contakion (Kontakion).

Personally, I am a bit surprised that there were not any more “out there” elements such as a reading from D H Lawrence or a song by Edith Piaf! However, while there was an element of the showman about Rev Burton, at heart he was someone with a quiet, serious and mystical inner life.

Herbert and Edith

In December 1974, Rev Burton noted that he had buried someone called Herbert in May. He went to visit his widow, Edith, who had missed him terribly. He died just a few months before they would have been married for 60 years! Each night, in bed, she sang two hymns “Peace, Perfect Peace” and “Forever with the Lord“. The former appears to be the hymn by Edward Henry Bickersteth while the latter hymn is by James Montgomery. Both appear in “The Methodist Hymn Book” [501 and 658].

High Church Music

Very many of the musical elements on which Rev Burton commented most positively were what might be considered high church elements often from evensong at Norwich Cathedral which he attended whenever his shifts as a bus driver allowed.

Singing Psalms

He often commented positively on the singing of psalms, for example:

Psalm 116, which he described as not an evensong psalm, in November 1974
Psalm 101 in December 1974 which he described as Webb in D – he felt as if he could have wept
Psalm 69 in January 1975 to settings by Teesdale and Hawes
Psalm 137, one of his favourites also in January 1975 to the setting by Lloyd in G
Psalms 102, 130 and 142 as penitential psalms on Ash Wednesday in February 1975
Psalm 118 on Easter Day 1975
Psalm 148 in June 1975 which Rev Burton described as very precious to him
Psalm 77 in July 1975 which nearly moved him to tears.

I find it difficult to understand what this would have sounded like as I think sung psalms are largely outside my experience. As part of preparing this blog, I listened to Psalm 137 by Lloyd in G and I have certainly heard church music of this nature. However, it largely goes over my head not least because I find it hard to pick out the words.

I am not sure that sung psalms featured much in Methodist services although psalms seem to be included with tunes in “The Methodist Hymn Book“. They were clearly a central part of Anglican evensong which Rev Burton valued very highly.

Indeed, I discovered, quite late on, that many of the uncredited quotes in Rev Burton’s book are actually from the psalm, or one of the psalms, from evensong for that day. I discuss this in more detail later when looking at Rev Burton’s references to poetry and use of quotes.

A Boy Soloist

In one of his entries, Rev Burton described himself as unashamedly sensual and this is a recurring theme of the book. By this he meant that he used all his senses to stimulate his spirit. One of the examples of sounds that did this was a boy soloist singing “Hear My Prayer“. This piece is a very well-known treble solo by Felix Mendelssohn which was made famous in the twenties by Ernest Lough and the Choir of the Temple Church, London.

Evensong

Many of Rev Burton’s experiences of high church music were at evensong at Norwich Cathedral. For example, in November 1974, Rev Burton noted hearing, at evensong, a haunting and unusual anthem “Jehovah Quam Multi Sunt Hostes” a setting of Psalm 3 by Henry Purcell. It was written around 1680 as a Latin motet. It translates as “Lord How are They Increased that Trouble Me.”

December 1974

Just before Christmas in 1974, Rev Burton noted that evensong, on one Thursday, included one of his favourite anthems “Call to Remembrance O Lord” by Richard Farrant. It puts to music Psalm 25:5-6 and is seen as a penitential anthem. It was composed in the mid to late sixteenth century.

Other Examples

There were a number of other examples from evensong. For example, in June 1975, he noted that the canticles were sung to one of his favourite settings, Purcell in G minor. By this, he meant that the ancient biblical songs that are sung at every Anglican evensong, “The Magnificat” and “Nunc Dimittis“, were sung on this occasion to a setting by Henry Purcell in G minor that was composed in around 1680.

“He Wants Not Friends That Hath Thy Love”

The following day, he noted that Richard Baxter’s hymn “He Wants Not Friends That Hath Thy Love” was sung at evensong to the tune “O Jesu Mi Dulcissime” which led to Rev Burton noting that he would like it sung at his funeral.

Other Settings for Canticles

Other settings he noted for the canticles at evensong were Stanford in C in June 1975, Bairstow in D in July 1975 and Stanford in B flat in August 1975. He noted that the D setting by Sir Edward Bairstow was in his top 10 but sadly he did not say what the other nine were! The other composer referenced here was Sir Charles Stanford.

“I Saw the Lord“

On 25 May 1975, evensong included one of Rev Burton’s favourite anthems, John Stainer’s “I Saw the Lord” published in 1876. Several weeks earlier, he had checked to ensure that it would be sung. He described it as a strong eight part work based on Isaiah’s vision in the temple. He quoted the opening of the second part:

O Trinity! O Unity!
Be present as we worship Thee,
And with the songs that angels sing
Unite the hymns of praise we bring

Notice of Services

The notice of services at the Cathedral that day also noted that evensong featured the canticles in a setting by Bryan Kelly in C from 1965; Heathcote Statham’s Te Deum in C; and J S Bach’s organ voluntary “Fugue in E flat“ also known as “St Anne’s Fugue“. Interestingly, Heathcote Statham (not Stathem) had been organist at Norwich Cathedral from 1928 to 1966.

News cutting announcing Trinity Sunday services at Norwich Cathedral for 25 May 1975

On the Radio

On one occasion, on 9 April 1975, Rev Burton noted that he was unable to attend choral evensong at Norwich Cathedral. However, it was broadcast on Radio 3 and he heard most of it in the bus canteen. He said, “I did not turn it up too loud, and stood with my ear close to the set while a card-school continued in session beside me.”

News cutting showing services at Norwich Cathedral on 9 April 1975. Note that evensong at 5 pm was being broadcast by the BBC

News cutting showing programmes on Radio 3 on 9 April 1975 including evensong from Norwich Cathedral at 5 pm

Advent Carols

On 1 December 1974, Rev Burton attended “A Procession with Carols” at Norwich Cathedral. He noted that advent hymns were interspersed with carols sung by the choir. His favourites were:

“Gabriel’s Message” which apparently is a Basque folk carol
“There is No Rose of Such Virtue” is an anonymous advent carol written around 1420
The Lord at First Did Adam Make” which apparently is a traditional English carol popularised in the West Country in the early nineteenth century

News cutting with notice of divine services at Norwich Cathedral for 1 December 1974. These include the procession with candles referred to by Rev Burton

A report of the service in the local press the following day included some elements not captured by Rev Burton. First, the Cathedral made a donation of £800 to Christian Aid based on gifts made by visitors to the Cathedral treasury. Second, there was a strong free church presence at the service. Choirs from two United Reformed Churches, Princes Street and Trinity, and St Mary’s Baptist Church took part. Rev Eric Sharpe, the Chairman of Norwich Council of Churches, read a lesson.

News cutting with report of Advent Carol Service at Norwich Cathedral in December 1974

Christmas Carol Service

On 20 December 1974, Rev Burton attended a Christmas carol service at Norwich Cathedral. However, he felt it lacked the impact of the Advent carol service. Nevertheless, he noted that many of his favourite carols were included, in particular the German carol “The Three Kings” by Cornelius. It was composed by Peter Cornelius in 1856 for a soloist and supporting chorale. A report in the local press also highlighted this carol noting that “it was especially effective… when, simulating the kings, three choristers walked down the aisle to rejoin the rest of the choir“.

Plainsong, Fauxbourdons and the Proper Psalms

The following year, in March 1975, Rev Burton noted that it was Holy Week which meant plainsong, Fauxbourdons and the proper psalms. I confess to only having had a vague idea of what he meant here.

Plainsong

Apparently, plainsong is the oldest form of Christian church music. It consists of a single, unaccompanied melody line sung in unison. It has a non-metric rhythm. When applied to the Psalms, the choir chants the verses on a single, steady reciting note, bending the melody slightly upward or downward only at the punctuation breaks and at the end of a line, known as a psalm tone.

Fauxbourdons

A fauxbourdon, from the French for “false bass” is a choral technique dating back to the 15^th century. It is a simple, block-chord harmony built directly on top of a plainsong melody. In a modern church context, it means the choir uses the alternating practice from plainsong to a polyphonic harmony, the fauxbourdon.

The Proper Psalms

The Proper Psalms are the specific Psalms assigned to be read or sung on a particular calendar day or feast according to a specific liturgy or lectionary. For example, Psalm 22, which includes the phrase, “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” is a Proper Psalm for Good Friday.

The Terms Together

Using the terms together meant that the choir would chant the Proper Psalms for the day using ancient, unmetered plainsong melodies, interweaving harmonised, multi-part Renaissance chord settings every other verse.

Press Notice

The notice in the local press of services at Norwich Cathedral that day, made it clear that the plainsong and fauxbourdons were by 16th century composer John Holmes. Similarly, it noted that there would be an anthem entitled “A Litany” by William Walton.

News cutting with notice of services in Norwich Cathedral on Monday 24 March 1975

“Hear My Prayer“

On the Wednesday of Holy Week, 26 March 1975, Rev Burton noted that the anthem was beautiful and it was “Hear My Prayer” by Purcell.

News cutting with notice of services in Norwich Cathedral on Wednesday 26 March 1975

Good Friday

Just a few days later, on Good Friday, Rev Burton noted that there were no Glorias at evensong. This is normal practice towards the end of Holy Week as a sign of deep mourning. However, there were “beautiful” anthems including “O Vos Omnes” (Gesualdo); “Crus Fidelis” (King John of Portugal) and “Crucifixus” (Lotti).

“O Vos Omnes“

This piece by Carlo Gesualdo literally translates to “O you all” and is the first part of Lamentations 1:12 “Is it nothing to you, all ye that pass by? Behold, and see if there be any sorrow like unto my sorrow”. It dates from the late 16^th or early 17^th century.

“Crux Fidelis”

This piece, which Rev Burton, and the press notice of the service, referred to as “Crus Fidelis” translates as “faithful cross“. This motet is attributed to King John IV of Portugal. However, although this would mean it dated from the 17^th century, it is thought more likely to have been the work of an anonymous 19^th century composer. Given its theme, it is a common piece performed on Good Friday.

“Crucifixus“

This piece by Antonio Lotti translates as “crucified“. It was written in the early 18th century and features eight distinct voice parts. Given its theme, it is a common piece performed on Good Friday.

Notice of services at Norwich Cathedral on Good Friday in 1975

Easter Sunday

On Easter Sunday, Rev Burton noted that he attended “festal” evensong. Apparently, this term denotes a high celebration to mark major holy days, festivals and feast days. He noted that it included the Jesus College, Cambridge Service (Mathias), Te Deum (Britten in C) and Psalm 118.

A notice of divine services in the local press confirmed the first two items and also noted that evensong that day included the anthem “Haec Dies” by Byrd and prayer for the Bishop of the Diocese.

News cutting of notice of divine services at Norwich Cathedral on Easter Sunday 1975

“Jesus College Cambridge Service“

This piece was composed by William Mathias in 1970 specifically for the choir at Jesus College Cambridge. As with all such services, it includes “The Magnificat” and “Nunc Dimittis” canticles.

“Haec Dies“

This piece by William Byrd was published in 1591. The title is translated as “This is the day [that the Lord has made]“. Although Rev Burton did not mention it, it is relevant as it is based on Psalm 118:24. He did mention Psalm 118.

“Te Deum in C“

Te Deum is the term given for an ancient hymn of praise to God. Although a Mattins canticle, it is traditionally included as a climax at the end of festal evensong. This setting in C by Benjamin Britten was composed in 1934 when he was only 21. It is well-known for its treble solo and organ accompaniment.

Events and Concerts

Sometimes, Rev Burton attended events and concerts at Norwich Cathedral.

“Language, Light and Liturgy – From Advent to All Saints“

For example, in November 1974, Rev Burton attended an event at Norwich Cathedral entitled “Language, Light and Liturgy – From Advent to All Saints“. For him, “All Saints” referred to the traditional Christian festival on 1 November. He noted that his favourite items included:

Palestrina “Dum Complerentur Dies Pentecostes”
S S Wesley “Cast Me Not Away“
C V Stanford “Coelos Ascendit Hodie“
Arthur Wills “The Praises of the Trinity”
Olivier Messiaen “Les Mages” from “La Nativité du Seigneur”

I confess that I was completely lost when I read this entry and did not even know if these items were musical or something else! It illustrates my earlier point that my musical tastes and experiences have little if any areas of overlap with those of Rev Burton. When I read the header, my mind immediately jumped to a completely different “All Saints“, namely the nineties girl group and their song “Pure Shores” which I recall from the soundtrack to the film “The Beach“. While I loved the first part of that movie, I thought it went completely weird after that when Leonardo DiCaprio essentially went “Rambo” in the jungle! It is safe to say that my version of “All Saints” sits worlds away from the centuries of sacred cathedral music that captivated Rev Burton!

This confusion is perhaps mirrored in an anecdote detailed in Rev Burton’s book itself. He thought there was a clash of cultures in his house. Apparently, his son was horrified when his mother thought Purcell was the washing powder she had used for years, presumably Persil.

“Dum Complerentur dies Pentecostes“

This piece is based on the start of Acts 2 and translates as “When the Day of Pentecost was fully come“. It was published by Giovanni Pierluigi de Palestrina in 1569. Apparently, it is a polyphonic motet. Polyphonic means that there is no main melody with backing singers but all voices sing overlapping melodies. A motet is a stand-alone choral piece.

“Cast Me Not Away“

This piece by Samuel Sebastian Wesley, the grandson of Charles Wesley, is based on Psalm 51. It was written in 1848 for a six-part choir and features a dark, mournful key.

“Coelos Ascendit Hodie“

This piece was written as a motet for Ascension Day in 1905. The title is Latin and means “Today, he has ascended into heaven“. It was written by Charles Villiers Stanford and features two four-part choirs engaging in rapid-fire, musical “ping-pong“.

“The Praises of the Trinity“

This piece is a modern sacred work by Arthur Wills who was organist and Director of Music at Ely Cathedral from 1958 to 1990. It features a full choir and powerful organ.

“Les Mages“

This piece refers to the Magi or Wise Men. It is perhaps the strangest of all those identified by Rev Burton. It is described as a dramatic, highly dissonant and mystical movement from a 1935 suite for solo pipe organ, that is without a choir, by the avant-garde French composer Olivier Messiaen. I can see how it sounds eerie and atmospheric but it also makes me wonder how Rev Burton could accuse modern pop music of lacking melody!

Advert and Review

I identified an advert for, and review of, this event in a local press archive. The advert shows that this event was staged by the Norwich Cathedral Recitals Society which existed from around the mid-sixties through the eighties. The conductor was the Cathedral’s organist and choirmaster Michael Nicholas, see Chapter 124. The event was held on the eve of St Cecilia‘s Day which itself is commemorated on 22 November. The review documented who was involved and that the choir moved around different parts of the Cathedral.

Advert for the event “*Language, Light and Liturgy*” that Rev Burton attended in November 1974

Review of the event “*Language, Light and Liturgy*” that Rev Burton attended in November 1974

A Concert

In addition, in June 1975, Rev Burton attended a concert at Norwich Cathedral and noted that he preferred “the Haydn“, which he identified as “Little Organ Mass“, to “the Britten and Bernstein“.

From an advert in the local press, I found out more. In addition to Haydn’s “Little Organ Mass“, pieces played included Britten’s “Rejoice in the Lamb” and Bernstein’s “Chichester Psalms“. The performers were Osian Ellis on harp, David Corkhill on percussion and Tom Corfield on organ. The concert was again conducted by Michael Nicholas, see above.

News cutting of advert for concert at Norwich Cathedral on 7 June 1975

“Little Organ Mass“

The official title of this 1775 piece by Joseph Haydn is “Missa Brevis Sancti Joannis de Deo“. It earned its nickname because of an organ solo during the “Benedictus” movement.

“Rejoice in the Lamb“

This piece is a festive cantata written by Benjamin Britten in 1943. It is based on the poetry of Christopher Smart.

“Chichester Psalms“

This piece was composed in 1965 by Leonard Bernstein for Chichester Cathedral. It is sung in Hebrew with an unusual combination of choir, harp, percussion and organ.

Records

On a few occasions, Rev Burton noted records he was given or that he bought. For example, on Christmas Day 1974, he noted that one of his presents was a record of Matthew Locke’s “Music for His Majesty’s Sackbutts and Cornets“. Apparently, this was performed on 23 April 1661 as King Charles II processed from the Tower of London to Whitehall, the day before his coronation. Also, early in January 1975, Rev Burton bought two very cheap records of late mediaeval patriotic songs and early carols. He considered them a “marvellous bargain“.

In an entry in October 1974, Rev Burton listed a number of things which could lift him when feeling spiritually at a low ebb. One of them was listening to Mahler’s 5^th Symphony. The reason that he chose this piece of music for this purpose might be because, apparently, it starts in darkness but finally transforms to a joyful celebration of life.

On 3 January 1975, on his rest day, Rev Burton noted playing John Taverner’s early 16^th century, four-part mass “The Western Wind” over and over again, presumably on a record.

Gilbert and Sullivan

Rev Burton was a big fan of Gilbert and Sullivan comic operas. On New Year’s Day 1975, he noted enjoying a spectacular new television production of “The Yeomen of the Guard“. This was on BBC1 from 9.15 to 11.15 pm.

News cutting showing Derek Hammond-Stroud in the role of Jack Point in “*The Yeomen of the Guard*” on BBC1 on New Year’s Day in 1975. Apparently, it also featured Valerie Masterson as Elsie Maynard. Coincidentally, she was appearing in Norwich that very month in a “*Gilbert and Sullivan For All*” production that my mother and sister Tricia (Patricia) went to, see Chapter 122

Edith Piaf

Earlier, I noted that Rev Burton had chosen four patron saints, one of whom was Edith Piaf. In the entry where he explains why he selected her as a patron saint, he mentions a number of her songs including “La Vie en Rose“, “Hymne à L’amour“, “Milord” and “Non, Je Ne Regrette Rien.” Of all Rev Burton’s musical likes, these are the ones I can perhaps identify with most.

It is intriguing why Rev Burton chose Edith Piaf as one of his patron saints, particularly given that her life for many was an open example of moral degradation characterised by alcoholism, drug addiction and scandal. There was a Norwich connection in that she was named after Edith Cavell but I don’t think that was a major reason in his selection. He considered that her genius was irresistible and undeniable. Her life illustrated what it meant to be a human being, he thought. He highlighted the sheer power and emotional appeal of her singing and he was awed by her courage. He also considered that her life showed the need to accept people as they are.

Edith Piaf in 1946 – public domain image by Studio Harcourt

Music at School

Rev Burton’s book contains a few references to music at school. At the end of October 1974, he noted that an autumn song he learned at primary school kept going through his head. This started “Goodnight, Goodnight my children, says kindly Father Sun…” It seems that there were multiple versions of songs like this but the one he knew continued “For Summer’s days are ended her work is almost done, and now her misty curtain kind Autumn softly weaves, and spreads a wondrous carpet of gold and silver leaves“.

In March 1975, Rev Burton went to the spring concert presented by his old school. This was known as the City of Norwich School (CNS) but, by this point, had been renamed Eaton. He noted that the highlight of the evening was the return of two old boys who played Vivaldi’s “Concerto for Two Cellos” in G minor and also the “Requiem for Three Cellos and Piano” composed by David Popper in 1891. The programme concluded with Vivaldi’s “Gloria“.

Based on an advert and review of the concert, the two returning pupils were John Senter and Graham Bradshaw who were both studying at the Royal Academy of Music in London. Both went on to pursue careers in music. John Senter was a founding member of the Arditti String Quartet, joined Pierre Boulez’s BBC Symphony Orchestra, and eventually became the Principal Cellist for the BBC National Orchestra of Wales, a post he held for 36 years. Graham Bradshaw also joined the BBC Symphony Orchestra as a core cellist in 1978, performing globally at the BBC Proms for decades and recording major classical albums.

News cutting with advert for concert at Eaton School in March 1975

News cutting with review of concert at Eaton School in March 1975

Singing in his Cab

One thing Rev Burton did was to constantly sing in his cab. On one occasion, early in the book, he noted that this was Stanford’s “Te Deum” in B flat. Roy, his conductor commented, “B flat?“… “You can say that again!“

However, although Rev Burton stated that he sang constantly in his cab, elsewhere he commented that he did not always sing English church music. On one occasion, a car driven by an old man cut sharply in front of him. He swore loudly and was worried that someone might have heard!

On another occasion, he noted that the previous week he was gloomy and miserable but this week he was ready to face anything. He commented on how fickle he was. He was sitting in his cab singing “All the Way My Saviour Leads Me; What Have I to Ask Beside“. But then, when he led him through the valley, he panicked and squealed! This hymn was written in 1875. However, it never featured in an adult British Methodist hymn book. Possible reasons for this were that it was considered an American pop or gospel song and there was strong competition for inclusion in those hymnbooks as many slots were already occupied by Charles Wesley. It did appear in Ira D Sankey’s “Sacred Songs and Solos“, see Chapter 107, which was popular with many Methodists as it gave them access to catchy, gospel songs which were not in their hymn books.

Singing with Friends

On one occasion, towards the end of the book, in August 1975, Rev Burton went with a friend, Stephen, to visit another friend, Charles, who had moved to live in a windmill on the Norfolk Broads. While Charles prepared supper, he and Rev Burton sang Gilbert and Sullivan, “fortissimo“. Steve went outside “preferring communion with nature to fellowship with a mutilated captain of the Pinafore“, apparently a reference to Captain Corcoran from “HMS Pinafore“.

After supper, Rev Burton tried to persuade Charles to sing “I’m Called Little Buttercup” from “HMS Pinafore” once more but was outvoted by Stephen who “threatened to bash my face in“. Steve and Rev Burton missed the last bus home so had to walk. They whistled “excruciating military airs“. Steve sang “Colonel Bogey” while Rev Burton sang all four parts of “From the Sunny Spanish Shore“, apparently from the Gilbert and Sullivan opera “The Gondoliers“. I am not sure if Rev Burton meant that Steve actually whistled “Colonel Bogey” as it is an instrumental but given that they had probably been drinking, it is possible, even likely, that Steve sang a rude version about Adolf Hitler!

Poetry and Quotations

In addition to his love of classical music, Rev Burton loved poetry. He sometimes referred to this in his book which is littered with multiple quotations. I confess that, as a cultural Philistine, these mostly went over my head, and I largely skipped over them when I first read the book, not least because I did not really understand what they were.

While some of the quotes are poems, others are not. So, although I intended this section to be specifically about poems and poetry, I have broadened it to cover all quotations.

Psalms

On first reading, I assumed that many of the quotations were from the Bible but I largely just skipped over them as I did not really know what they meant or why they were there!

It turns out that very many of them were quotations from psalms. What I hadn’t realised was that the Anglican Book of Common Prayer specifies psalms for morning and afternoon so that, if the book is followed daily, all 150 Psalms will be read or sung in full within a 30-day month. In most cases, the quotation Rev Burton included was from the evensong psalm for that day. Sometimes, Rev Burton specified this but mostly he did not.

In keeping with this, I have not presented these quotes in chronological order. Rather, I present them by day of the month showing which extracts Rev Burton selected when. Quotes almost exclusively use the language of the Coverdale Psalter used in the Anglican Book of Common Prayer. Please note that, because of the way verses are numbered in this version, verse numbers may slightly differ from other versions of the Bible.

1^st Day of the Month

On the first day of the month, morning prayer covers Psalms 1-5 and evening prayer Psalms 6-8. I did not find any examples of these in Rev Burton’s book.

2^nd Day of the Month

On the second day of the month, morning prayer covers Psalms 9-11 and evening prayer Psalms 12-14. Quotes included in Rev Burton’s book for this day include:

2 December 1974 – Psalm 12:7 “The words of the Lord are pure words: even as the silver, which from the earth is tried, and purified seven times in the fire.”
2 June 1975 – Psalm 13:6 “I will sing of the Lord, because he hath dealt so lovingly with me: yea I will praise the name of the Lord most Highest.”
2 July 1975 – Psalm 14:3 “The Lord looked down from heaven upon the children of men : to see if there were any that would understand, and seek after God.”

3^rd Day of the Month

On the third day of the month, morning prayer covers Psalms 15-17 and evening prayer Psalm 18. Only one quote was included in Rev Burton’s book for this day:

3 October 1974 – Psalm 18:25-26 “With the holy thou shalt be holy: and with a perfect man thou shalt be perfect. With the clean thou shalt be clean: and with the froward thou shalt learn frowardness.

Interestingly perhaps, froward is an old opposite of toward. Apparently, the Hebrew could be translated literally as “with the twisted person you will out-twist them“. The New International Version translates it “to the devious you show yourself shrewd“.

4^th Day of the Month

On the fourth day of the month, morning prayer covers Psalms 19-21 and evening prayer Psalms 22-23. Quotes included in Rev Burton’s book for this day include:

4 March 1975 – Psalm 23:1 “The Lord is my shepherd: therefore can I lack nothing.”
4 July 1975 – Psalm 23:6 “But thy loving-kindness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.”

5^th Day of the Month

On the fifth day of the month, morning prayer covers Psalms 24-26 and evening prayer Psalms 27-29. Only one quote was included in Rev Burton’s book for this day:

5 December 1974 – Psalm 29:10“The Lord shall give strength unto his people: the Lord shall give his people the blessing of peace.”

6^th Day of the Month

On the sixth day of the month, morning prayer covers Psalms 30-31 and evening prayer Psalms 32-34. Only one quote was included in Rev Burton’s book for this day:

6 June 1975 – Psalm 32:9 “I will inform thee, and teach thee in thy way wherein thou shalt go: and I will guide thee with mine eye.”

7^th Day of the Month

On the seventh day of the month, morning prayer covers Psalms 35-36 and evening prayer Psalm 37. Quotes included in Rev Burton’s book for this day include:

7 October 1974 – Psalm 37:5 “Commit thy way unto the Lord, and put thy trust in him: and he shall bring it to pass.”
7 March 1975 – Psalm 37:38 “Keep innocency, and take heed unto the thing that is right; for that shall bring a man peace at the last.”

8^th Day of the Month

On the eighth day of the month, morning prayer covers Psalms 38-40 and evening prayer Psalms 41-43. Quotes included in Rev Burton’s book for this day include:

8 October 1974 – Psalm 42:1“Like as the hart desireth the water-brooks, so longeth my soul after thee, O God.”
8 November 1974 – Psalm 42:2 “My soul is athirst for God, yea, even for the living God: when shall I come to appear before the presence of God?”
8 April 1975 – Psalm 41:9 “Yea, even mine own familiar friend, whom I trusted: who did also eat my bread, hath laid great wait for me.”

9^th Day of the Month

On the ninth day of the month, morning prayer covers Psalms 44-46 and evening prayer Psalms 47-49. Quotes included in Rev Burton’s book for this day include:

9 September 1974 – Psalm 48:8 and Psalm 49:7-8 “We wait for the loving-kindness, O God: in the midst of thy temple. But no man may deliver his brother: nor make agreement unto God for him; for it cost more to redeem their souls…”
9 May 1975 – Psalm 47:5-6 “God is gone up with a merry noise: and the Lord with the sound of the trump. O sing praises unto our God: O sing praises, sing praises unto our King.”
9 August 1975 – Psalm 48:13 “For this God is our God for ever and ever: he shall be our guide unto death.”

10^th Day of the Month

On the tenth day of the month, morning prayer covers Psalms 50-52 and evening prayer Psalms 53-55. Quotes included in Rev Burton’s book for this day include:

10 September 1974 – Psalm 55:15 “We took sweet counsel together: and walked in the house of God as friends.”
10 December 1974 – Psalm 55:6 “And I said, O that I had wings like a dove: for then would I flee away and be at rest.”
10 March 1975 – Psalm 55:23 “O cast thy burdens upon the Lord, and he shall nourish thee; and shall not suffer the righteous to fall for ever.”

11^th Day of the Month

On the 11^th day of the month, morning prayer covers Psalms 56-58 and evening prayer Psalms 59-61. Quotes included in Rev Burton’s book for this day include:

11 October 1974 – Psalm 61:3 “O set me upon the rock that is higher than I: for thou hast been my hope, and a strong tower for me against the enemy.”
11 February 1975 – Psalm 61:7-8 “He shall dwell before God for ever: O prepare thy loving mercy and faithfulness, that they may preserve him. So will I always sing praise unto thy Name: that I may daily perform my vows.”
11 March 1975 – Psalm 61:1-2 “Hear my crying, O God: give ear unto my prayer. From the ends of the earth will I call upon thee: when my heart is in heaviness.”

12^th Day of the Month

On the 12^th day of the month, morning prayer covers Psalms 62-64 and evening prayer Psalms 65-67. Quotes included in Rev Burton’s book for this day include:

12 September 1974 – Psalm 67:1 “God be merciful unto us, and bless us: and shew us the light of his countenance, and be merciful unto us.”
12 November 1974 – Psalm 66:4 “O come hither, and behold the works of God: how wonderful he is in his doing to the children of men.”

13^th Day of the Month

On the 13^th day of the month, morning prayer covers Psalm 68 and evening prayer Psalms 69-70. Quotes included in Rev Burton’s book for this day include:

13 November 1974 – Psalm 69:21-22 “Thy rebuke hath broken my heart; I am full of heaviness: I looked for some to have pity on me, but there was no man, neither found I any to comfort me. They gave me gall to eat: and when I was thirsty they gave me vinegar to drink.”
13 January 1975 – Psalm 69:1-2 “Save me, O God: for the waters are come in, even unto my soul. I stick fast in the deep mire, where no ground is: I am come into deep waters, so that the floods run over me.”
13 February 1975 – Psalm 69:31“I will praise the Name of God with a song: and magnify it with thanksgiving.”
13 March 1975 – Psalm 69:13 “But Lord I make my prayer unto thee: in an acceptable time.”

14^th Day of the Month

On the 14^th day of the month, morning prayer covers Psalms 71-72 and evening prayer Psalms 73-74. Quotes included in Rev Burton’s book for this day include:

14 November 1974 – Psalm 73:15-16 “Then thought I to understand this: but it was too hard for me, Until I went into the sanctuary of God: then understood I the end of these men.”
14 January 1975 – Psalm 73:25 “My flesh and my heart faileth: but God is the strength of my heart and my portion for ever.”
14 March 1975 – Psalm 73:22-23 “Nevertheless, I am always by thee: for thou hast holden me by my right hand. Thou shalt guide me with thy counsel: and after that receive me with glory.”
14 May 1975 – Psalm 74:20 “O deliver not the soul of thy turtle-dove unto the multitude of the enemies: and forget not the congregation of the poor for ever.”
14 July 1975 – Psalm 74:14 “Thou didst divide the sea through thy power: thou brakest the heads of the dragons in the waters.”

15^th Day of the Month

On the 15^th day of the month, morning prayer covers Psalms 75-77 and evening prayer Psalm 78. Quotes included in Rev Burton’s book for this day include:

15 November 1974 – Psalm 78:26 “So man did eat angels’ food…”
15 January 1975 – Psalm 78:20 “They spake against God also, saying: Shall God prepare a table in the wilderness?”

16^th Day of the Month

On the 16^th day of the month, morning prayer covers Psalms 79-81 and evening prayer Psalms 82-85. Quotes included in Rev Burton’s book for this day include:

16 October 1974 – Psalm 85:10 “Mercy and truth are met together: righteousness and peace have kissed each other.”
16 June 1975 – Psalm 84:2 “My soul hath a desire and longing to enter into the courts of the Lord: my heart and my flesh rejoice in the living God.”
16 July 1975 – Psalm 84:11 “I had rather be a door-keeper in the house of my God: than to dwell in the tents of ungodliness.”

17^th Day of the Month

On the 17^th day of the month, morning prayer covers Psalms 86-88 and evening prayer Psalm 89. Quotes included in Rev Burton’s book for this day include:

17 June 1975 – Psalm 89:45 “Lord, how long wilt thou hide thyself, for ever…?”
17 July 1975 – Psalm 89:20 “Thou spakest sometime in visions unto thy saints…”
17 January 1975 – Psalm 89:1 “My song shall be always of the loving-kindness of the Lord: with my mouth will I ever be shewing thy truth from one generation to another.”

18^th Day of the Month

On the 18^th day of the month, morning prayer covers Psalms 90-92 and evening prayer Psalms 93-94. Quotes included in Rev Burton’s book for this day include:

18 November 1974 – Psalm 94:8-9 “Take heed, ye unwise among the people: O ye fools, when will ye understand? He that planted the ear, shall he not hear: or he that made the eye, shall he not see?”
18 July 1975 – Psalm 94:19 “In the multitude of the sorrows that I had in my heart : thy comforts have refreshed my soul.”
18 December 1974 – Psalm 93:1 “The Lord is King, and hath put on glorious apparel: the Lord hath put on his apparel, and girded himself with strength.”

19^th Day of the Month

On the 19^th day of the month, morning prayer covers Psalms 95-97 and evening prayer Psalms 98-101. Quotes included in Rev Burton’s book for this day include:

19 December 1974 – Psalm 101:1-4, 9 “My song shall be of mercy and judgement: unto thee, O Lord, will I sing. O let me have understanding: in the way of godliness. When wilt thou come unto me: I will walk in my house with a perfect heart. I will take no wicked thing in hand; I hate the sin of unfaithfulness: there shall no such cleave unto me” and “Whoso leadeth a godly life; he shall be my servant.”
19 March 1975 – Psalm 100:3 “O go your way into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him and speak good of his Name.”
19 May 1975 – Psalm 99:9 “O magnify the Lord our God, and worship him upon his holy hill: for the Lord our God is holy.”
19 June 1975 – Psalm 98:1 “O sing unto the Lord a new song: for he hath done marvellous things.”

20^th Day of the Month

On the 20^th day of the month, morning prayer covers Psalms 102-103 and evening prayer Psalm 104. Quotes included in Rev Burton’s book for this day include:

20 September 1974 – Psalm 104:4 “He maketh his angels spirits: and his ministers a flaming fire.”
20 November 1974 – Psalm 104:24 “O Lord, how manifold are they works: in wisdom hast thou made them all; the earth is full of riches.”
20 May 1975 – Psalm 104:33 “I will sing unto the Lord as long as I live: I will praise my God while I have my being.”

21^st Day of the Month

On the 21^st day of the month, morning prayer covers Psalm 105 and evening prayer Psalm 106. Quotes included in Rev Burton’s book for this day include:

21 October 1974 – Psalm 106:46 “Blessed be the Lord God of Israel from everlasting, and world without end: and let all the people say, Amen.”
21 May 1975 – Psalm 106:8 “Nevertheless, he helped them for his Name’s sake: that he might make his power to be known.”

22^nd Day of the Month

On the 22^nd day of the month, morning prayer covers Psalm 107 and evening prayer Psalms 108-109. Only one quote was included in Rev Burton’s book for this day:

22 November 1974 – Psalm 109:20 “But deal thou with me, O Lord, according unto thy Name: for sweet is thy mercy.”

23^rd Day of the Month

On the 23^rd day of the month, morning prayer covers Psalms 110-113 and evening prayer Psalms 114-115. Quotes included in Rev Burton’s book for this day include:

23 October 1974 – Psalm 115:1 “Not unto us, O Lord, not unto us, but unto thy Name give the praise: for thy loving mercy, and for thy truth’s sake.”
23 April 1975 – Psalm 114:7-8 “Tremble, thou earth, at the presence of the Lord: at the presence of the God of Jacob; Who turned the hard rock into a standing water: and the flint-stone into a springing well.”

24th Day of the Month

On the 24^th day of the month, morning prayer covers Psalms 116-118 and evening prayer Psalm 119:1-32. Quotes included in Rev Burton’s book for this day include:

24 October 1974 – Psalm 119:27 “Make me to understand the way of thy commandments: and so shall I talk of thy wondrous works.”
24 January 1975 – Psalm 119:8 “I will keep thy ceremonies: O forsake me not utterly”
24 April 1975 – Psalm 119:28 “My soul melteth away for very heaviness: comfort thou me according unto thy word.”
24 June 1975 – Psalm 119:2 “Blessed are they that keep his testimonies: and seek him with their whole heart.”

25^th Day of the Month

On the 25^th day of the month, morning prayer covers Psalm 119:33-72 and evening prayer Psalm 119:73-104. Quotes included in Rev Burton’s book for this day include:

25 September 1974 – Psalm 119:73 “Thy hands have made me and fashioned me: O give me understanding that I may learn Thy commandments.”
25 October 1974 – Psalm 119:99 “I have more understanding than my teachers: for their testimonies are my study”
25 April 1975 – Psalm 119:103 “O how sweet are thy words unto my throat: yea, sweeter than honey unto my mouth.”

It is worth noting that Rev. Burton thought the choristers sang Psalm 119:99 with an “unbecoming relish“.

26^th Day of the Month

On the 26^th day of the month, morning prayer covers Psalm 119:105-144 and evening prayer Psalm 119: 14-176. I did not find any examples of these in Rev Burton’s book.

27^th Day of the Month

On the 27^th day of the month, morning prayer covers Psalms 120-125 and evening prayer Psalms 126-131. Only one quote was included in Rev Burton’s book for this day:

27 February 1975 – Psalm 126:6-7 “They that sow in tears shall reap in joy. He that now goeth on his way weeping, and beareth forth good seed: shall doubtless come again with joy, and bring his sheaves with him.”

28^th Day of the Month

On the 28^th day of the month, morning prayer covers Psalms 132-135 and evening prayer Psalms 136-138. Quotes included in Rev Burton’s book for this day include:

28 January 1975 – Psalm 137:1-6 “By the Waters of Babylon we sat down and wept: when we remembered thee, O Sion. As for our harps, we hanged them up: upon the trees that are therein. For they that led us away captive required of us then a song, and melody in our heaviness: Sing us one of the songs of Sion. How shall we sing the Lord’s song in a strange land? If I forget thee, O Jerusalem: let my right hand forget her cunning. If I do not remember thee, let my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth: yea if I prefer not Jerusalem in my mirth.”
28 February 1975 – Psalm 138:6 “For though the Lord be high, yet hath he respect unto the lowly: as for the proud, he beholdeth them far off.”
28 April 1975 – Psalm 138:2 “I will worship toward thy holy temple, and praise thy Name, because of thy loving-kindness and truth: for thou hast magnified thy Name, and thy Word, above all things.”
28 August 1975 – Psalm 136:19-20 “Sehon king of the Amorites: for his mercy endureth for ever; And Og the king of Basan: for his mercy endureth for ever.”

29^th Day of the Month

On the 29^th day of the month, morning prayer covers Psalms 139-141 and evening prayer Psalms 142-143. I did not find any examples of these in Rev Burton’s book.

30^th Day of the Month

On the 30^th day of the month, morning prayer covers Psalms 144-146 and evening prayer Psalms 147-150. Quotes included in Rev Burton’s book for this day include:

30 May 1975 – Psalm 147:3-6 “He healeth those that are broken in heart: and giveth medicine to heal their sickness. He telleth the number of the stars: and calleth them all by their names. Great is our Lord, and great is his power: yea, and his wisdom is infinite. The Lord setteth up the meek: and bringeth the ungodly down to the ground.”
30 June 1975 – Psalm 148 “O praise the Lord of heaven : praise him in the height. Praise him, all ye angels of his : praise him, all his host. Praise him, sun and moon : praise him, all ye stars and light. Praise him, all ye heavens : and ye waters that are above the heavens. Let them praise the Name of the Lord : for he spake the word, and they were made; he commanded, and they were created. He hath made them fast for ever and ever : he hath given them a law which shall not be broken.

Praise the Lord upon earth : ye dragons, and all deeps; Fire and hail, snow and vapours : wind and storm, fulfilling his word; Mountains and all hills : fruitful trees and all cedars; Beasts and all cattle : worms and feathered fowls; Kings of the earth and all people : princes and all judges of the world; Young men and maidens, old men and children, praise the Name of the Lord : for his Name only is excellent, and his praise above heaven and earth. He shall exalt the horn of his people; all his saints shall praise him : even the children of Israel, even the people that serveth him.”

31^st Day of the Month

Where a month has 31 days, psalms for the 30^th are repeated on the 31^st. Quotes included in Rev Burton’s book for this day include:

31 October 1974 – Psalm 148:12-13 “Young men and maidens, old men and children, praise the Name of the Lord: for his Name is only excellent, and his praise above heaven and earth. He shall exalt the horn of his people; all his saints shall praise him: even the children of Israel, even the people that serveth him.”
31 January 1975 – Psalm 150:6 “Let everything that hath breath: praise the Lord.”

Repeated Quote

I only encountered one case where a quote from one day is repeated on another. In this case, Rev Burton quoted the whole of Psalm 148 on 30 June 1975 thus repeating verses 12-13 which he had quoted on 31 October 1974.

Other Psalms

There are some occasions when Rev Burton quoted a psalm that does not appear to be the designated evensong psalm for that day. These instances are considered here:

Proper Psalms

The Anglican church specifies certain psalms to be read or sung on particular feast days, holy days and special church services. These are referred to as Proper Psalms. They take precedence over the Psalms that would usually be read or sung on particular days.

Ash Wednesday

For example, on 12 February 1975, Rev Burton quoted Psalm 102:9 saying, “for I have eaten ashes as it were bread: and mingled my drink with weeping.” According to the Anglican Book of Common Prayer, this is a Proper Psalm for Ash Wednesday.

Holy Week

Rev Burton referred to a number of Proper Psalms during Holy Week in 1975:

25 March 1975 – Psalm 31:6 “Into thy hands I commend my spirit: for thou hast redeemed me, O Lord, thou God of truth.” Apparently Psalm 31 is one of the Proper Psalms for the evening of Tuesday in Holy Week.
26 March 1975 – Psalm 55:12-14 “For it is not an open enemy, that hath done me this dishonour: for then I could have borne it. Neither was it mine adversary, that did magnify himself against me: for then peradventure I would have hid myself from him. But it was even thou, my companion: my guide, and mine own familiar friend.” Apparently Psalm 55 is the Proper Psalm for the evening of Wednesday in Holy Week.
28 March 1975 (Good Friday) – Psalm 40:1 “I waited patiently for the Lord: and he inclined unto me, and heard my calling.” Apparently, this is the Proper Psalm for Good Friday but for Mattins, not Evensong.
30 March 1975 (Easter Sunday) — Psalm 118:1, 14, 17-18, 22-24“O give thanks unto the Lord, for he is gracious: because his mercy endureth for ever… The Lord is my strength, and my song: and is become my salvation… I shall not die, but live: and declare the works of the Lord. The Lord hath chastened and corrected me: but he hath not given me over unto death… The same stone which the builders refused: is become the head-stone in the corner. This is the Lord’s doing: and it is marvellous in our eyes. This is the day which the Lord hath made: we will rejoice and be glad in it.” Apparently, this is the Proper Psalm for Easter Sunday.

Commemoration of the Cathedral’s Founder

On 19 July 1975, Rev Burton included this quote, “The Lord shall preserve thy going out, and thy coming in: from this time forth evermore.” Psalm 121:8. It is possible that this was used in relation to a service of commemoration for Bishop Herbert de Losinga who founded the cathedral church in 1096. Rev Burton referred to this service.

News cutting with notice of services at the Cathedral on 19 July 1975

Festival of the Dedication of the Cathedral Church

On 24 September 1974, Rev Burton noted that there was a festal evensong as part of the Festival of the Dedication of the Cathedral Church. He quoted Psalm 122:1 “I was glad when they said unto me: We will go into the house of the Lord.”

Themes and Sermons

Sometimes, Rev Burton quoted particular Psalms when discussing particular themes or as part of a sermon. For example, on 24 July 1975, he noted that “It is he that hath made us” and we are ‘fearfully and wonderfully made’. He referenced this as Psalm 100 and Psalm 139.

On 24 August 1975, in a sermon entitled “I Believe in God“, he quoted Psalm 8:3-4 saying, “I will consider thy heavens, even the works of thy fingers: the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained. What is man that thou art mindful of him?”

Other Occasions

On Sunday 3 November 1974, Rev Burton noted that Psalm 116 was sung in the afternoon even though it was not an evensong psalm. He did not explain why this was done but noted that he found it moving. He quoted, “What reward shall I give unto the Lord: for all the benefits that he hath done unto me?” Psalm 116:11.

Again, on 13 June 1975, he quoted, “But let all those that seek thee be joyful and glad in thee: and let all such as delight in thy salvation say alway, The Lord be praised.” Psalm 40:19.

On 20 July 1975, Rev Burton quoted “Hath God forgotten to be gracious: and will he shut up his loving-kindness in displeasure?” Psalm 77:9.

Quoting Other Parts of the Bible

While Rev Burton quoted Psalms extensively, he did also sometimes include other verses from the Bible. For example, on 23 December 1974, he noted, “he… hath exalted the humble and meek” which is a quote from “The Magnificat” in Luke 1:52. Rev Burton hoped that the words would not choke us! He also quoted from the beatitudes from Matthew 5:8 “Blessed are the pure in heart“.

Romans 8:21

In February 1975, in an argument in support for physical emancipation, he quotes Romans 8:21 referring to “the glorious liberty of the sons of God“.

Acts 1:9

On 8 May 1975, Ascension Day, he quoted Acts 1:9 saying “A cloud received him out of their sight” but, he continued that it did not conceal us from his sight. He then carried on with quotes from Hebrews saying “he ever liveth to make intercession” (Hebrews 7:25) and “seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession. For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need” (Hebrews 4:14-16).

“I Believe in God“

In his sermon entitled “I Believe in God” from 24 August 1975, he quoted passages from the Bible:

“In the beginning was the Word (i.e. Christ), and the Word was with God and the Word was God… All things were made by him… And the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us… And we beheld his glory.” John 1:1-14.
“He is the image of the invisible God…By him were all things created, visible and invisible… All things were created by him and for him… And by him all things consist.” Col 1:15-17
“In him we live and move and have our being.” Acts 17.28

Salt of the Earth

On 31 August 1975, Burton quoted Jesus who said “Ye are the salt of the earth” Matthew 5:13.

Religious Quotes

Rev Burton included quotes from a wide range of religious sources other than the Bible and these are considered here. I present first quotes which seem to me to relate mainly to people and then quotes that relate mainly to themes or ideas. I have put each quote into only one of these categories recognising that there are some which could have been considered in both.

People

In order to understand better the people Rev Burton chose to quote, I have divided them into four categories which I discuss in turn, namely mystics; modern preachers, theologians and thinkers; writers of fiction and patron saints.

Mystics

Near the start of the book, Rev Burton quoted Lady Julian of Norwich, who lived from around 1343 to some time after 1416. in support of his views on love. He combined a quote from her “Love was his meaning” with a quote from John’s first letter referring to the love which “the Father has bestowed upon us” 1 John 3:1.

Later in the book, he quoted 14^th century Kashmiri, Hindu philosopher who he called Lalladed but who is more commonly called Lall Ded or Lalleshwari who said, “Thou wert ever close to me and yet I searched for Thee till the evening shadows fell“. Rev Burton simply used this quote as an entry for a day without explaining why he had done so. My understanding of this is that we may spend much time and effort in spiritual searching only to find that God was already close to us.

Modern Preachers, Theologians and Thinkers

There are quite a number of people whose quotes I have placed under specific themes or idea who could have been featured here. However, where their quotes support a particular theme or idea, especially where that was central to how Rev Burton lived his life, I have included them there, for example Henri Perrin, who contributed a great deal to what Rev Burton thought about “worker-priests“.

Given that Rev Burton was himself a Methodist Minister, you might have thought that there would have been a number of Methodist preachers and teachers here. We have seen that Rev Burton was greatly influenced by the Wesleys, particularly some of the hymns written by Charles Wesley. However, it does not take long reading Rev Burton’s diary to realise that he was far from a conventional Methodist Minister. So, when I did find a well-known preacher featured in his diary, I confess it came as a bit of a surprise!

W E Sangster

Towards the end of the diary, in a sermon entitled “I Believe in God“, REv Burton quoted W E Sangster, saying “that God is on the throne of the universe and God is Love. I will hold to that. For the rest I can wait“. This quote feeds into a point that features throughout the book namely that we cannot know and understand God without making him too small and constrained. I think Rev Burton may be saying if these two points are good enough for such an established theologian and preacher as W E Sangster, they were good enough for him.

I have come across entries concerning W E Sangster in my family’s diaries. In December 1956, mum, dad and grandma went to hear him speak at Bridge Street Methodist Church in Mansfield, see Chapter 54. He was a very well-known Methodist preacher and speaker. He was born in 1900 and died in 1959. Edith Searson, in her book(let) about her life in Kirkby “I Remember” recalls going to hear Dr Sangster speak at a circuit rally in 1950. It could be that there were two separate visits but that would mean that neither grandad nor mum noted the earlier visit. The other explanation is perhaps some mis-remembering of dates.

Biography of W E Sangster by Andrew Cheatle

Simone De Beauvoir

Rev Burton also included a quote from French existentialist philosopher, writer, social theorist and feminist, Simone de Beauvoir. I have included her here, even though she was an avowed atheist, because she was a renowned thinker. At first glance, given Rev Burton’s Methodist background, she may seem a surprising choice. However, given what we have already learned about him, it might surprise us less than more conventional choices. Definitely given Rev Burton’s views on women Ministers and women drivers, any feminist writer would seem a surprising choice. However, I think her existentialist views, particularly the search for authenticity would have resonated with him.

On 5 April 1975, he quoted something she said when aged 19, namely, “I don’t want my life to obey any other will but my own“. It was the only entry for the day and he offered it without explanation. I don’t know why it resonated with him, particularly given her feminist context. However, I can only assume he admired her for this and identified with her when he faced such opposition and misunderstanding about the key things he felt he wanted to do such as being a “worker-priest” and seeking dual ordination in both Methodist and Anglican churches.

Writers of Fiction

As with the previous category, there are a number of writers Rev Burton quoted who could be featured here. However, where their writing is considered to be mainly secular, even if Rev Burton draws spiritual lessons from it, they are included in a subsequent section.

Lloyd C Douglas

Lloyd C Douglas was an American Lutheran Minister and writer. He wrote 11 novels which focused on religious, spiritual and moral issues. These included “The Robe“. Written in 1942, this was a historical novel telling the story of the crucifixion of Jesus and its aftermath.

Rev Burton included a long quote from “The Robe” in his entry for Sunday 23 March 1975, which was Palm Sunday. Unsurprisingly perhaps, it tells the story of the original Palm Sunday from the perspective of one of “The Robe’s” main characters Demetrius. Rev Burton does not explain or elucidate but perhaps just thought it was a good way of presenting the story of Palm Sunday from the perspective of an albeit fictional Corinthian slave.

Finding Patron Saints among Religious Writers

As noted earlier, Rev Burton identified four patron saints. Of these, two were important religious figures and, in explaining why he had selected them, he included a number of quotes by, or about, them.

John Donne

Rev Burton chose the poet and priest John Donne as one of his four patron saints. Donne lived at the turn of the 16^th century. Rev Burton explained his choice on 31 March 1975, the anniversary of Donne’s death in 1631, quoting extensively from Donne’s work. From Donne’s “Elegies“, he selected “To his Mistris Going to Bed“. George Saintsbury described this as “a piece of frank naturalism, redeemed from coarseness by passion and poetic completeness“. It is certainly explicit from the start and I suspect this appealed to Rev Burton.

“The Sunne Rising“

From Donne’s “Songs and Sonnets“, he selected “The Sunne Rising” but would have liked to have included others. Rev Burton concluded that, like his master Ovid, Donne was uninterested in homosexuality although his “Verse Letters” showed the importance of friendships to him.

“Divine Poems“

Rev Burton considered that his “Divine Poems” were full of the same spiritual insights as his sermons. He referred to “A Hymne to God the Father” as one of the most famous. I confess to not having come across it before. I can see why it is considered so great and, perhaps, why it would appeal to Rev Burton. Donne asks God if he will forgive him his sins and when he imagines that God has, he tells him there are more. This continues until a time in the future when he dies. Then and only then would he have no more! He considered that Donne’s sermon, on the mercy of God, was his best-known.

Helen Gardner

Rev Burton concluded by quoting comments by Helen Gardner to consider whether there were two Donnes or at least two sides to him, the licentious Jack Donne and the grave and moral Doctor Donne. I think one of the things which appealed to Rev Burton was that these two things were combined in one person. He said, “it is those depths of sensuality and spirituality combined in the one person which comprise the secret of John Donne’s fascination for me.”

Lothian Portrait of John Donne. A black and white version of this is included in “*Transport of Delight*” – image in the public domain

Sir Thomas More

Rev Burton chose the Catholic martyr Sir Thomas More as another of his four patron saints. Born in 1478, More served as Lord Chancellor to Henry VIII from October 1529 to May 1532. He opposed the Protestant Reformation and the separation of the Church of England from the Roman Catholic Church. He refused to accept Henry VIII as head of the church nor the annulment of Henry’s marriage to Catherine of Aragon. Finally, he was executed for treason on 6 July 1535. He was declared a Roman Catholic saint in 1935.

Reason for Selection as Patron Saint

On 7 July 1975, the day after the anniversary of the death of Sir Thomas More, Rev Burton explained his selection as one of his patron saints including a description of the young More by John Richard Green, in “A Short History of the English People”, who said, “the brightness and freedom of the New Learning seemed incarnate in the young scholar, with his gay talk, his winsomeness of manner, his reckless epigrams, his passionate love of music, his omniverous reading, his paradoxical speculations, his jibes at monks, his schoolboy fervour of liberty. But events were soon to prove that beneath this sunny nature lay a stern inflexibility of conscientious resolve.”

Unfamiliar Terms

I confess that I found this quote difficult to follow not least because I did not know some of the terms. Apparently, “the New Learning“, historically known as Renaissance Humanism, was a late 15^th and early 16^th century movement that rejected rigid medieval scholasticism in favor of recovering ancient Greek and Roman texts. This intellectual shift integrated secular subjects like art, history, and literature with spiritual life, emphasising a warm and human experience of faith.

Reckless Epigrams

Reckless epigrams refer to short, biting and satirical remarks to mock the hypocrisies of the powerful establishment without regard for the consequences. An example of one of Thomas More’s reckless epigrams was when he mocked the dead Henry VII saying, “The king is dead, stripped of his gold and his glory. Lying cold while the lawyers count the cash he wrung from the poor. While he lived, he bled the nation dry; now death has drained him in return.“

Barbaric Treatment of Protestants

Green appears to have also been a fan of Sir Thomas More, referring to his barbaric treatment of Protestants as “the one stain on a memory that knows no other“. On the other hand, Winston Churchill referred to him as follows, “More stood forth as the defender of all that was finest in the mediaeval outlook. He represents to history its universality, its belief in spiritual values, and its instinctive sense of other-worldliness. Henry VIII with cruel axe decapitated not only a wise and gifted counsellor, but a system which, though it had failed to live up to its ideals in practice, had for long furnished mankind with its brightest dreams“.

Reasons for Selection as Patron Saint

Why then did Rev Burton select him as one of his patron saints? In my view, he did not really explain this explicitly. Clearly, Rev Burton admired More’s resolute commitment to the Roman Catholic faith even at great personal cost. However, I think he also probably identified with Green’s description of the young More showing that he was intelligent, passionate and humorous.

Portrait of Sir Thomas More by Hans Holbein the Younger from 1527 – public domain image

Themes/Ideas

In order to understand better the themes and ideas that Rev Burton chose to advance using quotes from religious literature, I have divided them into three namely “worker-priests“/incarnational living; being human; and sacred spaces. I explore each of these in turn.

“Worker-priests“/Incarnational Living

As we have seen earlier, Rev Burton saw himself as a “worker-priest“, that is as an ordained Methodist Minister who worked as a full-time bus driver. This was inspired by the experience of others, particularly within French Roman Catholicism. He was clear that he was not an industrial chaplain and he was not seeking to convert those who worked on the buses and/or to get them to attend church. Rather, he sought simply to live among ordinary working people demonstrating what he called “Christian presence“. I have referred to this as incarnational living.

Living Better in the World

Early in the book, in September 1974, Rev Burton noted seeing a poster at the University of East Anglia quoting Quaker leader William Penn. It said, “true godliness does not turn men out of the world but enables them to live better in it and excites their endeavours to mend it“. I can imagine that Rev Burton would have loved this quote as it more or less summed up his whole philosophy of life.

Inspired by Henri Perrin

Three months later and three days before Christmas, in December 1974, Rev Burton quotes the French Jesuit “worker-priest” Henri Perrin, saying “Far from dominating us, these godless men are in our hands, for the most part poor creatures who ask for light and friendship. Yes, of course, they won’t be coming to Mass next Sunday, and it’s better that they shouldn’t. But they need a Christian near them, someone who is attractive and doesn’t think like everyone else, who behaves in a way that is a witness to the existence of another world where life is happier because people believe in something beyond themselves. I’ve seen them full of astonishment and admiration where they learned about our prayers, our friendship, and our faith. We may not be much in ourselves, but at least they’ve met Christians, a thing that doesn’t happen every day.”

Encapsulating his Views

I can see why Rev Burton included these words as they encapsulate his views on “worker-priests” and were, in many ways, a blueprint for his work and life. However, I confess to finding them a little patronising and paternalistic, particularly the phrase “poor creatures” although I accept that this was not the intention then. I am also not sure why it is assumed they would not come to a church service although I understand that this was at the core of the “worker-priest” movement’s strategy adopted by Rev Burton and was absolutely not how he judged “success“.

Pierre Hamp

The following year, Rev Burton quoted French socialist writer, Pierre Hamp from Henri Perrin’s autobiography, at some length. Pierre Hamp and his writings had greatly influenced Perrin. This quote is critical of professional priests who have fully separated themselves from manual work unlike Jesus or Paul who both worked in manual trades.

He said, “the tradition of Jesus the Carpenter, of Paul the Carpetmaker [tentmaker] has no continuity… The priest limits himself to his parliamentary role; he discourses. He doesn’t do his day’s work at the machines. With him, as with all those who insist on keeping their hands clean, the contempt for work shows not so much by words but by lack of contact. They praise work and keep away from it. The separation between the church and working life has been achieved by priests with clean hands, renegades from the religion in which the first disciples and Saint Paul were in communion.”

Priests with Clean Hands

I am sure that the imagery of “priests with clean hands” resonated with Rev Burton who would often end a shift driving a bus with dirty hands.

TRADITIO S. JOSEPH OPUS ET S. PAULI OPUS / THE DISCONTINUITY NON CONTINUATUR PER SACERDOTEM. The priest limits himself to his parliamentary role; he discourses. He doesn't do his day's work at the machines. — An AI-generated image illustrating Pierre Hamp’s contrast between the manual trades of Jesus and Paul and the separation of “*modern*” priests from working life. Ironically, while the artwork gives Jesus a traditional holy halo, the quote reminds us that he worked as an ordinary carpenter. The image of Paul shows him making carpets but most English translations refer to him as a tentmaker

Douglas Thompson

Towards the end of the book, in August 1975, Rev Burton quoted Douglas Thompson who was General Secretary of the Methodist Missionary Society from 1958 to 1968 and President of the Methodist Conference in 1966. Rev Thompson said, in an article in the 1966 report of the Medical Missionary Society, “Christians pray for ‘showers of blessing’ and plaintively sing ‘Let some drops now fall on me“. But out in the schools, and streets, and among men and women there is already ‘the sound of abundance of rain’. Will the church get out and get wet? So often when the downpour is at its height we hear it on our church roof and complain ‘that secularism’ is making so much noise we can’t hear the prayers“.

Out in the World

It appears that this quote was a call to the church to get out into the world. Rev Burton commented that he was out there, saying “I’m soaked; and it’s gloriously invigorating“. Finding God’s presence within the secular world, rather than inside the church building, was part of a broader movement at the time referred to as Secular Theology. Was this radical theological insight or was it just blinkered spin to cover up a church in terminal decline? While critics would argue that Revs Thompson and Burton were dangerously equating noisy secularism with God, Rev Burton clearly saw his life on the buses as the only honest way left to be a minister in a world that had largely abandoned the pews.

Being Human

Another key theme in Rev Burton’s book revolves around the ideas that human life is messy and complex and that people’s physical existence, including their bodies, is part and parcel of any spiritual or religious experience they may have and not separate from it. Rev Burton describes himself as a “sensual” person, that is he uses all his senses and those sensory experiences inform and enhance his spirituality and religion.

“Travelling In”

He quotes Monica Furlong’s book “Travelling In” a number of times in this regard. Born in 1930, Monica Furlong was a British author, journalist and activist. Many of her books had religious themes including biographies of religious figures and books on a wide range of spiritual and religious topics. She actively campaigned for a more inclusive church and was a prominent supporter of the ordination of women. “Travelling In“, published in 1971, describes itself as a series of meditations, all of which describe the religious dimensions of life in terms of an inward journey. Apparently, the book quotes from a wide range of sources. The book was controversial, and was banned by the Church of Scotland, because Furlong described her own experiences of using LSD.

A Christmas Present

I believe Rev Burton was given this book for Christmas 1974 and he noted that he appreciated it greatly.

“The Cage”

Two days after Christmas, he referred to “The Cage” by Dan Billany and David Dowie which is quoted by Furlong. Billany and Dowie wrote “The Cage” while prisoners of war in Italy during the second world war. When Italy fell, in 1943, they escaped and left the manuscript with an Italian family who later mailed it to Billany’s parents. However, they both disappeared and were presumed dead, leaving behind a profound meditation on human connection:

Billany and Dowie are quoted as follows, “I begin to think, after a year in prison, that the only thing that really matters on earth is that a man should escape from his isolation. That he should be able to drop all screens and defences. That people should not be afraid of each other. That human beings should cherish the human life in each other, and love all things human. That is the lesson I get out of prison. Love one another.

You can’t just start doing it, as the bogus Christians think, by repeating the words aloud. The word deputises much too readily for the fact. You have to do precisely what Christ said – throw away all your defences… and make yourself utterly vulnerable, as Christ was to Judas and Pilate. You have to expose your soul, make the great gesture of trust; you have to cast all your bread upon the waters. To be strong, admit your weakness; to be safe, accept all danger. To lose all fear, take off your armour and throw away your sword…”

Love and Ageing

The following month, in January 1975, Rev Burton devotes a day’s entry to another quote from “Travelling In” without introduction or commentary, “as we grow older love becomes more diffuse… I find myself longing to tell all sorts of people that I love them. And people say it much more to me than in the days when I longed to hear it. When you can say it, and hear it said without assuming that love is about possession, it is wonderful how rich relationships become“.

Liberation of the Body

The following month, in February 1975, he quoted Monica Furlong twice, the first time saying, that she made a pertinent and courageous admission, “I like the thread of thought that runs through Christian thinking about sanctity, that holiness includes a liberation of the body as well as of the spirit“.

Visit to a Nursing Home

On the second occasion, he quoted her perhaps quoting someone else saying, “I went to see her in the nursing-home. They had pumped her out and she was feeling much better. She came down to meet me in the gothic hall and took me to her room. She was beautifully dressed, and her finger-nails were painted, and she made me feel rather a mess. Her room was full of flowers, my own among them, and the nurse brought in tea, and stayed to chat. We were sorry when she went, because the conversation dragged. I was embarrassed that she had attempted suicide, and did not know whether to refer to it or not. She talked about the viscount in the next room.

When I stood up to go she suddenly broke down and said that now her lover had left her she could not go on. She could not go home if his body was not beside her in the bed. She felt totally alone. I knew what she was asking of me at that moment – to take her in my arms and be her mother. But I was afraid – of making a fool of myself (she always had an acid tongue) and perhaps of the sexual implications of embracing a woman. And I was in a hurry – I wanted to get away before the rush-hour traffic got too bad – and there were old resentments between us which had never quite healed. So I said something non-committal and went away.

A few weeks later she killed herself. I had not stabbed her or shot her, nor administered the tablets which poisoned her. But I had let her starve before my eyes“.

I Bought the Book

Monica Furlong’s book “Travelling In” clearly made quite an impact on Rev Burton and he quoted from it extensively. I was keen to find out more about it but found it difficult to get a sense of the book from online descriptions. I therefore decided to buy a copy to see if I could describe it myself! To be honest, the descriptions on the jacket did not help me much! The one at the front talks about journeys while the one at the back just includes a single quote from the book!

The book itself opens with acknowledgements and a couple of quotes. There is no preface or introduction, no explanation of what the book is or what it hopes to achieve. It is short, just over 100 pages. It is broken down into 14 chapters. These have no titles but are simply numbered I to XIV. Each chapter is broken down into a number of entries separated by a space. Entries are varied consisting of thoughts, quotes and memories.

Daily Readings

Given the structure, I thought it might lend itself to daily readings. So, that is what I am currently doing. Unlike other books I have been reading every day, it does not have dates for each reading. So, I have to deploy a bookmark to keep track of where I am. Nevertheless, it is working so far although I have not got that far, just into Chapter 3. I am trying to see if I can discern themes in the chapters. If I can, I will add them to the list here.

I – The Journey
II – Childhood Memories
III – The Nature of Love
IV – to be added
V – to be added
VI – to be added
VII – to be added
VIII – to be added
IX – to be added
X – to be added
XI – to be added
XII – to be added
XIII – to be added
XIV – to be added

Please note that the chapter titles are my attempts to identify themes in each chapter. The chapters in the book itself have no titles only numbers.

The Journey

Chapter I seems to be about “the journey“. Furlong claims that “the religious man is the one who believes that life is about making some kind of journey; the non-religious man is the one who believes there is no journey to take“. I am really not sure about this. I can see that this is what religion means to her but I know a lot of religious people who would not see their religion as a form of journey. Conversely, there are many non-religious people who would see their life as a journey even if that is only in terms of tangible milestones, such as birth, childhood, adolescence, adulthood etc.

Childhood Memories

Chapter II has an autobiographical feel to it focused mainly on childhood memories. While some are positive, many are negative, even traumatic, ranging from an unpleasant trip to the dentist, a cruel and abusive teacher and how it felt to stammer as a child. The quote included by Rev Burton which starts “I went to see her in the nursing-home…” is from Chapter II. Furlong does not explain who this refers to but I thought it might be referring to her mother because of the child’s perspective but I have no evidence that that is the case. Also, the quote on the back dust cover which starts “there is a shrub with tiny white flowers…” is also from Chapter II.

Front cover of Monica Furlong’s book “*Travelling In*” with photo of author from back cover (inset)

“Lord Dismiss Us“

In addition to the multiple quotes from “Travelling In“, Rev Burton quoted the fictional gay teacher, Eric Ashley, from Michael Campbell’s novel “Lord Dismiss Us“. This book, written at the time when Britain was just starting the process to decriminalise homosexuality, explores the secret, passionate, and forbidden romantic relationships between the boys, and the inner struggles of the staff at a quintessential boys’ boarding school called Weatherhill with a new homophobic headmaster. Ashley says, “the virtues of Youth are much exaggerated. You are vain, ruthless, shallow, ignorant of the precipice upon which you stand, and unacquainted with grief“.

I imagine Rev Burton would have enjoyed this book because he was interested in different forms of human relationships and expressions of love. I am not sure why he selected this quote specifically. However, it cuts right to the raw, messy, and sometimes painful reality of human nature. In the book, Ashley ultimately kills himself after opening up about his feelings and being rejected by a senior prefect, Terry Carleton.

Considering these quotes as a whole, they emphasise issues of vulnerability, isolation, and the tragic consequences of failing to connect, including the risk of suicide which is highlighted in Furlong’s nursing home story and in the character of Eric Ashley in “Lord Dismiss Us“.

Sacred Spaces

One recurring theme in “Transport of Delight” is that Rev Burton was inspired to worship and spiritual thought by what might be called “sacred spaces“. Most obviously, these might be particular religious buildings and their trappings but they might also be traditional Christian festivals and feast days.

Octagon Chapel

Rev Burton sometimes used quotes to describe religious buildings. For example, when describing the Octagon Chapel in Colegate, he noted that poet Robert Southey called it “The Vatican of the Unitarian hierarchy“. By way of comparison, he notes that one writer had referred to the Old Meeting House Chapel, also in Colegate, saying, “the atmosphere looks so redolent of New England that even in Norwich one instinctively looks round for the pine trees of the forest“.

The Christian Year

In March 1975, on Maundy Thursday, Rev Burton quoted from “Prayers for the Christian Year” from OUP reminding himself of the events of that day, namely, “on this day our Lord went again to Jerusalem. In the evening in the Upper Room, He washed the feet of the disciples, and instituted the blessed Sacrament of His Body and Blood. He spoke the words of comfort and peace, gave the promise of the coming of the Holy Spirit, and made the great intercession. In the Garden of Gethsemane He endured His agony. Betrayed by Judas and arrested by His enemies, He was taken to prison and to judgment.

Towards the end of the book, in August 1975, he quoted, at length, an article by Methodist Minister and historian Frederick C Gill in the Methodist Recorder on the importance of the Christian calendar. Gill argued that previous generations, by following the Christian calendar, had brought colour and significance into their lives. He considered this had been lost in a secular age. He found this prosaic and impoverishing. So, he gave examples of ancient fairs and thought that, at that time, there had been “a lesser gulf between the maypole and the church“.

He noted that the comic element in mystery plays meant that the church had copied popular forms of amusement. Christian festivals had tended to be characterised by exuberance and excess, reflecting a sense of life and a lusty vitality. He considered that observance of the Christian year linked a Christian to their faith and a nation to their background. He was profoundly concerned about any religion that became separated from human activity.

Quotes from Secular Literature

In addition, Rev Burton also sometimes quoted secular literature often applying the quote to religious or spiritual life. Again, I present first quotes which seem to me to relate mainly to people and then quotes that relate mainly to themes or ideas. As with the quotes from religious literature, I have put each quote into only one of these categories recognising that there are some which could have been considered in both.

People

In order to understand better the people Rev Burton chose to quote, I have divided them into two categories which I discuss in turn, namely writers and patron saints.

Writers

Rev Burton quotes a wide range of secular writers. I have covered many of these under themes/ideas. However, I cover three here. Rev Burton only mentions one of them, Jerome K Jerome, in passing. Conversely, he includes several quotes from George Bernard Shaw and quotes at some length from a novel by Leonard Cohen.

Jerome K Jerome

Towards the end of his book, in August 1975, Rev Burton described a trip in a rowing boat with two of his colleagues from the buses. He says there were “scenes reminiscent of Jerome K Jerome“, that is of his book “Three Men in a Boat“.

George Bernard Shaw

In May 1975, Rev Burton saw two plays by George Bernard Shaw, “Heartbreak House” and “Overruled“. He included four quotes from each play. While these are just listed in “Transport of Delight“, I suspect they appealed to Rev Burton because they resonated with some of his key beliefs and values.

Messy Reality

First, there are a number of quotes which show the messy reality of human nature. These include “people don’t have their virtues and vices in sets – they have them anyhow, all mixed” from “Heartbreak House” and “a man’s heart is like a sponge – it sops up dirty water as well as clean” from “Overruled“.

When attempts are made to apply rigid rules to situations where this messy side of human nature is operating, it leads to a disconnect between someone’s aspirations or ideals and what they do in practice. This can perhaps be summarised in a quote from “Overruled“, “To my English mind, passion is not passion without guilt“. I might sum this up in the words of the Pet Shop Boys.

When I look back upon my life
it’s always with a sense of shame
I’ve always been the one to blame
For everything I long to do
no matter when or where or who
has one thing in common too

It’s a, it’s a, it’s a, it’s a sin
It’s a sin
Everything I’ve ever done
Everything I ever do
Every place I’ve ever been
Everywhere I’m going to
It’s a sin

Poking Fun

Second, there are a number of quotes which poke fun at English respectability and rules which would have appealed greatly to Rev Burton. “Heartbreak House” includes digs at safe and respectable marriage describing it as “a safety match” and at the pomposity and arrogance of the British ruling class, saying “I don’t like to be answered; it confuses me; it discourages me!” Similarly, “Overruled” points out some ridiculous things about British respectability, “it doesn’t matter about your conduct if your principles are alright!” and “I may be doing wrong but I’m doing it in a proper and customary manner“.

Finally, Rev Burton quoted Captain Shotover from “Heartbreak House” who was concerned that people were spending time in fatuous activities, like flirting and daydreaming, instead of doing something to try to prevent the catastrophe that was looming in the form of the first world war. He bemoans the “happiness of yielding and dreaming instead of persisting and doing“. This is summed up for me in the metaphor, “fiddling while Rome burns“.

Leonard Cohen

While better known as a singer-songwriter, Leonard Cohen started out as a poet and novelist. Rev Burton quoted his definition of a saint from his novel “Beautiful Losers“. This novel focused on Catherine Tekakwitha, who was recognised as Canada’s first Native American saint in 2012. Cohen’s book was extremely controversial as it combined religious devotion with drug use and explicit sexual behaviour. One review in the Toronto Star referred to it as “the most revolting book ever written in Canada“. It is perhaps unsurprising that Rev Burton referred to the book positively as he had chosen D H Lawrence as one of his four patron saints.

Patron Saints

D H Lawrence

The writer that Rev Burton quotes most frequently is D H Lawrence and it is therefore unsurprising that he chose him as one of his four patron saints.

From Nottinghamshire

Born in 1885 in Eastwood in Nottinghamshire, David Herbert Lawrence was a controversial author whose works were frequently subject to censorship. My grandfather was interested in D H Lawrence, possibly partly because of the Nottinghamshire connection, but also because of the furore around his book “Lady Chatterley’s Lover“. Perhaps surprisingly, in 1960, my grandmother bought him a copy of the book just a few weeks after there had been a court case about it, see Chapter 86.

1960 Penguin version of Lady Chatterley’s Lover

Courage

Rev Burton appreciated D H Lawrence for tackling issues of touch, sex and sexual relationships with courage. He saw Lawrence’s qualities in his character Mellors, the gamekeeper who says, in a quote which would have resonated with Rev Burton’s focus on use of all the senses, “Ay! it’s tenderness really… Sex is really only touch, the closest of all touch. And it’s touch we’re afraid of. We’re only half-conscious, and half alive. We’ve got to come alive and aware. Especially the English have got to get into touch with one another, a bit delicate and a bit tender. It’s our crying need“.

Explicit Nature

While many criticised the explicit nature of Lawrence’s writings, Rev Burton seemed to revel in this. In April 1975, Rev Burton introduced a piece on sexuality by quoting D H Lawrence who said, “whoever the God was that made us, he made us complete. He didn’t stop at the navel and leave the rest to the devil, It is too childish…“

Ways of Knowing

Rev Burton highlighted that D H Lawrence identified two distinct ways of knowing. He quotes Lawrence’s essay “A Propos of Lady Chatterley’s Lover” saying, “There are many ways of knowing, there are many sorts of knowledge. But the two ways of knowing, for man, are knowing in terms of apartness, which is mental, rational, scientific, and knowing in terms of togetherness, which is religious and poetic. The Christian religion lost, in Protestantism, finally, the togetherness with the universe, the togetherness of the body, the sex, the emotions, the passions, with the earth sun and stars“. These are views with which Rev Burton very much agreed.

Relationship is Threefold

Rev Burton also explained, in detail, Lawrence’s views on relationship. In the same essay, Lawrence says, “but relationship is threefold. First, there is the relation to the living universe. Then comes the relation of man to woman. Then comes the relation of man to man. And each is a blood-relationship, not mere spirit or mind“.

Living Nature

Rev Burton then goes on to discuss each of these three relationships referencing Lawrence for each. For example, for the first relationship, he notes that it is seen in “Sons and Lovers” when Mrs Morel sees the lilies and phlox in her garden at night. In the essay mentioned above, Lawrence writes “The rhythm of the cosmos is something we cannot get away from, without bitterly impoverishing our lives“. Rev Burton thought it was best explained in Lawrence’s “The Rainbow” where a story of the soil is told in almost biblical rhythms.

Man to Woman

Rev Burton considered that the second relationship was described by Rupert Birkin in Lawrence’s “Women in Love” when he tells Ursula, “What I want is a strange conjunction with you… an equilibrium, a pure balance of two single beings: – as the stars balance each other“. Later, Ursula asserts that he had wanted submission but he says, “I did not say, nor imply, a satellite. I meant two equal stars balanced in conjunction“. From this, Rev Burton argued that Lawrence’s deepest conviction was that men and women had broken “the true pact between the body and soul”. While this is written as if this is a Lawrence quote, it seems not to be. Apparently, the phrase originated with Simone Weil.

Rev Burton then goes straight into another quote, which he does not reference, but which is from “Lady Chatterley’s Lover“, “In the short summer night she learnt so much. She would have thought a woman would have died of shame. Instead of which, the shame died. Shame which is fear…” Burton then stated, again quoting the essay above, that Lawrence’s attitude is clear “The essential blood-contact is between man and woman, always has been so, always will be. The contact of positive sex“.

Man to Man

Rev Burton then concludes with what Lawrence had to say about the third relationship. Apparently, Lawrence claimed that all three relationships had become bodiless but, in the essay above, stated “none is quite so dead as the man-to-man relationship“. Rev Burton argued that this deadness was demonstrated by Gerald Crich and Rupert Birkin in “Women in Love“. He quoted a dialogue between them where Rupert argues for taking down the love-and-marriage ideal from its pedestal. He wanted something broader, an additional perfect relationship between man and man. However, Gerald argues that they cannot be the same. Rupert retorts that while they should not be the same, they should be “equally important, equally creative, equally sacred…”

Making God too Small

Finally, D H Lawrence also has something to say on one of Rev Burton’s topics, that is, of trying to constrain God by making him too small. Again, he quotes “Women in Love“. Lawrence is critical of his character Ursula Brangwen for trying to aggressively control, over-think, and intellectually trap the massive, untameable mystery of “life” inside her own small, isolated logical mind. Rev Burton quoted Lawrence saying, “She lived a good deal by herself… always thinking, trying to lay hold on life, to grasp it in her own understanding.” Rev Burton then argued that we have tended to do the same in our thinking about God. He argued that, if this could be done, how small God would be, concluding that God can be enjoyed but not defined and he will not be cornered.

Themes/Ideas

In order to understand better the themes and ideas that Rev Burton chose to advance using quotes from secular literature, I have divided them into five, namely the nature of God; Methodism; human relationships; following your conscience; and melancholic moments. I explore each of these in turn.

The Nature of God

Rev Burton was a strong believer in the interconnectedness of the spiritual and physical. He criticised those who appeared to separate them and urged the use of all senses to heighten understanding and experience of the spiritual. He supports this view by quoting controversial Austrian psychoanalyst Wilhelm Reich who said, “Everything exists for itself, yet everything is part of something else“.

In a sermon entitled “I Believe in God“, Rev Burton quoted these famous lines from William Wordsworth’s 1798 masterpiece, “Lines Written a Few Miles above Tintern Abbey“. “A motion and a spirit, that impels all thinking things, all objects of all thought, and rolls through all things“. In the poem, Wordsworth describes a profound mystical experience in nature, viewing the divine not as a distant entity, but as a living energy rolling through all physical and thinking things.

George Eliot on Methodism

As a Methodist Minister himself, Rev Burton cited approvingly some of George Eliot’s reflections on his denomination. For example, he quoted Mrs Poyser from “The Mill on the Floss” saying, “but I suppose you must be a Methodist to know what a Methodist ‘ull do. It’s ill guessing what the bats are flying after.”

Two Types

Perhaps Rev Burton’s most approving comments are reserved for Eliot’s criticism of modern Methodism which I have referred to earlier. In “Adam Bede” Eliot identifies two types of Methodism. The first is “an amphitheatre of green hills, or the deep shade of broad-leaved sycamores, where a crowd of rough men and weary-hearted women drank in a faith which was a rudimentary culture, which linked their thoughts with the past, lifted their imagination above the sordid details of their own narrow lives, and suffused their souls with the sense of a pitying, loving, infinite Presence…” The second noted that Methodists developed into “that modern type which reads quarterly reviews and attends in chapels with pillaried porticoes…”[with] “sleek grocers, sponging preachers and hypocritical jargon“.

Rev Burton noted that the first kind of Methodism, with Wesley’s hymns and powerful preaching, is the one that was dear to him. However, when he joined Methodism in 1955, both forms were visible. But, he feared the former had largely gone as old members died. They were followed in by “church members… with little feeling for the tradition of the denomination“. He claimed that there had been a loss of identity and that this had gone forever.

Lack of Fit

Rev Burton also quoted Eliot to explain that some people will not fit into the expected mould of Christian or Methodist. He still regards them as part of his flock. In “Adam Bede“, Eliot says “we must learn to accommodate ourselves to the discovery that some of those cunningly-fashioned instruments called human souls have only a very limited range of music, and will not vibrate in the least under a touch that fills others with tremulous rapture or quivering agony“.

Human Relationships

Perhaps the area where Rev Burton most commonly quoted secular writes related to how they saw, and how he saw, human relationships. Because of the volume of material, I have broken this down into three sections – the sensual (or sensory) nature of love; revisiting boundaries; and honesty and masks. I explore each of these in turn.

The Sensual (or Sensory) Nature of Love

A recurring theme in “Transport of Delight” is that Rev Burton saw himself as a sensual person, that is someone who used, and delighted in, all his senses. In particular, he argued that love was not an abstract concept but needed to be expressed in ways which could be sensed, for example through physical touch.

“Another Country“

Rev Burton quoted at some length from African-American author James Baldwin and specifically from his book, “Another Country”. Baldwin describes an incident where one of his male characters has the strong sense that another (Rufus) wanted him to take him in his arms. However, while he did lie on the bed with him, he did not hold him.

Later, after Rufus had died, the character reflected “I wondered, I guess I still wonder what would have happened if I’d taken him in my arms, if I’d held him, if I hadn’t been – afraid. I was afraid that he wouldn’t understand that it was – only love. Only love. But, oh, Lord, when he died, I thought that maybe I could have saved him if I’d just reached out that quarter of an inch between us on that bed and held him… Do you know what I mean? … I guess I’ve been living with it. And I’ll never know, I’ll never know“.

In the same book, Baldwin distinguishes between different types of love and the bodily effects they may have saying, “No, I don’t think I’m in love with her. I love her very much, we get on beautifully together. But she’s not all tangled up in my guts the way I guess Ida is all tangled up in yours.”

“Free Fall”

Another book quoted by Rev Burton which talks about the physical effects of love is William Golding’s “Free Fall” where character Sammy Mountjoy says, “I returned to my fourth dimension and found that love flows along it until the heart, the physical heart, this pump or alleged pump makes love easy as a bee makes honey.

This seemed to me at that time the only worth-while occupation; and while I was so engaged the pace became so hot that a flake of fire, a brightness, flicked out of the hidden invisible and settled on the physical heart for all the world as though the heart is what poetry thinks it to be and not just a bit of clever machinery… All these things, of course, were explicable in two ways; the one explained them away, the other accepted them as data relevant to the nature of the cosmos. There was no argument possible between people holding either view”.

Rev Burton also alluded to the importance of physical touch when he quoted Golding again using the phrase the soft “more than vellum warmth” of youth contrasting it with “the cold, sunken, crinkled skin of the old man found dead in his chair this morning“.

“Paradise Lost”

Rev Burton quoted at some length a dialogue between Adam and the angel Raphael from John Milton’s “Paradise Lost“. Adam asks how heavenly spirits express love, whether it is by looks only, or whether they combine “irradiance, virtual or immediate touch“. Raphael answered somewhat indirectly saying, “let it suffice thee that thou know’st us happy, and without love no happiness
whatever pure thou in the body enjoy’st (and pure thou wert created,) we enjoy in eminence, and obstacle find none of membrane, joint, or limb, exclusive bars; Easier than air with air, if spirits embrace total they mix, union of pure with pure desiring; nor restrain’d conveyance need, As flesh to mix with flesh, or soul with soul.“

“A Year in the Country“

While physical touch is emphasised by Rev Burton as a way of expressing love between people, he also emphasised the importance of other senses, including smell, in general, and the scent of flowers, in particular.

He quoted Alison Uttley’s “A Year in the Country” saying, “When I see the tight little bunches of closed buds in the shops and I smell that strangely moving scent of snowdrops, half bitter, half earthy, my heart misses a beat. They appear on the greengrocer’s shelf, so small, so quiet, with a few ivy leaves round them, so modest among the freesias and the hyacinths, but they are quickly snapped up and the rich flowers are left“. And again, “The scent of the woods is strong, the fragrance of moss and leaves, of fir boughs and crushed rosemary comes from the decorations as one enters the room. It is companionable and good, the odour of the earth which we so often forget.“

Revisiting Boundaries

If the arguments in the previous section are accepted, namely that love needs sensory expression, particularly through physical touch, it then follows that there may be need to revisit the boundaries set by some religions, particularly Christianity and Methodism, over the extent to which physical contact of different types is permitted in different relationships between people of different sexes and of the same sex.

Touch Between Men

In the first of his quotes mentioned above, James Baldwin makes it clear that any touch between the men in the story was “not for sex, though maybe sex would have happened…” It is as if the issue of sex was incidental. The important thing was that physical touch could have conveyed love. Whether that led to sex or not almost did not matter.

Unkind or Violent

This means that Rev Burton was exploring, and possibly embracing, views on human sexual relations, particularly of those between two men, which were radically different from the traditional views of the Methodist Church. This was not an isolated quote. Near the beginning of the book, in October 1974, Rev Burton quotes Tennessee Williams from “The Night of the Iguana” saying “nothing human disgusts me unless it’s unkind or violent.”

Reevaluating Disgust

It appears that, by using this quote, Rev Burton was challenging traditional Christian thinking on human relationships specifically sex. For example, based on this quote, consenting sex between adults of the same sex would not “disgust” nor would sex between two consenting adults before getting married. Sex outside marriage might fall in a different category in that it might be considered unkind to the marital partner.

An Explosive Mix

Rev Burton sums this up in what appears to be his own words, which themselves could be a good quotation, “virginity and Nonconformity is a poisonous and deadly mixture“. However, I confess I am not exactly sure what he is saying or how this links to the Williams quotation. Rev Burton does not really explain. He just puts it out there! It may well be that Rev Burton is using this to say that rigid moral boundaries breed cruelty. However, if that is the case, this would apply to Christian groups other than non-conformists.

Contemptuous of Other People’s Pain

A month later, in November 1974, Rev Burton quoted at some length from another of James Baldwin’s books “Giovanni’s Room” saying, “there are so many ways of being despicable it quite makes one’s head spin. But the way to be really despicable is to be contemptuous of other people’s pain. You ought to have some apprehension that the man you see before you was once even younger than you are now and arrived at his present wretchedness by imperceptible degrees” and “Love him and let him love you. Do you think anything else under heaven really matters?“

This quote perhaps builds on the quote from Tennessee Williams. There may be many ways of being despicable but the way to be really despicable is to be contemptuous of other people’s pain.

“Death in Venice“

Rev Burton includes a number of quotes in which secular writers talk openly about love and/or sexual attraction between two men. For example, while on holiday in August 1975, he read Thomas Mann’s “Death in Venice” and quoted him saying, “how dare you smile like that! No-one is allowed to smile like that!” While Rev Burton does not seek to explain or contextualise this quote, apparently, in the book, the aging, deeply-repressed writer Gustav von Aschenbach becomes entirely obsessed with the beauty of a young Polish boy named Tadzio. For weeks, Aschenbach stalks him silently through the streets of Venice, never speaking a word to him. Then, at one point, Tadzio unexpectedly flashes a brilliant, radiant smile directly at him. Aschenbach is completely shattered by the intensity of it. He collapses onto a garden bench, totally overcome by emotion, and gasps the lines quoted above.

While Rev Burton uses these quotes to hint at a more liberal view on sex between men, he does state his views more explicitly elsewhere in the book.

Honesty and Masks

Throughout his book, Rev Burton strives for honesty, authenticity and keeping things real. For example, we have seen earlier that he preferred his workplace canteen to the Methodist Synod because while the former was “coarse and dirty and ribald“, it was also “real” while the latter was “woolly, clean, slightly pompous and manifestly irrelevant“.

“The Yeomen of the Guard”

As noted elsewhere, Rev Burton was a big fan of Gilbert and Sullivan, particularly of “The Yeomen of the Guard“. So he quoted Jack Point on this theme, saying:

Though your head it may rack with a bilious attack,
And your senses with toothache you’re losing.
Don’t be mopy and flat – they don’t fine you for that,
If you’re properly quaint and amusing!

Though your wife ran away with a soldier that day,
And took with her your trifle of money;
Bless your heart, they don’t mind – they’re exceedingly kind –
They don’t blame you – as long as you’re funny!

The argument Jack Point is making is that, whatever your personal situation, a jester or clown needs to maintain a mask of humour.

Smokey Robinson

As I have said elsewhere, there is little overlap between my musical tastes and those of Rev Burton. So, my knowledge of Gilbert and Sullivan is limited. However, I think similar sentiments were expressed by Smokey Robinson who sang in the song “Tears of a Clown“:

Now if there’s a smile on my face
It’s only there trying to fool the public
But when it comes down to fooling you
Now honey that’s quite a different subject

But don’t let my glad expression
Give you the wrong impression
Cause really I’m sad, Oh I’m sadder than sad
Well I’m hurt and I want you so bad
Like a clown I appear to be glad

Following Your Conscience

We saw in the section on religious writings that Rev Burton quoted French existentialist philosopher; writer; social theorist; and feminist, Simone de Beauvoir who said, aged 19, “I don’t want my life to obey any other will but my own“.

It was the only entry for the day and he offered it without explanation. I don’t know why it resonated with him, particularly given her feminist context. However, I can only assume he admired her for this and identified with her when he faced such opposition and misunderstanding about the key things he felt he wanted to do such as being a “worker-priest” and seeking dual ordination in both Methodist and Anglican churches.

It is therefore perhaps not surprising that he included this quote from “Hamlet” saying that he treasured the advice given to Laertes by Polonius “This above all: to thine own self be true, and it must follow, as the night the day, thou canst not then be false to any man“.

Melancholic Moments

While Rev Burton’s book is largely an energetic celebration of life, there are some melancholic moments.

New Year’s Eve

His melancholy appears to have been particularly drawn out on New Year’s Eve which he said for him was characterised by “morose brooding” and feelings of “sin and futility and failure“. It is therefore not surprising that he appreciated, and quoted at length, an article in The Times by Bernard Levin. Rev Burton liked it because, for him, it confirmed the existence of another inadequate person!

An Article in The Times

Levin wrote, “I have tried facing the Problem of New Year’s Eve in every possible way. I have seen the New Year in at large parties and at small parties; I have spent it à deux, sometimes at home and sometimes out; I have spent it alone by my own hearth and alone elsewhere; I have worn a funny hat; I have clasped hands and sung Auld Lang Syne; I have been to the Watch-night Service at St Paul’s; I have been among the crowd in Piccadilly Circus; I have burst into tears; I have switched the phone off and gone to bed before midnight and ignored the whole damn thing; and as far as I can recall I have, almost without exception, felt an overwhelming urge, as the clock struck, to go and hang myself.

A Slav of Melancholic Descent

For a melancholic of Slav descent, which is what I am, New Year’s Eve might have been especially designed to lead to that dread step; we who have an uneasy sense of the futility of life at the best of times have it still more intensely at the moment when the universe pauses, takes a deep breath, and starts again. In the pause, the non-existent instant between year and year, I experience what the drowning man is said to go through, my whole past life being summoned before me as if on some diabolical screen, flickering with the flames of hell.

It was Thurber who said that we can all face the great tragedies of our lives, the failed marriages and lost jobs and irreparable quarrels, but it is the tiny incidents, the trivial embarrassments, the word spoken in haste and never to be taken back, it is these things, which everybody else has long since forgotten, that “cause us to pull the bedclothes up over our heads at three o’clock in the morning and scream”; for me, all those three o’clocks in the morning come together, in the shape of bats and vultures and shapeless shadows, at midnight on New Year’s Eve”.

My Experiences of New Year’s Eve

I confess that I find these sentiments hard to identify with. This does not mean that I am necessarily a huge fan of New Year’s Eve. In fact, I am pretty neutral about it. I don’t think it makes me feel more depressed than any other day.

A few months later, Rev Burton quoted Jean Anouilh’s 1938 play “La Sauvage” saying, “There is always, somewhere, an injured creature who prevents me being happy“. Apparently, the original wording of the play referred to a lost dog but this has been variously translated as stray dog and injured creature. I can understand why Rev Burton selected this quote. He identified closely with nature and pain or injury in nature undoubtedly affected his happiness. I recall him saying, on one occasion, how upset he was by a tree which had been vandalised by having its bark stripped around its circumference.

His Own Poems

There are a number of entries in the book which appear to be very personal poems either written by him or, in one case, by his young daughter. These are largely presented without fanfare or explanation.

Free Verse Inspired by D H Lawrence

The first of these comes early in the book, on 26 September. It is written in the form of free verse in the style of DH Lawrence and appears to be an intensely personal poem of his own, reflecting his life as a “worker-priest“. The poem covers the people he has met through work and what they mean to him. It moves from “ten thousand names and a million faces” to the “rare mingling of personality“. The poem can be seen as operating like a modern choral piece, stacking abstract, overlapping concepts like polyphony before exploding into a full-organ climax that drops away into total silence.

Ten Thousand Names

I know ten thousand names and a million faces –
Each an individual,
And each one part of me.
Neighbours talking in the street,
Remote in close proximity,
Separate in unity,
Isolated.

A handful only have unique significance –
Whose destinies were caught upon the wave
That threw them, with my own,
Upon the shore.
Singleness of interest,
Mutual history,
Affection.

Rare is the mingling of personality –
Hesitant, then joyfully careless.
Rare the unconditional revealing,
The acceptance in completeness –
Blemish and genius merging in wholeness;
A fusion unreasoned and intuitive –
Uncompelled,
Powerfully compelling;
Barren, yet quivering in creativity;
A flame kindled in spontaneity,
Shyly nourished upon daring truth,
Fanned into dependence –
Sexual-spiritual, physical-mental, shameless.
A giving and receiving in reciprocity,
Enriching
Through the reaction of contrast and similarity,
And proved in silence.

Classic Love Poem

The second poem comes much later in the book, on 7 April 1975. It differs markedly in style from the first taking the form of a classic love poem or hymn. It focuses on the idea of time as a cheat who “regulates his ways” to go slow on “empty days” but then to speed by when with someone you love.

Time is a Cheat

Time is a cheat who regulates his ways
According to the wishes of my heart;
With spiteful mirth, he touches empty days
And turns to years the hours that we’re apart.

Alone, I try to visualize your face
And catch the graceful beauty of your form;
I long for time to skip with careless pace,
To bring you near, and calm this madd’ning storm.

But time demurs until, At last! we meet –
And then his evil work begins again:
The precious moments speed on eager feet,
And my attempts to hold them fast are vain.

I do not plead for Time to be more fair
But cheat on my behalf, when you are here

An Imaginary Conversation

The third example, from 13 June 1975, is not really a poem but what he describes as an imaginary conversation…
Have I ever done you any harm? Have I ever hurt you, cheated you meanly, or been deliberately unkind in any way?
No.
Have I tried, sometimes, to show kindness; and tried, occasionally to be generous?
Yes
If – at least – we are agreed on those things, I don’t really care what else you think of me: because nothing else matters very much.

A Kind of Test

It appears to be a kind of test of how he has treated people, that is not to have hurt or cheated them or been deliberately unkind in any way and to have sometimes shown kindness and tried occasionally to be generous. For me, the bar is set much lower for the second part than for the first. In that first part, deliberate is only applied to being unkind and not to hurting or cheating. For me, this is a big issue. I can’t think of many people, if any, I have deliberately tried to hurt but there are many I have hurt nonetheless!

A Child’s Poem

Finally in this section, there is a cute poem written by his six-year-old daughter Jeanette:
At night I see the moon
Peeping into the window
And I see the moon’s face
In the silent night.

Prayers

Sometimes, Rev Burton quoted prayers from particular services he had attended.

Collect for Easter Day

For example, on Easter Monday, after attending an 8am holy communion, he wrote, “Almighty God, who through thy only-begotten Son Jesus Christ hast overcome death, and opened unto us the gate of everlasting life; We humbly beseech thee, that, as by the special grace preventing us thou dost put into our minds good desires, so by thy continual help we may bring the same to good effect; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Ghost, ever one God, world without end. Amen.” Apparently, this is the special collect for Easter Day which is also used at communion services on the Monday and Tuesday after Easter.

Collect for Whitsunday

On Sunday, 18 May 1975, Whitsunday, Rev Burton again noted the collect, “God, who at this time didst teach the hearts of thy faithful people, by the sending to them of the light of thy Holy Spirit; Grant us by the same Spirit to have a right judgment in all things, and evermore to rejoice in his holy comfort; through the merits of Christ Jesus our Saviour, who liveth and reigneth with thee, in the unity of the Spirit, one God, world without end. Amen.“

Collect for Trinity Sunday

Also, on Sunday 25 May 1975, Trinity Sunday, he recorded the collect, “Almighty and everlasting God, who hast given unto us thy servants grace by the confession of a true faith to acknowledge the glory of the eternal Trinity, and in the power of the Divine Majesty to worship the Unity; We beseech thee, that thou wouldest keep us steadfast in this faith, and evermore defend us from all adversities, who livest and reignest, one God, world without end. Amen“.

Pre-1662 Collect for Trinity XVIII

Towards the end of the book, in August 1975, he was shown the pre-1662 collect for Trinity XVIII (the eighteenth Sunday after Trinity), “Lord we beseech thee, grant thy people grace to escape the infections of the devil, and with pure heart and mind to follow thee, the only God: through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen“. In the 1662 version and subsequently, the term “to escape the infections of the devil“, has been replaced by “to withstand the temptations of the world, the flesh, and the devil“.

His Own Prayers

Rev Burton’s entry for Christmas Day 1974 starts with a prayer “Lord Jesus Christ, Child of Mary, Be incarnate in this flesh. May that mind be in me which was in Christ Jesus my Lord“. It seems likely that this was a personal prayer building on the Christmas theme of incarnation and implicitly referring to biblical verses, e.g. Philippians 2:6-11.

Quotes from Day to Day Life

Rev Burton included a large number of quotes in his book which seem to have come from people he encountered in day-to-day life. Some are not attributed while others came from a range of friends and colleagues. I have divided these into four broad categories although there may be some that overlap two or more of these. I have called the categories bus banter; out and about; pastoral care and religious matters.

Bus Banter

The things recorded here were said by Rev Burton’s colleagues on the buses so his conductors and other drivers. They were often humorous and sometimes risqué. They illustrate the kind of working-class, down-to-earth environment in which he operated.

Tony

Tony was one of Rev Burton’s conductors and it seems he was a bit of a comedian. On one day, in February 1975, he told Rev Burton a joke saying “she was only the barmaid’s daughter… but she knew how to pull a fast one“. Three months later, Rev Burton was involved in a minor accident when driving his bus.

He and his conductor had to submit accident reports. Tony insisted that Rev Burton read his before it was submitted. Although Rev Burton was reluctant, he did read it. Tony had written, “My driver had positioned the bus to the right of the road but with very little room on the inside. This woman brought her car through on the inside of us. She stuck her fingers up and my driver was so angry that he deliberately swung into her offside. I think myself that it was the SIX pints of lager he had consumed only ten minutes before which made him aggressive. On leaving his cab, he repeatedly tried to punch this lady on the nose, and failing to do so, laid one on the young baby sitting in his pram outside a shop. To my mind he should get six months“.

I think it shows something of Rev Burton’s character in that he said it cheered him up. He did make Tony write a new report though.

Charles

This was not the only minor accident about which there was banter. Another driver, Charles, had apparently had a run of such accidents including “one spectacular affair in which his bus finished up in a front garden facing the opposite direction and another which involved the introduction of a large dent into the back of a police car“. However, a conductor told Rev Burton of another incident where the bus loudly clipped a van while negotiating a corner. The van did not stop and there was no damage to the bus. Rev Burton was intrigued that there might be other incidents they did not know about. “Yes“, replied the conductor, “but he couldn’t claim that as a hit. He didn’t see it plunge to the ground and burst into flames. He could only claim that one as a probable!“

Frank

Frank was a former conductor who, at this time, was living in Norway having married a Norwegian woman. He sent Rev Burton a postcard which said, “…by the way, they are looking for good bus drivers here. (Never mind, they might want some bad ones)“!

Brian

Brian was another member of staff who also fancied himself as a comedian. On one day in July 1975, he told Rev Burton about a conversation at a city terminus that went like this:
Woman: Do I have to take the dog upstairs?
Brian: No, not unless he wants to smoke.
Woman (reassuringly): Oh no – he doesn’t smoke.

On another occasion the following month, in August 1975, Brian had a conversation with another woman. This one went like this:
Woman: Please can you tell me when the Ipswich bus goes.
Brian: I’m dreadfully sorry but we’re not allowed to divulge secret information. You must ask an inspector.
Woman: Oh yes, of course – I’m sorry – and hurried off to find an inspector!

Out and About

In addition to banter with colleagues, Rev Burton often encountered situations, people and conversations, that he considered worth quoting, in the course of his duties as a bus driver. Like the banter, many of these were humorous and sometimes risqué. Some were thought-provoking.

What Kind of Fuel Am I?

Sometimes, Rev Burton just saw something humorous or noteworthy in the course of his day. For example, on one day, he saw someone had written with their finger on the back of an oil tanker saying “what kind of fuel am I?“

Charlie’s Stories

Rev Burton quoted two stories told by a colleague, Charlie:

One day, a full-bosomed woman was running for the waiting bus. Another regular female passenger with a voice which could be heard all over the vehicle – surveyed her as she clambered aboard, and remarked; “Come you on now, Edna. If you run like that you’ll get your bleedin’ tits twisted round your necklace!”
On a trip from Mattishall in a blizzard, Charlie’s bus became stuck in the snow. After a long wait in the stranded vehicle, the call of nature became too strong for three old women, and they went round the back of the bus. “When the first one stood up, we heard such a blood-curdling shriek we wondered whatever had happened. But we needn’t have worried too much: the wind had filled her knickers full of snow“.

Two Northern Women

In June 1975, Rev Burton told one of his own stories. At one point, there were only two passengers on the bus. Rev Burton described them as two good-natured women in their fifties from “somewhere up north“. One said to the other “I hope you’ll be all right with these two when I get off the bus“. Then as she alighted, she called back, “Watch what you’re up to Agnes. If you get too much, send me a bit“. Rev Burton wondered if there was another Minister in the country who had been the subject of such remarks!

Country Conversations

On one day in July 1975, Rev Burton recorded what he called “country conversations“. These seem to be somewhat unrelated but are perhaps things he heard in and around Norfolk:

Earnest non-conformist schoolteacher in the early ’30s on the evils of masturbation: “Who but a fool would sacrifice eternity for the sake of titillating a nerve?“
When I worked in the hospital I had to wash the old men. One was fast becoming senile, but he combined senility with unusual discernment! One morning he said to me: “You’re new here aren’t you?” “No,” I replied, “I washed you yesterday.” “No, you didn’t,” he said. “It was that great lout with a wart on the back of his neck.“”
“Never mind about getting your hands dirty – don’t you realize that one of the last actions performed by our Lord during his Resurrection appearances was to gut fish“
Old rhyme “One for the rook, One for the crow, One to Die, And one to grow”.

Quotation of the Day

In October 1974, he referred to his quotation of the day which was “God makes it very hard for us to be chaste.” This could have been something he said himself or, more likely, something he heard someone else say that day.

Stuck Behind a Bus

At the beginning of February 1975, he noted how two similar quotations could have quite different connotations. I am not sure if he had heard them or had thought of them himself. Both involved being late and the phrase “stuck behind a bus“. One was a complaint, “Sorry we’re late, but we got stuck behind a bus…” while the other was something positive, “Sorry we’re late, but the fog was bad – we could hardly see a thing, so we stuck behind a bus…“

Companionship

In June 1975, in a discussion about companionship, Rev Burton noted a conductor who said a sense of companionship was missing from modern life. He recalled that when in the army during the war, “if you had a fag and your mate didn’t, you gave him half; if you had some money and he didn’t, you shared it with him; if you were going out somewhere but he had to work late, you got his things ready for him“.

This triggered a memory for Rev Burton of a driver who said something similar about when he was a young conductor, “if I found any money on the bus I always gave half to the driver; it didn’t matter if it was only a penny, he’d have a halfpenny of it. That’s how we worked in those days“. Another colleague thought the passengers had changed too. He said, “passengers used to be much more friendly and good natured than they seem today. We’re better off now, but moan and groan a lot more. And that’s not companionship”. However, although Rev Burton agreed that things had changed, he noted that things hadn’t changed entirely, “recently, Tony received a substantial reward for some lost property he’d handed in – and gave half to me without hesitation“.

Pastoral Care

There are a few quotes in “Transport of Delight” which remind the reader that Rev Burton was a Methodist Minister who sought to not only provide pastoral care for his “church flock” but others in his flock that he met, for example, through work.

A Cruel Choice

For example, at the end of July 1975, he noted that he had a friend who suffered with schizophrenia. He had taught history but now worked on the buses. He described the drugs he took and the cruel choice he had had to make, “I can either take the drugs and lead a balanced life but forfeit my gifts and intellectual abilities, or I can refuse the drugs and regain my gifts and insight but lose the ability to lead a normal routine.“

Sixty Three Years

Earlier that year, in March 1975, Rev Burton had been at the hospital gates terminus. I am not sure if this was a general hospital or, more likely a psychiatric hospital. One man said, “I’ve lived here sixty-three years. I came here when my parents died, and I was fifteen; now I’m seventy-eight“. Although the man said he had been looked after, Rev Burton noted that he was horrified. I recall being similarly horrified when I was a medical student in the late seventies/early eighties when I went to a large psychiatric hospital and saw such patients. The original reason for admission was lost in time but they were thoroughly institutionalised.

“Guinness is Good for You“

Near the start of the book, in September 1974, Rev Burton noted visiting an old man who was virtually housebound. He said, “I asked the doctor if it was all right for me to have a Guinness every day“. Apparently, the doctor said it was… “as long as you pay for them“. In addition to being humorous, this story resonates with me as, in 1931, my grandfather was suffering from ill-health. Despite being a teetotaller, he decided to have a glass of stout so bought a crate of it, see Chapter 23. This is perhaps unsurprising as Guinness was marketed for many years as “good for you”. When I worked as a junior hospital doctor in the 1980s, we were allowed to prescribe stout or sherry but rarely did! Apparently, this was particularly done on surgical wards and was still happening (in the USA) in 2002.

Religious Matters

Rev Burton did not just quote religious authors, he also quoted his friends, acquaintances and colleagues, who spoke, or wrote to him, about religious matters. While some of these are humorous, most relate to significant and serious sacred or theological matters.

Spoonerisms

One example of a lighter moment is at the start of the book, in September 1974, Rev Burton refers to “a delightful spoonerism” in the vestry prayer. The steward gave thanks for the hour of worship which “enabled us to turn aside from the bus and rustle of everyday life“! Given Rev Burton’s profession, he must have found that slip particularly humorous and memorable.

I remember a couple of religious Spoonerisms although I am not now sure whether I heard them directly or, more likely was told about them. They both relate to announcing forthcoming speakers. In one case, they meant to refer to a speaker from the assembly in Wylam but referred to “the asylum in Wembley“! On another occasion, the speaker was Mr Bell from Hull but he was introduced as “Mr Bull from Hell“!

Our Lord’s Command

The following year, in July 1975, Rev Burton was scything a large area of garden. A companion remarked “Our Lord’s command was taken too literally in this garden…Except by those raspberries“. I confess I don’t follow this fully as I am not sure which of Jesus’ many commands is being referred to. Apparently, one possible command is the one in Matthew 6:34 which in the Authorised Version reads, “Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.” If this is the case, the garden might have become overgrown because of neglect due to lack of planning with the exception of the raspberries who had been actively planning for the future. While this explanation is possible, it seems a bit of a stretch to me!

Consistent Hospitality

Earlier, we saw examples of Rev Burton’s pastoral visiting. In addition, it seems that he also practised hospitality. On one occasion he noted that he got pleasure from the parting words of someone they had just hosted. They said, “I like coming to your house. It is one place that never seems to change. Everything is always the same – and, somehow, that’s rather comforting“.

A Wonderful Man

Sometimes, pastoral visits led to interesting comments or insights about God. For example, in February 1975, Rev Burton observed that an old man he visited noted that the human body was a marvellous thing saying, “God must have been a wonderful man.”

A Big Joke

In June 1975, in a reflective piece on the nature of life. He wondered if it was a gift, a serious business or a joke. A friend said, “the universe is one big laugh and the joke’s on us“.

High Church Christianity

Quite a number of the quotes were positive about high church Christianity, in general, and Roman Catholicism, in particular.

Catholicism Through the Back Door

In April 1975, Rev Burton found a letter from two Christmases earlier. The writer had been at a Friends’ Meeting for worship. A small girl lit a Christmas candle. The writer commented approvingly, “throw Catholicism out of the front door and it will creep in again through the back!” While this could have been said negatively, Rev Burton noted explicitly that the writer had meant this approvingly.

Significant Confrontations

That same month, in April 1975, Rev Burton received a note from Frank who he described as a friend, philosopher and high churchman. Frank wrote, “Catholic Christianity portrays us living in an essentially dramatic universe, where time and again the fate of the cosmos depends upon all-significant confrontation. What happens when the serpent tempts Eve? What will come about when Gabriel visits the house of Mary? How will our Lord reply when the devil tempts him in the wilderness? What will the two Marys see in the garden? All epitomize, of course, in the drama of the Mass.“

Trinity Sunday: The Crown of the Christian Year

The following month, on Trinity Sunday, 25 May 1975, Rev Burton quoted at length something an old priest told him. It is fairly impressive as he seems to have written it from memory. Essentially, it is a defence of the argument that, “Trinity Sunday is the crown of the Christian year.” The priest refers to the Trinity as “the most astonishing richness of being and personality.” He also explained that this was a key part of the teaching of Jesus building on the Old Testament. The Christian Year builds up to this revelation through the steps of Advent, the passion, the resurrection etc. Trinity Sunday answers the basic question of “Who is God?”

It then leads into a year of worshipping and serving this living God. Wholeness, unity, diversity are themes captured in the Trinity which are reflected in the whole creation. He concluded that God had made man whole but man “went to pieces“, “Modern man is feeling for that wholeness, which is his true nature. Trinity Sunday – the octave of Whitsun, concluding Pentecost week – shows where it is to be found: in relationship – at one – with the God whose creation displays a glorious galaxy of diversity in its wholeness, and who himself is trinity in unity. That is the gospel. That is the Catholic faith. And that is why Trinity Sunday is the crown of the Christian year.”

By way of explanation, an octave in the church calendar, refers to an eight-day festival loop. In this case, Trinity Sunday is the eighth day after Whitsunday inclusive of both days.

No Great Work of God

Early the following month, in June 1975, Rev Burton quoted the same priest who, in turn, quoted St Ignatius Loyola, the founder of the Jesuits, saying, “no great work can be done, worthy of God, without earth in an uproar and hell’s legions roused“. By this, he meant that anyone doing meaningful spiritual work will inevitably face fierce opposition, both from worldly forces and supernatural ones.

Postcard from Assissi

That same month, in June 1975, Rev Burton received a postcard from a friend who was visiting Assisi who commented, “How cold and pale the religion of the English is in comparison…” The postcard included “The Canticle of the Creatures” by St Francis.

Welcoming Catholicism

The following month, in July 1975, Rev Burton quoted, at length, a letter he had received from Roy Blundell who was also in Italy. While Roy recognised the “retrogressive conservatism” within Roman Catholicism, he also praised its warmth and classlessness. It seems he had also been in Germany as he praised Catholicism there for its vitality. He recalled a service in Nuremberg where he had been overpowered with a sense of belonging and togetherness which he considered a lifeline as he was, at that time, “a lonely stranger in the city“.

He was critical of English religion considering it lacked humanity and tended to fall into ecclesiastical idolatry. This, he contrasted this with humanism, which he criticised for lacking the divine. He considered that English religion mainly offered an outstretched hand to pull them into a pew. He argued that “if we must accept the decline of dogmatic religion, we must look for some common ground with the secular world in order to preach the gospel…” In conclusion, he commented that he had found most of his good Samaritans outside of the church.

Discussing Poetry

Interestingly, among the banter and ribald humour of the buses, Rev Burton found people who shared some of his finer interests, such as poetry. For example, early in the book, in mid-October 1974, he described speaking to a former bus conductor called Terry. He noted that poetry was one of Terry’s great loves and Rev Burton used to read his work with interest. Terry said he had written quite a bit recently and thought he was inspired particularly in winter.

Books Read

Worthwhile Books

Early on in the book, in September 1974, Rev Burton noted that he tried to read one “worthwhile” book per month. I would have loved to have known which books fell into his worthwhile and not-worthwhile categories and why. Nevertheless, I can empathise with his aspiration here. I have always thought I loved books but this “love” has often been in the abstract as, when I come to read a book, I am easily distracted and can usually find something else to do! So, during the COVID-lockdown, I joined a local book club with the aim that it would “force” me to read at least one book per month. It has proved successful in that albeit limited aim.

Noting Books Read

One consequence of Rev Burton’s decision was that he tended to note the books he had read during that year. This interested me as, when my grandfather first started his diaries, he did something similar. This meant that between 1914 and 1923, he noted between 200-300 books that he read.

Books Read in 1974-75

Books that Rev Burton noted reading during this year included:

“The Lost Girl” by D H Lawrence – he also quoted “Women in Love“. Like my grandfather, he bought “Lady Chatterley’s Lover” because of the court case
“The Power and the Glory” by Graham Greene which Rev Burton noted that he reread
“A Little of What You Fancy” by H E Bates
“Go Tell it on the Mountain” by James Baldwin
“Giovanni’s Room” by James Baldwin
“Portrait of a Lady” by Henry James
“Travelling In” by Monica Furlong
“Free Fall” by William Golding – Rev Burton praises the moral honesty and cosmic splendour of this book
“Agape and Eros” by Anders Nygren
“Claudine at School” by Colette. Perhaps interesting is that we read “Claudine’s House” by Colette at book club
“Hard Times” by Charles Dickens
“Watership Down” by Richard Adams
“The Mill on the Floss” by George Eliot
“The Symposium” by Plato
“Anne of the Five Towns” by Arnold Bennett
“Death in Venice” by Thomas Mann
“Maurice” by E M Forster
“Adolf Hitler: My Part in His Downfall and Puckoon” by Spike Milligan
“Adam Bede” by George Eliot

Overlap Between Rev Burton’s and Grandad’s Reading

We have come across some of these books earlier in these notes where Rev Burton quoted from them explicitly. Interestingly, apart from “Lady Chatterley’s Lover“, the only one of these books which appeared on my grandfather’s list was George Eliot’s “Adam Bede” which grandad read in June 1917.

AI Overview

I confess I don’t believe I have read any of these books! So, I enlisted the help of Google AI and asked it what this reading list might tell us about Rev Burton. Apparently, the list “reveals a deeply inquisitive, intellectually courageous, and refreshingly unfiltered mind. For a 1970s Methodist minister, his tastes are completely devoid of stuffy piety or religious isolation. Instead, he reads like a man determined to understand the full, raw spectrum of human existence.” His reading habits can be broken down into four categories, namely:

The tension between flesh and faith including exploring taboos; the queer and the outcast; and theological framing
A demand for psychological and moral honesty. Apparently, Rev Burton avoided clean, happy endings preferring the darker, more chaotic corners of human nature. He would have been right at home in our book club!
The provincial and radical including reading 19^th century classics
A need for wit and escape, for example, as provided by Spike Milligan

Discussing Books

Not only did Rev Burton sometimes discuss poetry with some colleagues, he also discussed books with others. He noted that there was a conductor, David, who was rarely seen in the canteen without a library book. In January 1975, David showed Rev Burton a section from Pete Seeger’s “The Incompleat Folksinger“. It concerned the wife of the Dutch governor of Bali who, at the end of the 19^th century, compelled her husband to decree that local women should cover the top half of their body. Apparently, the next Sunday, as the governor and his wife went in a carriage to church, the local women all raised their skirts to cover the top half of their bodies!

John Godolphin Bennett

The following month, Rev Burton attended a thanksgiving mass for the life of writer John Godolphin Bennett who was an exponent of the teachings of George Gurdjieff.

“Wayfaring in Many Lands”

Towards the end of the book, Rev Burton, noted that one of his two souvenirs of childhood that had survived was a copy of the book by Stella Meads entitled “Wayfaring in Many Lands“. He noted that reading the stories took him “back to a coconut-mat in front of the fire, wearing short trousers and chewing liquorice-root“. He particularly recalled the story of the legendary friendship between Roland and Oliver, his favourite story in the book.

Theatre

Unsurprisingly, given his interest in music, books and poetry, Rev Burton seemed to enjoy the theatre and he noted seeing a number of productions during that year. I am particularly interested in these entries given that my mother and grandmother were keen theatregoers at this time, see Chapters 106 and 122. So, I wondered if they went to any of the same productions.

Rev Burton tended to note what he saw, perhaps quoting from it. However, in line with his diary style, he did not note details, for example, where he saw a production. I have been able to find some of these details from a local press archive.

“Hamlet“

On 30 November 1974, Rev Burton attended what he called a “commendable” production of Hamlet. He quoted from it. As far as I can see, no-one from my family went to see this although grandad had seen a film version of this in January 1950. The production was staged at the Maddermarket Theatre by the Norwich Players who I believe continue to operate. They had an excellent website listing all their historic productions. However, that site appears to have closed and the promised new Maddermarket site is not yet operational. According to a review of the production, it was the seventh time they had staged “Hamlet” over a fifty-year period. The play was directed by Ian Emmerson, with set by David Kibart and costumes by Betty Dutton.

Image from the Norwich Players’ production of “*Hamlet*” in November 1974. Characters shown are Horatio, Hamlet and the Gravedigger

News cutting with review in local paper of “*Hamlet*” in November 1974

“Hadrian VII“

In February 1975, Rev Burton noted attending a memorable production of Peter Luke’s “Hadrian VII” He noted that this involved more incense. No-one in my family noted attending this. Extremely positive local newspaper reviews confirm that this was a production at the Maddermarket Theatre by boys of the Norwich School with the help of two girls from Blyth-Jex. The reviewer noted that he came away in a “special kind of elation“. Particular praise was given to lead actor David Fowler. Other cast members specifically mentioned include Stuart Lyell, Nigel Coates, Robert Wilson, Mark Ravena and Elizabeth Skillings. The play was produced by John Granger. The reviewer concludes “in any amateur production conviction of this kind is hard to come by. In a school presentation it is treasure indeed.“

“Mrs Warren’s Profession“

The following month, in March 1975, Rev Burton saw a spirited production of George Bernard Shaw’s “Mrs Warren’s Profession“. This was another production by the Norwich Players at the Maddermarket Theatre. As far as I can see, no-one from my family went to this production. Based on reviews of the play in the local press, it was again produced by Ian Emmerson with set design by David Kibart. Given that Mrs Warren’s profession was a brothel keeper, I am a little surprised that Rev Burton did not comment on this!

Two reviews of the performance of “*Mrs Warren’s Profession*” at the Maddermarket in March 1975

“The Tempest“

The next month, in April 1975, Rev Burton went to see another Shakespeare play at the theatre, “The Tempest“. Again, this was a Norwich Players production at the Maddermarket Theatre. As far as I can see, no-one from my family went to this production. The producer was again Ian Emmerson and the set was by David Kibart. Special music had been composed by Max Dhonau.

Photo of characters Prospero and Gonzalo backstage at the final dress rehearsal for “*The Tempest*” which was staged in Norwich in April 1975

Reviews of “*The Tempest*” staged at the Maddermarket in April 1975

“Heartbreak House“

The next month, in May 1975, Rev Burton went to see a National Theatre production of the George Bernard Shaw play, “Heartbreak House“. This was performed at the Theatre Royal in Norwich. Rev Burton enjoyed it and included a number of quotes in his book. As far as I can see, no-one from my family went to this production. Based on information in the local press, the director was John Schlesinger with design by Michael Annals and lighting by Richard Pilbrow. Cast members included Eileen Atkins, Colin Blakely, Patience Collier, Graham Crowden, Edward de Souza, Harry Lomax, Alan MacNaughton, Anna Massey, Kate Nelligan and Paul Rogers.

Ahead of coming to Norwich to feature in “*Heartbreak House*“, local press featured an interview with Kate Nelligan.

News cutting with review of “*Heartbreak House*” *which was performed in Norwich in May 1975*

“Overruled“

Two days later, still in May 1975, Rev Burton went to see a National Theatre lunch-time production of the George Bernard Shaw play, “Overruled“. He explained he could do this because he worked a “spreadover” which I assume was a split shift. Then, he described the play as a short and seldom-seen comedy about marriage. He included a number of quotes in his book. As far as I can see, no-one from my family went to this production.

The play was staged at the Maddermarket Theatre but the same play had been staged at the UEA the previous day. It was directed by Sebastian Graham-Jones and featured cast members Elizabeth Hughes, Michael Keating, Dona Martyn and Michael Stroud. The premise of this play is that two couples swap partners on a cruise. It is interesting that Rev Burton saw this and, as with “Mrs Warren’s Profession“, appears to have been broad-minded when it came to such plays.

Reviews (above and below) of the National Theatre production of “*Overrule*d” in Norwich in May 1975

“Yeomen of the Guard“

A few days later, still in May 1975, Rev Burton went to see “The Yeomen of the Guard” which was his favourite Gilbert and Sullivan production. For me, this is the most interesting of the theatre trips made by Rev Burton because my mother, sister Tricia (Patricia) and brother Alan all went to see this, see Chapter 122, with St Peter’s Guild, a fellowship group affiliated to St Peter’s Park Lane Methodist Church, see Chapter 124.

It was put on by the Norfolk Opera Players at the Theatre Royal. It seems they performed each of “The Mikado” and “The Yeomen of the Guard” three times that week. While mum thought it was “not too bad“, she thought it was not as good as D’Oyly Carte.

Advert for the productions of “*The Mikado*” and “*Yeomen of the Guard*” by Norfolk Opera Players at the Theatre Royal in May 1975

A review in the local press noted three departures from the ordinary. The first was the inclusion of two additional songs based on research by UEA student David Hope. Second, the production ended not with the jester Jack Point swooning but with him stabbing himself to death! Third, the gaoler Shadbolt is portrayed as the key character. Roles were played by Roy Emerson, Ann Youngman, Bob Worley, Brian Tuffrey and Sally Stock.

The review was quite critical, however, concluding “the production took far too long on first night to get moving. Diction was all-too-often ill-defined while too much solo singing tended to lose clarity and euphony through a scooping and swooping at notes.“

News report on the production of *“Yeomen of the Guard*” by Norfolk Opera Players at the Theatre Royal in May 1975

Other Performances by the Norfolk Opera Players

During the late seventies, mum saw other performances by the Norfolk Opera Players including two operas by Verdi, “Nabucco” in January 1978 at St Andrew’s Hall and “I Lombardi” in January 1979 at the Cathedral.

Norfolk Opera Players (NOP) and the Norfolk and Norwich Operatic Society (NNOS)

Initially, I was not sure if the Norfolk Opera Players (NOP) were the same as the Norfolk and Norwich Operatic Society (NNOS). NNOS is still operating and their website lists their past productions from 1925 to 2024. This list does include some performances that family members saw, for example “Song of Norway” in 1967; “Kismet” in 1969, see Chapter 92; and “Gigi” in 1978.

However, it does not include this production of Gilbert and Sullivan operas nor the other productions mentioned that were attributed to NOP. I am grateful to David Chapman for explaining that NOP and NNOS were different societies and that NOP closed more than 20 years ago.

Television

In his diary, Rev Burton noted that he did not very often watch television but did so occasionally. We have already seen some TV programmes including a nature programme featuring the lammergeier and a programme showing the enthronement of the Archbishop of Canterbury.

On Palm Sunday, 23 March 1975, he enjoyed an evening watching television. He saw the otter film “Ring of Bright Water” and “King Lear” which he considered much sterner stuff. The former was on BBC1 from 7.25 to 9.10 and starred Bill Travers and Virginia McKenna while the latter was also on BBC1 from 9.20 to 11.20 and featured Michael Hordern as King Lear.

News cutting with TV Guide for 23 March 1975 showing the programmes Rev Burton watched that evening on BBC1

A few months later, also on a Sunday, on 27 July 1975, Rev Burton noted watching Terence Rattigan’s “Deep Blue Sea“. This was on BBC1 from 9.50 to 11.40 and featured Virginia McKenna and Peter Egan. It was a repeat of a 1974 BBC Play of the Month that was first shown in March 1974.

Other Interests

Rev Burton had a love of steam trains, an interest he shared with one of his conductors, Roy. For example, on 28 November 1974, they had one of their frequent sessions in praise of steam and “mourned that the glory of the Lord had departed“! Rev Burton, then goes on to talk about his favourite locomotives, the A4s of the old LNER. He then listed a large number of other engines which “affected every nerve and sense” of his.

Almost at the end of the book, at the end of August 1975, Rev Burton noted that Roy, who was on holiday, had sent him a postcard of a preserved LNER A4, the No 4498 “Sir Nigel Gresley“, named after a well-known LNER engineer. There is a picture of this engine passing through York station opposite the original entry. I wondered if it was from that postcard but this seems unlikely.

Postcard giving details of Sir Nigel Gresley and the steam engine named after him

Norwich City Football Club

So far, while I have enjoyed looking at Rev Burton’s life and interests, I have been exploring areas well outside my own comfort zone and interests ranging from traditional English church music to Gilbert and Sullivan. I have learnt a lot but, at times, have very much felt a cultural Philistine!

Now, however, we come to a shared interest or passion, that is supporting Norwich City Football Club! In addition, the time period of the book, 1974-75, very much falls within the period during which I have supported Norwich. I have documented the time from when I started supporting the club in the late sixties through into the late seventies. I still support the club and am a season ticket holder.

It is worth noting that most information about my support for Norwich comes from my diaries but these only start in 1976 so do not overlap at all with “Transport of Delight“. In terms of other diaries, my grandfather has extremely little to say about football and, while my mum’s diaries do mention football more, there is still very little. So, much is from memory.

League Cup Second Round v Bolton Wanderers

Rev Burton first mentioned his support for Norwich City early on in his book, in September 1974, when he attended a football match. However, his attention was divided between the game and the hawk-moths attracted to the floodlights! Although Rev Burton does not specify this, this was the League Cup second round replay in which Norwich beat Bolton Wanderers 3-1. A week earlier, they had drawn the original match in Bolton 0-0.

Jack Burton attended the League Cup match between Norwich City and Bolton Wanderers on 17 September 1974. Norwich won 3-1. This news cutting shows Dave Stringer heading the first goal

Beating Manchester United

Just under two weeks later, on 28 September 1974, he noted that he saw Norwich beat Manchester United 2-0. In true Rev Burton style, he noted that it rained part of the time and that there was “a good rainbow”. He also noted that the second goal was “a beauty“. He commented that the United supporters had been giving former player Ted MacDougall some stick chanting “MacDougall is a reject“. Rev Burton continued dramatically, “… suddenly, he latched on to the ball and it hit the back of the net like a cannon-shot. The chanting stopped.” According to a news report at the time, the second goal was “a breathtaking volley“.

A Second Division Clash

This match was a Second Division league game. Perhaps surprisingly, Manchester United were in the Second Division that season having been relegated with Norwich the previous year. Norwich were back in the Second Division having spent two seasons in Division 1 for the first time in their history.

It was Norwich’s tenth game of the season. They were lying second in the table behind Manchester United. In the previous week, they had played the other two teams in the top four, both away from home. Although they had drawn 0-0 with Sunderland, they had lost 4-0 at Fulham.

News cutting showing the second division table at the start of the game between Norwich City and Manchester united in September 1974

“Reject“

In true football fan style, the local media took the chant the United fans had used to label their former player, Ted MacDougall, a “reject” and made it their alliterative headline “‘Reject’ Wrecks United Record“. This alluded to the fact that United had been unbeaten to that point. But, they were no more!

News cutting concerning Norwich’s victory over Manchester United in September 1974

Ted MacDougall

Edward (Ted) John MacDougall was born in Inverness in 1947. Aged 12, he moved to Widnes with his parents and he became an apprentice at Liverpool. Although Liverpool did offer him a professional contract, he never played for them opting to join Fourth Division York City in 1967 for £5,000. He played 84 league games for them scoring 34 goals. In 1969, he joined Third Division Bournemouth for £10,000. He played 146 league games for them scoring 103 goals. This record caught the attention of a number of clubs and, in 1972, Manchester United signed him for £200,000 which was a record at that time for a Third Division player.

MacDougall only played 18 league games for Manchester United, scoring five goals. He then had a brief spell at West Ham, playing 24 games and scoring five goals, before joining Norwich in 1973. He stayed there until 1976 playing 112 league games and scoring 51 goals. However, he controversially left the club for Southampton in 1976. In his career, he played seven games for Scotland scoring three times.

Interestingly, his playing career overlapped greatly with that of Phil Boyer. They played at four clubs together, York City, Bournemouth, Norwich City and Southampton.

News cutting with photo of Ted MacDougall in 1976 at the time of his controversial move from Norwich to Southampton

Cardiff City

The next football match Rev Burton mentioned was on 7 December 1974 when he went with conductor Tony after their shift. Rev Burton noted that “the second half was terrible“.

The match in question was a Second Division match against Cardiff City which finished in a 1-1 draw. At the start of this game, which was just under the halfway point of the season, Norwich were lying third with Cardiff 19th.

News cutting showing the Second Division table at the start of December 1974

According to a local news report, Norwich started the game really well with John Miller putting Norwich ahead in the first minute. However, despite this, and dominating the first half, they failed to win the game. The article writer noted “half a loaf is not enough” and commented that problems in the second halves of games appeared to be a recurring theme.

News cutting with report on the match between Norwich City and Cardiff City in December 1974

Surprising Omission

One thing that is perhaps surprising is that this game was sandwiched between two matches with Ipswich Town in the League Cup and Rev Burton does not refer to either of these. In September 1974, he had attended the League Cup second round replay against Bolton Wanderers which Norwich had won 3-1. Following that, they had beaten West Bromwich Albion in the third round and Sheffield United in the fourth round both after draws away and winning the replay at home. These games had all been against fellow Second Division clubs.

The victory over Sheffield United set up a fifth round tie against Ipswich Town on 4 December 1974. Norwich were drawn at home but, at that time, Ipswich were flying high in the First Division. This first game finished as a 1-1 draw. Despite Norwich’s replay success in the previous three rounds, there were concerns that further progress was unlikely given Ipswich’s higher league position and home advantage for them in the replay. Nevertheless, just under a week later, Norwich went to Portman Road and won 2-1 with two goals from former Ipswich player John Miller who also had to withstand the predictable “reject” jibes.

Football League Grounds

A week before Christmas, on 18 December 1974, Rev Burton noted that he and Tony had developed a new terminus pastime, testing each other’s knowledge of Football League clubs’ grounds. Apparently, Tony was surprised that Rev Burton knew so many!

Bristol City

Three days later, on 21 December 1974, Rev Burton went to football again with Tony and, also on this occasion, with Rev Burton’s son Trevor. Unusually for Rev Burton, he described the game in some detail, “Norwich City went ahead after seventeen minutes with a goal scored direct from a corner, but were unable to produce the finishing which would have increased their lead. Then disaster struck: Bristol City equalized in the forty-first minute, and before our dismay had subsided, went ahead in the forty-second minute – and it was half-time.

We were deep in gloom. The start of the second half was painful to watch, and we began to wish we had stayed at home. Then it happened! In the sixty-fifth minute Phil Boyer snatched the equalizer. Our celebrations were still in progress when in the sixty-sixth minute, he scored again to put Norwich back in the lead. We went wild with excitement, and that was the result: a 3-2 victory“.

This description was very similar to those in the local press with the victory described as “see-saw“. Norwich manager John Bond thought he aged about ten years during the game. Certainly, the game was tense but, for the spectators, it was “thrilling entertainment” between two teams in the top half of the table.

Phil Boyer

Philip (Phil) John Boyer was born in Nottingham in 1949. He became an apprentice at Derby County. Although Derby did offer him a professional contract, he never played for them opting to join Fourth Division York City in 1968 for £3,500. He played 109 league games for them scoring 27 goals. In 1970, he joined Third Division Bournemouth for £20,000. He played 140 league games for them scoring 46 goals. From there, in 1974, he joined Norwich City for £145,000 playing 116 league games and scoring 34 goals. He left Norwich to join Southampton in 1977. During his career, he played one game for England. Interestingly, his playing career overlapped greatly with that of Ted MacDougall. They played at four clubs together, York City, Bournemouth, Norwich City and Southampton.

Sunday League Football

At the beginning of 1975, Rev Burton noted that his New Year resolution was to slow down. As a result, he decided to take fewer services. On the first Sunday of 1975, he decided instead he would go and watch his conductor, Tony, play Sunday league football. I have raised elsewhere the question as to whether this really constituted slowing down as, in order to go to the football, he went to a communion service at 8 am, not many people’s idea of a slow Sunday morning!

Regardless of the broader issues, he enjoyed the football noting in detail, “Tony is the centre-forward; his team won 2-1 and he scored both goals, He was robbed of his best goal (and hat-trick) by the referee. Tony went for a beautiful through ball, and was clearly fouled by a defender. With skill he regained his balance, kept control of the ball, and lobbed it over the head of the advancing ‘keeper – and as he kicked it, the referee blew for the foul! The ball dropped neatly under the bar for a perfect goal. It was a very late whistle,and a bad decision. The referee actually apologized to Tony but I was livid!”

York City

About two weeks later, on 18 January 1975. Rev Burton and Tony again went to the football together. In fact, they ran all the way from the garage to the ground. Tony told Rev Burton that he did not do too bad for his age prompting Rev Burton to write that he was a “cheeky young demon.”

On this occasion again, Rev Burton described the game in some detail, “York City scored after thirty-eight seconds. We were aghast! They scored again avfter ninety-five seconds. We were numbed and unbelieving! “Good job we didn’t miss the start,” muttered Tony. York all but made it three in three minutes – but we couldn’t have been hurt any more. In the second half we pulled one back, but they scored a third goal. With only minutes remaining we made it 3-2, and that was the result – but how York City survived the final onslaught I shall never know.”

Worried about Promotion

Rev Burton thought this game “had to be won” and he was concerned that the loss had cost Norwich promotion. It was clearly a surprising result as Norwich were challenging for promotion while York were firmly in the bottom half of the table and only had a caretaker manager in place. However, given they had already beaten Norwich at home, this result meant that they did the double over us that season.

An article was concerned that, although Norwich remained in third place at the end of game, both Aston Villa and West Brom were only one point behind them. The same article raised concerns that Norwich players might have been distracted by the semi-final of the League Cup, which was over two legs and which sandwiched this game between them.

News cutting with Second Division league table after the game v York City. Interestingly perhaps, at that time, there were two points for a win,. Under the system, introduced in 1981-82 which gave three points for a win, Aston Villa and Norwich would have been level and Nottingham Forest would have been two points clear of Notts County

League Cup Semi-Final v Manchester United

A few days later, Rev Burton apologises for returning to the subject of football so soon! However, he could not let that night’s event pass unrecorded. He noted, “we watched an exciting second-leg of a semi-final cup-tie. In the first-leg, Norwich City had drawn 2-2 with Manchester United at Old Trafford. Tonight’s floodlit match – with a place at Wembley at stake – produced a tense struggle with plenty of cup-tie atmosphere, and Colin Suggett’s goal in the fifty-fourth minute was enough to settle the match. The ball came over from a corner on the right; Suggett’s header was pushed out, somebody else headed it back, it came out yet again, and Suggett threw himself forward to head the ball past the goalkeeper and into the net. Result: Norwich City 1, Manchester United 0.”

We Both Attended

This is the first game that I have encountered that Rev Burton attended which I am sure I attended too. While I was not keeping a diary at that point, or at least if I was I no longer have it, mum noted clearly that I went to a football match that day. As noted by Rev Burton, this was the second leg of the League Cup semi-final against Manchester United which Norwich won 1-0. Colin Suggett scored the winning goal. Norwich won 3-2 on aggregate having drawn the first leg 2-2 at Old Trafford. Of interest perhaps, Norwich played Manchester United four times that season winning two and drawing two.

Extract from the programme for the League Cup semi-final second leg against Manchester United in January 1975 showing photos and brief report from the first leg at Old Trafford

Front cover of programme for the League Cup semi-final second leg against Manchester United in January 1975

Back cover of programme for the League Cup semi-final second leg against Manchester United in January 1975 showing teams

Norwich City’s route to the semi-final including beating Ipswich in the previous round

These images of the League Cup semi-final second leg against Manchester United appeared in the programme for the match against West Bromwich Albion on 8 February 1975. Top – Colin Suggett scored the winning goal and above – Norwich celebrate the winning goal

Local press cutting after Norwich’s League Cup Semi-Final second leg win

Colin Suggett

Colin Suggett was born in Chester-le-Street in 1948, He became an apprentice at Sunderland and played 86 league games in Division 1 for them from 1966 to 1969 scoring 24 goals. In 1969, he joined West Bromwich Albion for £100,000 and played 128 league games for them, also in Division 1, scoring 20 goals. He joined Norwich in February 1973 for £70,000 and played 203 league games scoring 21 goals. In the 1974/75 season, he was voted player of the year. He left Norwich in 1978 finishing off his playing career at Newcastle United.

West Bromwich Albion

The following month, in February 1975, Rev Burton went to another football match, this time against West Bromwich Albion. He noted that, “the score went 0-1, 1-1, 1-2, 2-2, 3-2! This was the game at its best – and winning made it even sweeter!”

Again We Both Attended

Like the League Cup semi-final against Manchester United a few weeks earlier, this is a game that I am confident I also attended. It was an important win after a number of poor results and it was against one of our promotion rivals. However, I don’t believe that is why I went. It is certainly not why mum noted my attendance in her diary!

Wembley Vouchers

Mum noted that because I went to that match I “got a voucher to go to Wembley”, that is people who attended that game were allowed to apply for a ticket for the forthcoming League Cup Final against Aston Villa on 1 March 1975. As a result, attendance was high at 34,509.

Front cover of the programme for the match between Norwich City and West Bromwich Albion which took place on 8 February 1975. The cover picture is of Colin Suggett with celebratory champagne after he scored the winning goal against Manchester United in the League Cup semi-final

Details of the voucher scheme for the allocation of League Cup Final tickets in 1975. This was included in the programme for the match against West Bromwich Albion on 8 February 1975

Article in local press explaining how the voucher scheme for Cup Final tickets would operate

An Important Game

The game itself was important. A local news article noted that it was the fifth confrontation between the two teams that season. There was a Texaco Cup game which West Brom won 5-1; two League Cup ties, which ended in one draw and one Norwich win; and the reverse League tie which ended in a draw. In this game, the Norwich goalscorers were MacDougall (2) and McGuire. Towards the end of the game, Mel Machin was sent off for retaliating against an Albion player.

League Cup Final

On 1 March 1975, Rev Burton went to Wembley for the League Cup Final against Aston Villa. However, the main focus of his diary entry for that day was that the seat next but one to his was occupied by “a man I recognized the moment he arrived. I cannot recall having seen him since we left school nineteen years ago. He greeted me warmly: “Hello, Jack, you old devil; are you all right?” “Not too bad,” I replied, “how are you?” And that was that! I was with Trevor [Rev Burton’s son], he was with some companions; we grimaced once or twice during the game (in which Aston Villa humiliated Norwich), and said “Mind how you go” at the end, but there was no long conversation.

This did not, however, denote a basic lack of sympathy. It’s just our way; our reunions in heaven will probably be equally taciturn (though one must assume that the form of brief greeting with be suitably amended).” Rev Burton cited this as an illustration of Norfolk temperament. He also commented that, “incidentally, it’s a terrible thing to watch your favourite team lose at Wembley“.

Tickets

I definitely went to this game although this is only referred to tangentially in mum’s diary. As mentioned above, by attending the game against West Brom in February 1975, I got a voucher which meant I could apply for a Wembley ticket. This arrived some four days later. Towards the end of February 1975, mum noted that she managed to get two seats for Wembley from David Finnemore, a friend who she knew through St Peter’s Park Lane Methodist Church.

Dad, Alan and I Attended

On the day of the League Cup Final itself, neither mum nor grandad mentioned the game in their diaries specifically. However, on the Friday, mum noted that Alan and I went to London to go to dad’s and, on the Sunday, she noted that we came back. Mum and dad had separated in 1973, see Chapter 114. At this point, dad was living and working in London. It seems certain that Alan and I went to the match with dad. I had my own ticket and I imagine the two tickets mum got were for dad and Alan. When she got them, she had tried to ring dad about them without success.

Norwich Lost

The match took place on Saturday 1 March 1975. Sadly, Norwich lost 1-0 to Aston Villa when Ray Graydon scored from a penalty rebound after Kevin Keelan had pushed the original spot kick onto the post. The penalty had been awarded after Mel Machin handled on the line to stop a certain goal. Based on news reports at the time, it appears that Norwich played poorly, particularly in the second half. That half was “horribly one-sided” in Villa’s favour.

Humiliated?

This may be what Rev Burton means by being humiliated by them. I am not sure that I would ever see a 1-0 defeat as a humiliation. I was at the Etihad in November 2013 when Norwich lost 7-0 to Manchester City and at Elland Road for the play-off semi-final in May 2024 when Norwich lost 4-0 to Leeds. Both of those, were far more humiliating! I do agree that the result was disappointing and it is never nice to see your team lose, especially in a Wembley final.

Play-Off Finals

I have been fortunate to see Norwich in two play-off finals. The first one, in 2002, was not at Wembley but at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff as Wembley was being rebuilt. Norwich lost to Birmingham City on penalties. While I was disappointed, I am not sure I expected much as Norwich had only sneaked into the play-offs. The second time was in 2015. Norwich had finished third and had memorably beaten Ipswich Town in the semi-finals. At Wembley, they beat Middlesbrough 2-0 to return to the Premier League. It was a great day and a brilliant climax to a fabulous play-off campaign.

Front cover of programme for League Cup Final 1975

Photos from the League Cup final from the local press including Mel Machin handling on the line and after Norwich had received their runners-up’ medals

Promotion

On 26 April 1975, Rev Burton recorded a very short entry saying, “Great excitement! Despite all fears, Norwich City has won promotion to the First Division“. What Rev Burton does not mention is that promotion was sealed by victory away at Portsmouth.

I went to that game, on my own as I recall, despite being not quite 15! In her diary, mum noted that I went on a Mascot coach, see Chapter 110. I believe it was the first Norwich away game I had been to on my own. This was at a time when football hooliganism was rife and I remember being among Norwich fans who vandalised property and spray-painted graffiti. I found it quite shocking but also exciting! There was also trouble inside the ground although I do not recall this. However, it was pretty commonplace at that time.

The Fight for Third Place

At the start of that day, Manchester United and Aston Villa had already been promoted to division 1. However, there was one place remaining and it was close between Norwich and Sunderland. Both had 51 points but while Sunderland only had one game remaining, away at Aston Villa that day, Norwich had an additional match. This was to be at home against Aston Villa on the Wednesday after the Portsmouth game, a game that Norwich ultimately lost 4-1. However, promotion had already been confirmed by then. Norwich won ‘handsomely’ 3-0 at Portsmouth while Sunderland lost 2-0 at Aston Villa.

League Table at the Start of the Day

League table from programme for Portsmouth Norwich game. Note: Aston Villa had two points more than shown as they had won midweek

Programme Front Cover

Front cover of match programme for game between Portsmouth and Norwich

The Teams

Team line-ups from match programme for game between Portsmouth and Norwich. Former Norwich player Ken Foggo played for Portsmouth

Norwich City squad 1974-75 from programme for match against Portsmouth

Mascot Coaches

Match Photos

Mick McGuire is mobbed after scoring first goal

Phil Boyer challenging for the ball with Portsmouth goalkeeper

Ted MacDougall and Duncan Forbes celebrate victory and promotion

The game’s goalscorers, Martin Peters, Phil Boyer and Mick McGuire

Front Page Headline

Front page of the Pink Un from 26 April 1975 highlighting that Norwich had clinched promotion

The Day’s Results

Results for the top two divisions for 26 April 1975. The results from Portsmouth and Aston Villa guaranteed Norwich’s promotion back to the first division that year

Tables at the End of the Day

League positions for the top two divisions at the end of 26 April 1975. Norwich had 53 points with one game remaining. Sunderland had only 51 points with no games remaining. Norwich could not be caught so were promoted

Birds at Football Matches

Rev Burton did attend the final game of that season on 30 April 1975. However, he was more interested in the antics of a blackbird noting, “At the football match this evening a blackbird flew down at halftime, hunting for worms, and remained on the pitch even when the players trooped out for the second half. With a brood to feed, every hour of daylight is precious“.

I am not sure I can match Rev Burton for birds-at-football stories! I do recall, the season Norwich were in League 1, going to the away game in Wycombe. It was one of the very few occasions when my wife came with me. She was completed distracted by two red kites circling above the stadium. Also, when I went to Newcastle to see them play Norwich, the away fans are very high up in the stands. It was literally the only time I have ever been at football where I was looking down on gulls! Very recently, gulls featured on the pitch in both Norwich’s pre-season friendly against Osasuna and in their League Cup victory over MK Dons.

Aston Villa

Back to the game, as I have mentioned earlier, Norwich played Aston Villa and lost 4-1. However, the result was academic as Norwich had already sealed promotion with the earlier win away at Portsmouth. This was summed up in a newspaper headline which stated that, while Villa were superior on the night, the result did not matter to most Norwich supporters.

This was the third time Norwich had played Villa that season. Although Norwich managed a league draw away from home early in the season, this was their second defeat with the other coming in the League Cup Final. The report also noted that the crowd was the biggest of the season, 36,000 and expressed the view that Villa would have no problem holding their own in Division 1 the following season. Indeed, all three promoted clubs survived the following year with Manchester United finishing third, Norwich tenth and Villa 16^th. The relegated teams were Wolves, Burnley and Sheffield United.

News cutting with part of report on Norwich’s 4-1 defeat by Aston Villa on 30 April 1975

Norwich v Peterborough

On Whitsunday, 18 May 1975, Rev Burton watched a football match between Norwich and Peterborough… bus depots! He heard and then saw a cuckoo. He noted that his conductor Tony was playing, Although Tony scored a “beautiful header“, Norwich depot lost 3-2 after extra time.

The New Season

Towards the end of the book, on 18 August 1975, Rev Burton was back at work after a holiday. He noted, “Tony gave me all the news for the past fortnight: who had got the sack, who had the big accident, the rotten shifts I missed, the drivers he had in my place, Norwich City’s terrible start to the season…(We scarcely touch on religion. He doesn’t believe in it. I would be a fool to risk losing a good conductor for the sake of a little cheap ‘evangelism.)”

A Terrible Start?

While there is a lot in this entry, I am mostly interested here in Norwich City’s start to the season which Tony apparently described as “terrible“. To be fair, by this point, Norwich had played the grand sum of one game! Admittedly, they had lost that 3-0 away to Manchester City.

Bad Starts to the Season

There are great perils in reading too much into the first result of the season. For example, in th 2009/10 season, Norwich lost the opening game 7-1 to Colchester United, a game I happily missed! That season, Norwich won promotion back to the Championship. It is true that there was turmoil in between including sacking Norwich goalkeeping legend Bryan Gunn and “poaching” the Colchester manager Paul Lambert.

Anything but Terrible

Back to 1975-76, Norwich’s overall start to that season was anything but terrible. After ten games, Norwich had 11 points having won four games (against Aston Villa; Everton; Leicester City and Sheffield United); having drawn three (against Leeds United, Tottenham Hotspur and Burnley); and having lost three (against Manchester City, Arsenal and Ipswich). As a result, they were tenth in the table level on points with Coventry, Liverpool and Everton in positions 7-9. They were two points above Ipswich who were 16^th.

A Good Season

I have very little about this season until March 1976 when my diary starts. I imagine I went to games when I could but I was limited by having a Saturday job. Nevertheless, it was a good season for Norwich by any standard.

Summary of 1975-76 season from “*100 Years of the Canaries*”. Interestingly, under the current three-points-for-a-win system, Norwich would have finished above Tottenham and level on points with Leicester

Theology

I was interested to understand Rev Burton’s theological views but was not sure how much I would find of these in the book given its dual objects of showing the unity of existence and outlining his daily routine as a “worker-priest“. However, there is more theology than I expected. Perhaps I should not have been surprised! Rev Burton was a Methodist Minister after all. Also, his first words in the introduction included that the book is about God and the church. Under his first object, he mentions that it will include religion, high mass and Christ preached.

There is a lot of theology scattered throughout the book. In some cases, this takes the form of illustrations or perhaps points to stimulate thought. In others, there are sections with well-developed theological beliefs. Often these come on a Sunday. I assume these were part of a sermon outline. Sometimes, but not always, this is stated explicitly.

The Nature of Religion

Rev Burton had a fairly broad view of what constituted religion and he discussed this in his entry for 6 May. He opened this provocatively saying, “the two most important things in the world are religion and sex“. Continuing, he said “When I say religion, I am using the word in its widest possible sense to include not only a formal religious commitment and the performance of prescribed observances, but every expression of wonder, awe, reverence and mystery“.

He then used this argument to criticise materialism with what he considered were its idols, such as sport, cars, cheap sex, wealth. He concluded “when wonder dies in a man, that which made him most truly human has vanished“.

While his argument that religion is broader than organised religion makes sense to me, I wonder if his definition is truly the widest possible sense of religion. I couldn’t help wondering if there are religious beliefs or practices which lack expressions of wonder, awe, reverence and mystery. Isn’t the belief that there is no God just as much a religious belief as the belief in God? Isn’t the pursuit of the materialistic idols he mentions a form of religious practice, albeit in the widest sense?

Inspired by Rev Burton, I have started reading Monica Furlong’s book “Travelling In“. Its format with short sections structured into 15 chapters lends itself to daily readings, which is what I am doing. I have not got very far yet but I have completed the first two chapters.

Belief in God

There are two passages in the book where Rev Burton discussed explicitly his belief in God.

Is Ultimate Reality Personal?

The first comes on 4 April 1975. He started by saying that he did not know if “ultimate reality is personal” and clarified this by saying that he didn’t know if God existed. However, he hoped he did and he worked on the assumption he did. He recognised that his levels of belief varied from day to day. He asserted that his weakness of insight and doubts did not affect his preaching which he saw as not airing his personal views but to proclaim the faith of the church. While I can see what he is saying, based on my experiences, I think it is possible to tell when someone really believes what they are preaching and when they don’t. In addition, if someone is expecting me to believe something that they don’t believe themselves, isn’t that hypocrisy?

Direct Knowledge of God

He is critical of those who claim direct knowledge of God saying that they don’t convince him of much. He largely dismisses them by saying he wished they “would give greater evidence of their knowledge in their bearing”. While there is some truth behind this statement, it is a sweeping generalisation which is unlikely to be fully true. Indeed, in Rev Burton’s own book, he gives a number of examples of people he visited pastorally who he felt gave strong evidence of their Christian faith, presumably based on their understanding of their knowledge of God.

Things He Believed In

Rev Burton then articulated things he did believe in including:

The church
The historicity of Jesus
That the gospels gave a clear and consistent account of the life of Jesus
That Jesus adopted and advocated attitudes that he wished to emulate
That there was an “immense gulf” between his actions and attitudes and those displayed by Jesus
That love was the key to all human fulfilment
That love was regularly crucified but resurrection can follow crucifixion
That there was power in the Christian tradition

A Better Day?

I am not sure if, when he wrote about his belief in God for the second time, he was having a better day in terms of his level of belief or, as it was a sermon outline, he was proclaiming the faith of the church rather than his own personal belief. Regardless, almost at the end of the book, on 24 August 1975, he included a four-page sermon outline simply entitled “I Believe in God“.

Faith and Belief

He started by saying that every person “needs some kind of faith or belief by which to live“. He explained that his own belief in God arose from his awareness and experience of the natural order of which he formed part. Ultimately, he wondered if “the countless forms of life and existence which comprise the creation are controlled by blind, nameless, abstract forces, or by a supreme reason” and recognised that man had always pondered this question. He did not believe that scientific progress had lessened that mystery. He gave many examples of being inspired to awe and wonder by creation.

About God

Then, he said that, for him, God was:

The ultimate source of energy and matter
The creative power that designs and holds matter together in millions of different shapes and forms
The source of all life

Is God Personal?

The question for Rev Burton then becomes not whether God exists but whether God is personal. At this point, the church came into his thinking. He recognised inconsistencies within the church and its members but traced it back to Jesus who he believed was a genuine historical figure. The fundamental belief of the church is that, in this man, God revealed himself to man. Rev Burton acknowledged that when he looked at the life of Jesus his belief in God began to come alive. He considered that his words had self-evident authority and he gave an answer to the question about whether God is personal by teaching his followers to address God as father. Rev Burton concludes that he believes in God because he believed in Jesus.

Centrality of Jesus

I can identify with this part of his sermon. As a teenager, I did not believe in God but, when I went to university, see Chapter 120, I met people who really believed in Christianity. One of them challenged me to read Luke’s gospel. I resisted because I thought I knew the Bible. I had been to Sunday School after all! Anyway, in the end, I agreed to do it and had a very similar experience to that of Rev Burton finding Jesus to be an attractive and interesting person, see Chapter 124.

Experiences of God

Rev Burton continues with the sermon outline saying that he believed in God because he had experienced his love and had experienced God renewing his spirit and outlook. His attitudes had changed and he found where peace, patience, forgiveness and strength could be found. He acknowledged that his beliefs were not constant and he considered himself a weak and selfish person. He noted that many doctrines were uncertain to him.

Given just how personal this is, it would be hard to conclude that this was just a sermon proclaiming the faith of the church. It comes across as a powerful declaration of his own faith with the caveats of his own weakness and fluctuating level of faith. I would very much have liked to have heard him preach it!

The Nature of God

Having established perhaps that Rev Burton believed in God, the book includes a number of passages which seem to talk about what God is like, that is the nature of God.

Creator, Upholder, Designer and Giver of Life

In the entry for 4 April that we saw above, Rev Burton said a few things about God and his nature, “God set the creative process into motion; God upholds the entire creation instant by instant; God is the designer of a myriad of different forms which are in perfect interrelation; God is the giver of life“.

Doctrine of Divinely-Controlled Change

In his sermon on Trinity Sunday, 25 May 1975, Rev Burton quoted the 1967 report of the Medical Missionary Society by Douglas Thompson. Thompson argued for what Rev Burton called “the doctrine of divinely-controlled change“, namely that God not only made the world but actively upholds it currently. Rev Burton pointed out that it is easier to accept this doctrine when things are going well but, when things are not, it becomes more difficult. However, he asserted, “God has not forsaken us! He is ever at work, changing, renewing, and in control“.

Church as Guerilla Fighters

In a long follow-up to this, Rev Burton likened the church to guerilla fighters who Mao Tse-tung argued could not be defeated because they are “swimming in the sea of the people“. Rev Burton argued that similarly the church, distributed in tiny pockets among the nations, can be harassed, dispersed and hindered but cannot be conquered. While I understand the encouraging nature of this comparison, surely it falls down because the guerilla draws their invincibility from being of the people whereas presumably the church is invincible because it is supported by God.

Danger of Revisionism

Where the simile is strong is that the guerilla, according to Mao, is at risk from “revisionism” that is a dilution of basic belief “by the encroachment of bourgeois ease and permissiveness.” Rev Burton warned of a Christian revisionism. He did not see this as a departure from the “conservative-evangelical, fundamentalist-cum-literalist attitude to the Bible“, as was frequently hinted. Rather, he saw it as a departure from “the utter conviction that God is the lord of heaven and earth, who directs a plan for humanity and for the whole creation”.

Both Male and Female… Or Neither

On 6 September 1974, Rev Burton answered the question is God male or female by saying “the answer must be ‘both’ or ‘neither.’” He acknowledged male language in the Bible but recognized that words we use to describe God are inadequate to define the nature of the eternal reality we call God. The book of Genesis states that God created both male and female in his image. Rev Burton considered that this meant that “men and women have the potentiality for displaying in their own lives – if ever so faintly – the divine essence.”

He dismissed the idea that a person is only complete if married to someone of the opposite sex but rather argued that each person displays characteristics that might be considered male, such as assertiveness and leadership, or female, such as gentleness, tenderness and compassion. In conclusion, he said that we need to include female attributes in our idea of God. He praised Catholic reverence for Mary in this regard but, to me, this seems to conflate two issues. He acknowledged that he primarily still thought of God as “heavenly father” but he did not interpret that insight narrowly.

Almighty Love

A recurring theme when Rev Burton talks about God is the central idea that God is love. For example, he opens his entry on 15 September 1974 by stating “at the heart of the Christian faith is the belief that the creation is controlled and directed by almighty love.” He explained where this love operated including, for example in holding the planets in orbit and drawing the snowdrop through the frozen earth, and also expressed some ideas about love, for example, love:

Is not sentimentality
Is not a sweet and cosy emotion
Is unmanageable
Is frightening and fearsome
Cannot be controlled
Cannot be compelled
Releases us from the tyranny of reason but imprisons us in a new bondage which is bitter-sweet, terrible, wonderful
Is the beginning and end
May throw your attitudes and values upside down
Was Christ’s meaning and is his nature

Polite to Aunts and Kind to Animals

Rev Burton noted that you cannot be compelled to love or to stop loving someone. Christianity is not a code of conduct about being polite to aunts and kind to animals!

1 Corinthians 13

Reading Rev Burton’s list reminds me of the famous “love is” passage from I Corinthians 13. This reads, “Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails.” 1 Corinthians 13:4-8a NIV.

The Problem with Institutions

Two days before Christmas, on 23 December 1974, Rev Burton observed that institutions, because of their complexity, antiquity or rigidity, are prone to conceal the very realities they exist to embody! He commented that the church was not immune to such issues and that reverence for the church was no substitute for the love of Christ. He contrasted how the Christmas story was celebrated now with pomp and ceremony, which Rev Burton loved, with the realities of the first Christmas, namely poverty, homelessness and lack of privilege.

A Mystical Relationship of Love

A few days later, on New Year’s Day 1975, Rev Burton returned to this theme. While he accepted that Christianity means different things to different people, to him it was about “entering into a mystical relationship of love with Jesus“. He accepted that love could not be described scientifically so was more usually addressed in poetry or song.

Difficulties in describing the “love-life of the soul with Jesus” mean that those “without sympathy for the Christian faith” can describe it as imagination, delusion, self-deception, wishful-thinking, emotionalism and sheer nonsense.

This reminds me of a Dave Allen “sketch” where he describes a conversation between the Pope and an atheist. The conversation gets more heated and eventually the Pope says “You are like a man who is totally blindfolded in a totally dark room looking for a black cat that is not there“. The atheist says that he sees a similarity with them both, “you are like a man who is blindfolded in a totally dark room looking for a blind cat that is not there… The only difference is that you’ve found it!”

Captivated My Imagination

Rev Burton explained that his knowledge of the love of God comes through the person of Jesus who he says “has captivated my imagination with a dancing magic” unlike any other historical figure. He referred to his life, teaching, passion, death and resurrection as hitting home with a tantalizing impact. So, he believed that it was possible to be in love with Jesus in the present. He referred to the words over the altar in a chapel near his home “JESUS, JESUS ONLY, JESUS ALWAYS, JESUS IN ALL THINGS.” He considered that would be a good New Year’s resolution.

Knowable but Elusive

On 1 October 1974, Rev Burton noted that God was at once knowable but utterly elusive. He considered he had found confidence and hope in Christ but longed each day to see more clearly. The following year, on 18 June 1975, he commented that it is only possible for us to have flickers of faith and vague longings for God. He expanded saying, “we cannot know God in the way that we know the man next door or last week’s football results“. He thought that, if we could know God in that way, human life would be impossible. We would be able to concentrate on nothing else. Rev Burton considered that God had to veil himself not to swamp us with his intensity. However, he also considered that God delighted in being known and revealed himself to those who would receive truth.

There is a story in the book of Exodus (33:18-23) where Moses asks to see God’s glory, “And the Lord said, ‘I will cause all my goodness to pass in front of you, and I will proclaim my name, the Lord, in your presence. I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion.’ But, he said, ‘you cannot see my face, for no one may see me and live.’ Then the Lord said, ‘There is a place near me where you may stand on a rock. When my glory passes by, I will put you in a cleft in the rock and cover you with my hand until I have passed by. Then I will remove my hand and you will see my back; but my face must not be seen.‘”

Rude

Rev Burton, in a very short entry on 24 July 1975, said “God is far more ‘rude’ than many ‘godfearers’ imagine. ‘It is he that hath made us’ (Psalm 100) and we are ‘fearfully and wonderfully made’ (Psalm 139).” I fear I don’t really understand what he meant by this. Apparently, he may be referring to an older meaning of “rude” as in raw, unpolished, natural or rough.

The Nature of Christ and Christianity

We have already touched on the nature of Christ in our earlier consideration of Rev Burton’s theology. For example, we have seen that Rev Burton believed that Jesus was a historical figure and that the gospels gave a clear and consistent account of the life of Jesus. However, there are several places in the book where he says more on this topic.

Man of Sorrows

Near the beginning of the book, in September 1974, Rev Burton commented that the people whose Christian discipleship had impressed him most were often not well-known people. He gave the example of a man in his eighties who had attended the same chapel for 50 years and been the organist for 40. Rev Burton considered that he had a “sweet and gentle and peaceable spirit which stems from his trust in Jesus Christ”. He told Rev Burton that Jesus was not a superstar but was a “Man of Sorrows“.

This is a reference to the musical “Jesus Christ Superstar” created by Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber released in 1970. Interestingly perhaps, on Easter Sunday in 1979, a youth group from St Peter’s Park Lane Methodist Church, called Spotsoc, came to our house to watch a film of “Jesus Christ Superstar” on TV, see Chapter 122. The reference to “Man of Sorrows” is a direct reference to a biblical prophecy in Isaiah 53:3. It emphasises that for this church organist, and presumably for Rev Burton, understanding Jesus required looking at the quiet, difficult, and sorrowful corners of human life, rather than the loud and glamorous ones.

Crucifixion

Unsurprisingly perhaps, on Good Friday, 28 March 1975, Rev Burton wrote about the crucifixion at some length. I wonder if this was the basis of a sermon outline. To be honest, I have found this material difficult to understand and engage with. I think this is due, at least in part, to the order in which his material is presented.

Daring to Let Go

Rev Burton started by saying “crucifixion is about daring to let go“. Essentially, he seems to have used crucifixion as a metaphor for letting go of self-sufficiency and independence, daring to love and accepting the consequences. He describes this as an awesome and frightening experience.

I found myself reacting to this. It seemed a big unexplained jump to me and a bit trite to suggest that letting go of my self-sufficiency could be compared at all in fearfulness to one of the most brutal methods of execution ever devised!

Love Incarnate

Perhaps that was Rev Burton’s intention, to shock and to get attention as he did then go on to explain where his metaphor came from. He argued that God dared to let go of his divine self-sufficiency when he formed the creation and that Christ dared to let go of the divine glory of the Father’s immediate presence when he became a man (“was incarnate by the Holy Ghost of the Virgin Mary”). Jesus then modelled a life of openness, acceptance and compassion. Rev Burton described this as love incarnate. Jesus then steadfastly set his face to Jerusalem. “Love was denied, love was betrayed, love was crucified. And love was undefeated.” You can almost hear these words being spoken by him in a climactic point of his sermon.

Way of the Cross

Rev Burton then recognised that it was easy to talk glibly about the way of the cross, something I thought he risked doing in his opening remarks. He described the cross as ugly and offensive. However, he then lost me a bit in his concluding words. I think he was essentially talking about what it means to take up your cross and follow Jesus (see Matthew 16:24) but he does not say so explicitly. However, his words make sense if interpreted in that way. This requires expressing love and risking rejection, misunderstanding, abuse, exploitation and ingratitude just as Jesus did. Rev Burton argued that love will be victorious in the end in the same way as resurrection followed crucifixion. Living as Jesus lived will bring love, friendship, companionship and service whereas living with fronts and barriers will lead to “petty and impoverished little lives“.

Life and Resurrection

Again unsurprisingly perhaps, Rev Burton includes comments on resurrection and life on Easter Sunday, 30 March 1975. However, they are relatively brief and I am not sure they are a sermon outline. As with his piece on crucifixion, he launches straight into a metaphor where he says that much in our life displays “deadness” – our undeveloped talents, our unpursued dreams, our ideals that have slipped away, our lost faith and our neglected prayers. We have become scientific, cold and matter-of-fact. However, Jesus offers life and resurrection.

Trading Miracles for Metaphors

Dominant Orthodoxy

Looking back, Rev Burton’s views on the crucifixion and resurrection are perhaps exactly what one would expect from that era. While they are a long way from the literal and supernatural worldview of early Methodism, they had become the dominant, mainstream orthodoxy of the 1970s. This was the exact church environment I was raised in, and ultimately rejected.

Metaphors

Back then, no-one I knew seemed to view these events through a traditional lens. Anything supernatural was brushed aside as a metaphor for something else. The Ministers promoting this did not see themselves as abandoning the faith. Instead, they thought they were rescuing it for a modern, sceptical world.

Abandoning the Supernatural

Yet, it is ironic that Rev Burton complained about becoming too “‘scientific’, cold, and matter-of-fact” but, on these issues, he and others appear to have surrendered to that exact mindset by abandoning the supernatural and miraculous in Christianity.

Contributing to the Decline

The long-term consequences of this shift now seem clear. Believers hungry for a supernatural faith simply left Methodism to find it in thriving Pentecostal, charismatic, and independent churches. Meanwhile, the institutions that traded miracles for metaphors have suffered severe decline. In trying to save the church for his generation, Rev Burton and his colleagues may have inadvertently stripped away the very uniqueness that keeps a church alive.

Other Factors

Of course, there may be other explanations why one type of church has declined and another has grown. There are certainly ethnic and geographical factors. Much growth has been seen in ethnic groups and geographical locations where cultural worldviews are less bound by Western scientific rationalism. In addition, it may be argued that the modern search for contemporary and lively worship naturally favours certain churches over the more traditional churches, such as the Methodists. However, liveliness of worship could perhaps be seen as a natural expression of a supernatural faith. There is a certain irony that early Methodists and some branches of Methodism, for example, Primitive Methodism, were known, and criticised, for their emotional style of worship.

The Nature of Man

Rev Burton dedicated some of his entries to topics which might be considered to relate to the nature of man, or in more inclusive language, the nature of humankind. These could be sermon notes and they cover a number of traditional Christian themes, namely that man/humankind is lost, is wicked and needs forgiveness.

Lost

Near the beginning of the book, in October 1974, Rev Burton looked at a number of ways in which things and people could be lost and how Christ could help us to be found again. He considered being lost ib a number of ways.

Lost Outside…

As most things are. He considered that people could become lost among the pressures of living in a world of unprecedented speed, change and anxiety. Things they have lost include sense of purpose or direction; values and standards; faith; idealism; hope; and a sense of wonder.

Lost Inside…

And gave the example of a coin that slips down the side of a chair. It is not faraway but it is lost nonetheless. Rev Burton likened this to being lost within the church perhaps because of over-familiarity with holy things; a faith inherited unquestioningly from parents; and the inability to see the wood for the trees.

Lost Without Knowing It…

And gave the example of a journey when you think you are going the right way but you aren’t. He saw this as a metaphor for those for whom life holds together but it is all rather dull. At times, they may feel wistful but it soon passes.

Lost and Know It Though Others Don’t Know It…

And gave the example of a group of young people hill climbing. They knew they were lost but others didn’t realise for several hours. He compared this with people who feel unhappiness and despair but it is hidden from others.

Lost in a Crowd…

Particularly those who bear burdens and responsibilities, for example, of leadership.

Lost Alone…

Which he considered a terrible and widespread feeling.

Lost Deliberately…

Such as unwanted Christmas puppies. He likened this to people who Satan deceives and leads astray. He considered that the powers of evil “seem highly organized and possess diabolical cunning“.

Remarkably Traditional

This sermon outline seems to me to be remarkably traditional particularly the last bullet. While it did not frame lostness in an eternal context, Rev Burton did talk about Satan and powers of evil in a very traditional way.

Wicked

Rev Burton did not really have sermon notes on the wickedness of man/ humankind. Indeed, it would probably be a bit odd if he did as he seemed to always see the best in people. Nevertheless, when preparing a sermon for a Christmas Eve midnight mass, he said the following about himself, “I know I am very wicked, yet I am not sure always exactly in what way my wickedness consists” although he added in brackets that sometimes he was very sure. I confess to not fully understanding what he might be referring to here. Presumably, he did not want to be too explicit. It says something about his character perhaps that he recognised wickedness in himself but was less willing to call it out in others.

Need for Forgiveness

On one Sunday in April 1975, he made a fairly short entry about the need for “cosmic forgiveness“. Again, this does not seem to be a full sermon outline but could perhaps be an illustration or a point within a sermon. He started by saying that we had done violence to our consciences and our intuitions and that this required an act of cosmic forgiveness to be made right. To him, this was the only way of bringing us into harmony with the whole created order.

He then talked about the traditional Christian concept of sin arguing that sin is the refusal to be actuated by love. As the entire universe is fired by love, he argued that sin has to therefore be cosmic in scope and implications. He argued that sin is estrangement and alienation and destroys our peace and separates us from others. He argued therefore that “divine forgiveness, therefore, is not a purely personal matter, but an act which involves the moon and the stars”. If by the last sentence, he means that divine forgiveness is not only a personal matter but needs to involve others, the created world and God, I think I can understand what he is saying. However, if he is just limiting it to the moon and stars specifically, I am not quite sure what he meant!

The Nature of Nature

Rev Burton’s love of nature shines out through the whole book. I have established through a local newspaper archive that on 6 October 1974, he was the preacher at the Harvest Thanksgiving Old Meeting House Congregational Church in Colegate in Norwich.

News cutting with notice of Congregational services on 6 October 1974. Rev Jack Burton was speaking in the morning at the Harvest Thanksgiving service at the Old Meeting House, Colegate

The Seasons

His diary entry for that day might well have been his sermon notes for that occasion. He opened by describing the different features of the various seasons before focusing on autumn as his favourite. Then he focused on the specifics of harvest festival commenting that it showed that people have a deep impulse to offer gifts and tokens for the fertility and bounty of the earth.

Living without Nature

He then reflected on his time as a Minister in Glasgow where people lived without trees and without gardens. As a result, Rev Burton did not always notice what season it was. He broadened this concern to say that “we are losing our awareness of the natural order and our place in it” commeting that he found this deeply, depressingly disturbing.

Living with Nature

He contrasted his Glaswegian experiences with those of being a Minister in the Fens. There he could see the horizon every day. He often walked and, on one occasion, he encountered what he called the four primary “elements” of earth, air, fire and water. He described this as a spiritual experience in which he felt at one with nature. This he found soothing, renewing, invigorating and tantalising commenting that not all spiritual experiences occur in church.

Losing the Connection

However, he continued that men were losing this connection to the natural world and that this loss harmed man and the natural world. He linked this with a conversation in the bus depot canteen where someone said that “one of the saddest sights in the world is a dead river“. Rev Burton agreed. However sometimes, people think a river is dead but it is not. He gave the example of the river in Norwich contrasting that with some rivers elsewhere which he described as “murky, oiled, polluted, empty, evil-looking and stinking“. He described a vicious circle of alienation from the world and pollution/ corruption of it.

A Concern of Secular Writers

However, this concern about alienation from nature and the impoverishment this brings is not exclusively a Christian, or even a religious, concept. In our book club, we read Robert Macfarlane’s book “Landmarks“. In that, he expressed concern over the loss of regional words related to land, weather and nature. Many of his books pursue similar themes.

Married to Creation

Rev Burton then described a contact with a “hippie-type” friend who said he was “married to the creation” and regularly told parts of creation that he loved them. He also promised never to abuse the earth. While Rev Burton found this unorthodox, he also thought it was very meaningful. He tried to make it clear that getting back to nature did not mean living in rabbit holes and eating blackberries. Rather, for him, it was about consciously reconnecting with nature, for example, by visiting the coast in winter; looking at the stars and picking out the constellations; and/or seeing the garden as more than a burden. He saw these as “deeply religious activities which can help to restore that ancient harmony and strengthen the spirit“.

Sensual Spirituality

One theme that emerges strongly from the book is what Rev Burton terms sensuality and which relates to use of his senses. In an important entry on 10 November 1974, he explained how he used each of his sense to stimulate his spirit and provoke attitudes which “can be described only as religious“. The examples he gives are:

The sight of the countryside bathed in moonlight; by sunlight shining on the trunk of a tree, emphasising the texture of the bark; and by the first brave spring flowers
The feel of the soft pile of velvet material; handling a piece of carved, polished woodwork; and knowing the biting air of a frosty morning
The taste of skate; rare steak; red wine and Balkan Sobranie [a type of pipe tobacco]
The scent of rain on earth after a dry spell; hay in the evening which had been cut earlier in the day; the good, earthy smell of a river; the breath and sweat of a friend or lover; honeysuckle; greasy overalls; and fallen leaves
The sound of thunder; a robin singing, in the coldness of a winter afternoon; the boy soloist singing ‘Hear My Prayer’; the wind in the trees and owls

Outdoor table with dinner, birds, crescent moon, and distant lightning — AI-generated image illustrating some of the things that evoked religious sentiments in Rev Burton through his senses

Rev Burton noted revelling in these sensations. He considered this creation shouting aloud of God and concluded that there is a reverent sensuality, use of senses, which beckons beyond and emphasises that you are alive, awake and alert. He described this as a receptive and vulnerable state in which we are most accessible to God.

Room for Uncertainty

While Rev Burton’s life choices to become a Methodist preacher and a “worker-priest” might be considered to indicate a degree of certainty about his religious convictions, some of his entries argue against that conclusion. For example, in his entry for 6 May 1975, which he starts by asserting that the two most important things in the world are religion and sex, he explained that for him religion is expressed in Christianity. However, he was uncomfortable with Christianity as he felt it claimed to have all the answers and has a “dogma for every occasion”.

Nonconformity too Certain

He considered Nonconformity particularly guilty in this regard in that:

Latin is out
Ceremonies other than the simplest rituals are unnecessary
Hymns and prayers must be that everyone can understand so that God is never sensed or perceived only thought out
The church is frighteningly clear-cut when it comes to sex

Life is Not Clear Cut

However, Rev Burton does not want everything clear-cut as he considered that life was not clear cut. I have every sympathy with Rev Burton’s sentiments and identify completely with the “dogma for every occasion concern.” However, I am not sure he is completely right to single out Christianity among religions, or Nonconformity within Christianity, as particularly bad in that regard.

Similar Certainties Beyond Nonconformity

For example, Christianity is by no means the only religion that is clear cut on its teachings on sex. Islam has similar, if not stricter, expectations. On some aspects of sex, for example the use of contraceptives, the Roman Catholic church is more dogmatic than nonconformists.

Nonconformity is not the only branch of Christianity to have abandoned Latin. Haven’t the Church of England and the Roman Catholic church largely done the same thing? Arguing that God is never sensed or perceived in nonconformist circles may be true of the Methodist Church in the UK over time but it is a sweeping generalisation that hardly applies to all Nonconformists everywhere, for example, the Pentecostals and charismatics.

His Own Certainties and Restrictions

Finally, although Rev Burton bemoaned some rules and regulations which he felt constrained his own worship, he seems to have proposed some things in his book which would seriously constrain others in their worship and Christian life. For example, he was dead against “folksiness and informality” in worship and also against the ordination of women.

Faith and Doubt

Another aspect of uncertainty emerges from Rev Burton’s book, namely the balance between faith and doubt. In an entry on 18 October 1974, he asserted that “it is not always easy to believe“. He referred to good days and bad days. One day, faith burned brightly, another day he faced strong and attractive temptations to relinquish faith.

Inspiration for the Bad Days

On the bad days, he found that certain things inspired him:

The tall spire of the Cathedral and the masons’ superb craftsmanship
The setting sun lighting that spire and filling the sky with shades of red and pink and orange
Beauty and wisdom in the lined face of an aged person
Promise in the life of a child
Poignancy and grace in the lines of young adulthood
Dew on the lawn
Russet shades on the apples
Boys singing psalms and carols
Stories of self-sacrifice and courage
Sitting in a church
Talking with a friend
Seeing the first snowfall
Watching bread and wine be consecrated
Listening to Mahler’s 5^th Symphony
Seeing faces in the bus queue

Reverence, Awe and Wonder

These and other experiences evoked reverence, awe and wonder. If a person chooses unbelief, they will find that unbelief challenged by such experiences. Rev Burton described this as the creation being shot through with God.

Spiritual Peril

A few months later, in February 1975, he returned to a similar theme noting that he sometimes felt in spiritual peril and that he hoped someone was praying for him. He felt he was not protected by an ecclesiastical routine but was exposed to the world. In addition, he feared that his witness might flag and his charity fail. He felt that the danger increased the longer he stayed in the world as he experienced a tension between:

Piety and integrity vs being aloof
Being sympathetic and human vs conforming to world’s attitudes

He saw this as a tightrope and felt that his unaided temperament would have betrayed him long ago.

Saints

Perhaps surprisingly for a Methodist Minister, Rev Burton talked a lot about saints. He clearly did not go along with how the term saint is used in the Bible and in early Methodism, that is to refer to all believers in Christ. For example, at the beginning of November 1974, he distinguished between “saints” and “souls“. For him, the Christian discipleship of the saints shone with unusual brilliance while souls did display some of the characteristics of saints but not to the same degree. It does seem that, in this definition, he leaned towards the Roman Catholic approach.

However, in May 1975, he answered the question about what is a saint by quoting Leonard Cohen’s book “Beautiful Losers”. Cohen says that a saint is someone “who has achieved a remote human possibility” and this relates to the energy of love. It is worth noting that this definition does not refer to religion or Christianity at all so might be considered a secular definition of sainthood. This may have appealed to Rev Burton because it allowed him to include apparently secular characters, such as Edith Piaf and D H Lawrence among his own patron saints.

Christian Presence

One of the central themes of the book is about Christians being present in the world rather than withdrawing or being separate from it. This concept was at the heart of Rev Burton’s role as a “worker-priest“. For him it was not about trying to get people to come to church or to convert them to believe in God. Rather, it was about being present with them in their everyday lives. He referred to this as “Christian presence“, for example on 27 November 1974. He believed that it was “one of the few forms of evangelism which still makes sense in this astonishing age“. It is sometimes described as an incarnational approach which Rev Burton thought was in keeping with the spirit of Christmas. He saw it as a way of avoiding continued and rapid retrenchment.

By retrenchment, Rev Burton may have meant more than numerical loss, referring perhaps to the church becoming culturally irrelevant and isolated. However, I am not sure that the two can be separated. The fact that some traditional churches have become irrelevant and isolated and the fact that they have haemorrhaged numbers are probably linked in my view.

The Word Made Flesh

Much later in the book, in July 1975, Rev Burton described this incarnational approach as the word being made flesh. He rejected ways of presenting the gospel which suggested that people attend church as those so targeted “fail to see any good news in that“. He believed that when the gospel was made incarnate, it would be accepted with gladness as it offered forgiveness, trust, reconciliation, patience, sympathy, warmth, friendship and humility, all free and unconditional.

Salt of the Earth

Almost at the end of the book, on 31 August 1975, Rev Burton preached a sermon entitled “Ye are the salt of the earth“. Interestingly, this was at St Peter’s Park Lane and was a service my mother attended. He expanded the metaphor by saying that the problem with the church was that the salt was locked away in the church safe “guarded by ministers whose chief concern is to keep the church machine ticking over“. By way of contrast, he wanted the salt to be used.

He then challenged his audience by saying that while it is true that the world need the church and its gospel, he believed that the church also needed the world. If the church is prepared to be a hobby or a club, “we shall decay in an isolated byway“. He argued that the church needed to venture into the world providing Christian presence and making the word flesh. He defined holiness as the quality of relationships in the world which had “little to do with trying to hide from the world and its evil influences“.

My Reflections

I have a lot of sympathies with these perspectives. I am reminded of the six years I spent working as a doctor for the Elim Church at their hospital in Zimbabwe. Unlike other churches, such as the Lutherans, Elim largely lacked any theology of health care. Rather, it saw everything in terms of evangelism and church growth. Any medical work it did was merely a means to that end. The fact that Elim had/has a hospital was a bit of a historical accident or anomaly.

While I appreciated and valued my time working with and for Elim, there were many times when I would have preferred to be within a church system where the health and medical work I was doing would have been valued in its own right. Some of Rev Burton’s teaching on Christian presence, making the word flesh and being the salt of the earth would have been very helpful to me, and potentially others, at that time.

Secular Theology

Rev Burton’s approach embodied a popular movement in the sixties and seventies known as “secular theology“.

Oxymoron?

While this might appear to be an oxymoron, key concepts of this theology were that God was actively working in the world and secular movements not just in the church; that traditional religious stuff was getting in the way of Christianity and the true message of Jesus; and that the world had come of age meaning that the church needed to treat them as adults in their workplace and community.

Historical Figures

Key historical figures in this movement included Dietrich Bonhoeffer who, in the 1940s, argued for a “religionless Christianity“; John Robinson who wrote a best-selling book called “Honest to God“; theologians who created the “Death of God” theology; and the South American creators of “Liberation Theology.”

People without Religion

Rev Burton adopted elements of this approach although he still viewed this in incarnational terms, that is making God incarnate in the world. Others went beyond this discarding the historical creeds or the idea of God completely. On Sunday 26 January 1975, the tiny congregations of the day impressed upon Rev Burton the extent to which the general population had rejected formal church attendance.

He wondered if this meant that we would end up with a people without religion. Alongside this, however, he noted exhilaration in the air particularly away from religious people. He saw many positive societal developments including a hunger and longing even if this was expressed in drugs and the occult. Other invigorating factors he identified, particularly among the young, included new interest in meditation and prayer; a wistful affection for the church; sexual openness; idealism expressed in social action; and a sense of freedom. He concluded that the “widespread collapse of 11 am and 6.30 pm does not signify the collapse of God“.

Showers of Blessing vs Pouring with Rain

As we have seen already, towards the end of his book, in August 1975, Rev Burton quoted Douglas Thompson who noted that Christians were praying for showers of blessing while outside the church it was already pouring with rain. Rev Burton agreed with this commenting that “I’m soaked; and it’s gloriously invigorating“.

Practical Remains

While secular theology may no longer be a trendy religious movement, some of its practical ideas remain, for example, seen in church food banks and community action groups. It fought church isolation, valued everyday work, promoted true compassion and addressed hypocrisy. However, it may have thrown out the baby with the bathwater leaving people wondering why they needed to bother with church or organised religion at all. As a result, it may have accelerated the decline of the established church because it neglected the spiritual and was naive about human nature.

Sermon Illustrations

While some of Rev Burton’s book entries are fully-fledged theological discourses and/or sermon outlines, others seem to be vignettes from particular sermons often in the form of illustrations.

Human Friction

Fairly near to the start of the book, on 15 October 1974, Rev Burton acknowledged that some of his sermon illustrations came from his conductor Roy. This led him onto another illustration which he said related to human friction.

On one occasion, his bus arrived ten minutes late at a school gate. The boys were pushing and shoving to get on the bus. The teacher (“master“) on duty made them go back to form an orderly queue. Rev Burton protested that this would make them even later but the teacher said they would need to be a bit later! He concluded that the teacher should have realised they had a schedule to keep to but he also acknowledged that, as a Christian, he should not have groaned or called him names. I would be fascinated to know how, if at all, he wove that into a sermon and on what topic!

Relevance of Religion to Real People

On Christmas Eve 1974, Rev Burton was preaching at what he referred to as “midnight mass“. In a notice of divine services for Christmas, he was listed as the preacher at Midnight Eucharist at St George’s in Colegate. He framed his sermon around 12 people and events he had witnessed that day asking, after each set of three, what meaning did the child [Jesus] have for them.

News cutting giving notice of Christmas services in December 1974

The 12 people and events were:

An old man in his 80s who had just had a heart attack. His wife was both anxious and cheerful
A young engaged couple completing their Christmas shopping
Many people he knew as he waited at the start of his shift

A young conductor who caught their bus to visit his very ill baby son in hospital
A well-known local vagrant with all his possessions in six carrier bags
A new car crashed into a set of traffic lights

A choirboy late for evensong
Two “young bloods” off to the fair and dressed to kill
An old man, who lives in a hostel, shuffling along

A police car parked outside a house where the blinds are drawn. Two policemen on the step with a man holding a bag who looked like a doctor
A school with the decorations still up but all the desks empty and the chairs neatly stacked
A house where the year had brought separation and impending divorce

Faith, Hope and Charity

In April 1975, Rev Burton found himself thinking about faith, hope and charity. He compared them to what he called the secular equivalents of knowledge of facts, belief and rational action. I think he then likened hope to knowledge, faith to belief and charity (or love) to rational action. However, I am not sure about this as I am not sure a secular or non-religious person would see it like that. If they were faced with knowledge of facts, I think they would argue that rational action is the next step. Maybe, in this world of misinformation, there is a need to decide which “facts” to believe and trust but framing it in terms of belief seems to me like a Christian or religious interpretation.

The Prodigal Son

Sometimes, Rev Burton framed his illustrations specifically in terms of Biblical stories as he did, for example, in June 1975, when he referred to the story of the prodigal son. Initially, he focused on the older brother saying that while religion, high principles and a strong sense of duty can be noble virtues, they can become terrible things if pride and hardness of heart creep in.

He criticised the younger son for his carelessness, self-centredness and thoughtlessness but acknowledged that even some people who have taken a similar road can show flashes of tenderness, compassion, sensitivity and humility. He then argued that they might be “nearer the heart of the Father than many of us who stand and recite creeds“. Then, he related a story from when he was in Glasgow. He wanted to look round a particular church but could not get in even though he could see a “ragged down and out inside“. He never found out how he had got in but he recognised that he himself had been angered by this.

Or the Forgiving Father

I confess this story was one I never really understood as a child. Whenever it was referred to in church, I almost got the sense that people thought Jesus and God were wrong for rewarding the younger son and punishing, or at least not rewarding, the older faithful son, with whom I think many church people identified.

It was only when I was responding to my friend’s challenge to read Luke’s gospel for myself that it suddenly dawned on me that it was about God being willing to forgive people who had previously rejected religion and lived in a certain way. I found this a very powerful message to me at that time where the central figure was not either of the brothers but the father who was willing to forgive and had, indeed, been looking for an opportunity to do so. I understand why some people have wanted to refer to this as the Parable of the Forgiving Father.

A Christian’s Spiritual Life

At times, Rev Burton used his book to explore what his theological beliefs meant for his day-to-day spiritual life as a Christian.

Worship vs Fellowship

As we saw earlier, Rev Burton distinguished between worship and fellowship. Worship is directed towards God whereas fellowship refers to interactions between people. He then used this to promote the types of worship he preferred which he characterised as formal and deliberate.

The Wedding at Cana

Rev Burton used the story of Jesus turning water into wine as an opportunity to criticise those whose religion is “linked inseparably with dark clothes and hushed tones” and to contrast that with the wine, laughter, music and gaiety in God’s world. He seemed to see these as separate from prayer and worship and referred to them as mirth, music and merrymaking.

Presidential Address

A couple of weeks later, he quoted approvingly an address by the then President of the Methodist Conference, Rev A Raymond George which Rev Burton read in the Methodist Recorder. I have come across Rev George before as, in March 1976, mum went to an ecumenical meeting he attended at St Peter’s Park Lane Methodist Church with the Roman Catholic Bishop of Elmham, Alan Clark, see Chapter 124.

I confess that I found the quote of the address relatively difficult to follow! It opens by saying that “God is not only immanent but transcendent. We are not pantheists…” By this, I think he meant that God is not only everywhere in nature (immanent) but he is also above and separate from the universe(transcendent).

I am not sure who Rev George meant by referring to “we“, probably Methodists as whole. Whoever it was, he said they were not pantheists, that is they did not see God and nature as the same thing. He argued that a sharply defined God was better than one thinly spread and that incarnational religion does not mean God is incarnate everywhere but that God is uniquely incarnate in Jesus Christ.

He argued that there is also an incarnational principle, what he called a “scandal of particularity” which meant that Christians should not only practice diffuse prayer and worship but should also join concentrated times of prayer and worship. From his point of view, worship is not a means to an end and could be seen as a glorious waste of time by those who are in spirit like those who criticised as wasteful the woman/women for anointing Jesus, see Matthew 26:6-13; Mark 14:3-9; Luke 7:36-50 and John 12:1-8. He concluded that the only purpose of worship is to glorify God.

Diifference

Although throughout the book, Rev Burton was clear about the forms of worship that he preferred and was critical of other forms, there is one passage, in January 1975, where he asserted that differences among people meant that approaches to worship would necessarily differ. He concluded that the church needed to cater for all types of people and that also the same person might need a different religious “diet” at various times. He also observed that younger Christians were finding the old labels irksome and unreal. That has certainly been my experience. Most of the Christians I have known have seen themselves primarily as Christian and not wedded to a particular denomination.

Politics

My sense is that Rev Burton was quite involved with and engaged with politics. However, I found relatively little overt politics in the book.

Socialist Leanings

He described himself as having socialist leanings but does not necessarily explain these particularly explicitly. He cited approvingly Socialist writers such as Pierre Hamp. Also, he was involved in the union and was its branch chairman for two years. In that capacity, he had called a one-day strike. As former chairman, his views carried weight and, on one occasion, he was accused of swaying the vote.

1974 General Election Take 2

On 10 October 1974, he simple noted “General Election, Voted.” He said nothing about how he voted or the results locally or nationally. By way of contrast, my grandfather’s diary contained quite a lot about that election. It was the second general election in 1974. Because Labour did not gain an overall majority in February 1974, they went to the polls again. Like Rev Burton, grandad noted voting.

Results

The next day, my grandfather noted the results. Labour had won 319 seats with 20 gains and 1 loss. The Conservatives won 276 seats with 2 gains and 22 losses, 277 according to Wikipedia, including the Speaker, Selwyn Lloyd. The Liberals won 13 with one gain and three losses. This number does not quite tally with the number of 14 seats won in February 1974. According to Wikipedia, the Liberals suffered a net loss of one. In terms of votes, Labour got 11,468,646 (11,457,079 according to Wikipedia), Conservatives got 10,429,026 (10,462,565 according to Wikipedia), the Liberals 5,345,271 (5,346,704 according to Wikipedia) and others 1,944,700. Overall, Labour had a majority of three.

Electoral map of Britain following elections in February 1974 (left) and October 1974 (right) © Mirrorme22 and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence

North Norfolk Result

In grandma and grandad’s constituency of North Norfolk, the sitting MP Ralph Howell got 33,312 for the Conservatives, D M Mason 22,191 for Labour and Richard Moore 13,776 for the Liberals. This meant that Ralph Howell was re-elected but with a slightly reduced majority of 11,121.

Local Political Protests

Rev Burton was involved in local political protests, such as the proposed redundancy of St Clement’s Church and plans to use part of Mousehold Heath for miniature golf.

External Events

In similar vein to his relative silence on political matters, Rev Burton relatively rarely commented on news events.

Panic Buying

There were some exceptions such as noting commodity shortages as a result of “panic buying” in September 1974. The reason Rev Burton noted this was that he was amused to hear of a shop in Soham that had a notice in its window saying “PANIC BUY HERE“!

News cutting with headline from 14 September 1974

There were concerns about possible shortages due to “panic buying” as early as January of that year as, although there were said to be no shortages of commodities, there were shortages of paper and glass for packaging. People were asked not to panic buy. Products mentioned included toilet roll, kitchen roll, tissues and washing powder. However, it seems that there were ongoing shortages of items which was blamed on “panic buying” which was branded as “stupid” by some.

Rationing Schemes

Some local, merchant-led rationing schemes, e.g. of coal were introduced as early as February 1974. Some news stories considered that shops could have done more by restricting sales of items that were likely to be subject to panic buying. By August, there were shortages of sugar but news articles said there would be no shortages if panic buying stopped. In the September article with the headline highlighted above, there were concerns about shortages of sugar, salt, tea and cornflakes with rumours that rationing would be introduced.

Bread Shortage

Although grandad did not comment on any shortages in September 1974, he did note a shortage of bread druing the bread strike of December 1974. Grandad explained that, during this time, mum made her own bread and sometimes gave them some. He also noted having a loaf delivered when the strike ended on the 11^th.

Queuing for bread in Birmingham during the bread strike of 1974. Image licenced for re-use from Alamy

News cutting showing empty bread shelves in Norwich shop in December 1974

COVID-19

I remember very similar issues at the time of the COVID pandemic from 2020 when there were shortages of some things including toilet roll. I think the problem is that as soon as someone says “don’t panic buy“, it is human nature to do so. Better strategies would seem to me to flood supply or if that is not possible restrict numbers of items that could be purchased. It became tiresome to be told there are no shortages only to go to the shops to find the items you wanted were not there!

Birmingham Bombings

On 21 November 1974, Rev Burton wrote “Birmingham bomb outrage“. He was referring to the Birmingham pub bombings in which 21 people were killed and 182 injured when bombs went off in the Mulberry Bush and Tavern in the Town pubs. The incident is probably now best-remembered for the wrongful conviction of six Irishmen for the bombing. They spent 16 years in prison for this. It seems likely that the bombs were planted by the Provisional IRA.

Oddly perhaps, my grandfather did not record this bombing in his diary although he did note other bombings etc. associated with Northern Ireland. He first mentioned “trouble in Ulster” in August 1969, see Chapter 97 but then mentioned them frequently during the early seventies. Specific instances he noted, included Bloody Sunday, the Abercorn Restaurant bombing, the Donegall Street bombing and the Old Bailey bombing.

Mum also noted specific incidents associated with the troubles in the late seventies including the Hilton Hotel bombing in September 1975. During the period I was keeping my diary, I commented on other specific incidents including the murder of Christopher Ewart-Biggs, the British Ambassador to Ireland, in July 1976.

Moorgate Tube Crash

The other national news event captured by Rev Burton was the Moorgate tube crash. He simply noted “London Undergound railway disaster at Moorgate“. The accident occurred at 8.46 am when a train failed to stop and crashed into a wall. A total of 43 people died with a further 74 injured. It remains the worst peacetime accident on the London Underground.

Both mum and grandad noted this crash in their diaries. Mum noted that it had happened and that it happened in Moorgate. She noted that initially 34 people were dead but there were possibly more. She later noted that the total had risen to 41. Grandad did not note the station name but did note the crash saying that 42 had been killed and about 90 injured. He had a very idiosyncratic spelling of underground (“under-growned“).

Family diary entries from 28 February 1975. My mother’s diary is above and my grandad’s below

Photo of tube crash at Moorgate station in February 1975 – image licensed for re-use from Alamy

Fire in Colegate

The final news item Rev Burton recorded was closer to home on 11 June 1975 when there was a fire in Colegate, where he lived. Rev Burton wrote, “there was a great fire in our street today which gutted an attractive eighteenth-century house which had been restored only recently. I watched despondently as flames leapt from the windows. I think I prefer Georgian houses to Tudor gables and half-timbered cottages. The grace of proportion and simplicity of design – with Corinthian capitals and pedimented doorways – is appealing and satisfying.“

Spread from 1 Calvert Street

Neither mum nor grandad noted this fire. However, there was quite a detailed newspaper report in the local press the next day. The blaze primarily affected all three floors of 1 Calvert Street on the corner of Calvert Street and Colegate. Three people were in the building when the fire started and they were all evacuated safely by people who were working in the area.

The fire was tackled by around 40 firemen using six appliances. They prevented the fire spreading to adjacent buildings, such as 27 and 29 Calvert Street. However, 29 Calvert Street was affected by some smoke damage. The recently-completed renovations that Rev Burton referred to were to the roof of 27 Calvert Street and the new roof sustained some damage. The cause of the fire had not been established. It was expected that, following the fire, Calvert Street would remain closed for some weeks. There was determination to save the building if possible.

News cutting with report on fire which happened on the corner of Calvert Street and Colegate in June 1975

Photo of 1 Calvert Street in 1936. This is the building which caught fire in June 1975 © George Plunkett. I am very grateful to Jonathan Plunkett for permission to include these photos here

Photo of 27-29 Colegate in 1936. These are the buildings saved from fire by the Fire Brigade © George Plunkett. I am very grateful to Jonathan Plunkett for permission to include these photos here

Methodist Taboos

Rev Burton seemed to challenge and break a number of what I would call “Methodist taboos“, that is things that you might be expected not to do if you were a Methodist, particularly a Methodist Minister.

Smoking

I am not sure the extent to which smoking was a Methodist taboo in the seventies. Apparently, early Methodist preachers had been expected to take a vow that they would not touch tobacco or alcohol. However, that position had relaxed considerably. At that time, smoking was part and parcel of normal life. I imagine that most of those who worked on the buses smoked. It was permitted to smoke on the upper deck of buses at that time which led to the “smoking dog” story that Brian told Rev Burton!

Smoking a Pipe

Rev Burton does not really say much about smoking in the book. It is clear that he smoked a pipe. He is pictured with a pipe in a photo with his family in the book (p72). As we have seen earlier, when he listed his sensual (sensory) pleasures, he listed the taste of Balkan Sobranie tobacco!

My Father Smoked

Similarly, my family’s diaries do not say much explicitly about smoking. My parents met through a Methodist youth club and it seems smoking was common there particularly among the boys. Dad smoked although I am sure mum did not like it! They started dating in around May 1953, see Chapter 57. In one entry in her diary in January 1954, she noted that dad had said he would stop smoking.

Extract from my mother’s diary from 3 January 1954

However, he only actually stopped smoking some 11 years later, on 16 March 1965, see Chapter 88. As it happens, this was the day my younger sister, Liz (Elizabeth), was born although I don’t think the two things were linked. As Liz was adopted, I am not sure dad would have known about her at this point.

Cigarette Tins

I confess I do not recall him smoking at all but I was only four when he stopped. I do recall having a number of old cigarette tins around the house as a child. From memory, I believe they were red and were from Benson and Hedges.

121 — Old style cigarette tin of the type I recall having around the house as a child

Experimenting with Smoking

As a teenager, I experimented with smoking for a short time, see Chapter 116. However, as I was not attending church at this point, this is not relevant to this discussion.

Stronger Taboo

It anything, taboos and stigma have grown stronger over the years. The dire, adverse health effects are now well-known and have been well-publicised. Social norms have changed and smoking is no longer allowed in any public space including buses and trains. I can’t recall ever seeing a Methodist Minister smoking and find it hard to imagine that any now would, at least openly.

Gambling

I think taboos over gambling within Methodism were pretty strong. I am fairly confident that Methodists, in general, and Methodist Ministers, in particular would be expected not to gamble.

A Five Shilling Flutter

Rev Burton had relatively little to say about gambling in his book, However, there is one incident, early in the book, in September 1974, where a colleague, who had trained as a jockey, was taking a coach to Fakenham Races. So he gave him “five shillings” to place a bet. I have italicised the amount of money as this was three years after we had decimalised but it shows that some people still referred to shillings rather than to 25p as this amount would have been.

Against His Christian and Socialist Principles

Anyway, Rev Burton noted that he had never put money on a horse before. He felt it was against his Christian principles as it was trusting in luck rather than in God’s loving providence. Also, interestingly, he thought it conflicted with his Socialist principles as it meant taking a small amount from the many to give a large amount to the few.

Very Big Sticks

Nevertheless, he did give the money for the bet to be placed saying “momentarily these seemed very big sticks with which to beat a five shilling flutter at Fakenham“. Presumably, his belief in being present with, and relatable to, his colleagues outweighed any moral objections he had particularly considering the very modest size of the wager! He also noted that he won two bob, that is two shillings or 10p.

Not prominent in Family Diaries

I don’t think gambling features prominently in family diaries. Dad enjoyed greyhound racing and the gambling that went with it. Also, I recall going to a casino once or maybe twice with him. I think he may have gone fairly often. I think he saw these as social activities and factored any gambling losses into the cost of those. At this point, he was no longer attending the Methodist church so whether this was or was not a taboo for that church was not relevant to dad at that time.

Opposed to Lottery

I can’t imagine that my mother or her parents ever gambled. I recall that my mother was strongly opposed to the introduction of a national lottery and I believe this was because of her Methodist/Christian convictions.

Taboos Remain

These days, I imagine the taboos regarding a Methodist, or a Methodist Minister gambling, remain strong. Opposition to the national lottery may have waned. Apparently, the 1999 Methodist conference lifted the ban on Methodist organisations applying for lottery funding. Nevertheless, standing orders still prohibit gambling on church premises.

A Grand National Ritual

Apart from perhaps in my teenage years, gambling has never had a particular allure for me. Nevertheless, I do have an annual ritual of placing a bet in the Grand National in honour of my father! Where possible, I bet on female jockeys as he was opposed to them being allowed to ride and it amuses me to think of a bet on them being in his honour!

Mind Your Language

I think the use of what might be called “bad language” has long been a taboo for Methodists, in general, and Methodist Ministers in particular. Rev Burton has relatively little to say about this in his book. However, early on, in September 1974, he was in the canteen and some of those in a card school were telling others to moderate their language “you’ll upset Jack.” Rev Burton took this as good-natured banter but there is a serious point behind it perhaps. Not only would Methodist Ministers not be expected to use bad language, others might moderate their language when they knew a Minister was around.

The Environment Normalised Swearing

However, I imagine the environment where Rev Burton worked was one where bad language was the norm rather than the exception. He acknowledged that sometimes he was driven to swearing, for example if a driver cut in front of him. However, he was embarrassed about this and didn’t perhaps want it widely known. So, he was mortified when such an incident happened and he realised he was in a bus used for driver instruction and it might have been possible to hear what was said in the cab.

Strict on Swearing

Although the topic is not discussed in family diaries, I cannot imagine my mother or grandparents ever swearing, My father swore only rarely. While there was swearing among my friends, particularly as we got older, woe betide me if I ever used such language at home. Even using mild words like “damn” would earn at least a look from mum if not more! She also disliked “blimey” and I remember her telling me as a very young child that it meant “God blind me” which was truly terrifying! Away from explicitly bad language, mum had views about language that was and was not acceptable. So, we learned never to say or write Xmas only Christmas. She did not want us to refer to Mother’s Day but to Mothering Sunday.

Similar Taboos

While I don’t know for sure. I think views about language remain fairly similar. Swearing would be commonplace out and about but it would still be taboo among Methodists and Methodist Ministers.

Sunday Observance

Traditionally, I believe Methodists, in general, and Methodist Ministers, in particular, would be expected to prioritise church activities on Sundays. However, I don’t believe the church was as legalistic as some in terms of restricting what else could be done on Sundays. If some domestic duty needed performing on Sunday, it could be. Relatively recently, we visited the Western Isles. The owner of the cottage in which we were staying asked us not to put washing out on Sunday to respect local culture and tradition.

Working on Sundays

In terms of working on Sundays, I guess Methodists would have avoided things which meant other people had to work on Sundays. However, if people had to work on Sundays to maintain essential services that was fine. I suspect that bus services would have been considered essential. So, if Rev Burton had been expected to drive a bus on Sunday, I don’t think there would have been a major taboo over that.

I am not sure how many Sundays Rev Burton actually worked but he did work some, for example on 27 October 1974, 2 February 1975, 9 March 1975, 8 June 1975 and 27 July 1975. It seems that he was mostly free on Sundays for religious activities although I think these were mostly in non-Methodist churches because of an ecumenical initiative. I don’t know how this worked in terms of being included on “the plan“, the formal plan for the circuit detailing who was preaching where. However, as he was not being paid by the church, I suspect he was free to say when he could and could not be available.

Sport on Sundays

There were possibly more taboos over sporting and leisure activities, in particular if they interfered with church attendance. As far as I know, Rev Burton did not play sport himself. He did follow professional football but, at that time, almost no games were played on Sundays. However, amateur football was played on a Sunday and, on one Sunday, in January 1975, Rev Burton went to see his conductor Tony play in such a match. Similarly, in May 1975, Tony played for the Norwich bus depot against the Peterborough depot and Rev Burton watched.

Based on my recollections, when I was a child, we were expected to go to church on Sundays but there were not many other restrictions. If a task needed doing, we could do it. We were allowed to play games and sports but I think the line would have been drawn at competitive sports particularly if that meant missing church. I recall that mum was very opposed to expansions in Sunday trading.

Cinemas and Sundays

Historically, cinemas had not opened on Sundays but this largely changed across the 20^th century. Apparently, they had been allowed to open during the second world war as an emergency measure. In March 1961, there was a local vote on this in Kirkby with 1,992 votes for and 683 against. This is mentioned in Mark Ashfield’s book “Horses, Herbs and a Cockatoo” (pp19-20). There had been a similar vote in Liverpool in 1947 with 73,926 for and 47,025 against.

Grandma and grandad were among those who voted against! Reasons given for voting against in a leaflet circulated at the time included that Sunday opening of cinemas was a breach of good faith (apparently when Sunday opening was allowed during the war, it was proposed as an emergency measure only); was not necessary; was undesirable; was a labour question; was a charity farce (this seemed to be a counter to the argument that money made from Sunday opening would be donated to charity); would be bad for children, would not solve social problems; was loose propaganda; and was a flouting of God’s word. All sentiments I suspect my grandparents would have agreed with, see Chapter 79.

Parliament had passed a Bill in 1931 allowing cinemas to open on Sundays despite considerable opposition and a petition signed by almost 1.5m people

Massive Changes

Things have changed dramatically from the seventies. Far fewer people attend church regularly. Many sporting events including football matches take place on Sundays. Trading rules have been relaxed although big stores can only open for a maximum of six hours on a Sunday between 10 am and 6 pm. Many people see Sunday trading as ideal for them as they are working during the week.

Alcohol

Perhaps the biggest taboo confronted, and challenged, by Rev Burton related to alcohol. Historically, the Methodist church had been at the forefront of campaigns promoting temperance, total abstinence and teetotalism. There was a time when it would have been unthinkable for a Methodist to drink alcohol, especially if they were a Minister. While attitudes and practices had changed by the late seventies, I think it was still unusual to find a beer-drinking Methodist Minister. While I have met quite a few beer-drinking Catholic priests, I don’t recall meeting a beer-drinking Methodist Minister!

No Beer No Sermon

On Christmas Eve, Rev Burton preached at what he called midnight mass. He noted that never before had he “preached after four pints of beer“. He said he was aware of the danger and felt mildly guilty but not much. However, he had completed his notes before he had the beer and he could have let his conductor, Tony, join the other busmen alone. However, he felt that would be cheating on the “worker-priest” lifestyle he had adopted. So, he went. His sermon, which was structured around 12 people or events he had witnessed that day as a driver, came out of that way of life. He felt that beer was an integral part of that way of life . He summed it up as “no beer no sermon“.

Preferring the Pub

The taboo of alcohol is perhaps the one that Rev Burton most frequently and explicitly addresses in his book. Right at the outset, he describes himself as “the kind of person who can be persuaded at the last moment to spend an evening in the pub rather than attend an ecclesiastical gathering.” Two weeks later, after a busy day, he noted that he persuaded himself that he had earned a pint. Just under a week later, when he is on his way home from church dressed in his “church gear“, he met his conductor Roy and some of his friends. They dragged him “protesting feebly” to the pub where they had a “first-class discussion on spiritual healing and the authority of the Bible“. He noted that they started it! On another occasion, he referred to a busman who called and dragged him for a pint noting “I’m glad to say“.

Pub Flock

The pub served a number of functions for Rev Burton at that time. It gave him a place to socialise with colleagues and others. There were also opportunities to discuss a range of topics, including, but not limited to, religion. On one occasion, he noted that Roy loudly expounded his personal, complicated scheme to conquer inflation. Towards the end of September 1974, Rev Burton referred to Ernie as one of his “pub-flock“. By this, I assume he meant that he extended his pastoral support and concern to the people who would rarely, if ever, darken the door of a church.

Pub Humour

Sometimes, Rev Burton faced pub humour at his expense such as when an irreverent youth told him “I’m going to buy you a black bra to go with that long black dress I saw you wearing“. However, this was little different from the banter he faced on the buses. I imagine he responded in the pub as he did at work, that is with grace and humour of his own. On another occasion, he commented in the pub that he was thinking about a subject for his next sermon. A teenage girl suggested “The Sinfulness of Man… and How Nice It Is!” Rev Burton commented that he thought she knew more about sex than sin and that she confused the two.

Alcohol-Free

In terms of my family and their diaries, issues relating to alcohol were prominent albeit not always explicitly. For example, in the early fifties, before they were married, mum and dad and their friends from the Methodist Youth Club used to socialise at an alcohol-free Milk Bar in Kirkby, see Chapter 52. Mum pretty much stuck to these principles throughout her life although she did have the very occasional glass of wine in later life. Soon after we had first moved to Norwich, mum and dad were redecorating our kitchen. Mum noted that they had to send back the first wallpaper they had selected as this had wine bottles on it.

Mum Did Not Enjoy Pubs

While mum was generally strong in her convictions, other people associated with church were less so. In March 1976, mum went to visit her childhood friend Dorothy Taylor née Lofthouse following the tragic death of her daughter Heather in a road accident. On one evening, they went to the pub. Mum noted that she had two bitter lemons but she thought it seemed pointless just drinking. Similarly, when she went on a church holiday to Brighton in August 1979, she seemed surprised when many in the group headed for the pub. She either did not go or only went for a very short time.

Temperance Movement

My grandmother was active in the women’s temperance movement and she sometimes attended meetings in Norwich, e.g. in January 1972 and around East Anglia, e.g. in Lowestoft and King’s Lynn in 1969 and Felixstowe in 1974. She also hosted meetings at home, for example in July 1969, see Chapter 90 and September 1970, see Chapter 107. Mum sometimes attended temperance meetings, see Chapter 69. For example, in June 1959, she attended a meeting of the British Women’s Total Abstinence Union at chapel. This is now the White Ribbon Association.

Leaflet produced by the Women’s Total Abstinence Union decrying the use of alcohol in medicines

White ribbon badge of the National British Women’s Temperance Association

Breaking the Rules

My own memories are that while people were aware of the prohibitions on alcohol, they were often willing to break those “rules“. Indeed, some saw it as a badge of honour to do so! I recall, on the only Methodist Guild holiday I went on with mum, in 1974, see Chapter 106, there was a lot of focus among the young, and not-so-young, people on smuggling alcohol into the hotel. Stories were told of doing this at different Guild hotels!

Alcohol and the Social Life Around Pubs

After my parents separated and dad was no longer attending the Methodist Church, he embraced drinking, and particularly the social life around pubs, in a similar way to how he approached gambling. Of course this appealed to me in my later teens and quite a lot of my entertainment was organised around various pubs. I often met dad at the pub, see Chapter 122. Naturally, this was a source of tension with my mum even though neither she nor grandma were particularly stuffy or pushy about their views on alcohol.

Attitudes Have Changed

I think that attitudes around alcohol have changed a lot both socially and within the Methodist Church. In general, Methodist attitudes to alcohol have probably softened with many Methodists now drinking socially particularly at home. The central role of pubs in a community’s social life has weakened and many have closed. There is a growing number of young people who don’t drink particularly on health grounds.

Reactions

I wonder how Methodist members and Ministers reacted to Rev Burton and his pushing of the boundaries with regard to church taboos. He does not really say in the book. He does share that other Ministers and the church hierarchy as a whole found his role as “worker-priest” difficult to grasp. They often admired him but did not really understand what he was doing or what he hoped to achieve. If my mother is anything to go by, Methodist members liked him even if they thought him slightly eccentric and not necessarily someone who was modelling how they might live themselves. The degree of local fame he gained didn’t hurt.

Pushing the Boundaries A Little

In terms of the taboos mentioned here, I don’t think he really pushed the boundaries on smoking. He smoked a pipe which was not a particularly strong Methodist taboo in the seventies.

On gambling, Rev Burton did not bet frequently. A one-off flutter at Fakenham, in solidarity with a colleague, hardly counts.

Similarly, on swearing and bad language, this was not something he commonly engaged in. Indeed, his colleagues moderated their language when around him. Occasionally, when annoyed, he might swear but usually in the privacy of his own cab. If someone had heard him, I am sure he would have been mortified and would probably have apologised.

In terms of Sunday activities, he largely conformed to expected norms of a Minister. On two occasions, he did watch a colleague play football on Sundays. However, this was the exception not the rule and was very much done in the spirit of solidarity with his colleagues.

Main Challenge was on Alcohol

The area he most clearly departed from Methodist norms related to alcohol. He spent a lot of times in pubs and appeared to conform to a fairly heavy-drinking culture common among busmen at that time. We don’t know what his colleagues and the Methodist hierarchy thought. My impression is that they probably tolerated it on the basis that it was typical of Jack.

Sexual Relationships

Another area where Rev Burton challenged standard Methodist norms of the time was in relation to sexual relationships.

Talking Openly about Sex

First, in his book, he talked openly and often about sex which, I think, was highly unusual for a Methodist Minister at that time. Perhaps one of the things I found most shocking in the book was when he described his idea of heaven, albeit on an uninspired day, as “an eternal multiple orgasm in a realm heavy with the scent of red peonies, with a choir singing Anglican chants in the background!”

Controversial and Challenging Views

Secondly, many of the things he said were controversial and challenging. Depending on your own point of view, you might describe his views as liberal or as pragmatic, realistic and compassionate.

Starting Quite Gently

In tackling issues of sexual relationships, he started quite gently, hinting at some of the areas that are controversial within churches. He stated that “we ought never to be surprised that human relationships can become confused and complicated.”

Questioning the Moral Boundaries

His entry for 22 October 1974 consisted only of a statement and a quote. The statement was that “Virginity and Nonconformity is a poisonous and deadly mixture.” The quote was from Tennessee Williams’ “The Night of the Iguana” saying “Nothing human disgusts me unless it is unkind or violent“. To me, it seems he is clearly challenging the church’s teaching, particularly on sex. The church, including the Methodist church, had largely agreed that sex outside of a marriage relationship between one man and one woman was not legitimate and was considered sinful. The Williams’ quote shifted the discussion away from what might be considered immoral to what is unkind or violent.

Focused on Nonconformity

I confess that I don’t fully understand Rev Burton’s statement. I accept that he took two things that the Methodist Church has traditionally valued, virginity and nonconformity, and turned them on their head by saying they were/it was a poisonous and deadly mixture.

One possibility is that Rev Burton is meaning nonconformity in the general rather than the religious sense. I think this is unlikely as the word is capitalised and he talks a lot about Nonconformity in the religious sense. However, if this were the case, it is perhaps easy to see how virginity and rebelling against rules could be seen by a church Minister as an explosive mixture.

What is more difficult to see is why virginity and nonconformity in the religious sense are particularly explosive. It could be that the constraints of nonconformist religion are difficult, if not impossible, for most people to comply with while maintaining virginity and their failure ends up resulting in feelings of guilt, shame and judgement. However, this is not unique to Nonconformity but also applies to other branches of Christianity and indeed other religions.

Perhaps Rev Burton highlighted Nonconformity as that was the tradition with which he was most familiar. However, given Rev Burton’s own interest in, and fascination with, Anglo-Catholicism, there is a danger of him seeming to batter the Non-conformists while giving the Anglicans and Catholics a free pass!

Same Sex Relationships

Later in the book, Rev Burton explicitly tackled relationships between people of the same sex. In February 1975, he quoted stories from Monica Furlong and James Baldwin which both emphasised the importance of conveying love through physical touch. Whether or not this ended up in sex was depicted as less important than conveying the sense of being loved to someone who was struggling.

One of the Two Most Important Things in the Wordl

In his entry for 6 May 1975, Rev Burton talked quite explicitly about sex saying that it and religion were the two most important things in the world. He defined what he meant by sex as “the whole spectrum of tender human relationships“. Also, he considered that sex was attraction of beauty between two persons and was linked closely to religion. He stated that “all love, all warmth, all friendship, all vital companionship, all ‘togetherness’ is essentially sexual“. He backed this up by stating that people need to be in meaningful and loving relationships.

Are All Relationships Sexual?

I confess to not being at all sure about this. While I can see that there are physical interactions which can be part of a romantic, loving relationship even if they fall short of full sexual intercourse, I struggle to see that all loving, human relationships are sexual. What about the love between a parent and a child? Is Rev Burton really saying that that love is sexual? That makes me feel pretty uncomfortable.

Too Clear Cut

Nevertheless, his statement that the church has been very clear-cut on its teachings about sex but he does not want everything clear-cut because life is not clear-cut, is one that make sense to me.

Is Sex All Important?

Also, elsewhere in his book, in December 1974, he seems to question his belief about the importance of sex asking if it really is involved in all our actions and reactions. He concludes bluntly, “if you get plenty. it doesn’t seem quite so vitally important; but if you are tormented with curiosity, or inflamed with passion, nothing matters more“.

Human Sexual Experiences are Diverse

In April 1975, Rev Burton started by quoting D H Lawrence and noted that Christians continued to make heavy weather of the “facts of sexuality” by which he means the “diversity and complexity of human sexuality“. He drew a spectrum between complete homosexuality and complete heterosexuality and likened this to the political spectrum in parliament, to footedness in football and eye colour. Yet, the church has provided people with only two options, marriage or vivid nocturnal fantasies, and many Christians have been urged to pray to be delivered from the latter.

He commented that “the harmless and immense pleasure of masturbation” is seldom stressed in Christian literature. He argued that the outstanding feature among sexually active individuals, certainly among males, is the need for variety. Modern women could, he said, chose sex for love or fun then either with or without marriage and with or without children. He commented that there was even the tendency among Christians to give the impression that the fact of heterosexuality was an act of a God “who should have known better“. He drew his arguments towards a close by saying if there were these issues over heterosexual sex they paled into insignificance when compared to homosexuality and bisexuality. In addition, he said that, often, Christians don’t discuss these things at all but, when they do, Rev Burton considered that they “have tended to be wildly inaccurate or grossly unchristian“.

Bisexual Human Nature

In his final diary entry for July 1975, Rev Burton commented that emotionally human nature is “bisexual“. By this, I think he meant that people express both traditionally male and female emotional characteristics. While this may well be true, I am not sure this means we are all sexually-attracted to both men and women, which I believe is the common meaning of bisexual. He argued that . there is a layer of bisexuality in many people. He considered that this was expressed in friendship, comradeship, companionship and warmth. His conclusion was that religious taboos against homosexuality are “pathetic rubbish“.

Premarital Sex

At the end of the book, he left the topic of homosexuality and turned to the topic of premarital sex. He reflected that that battle has been lost and that “youngsters have shaken off time-honoured fears and taboos” commenting, “it may be cause for regret, but we make ourselves look silly if we pretend they are only holding hands“.

Silent Diaries

My family’s diaries did not really discuss these matters as they were much more focused on activities and what had happened that day than Rev Burton’s book was. So, it is hard to judge views on these matters from the diaries. I don’t ever recall discussing these issues with parents or grandparents. I imagine my grandparents would have had fairly traditional views on these matters. However, even when the law changed to decriminalise some homosexual acts in 1967, my grandfather did not make any comment on the matter in his diaries.

Glad to be Gay

I expect my mother probably had similar views to my grandparents but I also think she would have empathised with Rev Burton’s views about complexity and acceptance. In my case, I have always only been attracted to girls and, as a teenager, was not aware of any of my friends who were gay. This does not mean that none were. It was still a time when gay relationships were not discussed or acknowledged openly. I recall, when I attended the “Rock Against Racism” concert in London, Tom Robinson had a song called “Glad to be Gay”. It made an impression on me as I think it was the first time I had encountered someone who was openly homosexual. I recall discussing it with a church-attending friend who was shocked and said that she did not think homosexuality was OK.

Changing Positions

The Methodist Church in Britain has greatly changed its views on homosexuality over the years. From a starting point of prohibition, the church studied human sexuality between 1974 and 1979, which included the period covered by Rev Burton’s book. However, it was only in 1993 that the Methodist Conference passed historic resolutions explicitly recognising and affirming the participation and ministry of gay and lesbian individuals, pledging to combat discrimination and protect their dignity. In 2021, the British Methodist Church voted to allow same-sex marriages in its chapels, the largest religious denomination in Great Britain to do so. Ironically, the Methodist view on homosexuality has proved to be a barrier to recent attempts to find ways of merging Anglican and Methodist denominations.

Currently, the church recognises two definitions of marriage, one between a man and a woman and one between any two individuals. Individual churches and Ministers may opt out of providing same sex ceremonies.

Ahead of His Time

It is interesting to note that Rev Burton expressed his views at a time when the Methodist Church in Britain was studying human sexuality but well before it took steps to greater inclusion of the LGBTQ+ community. In this regard, on this topic, he was radically ahead of his time.

Women’s Roles

While Rev Burton had very progressive views on sexuality, in general, and on homosexuality, in particular, his views on women’roles in the church and in society were traditional, even regressive. It is these views that make me most uncomfortable!

Product of His Environment

Of course, like us all, Rev Burton was a product of his environment, including that in which he worked. He was inevitably going to be influenced by gender norms of the time. So, for example, at the end of the book, when he sums up the sights and sounds of the beginning of a new working week, one of the sounds was “the boys on the building site, scorched by the heat of this exceptional summer – whistle loudly whenever a pretty girl walks by…” While such wolf whistles might have been seen then as a compliment, and part and parcel of normal working life, attitudes have changed, particularly among young people. While the practice has not completely died out, such whistles are not as common as they were. They are more likely now to be seen as harassment and are likely to be outlawed in many working environments.

Women in the Ministry

Two of Rev Burton’s most contentious views were expressed in May 1975. He started his entry on the 13^th by saying that “I cannot pretend to approve of women in the ministry“. He considered that recent moves in that direction were a sign of panic and a desire to appear “with it“. It seems that he tried to rationalise his views by saying that he deplored the fact that women had been treated as “chattels” but he seemed to think that such practices were ending. He disagreed with any notion that one sex should be considered superior to another but did think that there were functions which belonged to one sex giving the example of childbearing for women and of being the head of the family for men. He defined that headship role as making a final decision when one was needed.

Marriage: A Partnership of Equals?

Personally, I am not sure how that view is consistent with marriage being a partnership of co-equals or that one sex is not superior to another. But, Rev Burton seemed able to hold these apparently contradictory beliefs together. In general, he claimed he was supportive of women working but saw a conflict with what he called the “natural role” of wife and mother. He did not specify precisely what this was but I assume he was referring to the gender norms of the day.

Views on Headship

While he seemed to agree with the notion of equality of opportunity in the workplace, he cautioned that the church was more like a family than a business. Presumably, because he thought that the family needed a head and that head should be male, he thought the same for the church. However, he said relatively little about the role of women in the church specifically.

Are Views on Headship Compatible with a Partnership of Equals

Personally, I struggle with the concept of obligatory male headship in every family, particularly if that headship is interpreted as a final decision-making authority. How would that work in gay and lesbian partnerships which Rev Burton appeared to favour? For me, if a marriage is an equal partnership, there cannot be one party with a majority share in decision-making. If that is the case, the relationship is not one of co-equals.

In terms of the church, Rev Burton’s views raise questions as to who is the head of the church. While this may be simple to answer in a very hierarchical system, such as the Roman Catholic church, or even in an episcopal one like the Church of England, it becomes more diffuse in a Methodist setting. Who is the head of the Methodist Church both overall and locally? Do all Ministers head churches? As I understand it, the Methodist Conference heads the Methodist Church overall and local churches are led by the stewards and the Minister together. Given that women were able to participate in these leadership structures by being a member of conference and/or by being a church steward, it seems to make little sense to deny them being ordained as Ministers on this basis.

Women Drivers

Just over a week later, he took a swipe at women drivers following a collision with a car driven by a woman. I am not sure if this comment was written in the heat of that moment but he said, “I think women, by and large, don’t make very good drivers. They tend to be short on road-sense, and don’t read a situation early enough.” For me, this is nothing more than a sweeping sexist generalisation which is completely unsupported by factual evidence. As far as I know women tend to be more cautious and careful drivers not driven by macho ideas of speed as some men might be and, as a result, are statistically less likely than men to be involved in collisions.

A Purging Phallic Refinement

However, this was not his comment about women that shocked me most. In October 1974, he makes a very reasonable point that it borders on the obscene to talk to lonely and unhappy women about the love of God when, in fact, they are longing for the love of a man. I can understand that view and, it is close to home, as mum often expressed such feelings after my parents separated in 1973.

However, Rev Burton then says “they need a purging, phallic refinement“. I confess that I am not exactly sure what it means but if it means what I think it means, it makes me deeply uncomfortable. It is possible that he was informed by Freudian psychology and his love of D H Lawrence. Even so, that does not lessen my discomfort with the phrasing! I understand that the term “phallic refinement” may have been use in the seventies to refer to sexual liberation as a form of truth and healing. If so, Rev Burton may have seen himself as a progressive realist but his language, and the underlying attitudes, still sound patronising and sexist to me.

Gendered Roles

In various parts of the book, Rev Burton seems to consider that ways in which men and women behave may reflect innate characteristics rather than learned gendered roles. For example, early in the book in a discussion of whether God is male or female, he considered that some attributes were male, such as assertiveness and leadership, while others were female, such as gentleness , tenderness and compassion. However, my understanding is that these are gendered roles which we learn according to the norms of our families, communities, cultures and traditions.

Feline Female Intuition

At the beginning of January 1975, he wrote, “female intuition is feline, and frightens me; men are like innocent little boys in comparison.” While I am not entirely sure what he meant here, I am fairly sure it is a sweeping generalisation which is unlikely to be true of all men or all women. I understand that comparing women to cats is an age-old sexist stereotype used to imply that women are unpredictable, untrustworthy, or dangerously mysterious, contrasting them against “innocent” men.

Progressive Approach to Gender

None of my family’s diaries discuss these matters explicitly. However, this does not mean they were not of interest, or relevant, to us. In many ways, mum was very progressive on these matters. She expected us all to have the same opportunities educationally and expected us all to contribute to household tasks. I remember she taught me to cook and tried to teach me to knit! She was active in taking on roles within the church as she was able. Not only did this include being involved specifically in women’s ministries, such as Young Wives, and in traditional female roles, such as secretarial tasks, but she also took on other less gendered roles, such as being church and circuit steward and local preacher.

Changing Views in Methodism

Historically, the views of the Methodist Church on women in Ministry have varied markedly over time. Prior to Methodist Union in 1932, the Primitive Methodists and Wesleyans had vastly different practices. Primitive Methodists were highly supportive of women’s ministry accepting female preachers from its early days. The Wesleyans were much more restrictive banning women from speaking to mixed congregations.

When union occurred in 1932, the resulting Methodist Church had a position on women’s Ministry much closer to the Wesleyans than to the Primitive Methodists. Prior to Methodist Union, each strand had schemes for full-time female deaconesses. The Wesleyan system was the largest and most organised. The Primitive Methodist system was much smaller and much less formal. Women were always allowed to be local preachers in the Primitive Methodists. However, women were banned from being Wesleyan local preachers until 1910 and parity between male and female local preachers was only achieved in 1918. After Methodist Union, women were allowed to be local preachers but they were only allowed to be admitted as Ministers (Presbyters) in 1974.

One of the First Traditional Churches to Ordain Women

Even with the backward steps taken from Primitive Methodist history at the time of Methodist Union, the Methodist Church was still one of the first of the traditional churches to ordain women. It was 20 years ahead of the Anglican Church and the Roman Catholic Church still does not ordain women. However, a number of other nonconformist churches did ordain women as Ministers before the Methodists. These included the Salvation Army (from its formation) in 1865; Congregational (from 1917) and Baptist Union (from 1922). So, on this issue, Rev Burton was well behind nonconformist churches, including the Methodist Church, but he was in line with the Roman Catholic Church.

Views on Disabled People

Rev Burton does not really mention disabled people in his book. However, on one occasion, he listed the kinds of people he gets on fairly well with and he mentioned “the mentally retarded” among them. This is now considered such a discriminatory term that seeing it there stops me dead in my tracks! However, I think this was not seen as particularly discriminatory at that time although it was not a term commonly used in the UK outside research settings. Apparently, it was considered an Americanism with the term “mental handicap“, also now seen as discriminatory, more widely used in the UK.

By way of illustration of the use of this type of language, in July 1975, mum noted that there was a fundraising activity at church which raised £12.90 for “mentally handicapped children“, see Chapter 124.

Reverse Snob?

In the same passage where he referred to getting on well with disabled people, specifically those with a learning disability, Rev Burton noted that he also got on well with children, teenagers, the sick, the elderly and the bereaved. He thought he was noticeably less at ease with people who were well-off and those who were very clever. Tellingly, he commented that it might show that he liked being in charge and those “over whom I can lord it“. However, I am not sure he meant that comment to be taken seriously, perhaps more as a self-deprecating joke. Nevertheless, he thought wealth and academic ability created their own particular barriers. He concluded that he had felt more at home in prisons than in certain social gatherings.

I am not sure I take this passage on face value. Clearly, Rev Burton wanted to be seen as a working-class, man-of-the-people and there was an element of that about him. However, he was himself well-educated and well-read. If he hated mingling with the great and the good so much, why did he accept to become Sheriff of Norwich? I may be reading too much into the text but there seems to be an element of reverse snobbery to me!

Relationships

Rev Burton was intrigued by human relationships. On 23 November 1974, he pondered these at some length. First, he wondered why people were drawn into relationships. Was it purely chemical? Or perhaps, it was similarity of temperament and interests, although, on occasions, opposites seemed to attract. He concluded that why we “click” with some people, that is “fall a little in love“, was something operating at a deeper and more subtle level and was a mystery. As a result, he rejected a purely chemical basis for love and relationship. He concluded that it was good to be close to a number of people as “each person draws from us something new and distinctive“.

In the passage above, Rev Burton is not clear whether he is talking about relationships such a friendships or what might be called romantic relationships. It may be that he deliberately refuses to draw a clear distinction between the two.

Marriage

Just over a month later, at the start of 1975, he writes at some length about marriage. He starts by affirming some traditional views of Christian marriage, a permanent and life-long union and the formation of a family unit. It requires trust, mutual respect and an irrevocable commitment. It does involve some loss of freedom but Rev Burton believed that the benefits far outweighed any drawbacks.

Exclusivity within Marriage

However, he then said that exclusivity within marriage introduced a “tightness” into the institution and “paradoxically [could] threaten the unique relationship of love between husband and wife.” His view was that married people would have close relationships with other people of both sexes. He argued that such relationships were enriching. In addition, he noted that marriage relationship was more than sex, although that was part of it. It involved economic union, domestic union, parenthood and commitment for life.

The Spring from Which…

He continued that “our sexuality is the spring from which all our deepest friendships and true love-affairs flow“” and he wondered how those relationships can be expressed from a look, a smile, a casual touch to words that can never be unsaid, more intimate touches, more abandoned kisses. He argued that there might be clarity at the extreme ends of this spectrum but what about the points in between? This he referred to as uncharted territory.

He asked if it was wrong for people of the same sex to embrace and kiss and if adultery was wrong under all circumstances. Overall, he considered that “all thoughtful people” realised that there few clear lines to be drawn and he hoped that perhaps theologians might at least consider these issues because there was much confusion, ignorance and double-think. He felt that we make heavy weather of life clouding out its gaiety, joyfulness and spontaneity.

Progressive Views

Clearly, his views on relationships and marriage were very progressive for a Methodist Minister in the seventies. He appears to have adopted some of the views relating to open marriage which were popular at the time. All his views seem to prioritise people over precepts and love and acceptance over judgement.

Methodist Ministry

One area where I perhaps expected greater details from Rev Burton’s book was the more conventional side of his work as a Minister, such as preaching. He does mention this sometimes, for example, in September 1974 when he spoke at the village chapel where he first spoke aged 16. A month later, in October, he walked to a village chapel where he spoke. This was the chapel where he was married. Based on a tribute at the time of his death, this was the Methodist Chapel in Horsham St Faith, see Chapter 124. Also, he sometimes spoke at meetings that were not overtly religious, such as the local Epilepsy Club and the fifth form at his old school. In December 1974, he attended a meeting of the Industrial Commission of the local council of churches.

Norwich over the Water

On Thursday 17 April 1975, he spoke at the “Norwich Over the Water” AGM on the topic of “Historical Characters of Norwich Over the Water” held at Mischief Tavern. see Chapter 122.

Not a Chronicle

Perhaps I should not have had such expectations. Rev Burton made it clear in an entry in November 1974 that he did not view his book as a detailed diary in which he would chronicle everything he did, meetings, services, conversations, engagements. On the day he wrote that, a Sunday, he noted that he had been to three church services and preached twice. However, he considered these not of interest. He was more interested in amusing and significant events and his thoughts and reactions.

Contrast to My Family Diaries

This is in marked contrast to my family’s diaries which are focused on what happened each day. So, they are much more mundane. However, they also feel more authentic and raw. I feel I have learned a lot about daily life from them and I confess to being disappointed that there was not more of this in Rev Burton’s diary.

Rev Burton in the Local Press

In order to try to find out more about his preaching schedule, I have looked at where Rev Burton is mentioned in local newspapers within the time frame of “Transport of Delight“. From that, I have been able to piece together some, but not all, of his preaching commitments. The list is not complete as it only covers those that were published in the paper. In particular small, rural Methodist chapels are missing from the list. Anyway, here is a list of the fairly numerous of engagements I found in the local paper.

List of Engagements: 1974-75

September 1974

Sunday 8 September 1974 – evening preacher at Wroxham Road Methodist Church in Sprowston
Sunday 15 September 1974 – morning preacher at Old Meeting House Colegate (Congregational)
Sunday 29 September 1974 – morning preacher at Old Meeting House Colegate (Congregational)

October 1974

Sunday 6 October 1974 – morning preacher at Old Meeting House Colegate (Congregational) Harvest Thanksgiving
Tuesday 8 October 1974 – thanks from Mrs P Church for funeral service
Sunday 20 October 1974 – morning preacher at Old Meeting House Colegate (Congregational)

November 1974

Sunday 3 November 1974 – holy communion at Old Meeting House Colegate (Congregational)
Sunday 10 November 1974 – preacher at morning service at St George’s Colegate and evening service at Ipswich Road URC
Sunday 17 November 1974 – morning at Old Meeting House Colegate (Congregational) Note this is the day he mentioned above where he mentioned attending three church services and speaking at two

December 1974

Sunday 1 December 1974 – holy communion at Old Meeting House Colegate (Congregational)
Sunday 8 December 1974 – morning preacher at St George’s Colegate and evening preacher at Thorpe Road Methodist

Sunday 15 December 1974 – morning at Old Meeting House Colegate (Congregational)
Sunday 22 December 1974 – carol service at Old Meeting House Colegate (Congregational)
Tuesday 24 December 1974 – preacher at midnight Eucharist at St George’s Colegate. Before he did this, he went to evensong for three minutes with his conductor, Tony, and then to the pub where he had a “few pints” which he later recorded as four. He explained his struggles in writing a sermon for that service In the end he gave 12 glimpses of people he had seen through his work
Sunday 29 December 1974 – morning at Old Meeting House Colegate (Congregational)

January 1975

Sunday 12 January 1975 – morning at Old Meeting House Colegate (Congregational) and preacher at evening service at Ipswich Road URC
Sunday 19 January 1975 – celebrant at ecumenical family Eucharist at St George’s Colegate

February 1975

Sunday 2 February 1975 – holy communion at Old Meeting House Colegate (Congregational). Rev Burton noted that he first conducted morning worship and then worked a late shift.
Sunday 16 February 1975 – morning at Old Meeting House Colegate (Congregational)
Sunday 23 February 1975 – preacher and celebrant at ecumenical family Eucharist at St George’s Colegate

March 1975

Sunday 2 March 1975 – holy communion at Old Meeting House Colegate (Congregational)
Sunday 9 March 1975 – preacher at family communion at St George’s Colegate. Rev Burton noted that it was Mothering Sunday and that he worked an early shift and conducted evening worship
Sunday 16 March 1975 – morning at Old Meeting House Colegate (Congregational)

April 1975

Sunday 6 April 1975 – holy communion at Old Meeting House Colegate (Congregational)
Sunday 13 April 1975 – morning at Old Meeting House Colegate (Congregational)
Sunday 20 April 1975 – morning at Old Meeting House Colegate (Congregational)
Thursday 24 April 1975 – speaker at Rosebery Road Wives’ Group
Sunday 27 April 1975 – preacher at family communion at St George’s Colegate. Rev Burton noted that he also took a memorial service, interred some ashes and worked in the afternoon.

May 1975

Sunday 4 May 1975 – holy communion at chapel anniversary and home churches gift day at Old Meeting House Colegate (Congregational)
Sunday 25 May 1975 – morning at Old Meeting House Colegate (Congregational)

June 1975

Sunday 1 June 1975 – preacher at family communion at St George’s Colegate
Sunday 8 June 1975 – morning at Old Meeting House Colegate (Congregational) in united service with St George’s Colegate
Sunday 22 June 1975 – morning at Old Meeting House Colegate (Congregational) Rev Burton noted that he preached in the morning, went to evensong and then worked late shift

July 1975

Sunday 6 July 1975 – holy communion at Old Meeting House Colegate (Congregational)
Sunday 20 July 1975 – morning at Old Meeting House Colegate (Congregational)

August 1975

Sunday 3 August 1975 – holy communion at Old Meeting House Colegate (Congregational)
Sunday 24 August 1975 – morning at Old Meeting House Colegate (Congregational)
Sunday 31 August 1975 – evening service at St Peter’s Park Lane. Mum noted that she went to this service and heard him speak. from the book, it seems he spoke on the text “Ye are the salt of the earth“

Ecumenical Focus

It is interesting, and perhaps surprising, that, as a Methodist Minister and based on notices in the local press, he spoke more often in non-Methodist churches than in Methodist ones. He spoke particularly frequently in the Old Meeting House Congregational Church in Colegate and also, to a lesser extent at St George’s in Colegate. This was in keeping with the ecumenical nature of his Ministerial work. It may also explain why he talked about his experience of nonconformity rather than Methodism only. He also spoke at Ipswich Road URC on two occasions that year.

Based on the press notices I identified, he spoke at four Methodist churches that year. Three of these were on a Sunday, Wroxham Road, Sprowston, Thorpe Road and St Peter’s Park Lane. and, at the fourth, Rosebery Road, he addressed their midweek wives’ group. There could have been others if their services were not advertised through the notices of divine services in the local press.

Old Meeting House Congregational Church

The Old Meeting House Congregational Church traces its history back to the early days when the free churches were established separate from the state church, that is the Church of England.

A church was established in Norwich by Robert Browne and Robert Harrison as early as 1580 but it was driven away by persecution. In 1603, John Robinson came to Norwich as an Anglican curate but was suspended by the Bishop in 1604. John Robinson gathered friends for private prayer but they were all ex-communicated. John Robinson moved to Scrooby in Lincolnshire but faced further persecution there. William Bridge established the Old Meeting fellowship in 1643 but it was some 50 years later that the chapel was built in 1693. A two-tier school building was added from 1842. There were then various renovations and additions including major ceiling repairs in 1993.

In 1972, most Congregational churches merged with the Presbyterian church to form the United Reformed Church (URC). However, like about one quarter of all Congregational churches, the Old Meeting House opted out of this merger and remains an independent Congregational church.

Old Meeting House, Colegate, Norwich in 2019 © David Hallam-Jones and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence

St George’s

St George’s is a grade 1 listed building in Colegate in Norwich. Parts of the building, including the nave and tower date back to 1459. The church is open on weekdays and Sunday services are still held there. It should not be confused with another church by the same name in Tombland about one third of a mile away!

Ipswich Road URC

Ipswich Road United Reformed Church was formed in 1952 as a church plant in Eaton Rise, Norwich from Princes Street United Reformed Church, see Chapter 90. Initially, it opened in an old RAF wooden hut. From 1955 to 1972, it was known as Ipswich Road Free Church. Services started in the evenings with Sunday School and youth clubs being quickly added. The first Minister was appointed in 1959 and, the same year, an Arcon hut replaced the original building. In 1960, a manse was built and, the following year, in 1961, the church became independent from Princes Street. The current building opened in 1973. The church continues to function and is now part of the Norwich Area URC Mission Partnership.

Ipswich Road United Reformed Church – photo from home page of the church’s Facebook page

Methodist Churches

For details of the Four Methodist Churches mentioned, please see the following chapters:

Wroxham Road Methodist Church, now known as Sprowston Methodist Church, see Chapter 79
Thorpe Road Methodist Church, now closed, see Chapter 79
St Peter’s Park Lane Methodist Church, see Chapter 124
Rosebery Road Methodist Church, see Chapter 79

Sprowston Methodist Church – it is also known as Wroxham Road Methodist Church which is what mum always called it © Ian Robertson and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence

Thorpe Road Methodist Chapel – although this closed as a church in 1985, the building is still standing and is currently used as offices © Evelyn Simak and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence

St Peter’s Park Lane Methodist Church in the 1970s.

Service of Thanksgiving for the Restoration of the Cathedral

On 11 April 1975, Rev Burton attended a thanksgiving for the restoration of Norwich Cathedral which had taken some 25 years. The service was attended by Queen Elizabeth II. He noted that the service was “simple yet impressive – the Church of England at its best“. There was a specially-composed “Fanfare for Her Majesty” played by the Household Cavalry, in their gold uniforms, with the choir. He considered it an “exciting and worthy opening to an act of worship“.

My mother does not mention this event in her diary at all. Her mind is on other things, shopping and a circuit meeting in Lingwood. On the other hand, my grandfather did note this trip commenting that the Queen unveiled a plaque and, after touring the crowd, went to Sandringahm through Drayton where they lived.

Family diary entries for 11 April 1975. My mother’s entry is at the top with grandad’s below that

Queen Elizabeth II visited Norwich Cathedral three times during her reign. This was her first visit as Queen and she opened the then visitor centre. She visited again in April 1996, as part of the Cathedral’s 900^th anniversary celebrations and, in May 2010, to officially open the new refectory.

Queen Elizabeth II visited Norwich on 11 April 1975 to attend a Thanksgiving service at the Cathedral to mark 25 years of effort to raise £500,000 for restoration work by the Friends of Norwich Cathedral, of which she was Patron – image licensed for re-use from Alamy

The “Bittiness” of Diaries

One of the challenges of diaries is that they are inevitably “bitty”. This is the case with “Transport of Delight” and my own family’s diaries. While I found the book great for daily readings, I did find it hard to get an overview of Rev Burton across a range of topics as you might in a more conventional biography or autobiography. So, that is why I made these notes and those for the wider diary project. I did come across a beautiful tribute to Rev Burton in the local press when he died and this is included below. It does give a touching overview of what was clearly a remarkable life.

News cutting with tribute to Rev Jack Burton at the time of his death

Conclusion: A Year in a Remarkable Life

I found “Transport of Delight” an excellent book to read on a page-a-day basis. I combined this with Brian Bilston’s book “Days Like These” and writing my own diary. Recently, I have recently added Monica Furlong’s book “Travelling In” to this group. Rev Burton received it as a Christmas present in 1974 and its format also lends itself to daily readings.

A Year-in-the-Life-Of

I found that Rev Burton’s book drew me in. I liked the year-in-the-life-of idea. It made me want to get a better overview of him and his character and to see what overlap there was with family diaries of the same period. That is what inspired these notes.

Brief Bio

Born in Norwich in 1939, Jack Burton became a local Methodist preacher at the remarkably young age of 16. Though he originally trained for full-time Methodist ministry, he later stepped away from the conventional path, choosing instead to live as a “worker-priest” employed as a full-time bus driver. His deep love for the historic fabric of his city led him to co-found the “Norwich Over the Water” group in the early seventies. This dedication to civic duty eventually culminated in his appointment as the Sheriff of Norwich in 1988/89. He remained a distinctive, beloved Norwich character until his death in 2023 at the age of 83.

The “Worker-Priest” Route

The route he took of becoming a “worker-priest” was not an easy one. He was misunderstood by the church hierarchy and he faced financial and material challenges, such as finding his Ministerial pension stopped and that he was no longer eligible for church accommodation. His combined secular and religious roles meant a very heavy workload. He routinely balanced exhausting late or early driving shifts with preaching and leading services on the same days. His book shows that his bus driving role was no mere add-on. He loved the contact it brought with his colleagues and the public. He revelled in being down-to earth and working class unlike perhaps others of his Ministerial colleagues.

Engaging and Intriguing

I found him to be an engaging and intriguing character. As far as I know, I never met him but I vaguely recall my mother telling me about a bus driving Minister. Their paths certainly overlapped and there are a number of incidents in his book captured in my mother’s own diary.

Strong Beliefs

He was passionate in wanting to see greater unity among the churches and was ahead of his time in his thinking on human sexuality particularly in relation to expressing same-sex affection. However, I found his views on the roles of women, e.g. as drivers and religious Ministers regressive and chauvinistic. I confess that his views on moving more towards traditional Anglo-Catholic worship and abandoning any focus on church growth or church planting seem to me to have contributed to, rather than halted, the decline of the established church in the UK. Rev Burton himself was well-educated and well-read yet he claimed to not like mixing with the wealthy and the well-educated. He preferred to mix with a range of ordinary people but joked that this was because he liked to be in charge.

He Met his Objectives

Did Rev Burton meet the objects of his book which were to show the interconnectedness of various parts of life and to give insights into his daily routine as what he called a “worker-priest“? I believe he did. His book is full of examples of how the physical and spiritual interact particularly through the senses. He gave great insight into the philosophy behind his role as “worker-priest“. I confess I did not find it easy to get a clear idea of what his daily routine was despite the fact that he shared many stories and anecdotes from his life. For me, the diary format is part of the problem and compiling these notes has made it easier for me to get an overall picture of his day-to-day life.

Relevant Today?

On reflection, I wonder if the concept of the “worker priest” is still relevant today. I am not sure that exactly what he did then could be done now. The modern landscape of bus driving and public transport has changed drastically since 1975. While I am no expert, the loss of conductors from buses means that the Jack-Roy and Jack-Tony interactions, which are a standout feature of the book, would not be possible now. However, a similar approach might be possible in other settings, e.g. in fast-food restaurants and/or call centres. His core incarnational philosophy of being present with people in their daily lives remains relevant today as does his desire to see that faith belongs on the streets, in the pubs, and among the vulnerable rather than locked away behind chapel doors.