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Chronicles of a Curate #1

How Green Was My Curate

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How Green Was My Curate, by Secombe, Fred

192 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1991

34 people want to read

About the author

Fred Secombe

18 books2 followers
Secombe was born in Swansea in 1918 and ordained in 1942. The vicar of various parishes in Wales, and a Prebendary of St. Paul's Cathedral, he was also a founder of three Gilbert and Sullivan societies and won the Waterford International Festival of Light Opera Award for Utopia Ltd in 1968.

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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
68 reviews1 follower
June 4, 2020
I read this series years ago and my lasting memory is his curt treatment of an unmarried mother. (Wasn't going to have that slut at his alter rail!)
I picked one up recently and opened it at random to read his unfavourable opinion of the body odour of his parishioners at a wedding.
He's just not a nice person.
If someone is struggling to understand the phrase "cold as charity" these books give a vivid example.
Profile Image for Hattie.
23 reviews
March 30, 2020
A very charming, witty book. Very well written and gives a great insight to Valleys parish life during the Second World War.
Profile Image for Steven R. McEvoy.
3,759 reviews165 followers
January 7, 2023
I picked up this book at an Anglican Church Room because the cover reminded me of Adrian Plass book covers. The humor is very different and the experiences seem to be a little more realistic if somewhat embellished. I am very glad I did pick it up and I am sure you will be also. This book is based loosely on personal experience, but told with a true story teller's flare. Fred Secombe embellishes upon his life as clergy in the Church of Wales in this story and his many others about life in ministry and in and around parish life. This is the story of his first posting shortly after WWII, set in the Welsh Valleys and in the town of Pontywen, a village filled with unforgettable characters and personalities. One of the funniest stories is that he gets stuck to the bottom of a freshly painted tub, and the female Doctor who treats him eventually becomes his wife. The book is written with a humorous bent yet the stories will also touch your heat. The vulnerability of a pastor sharing his struggle and follies is heartwarming. Laugh-out-loud funny. this book is worth picking up, either as the single volume or as the 3 in one collection along with A Curate for All Seasons and Goodbye Curate.
Profile Image for Elizabeth.
1,636 reviews7 followers
June 10, 2012
This book was relaxing and humorous. it was a fortuitous find. I am really looking forward to the next in the series. it is about a young curate in Wales. it begins in 1945 just at the ending of World War II. He has an exciting year at the beginning of his career which starts him off at an rapid pace with lots of adventures. the best way to look at life is to laugh at yourself.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews

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