Dr R C Humphreys, OBE, MD, FRCGP, Talks about his introduction to Crickhowell
My introduction to Crickhowell took place on a February evening in 1950. What did I find ? I found a small market town, almost totally self supporting, with its own post office, where the letters were sorted, its own telephone exchange operated by real people, its own Cottage Hospital and the surgery from which the practice was run was in one of the partner's houses. However, the war had come to an end less than five years previously, and the pain and heartache, physical and mental, was still fresh in the minds of many families up and down the country, and Crickhowell was no exception as the thirty five names on the War Memorial testify. Rationing was still with us, but the pubs were busy, the Clarence Hall was a cinema and, coming as I did from monochromatic, post war London there seemed to be a fair sprinkling of high profile local characters, many of whom Dylan Thomas would have recognised at once.
Domestic life in 21st Century terms was primitive, but comfortable and uncomplicated. My wife and I had rooms in a farm near Tretower. In 1950 electricity had not reached Tretower so we lived by the light of oil lamps. We had a portable radio –transistors did not exist then- and it required wet batteries which had to be charged weekly in rotation. This was done by the proprietor of a local hardware store, now an art shop. We survived quite happily without a refrigerator while deep-freezes, television, computers and e-mail were years away.
Britain has changed greatly since 1950 and so, inevitably, has Crickhowell. Medicine is practised from a purpose built Health Centre. The Cottage Hospital closed in 1970 and a large District General Hospital has been built six miles away. Letters posted in Crickhowell, sadly no longer bear the Crickhowell post mark. But the scenery is still beautiful and the hills inviting to those who would exercise the body and refresh the spirit.
Clarence Hall,
Crickhowell
Built in 1892, The Clarence Hall on Beaufort Road was named after the Duke of
Clarence, who laid the foundation stone in 1890.
Catharine Marr-Johnson
Following a formative introduction to Italian sculpture in Florence, Catharine trained in anatomy and figurative sculpture in London, and studied under several teachers. She also gained a practical knowledge of foundry and casting techniques at the Sir John Cass School of Art. Figurative portrait sculpture is the ideal language in which to express her feelings on the human condition, with a particular emphasis on character. Portraiture is central to her work and expresses the dialogue between the sitter and his environment through her narrative style.
Her public sculptures include two swans on Battersea Bridge, the Peter Pan fountain at The Great Ormond Street Hospital for Sick Children, garden sculptures for The English Courtyard Association, sets for Euston Films Ltd. She also has also executed many commissions such as fountains, garden figures, sundials etc in a wide range of materials, including bronze, resin, cement & terra cotta.
Exhibitions:- The Society of Portrait Sculptors annual exhibition at The Gallery, Cork Street, one man show at the Westbourne Gallery , international exhibitions in Switzerland, Ireland, Australia & Wales.