Chronicles of a Curate

Fred Secombe has finished his religious studies in the later years of WWII. After spending some time in an apparent bad situation he has moved to Pontywen, a town in the Welsh Valleys where he has been named as a curate for an elder Vicar, Canon Llewellyn. There were three churches in his parish in this lovely township of about 6000 population. Fred tells his story of his sojourn to Pontywen in How Green Was My Curate.

Some times Fred finds that his clerical collar makes him an outcast from society as he finds that he rides in solitary splendor on the train, because one look at it and no one will join him in his compartment. Vicar Llewellyn is more prosaic and tells him that there will come a time when he will cherish he solitude and thus begins his sojourn in Pontywen.

Fred's first stroke of luck was that he was housed with a very nice landlady who got him on the right footing on town and was able to explains anything that puzzles him about his parishioners . The life a a curate is a busy one and Fred settles in helping with church services and activities.

These are still times of rationing of most things. A pound is a lot of money and many people like Fred own few things. Like many men Fred had one good suit, one OK suit and a couple of shirts. But at one point he feels completely modern living in 1945 and not 1845.  Single man frequently lodged with others and people were glad to have extra income. He describes houses with no bathrooms and out door privies and it sounds like 1845 to me!

His best stroke of luck is when his landlady , who does have a bathroom, but no indoor plumbing paints the bath tub and after a long day he goes for a nice hot soak and finds his fanny fixed to the new paint when he tries to get out. He does get out but he is left in arrears and has to see the local doctor to have his rump repaired. This turns out to be the lovely Eleanor with whom he falls in love with at first sight.

Fred's adventures as a curate are often hilarious, but he does deal with the problems of real people which are sometimes heart rending.


In A Curate for All Seasons the saga continues as Fred now well established is trying to fulfill one of his dreams, which is to start a Gilbert and Sullivan Opera society. His vicar approved this because he thought it might bring more people to the church. The Welsh are well known for their music.  The first production is to be The Pirates of Penzance. There is no shortage of willing participants, from milkmen to schoolgirls. Fred made this sound like so much fun that I felt like getting the movie version and watching it myself, which I did.

In this book as well the lively curate finds life mixing the bitter with the sweet and the war winds down and some men are never to return to their families. But Fred is learning that to every season there is a purpose and that is one of the reasons for this title.

Fred's life becomes full in Goodbye Curate as he finally marries his beloved Eleanor even though by now he knows it will be a while before his mother-in-law thaws out. They make a good pair as their careers intersect, Eleanor taking care of the physical and Fred shepherding the souls.  They both have acute senses of humor and their banter reveals that each can hold their own. Fred's time as a curate has come to an end as the Bishop has other plans for him. I am really looking forward to further chronicles in the same fashion that I awaited James Herriot's stories of live among the animals in Yorkshire.