…when you see crows apparently flying backwards.
Which for some inscrutable reason got me thinking about Charles Causley. (Well, it’s hard not to think about Causley sometimes when you live in Cornwall.) In particular, though, I was thinking about ‘The Seasons in North Cornwall’. When I quoted as much of it as I can remember to Jude, who wasn’t familiar with Causley, she got very interested in his verse and the man himself (quite rightly). Actually, I remembered most of it, having set some of his verse to music back in the 70s (A Ballad for Katherine of Aragon and Johnny Alleluia were two of the others, as I recall). I didn’t really do anything with them because of the complications of copyright, but the late Alex Atterson did some fine settings. His LPs Pushing The Business On and Roundabout both include Causley settings. I haven’t been able to find CD versions currently.
The Seasons in North Cornwall is quoted in full on the Charles Causley Trust web site, complete with a picture of Launceston Castle on a far sunnier day than today.
Celebrating Spring and World Poetry Day with Causley
David Harley
Wheal Alice Music 