On Thursday, 26th April, the City of Oxford, plus a host of the many friends he’d made over the years, said a moving goodbye to Colin Dexter, O.B.E, creator of the memorable character of Inspector Morse.
The Memorial Service was held in the beautiful Christ Church Cathedral, St. Aldates, Oxford.
View of Christ Church Cathedral, from across Tom Quad.
I was thrilled to have been invited to be among the guests, and before I sign off, I shall tell you how I came to know Colin. But first, the Service and the Reception.
My invitation to both the Memorial Service and the Civic Reception afterwards.
The Service opened and closed with Barrington Pheloung & Players, the composer of the Morse theme. Not surprisingly, the Morse theme closed the Service.
Tributes included:
* a speech about Colin, followed by a reading of one of A.E.Housman’s poems by Peter Waine, Chairman of the Housman Society, of which Colin was a member,
* a tribute to Colin, a dedicated crossword player and clue-compiler, by Jonathan Crowther, setter of the Observer Azed crossword,
* a tribute by Kevin Whately – Inspector Lewis – speaking first as one of the Morse actors, and then reading from ‘Death Is Now My Neighbour’, the 12th novel in the Inspector Morse series.
Kevin Whately
On the back of the programme, there was ‘A Crossword for Colin’. This was a crossword compiled by Colin in 1993, that had been cleverly amended for the occasion by his close friend, Don Manley.
The Memorial Service was followed by a Civic Reception at Oxford Town Hall.
Philip Pullman addressing the room
Listening to the speakers.
After circulating with wine or juice, we took a seat at one of the tables and listened to the speakers on the platform give their recollections of Colin.
One of the many interesting things that Philip Pullman, the first speaker, said was that Colin had written five Morse novels before he’d ever been into a police station! He went on to say that you don’t have to visit every place you write about, you don’t have to be a man in order to write about being a man, you don’t have to be a baker to write about being a baker, you don’t have to murder someone to write about a murderer, BUT you do have to be clever if you’re going to create a character who is clever. Colin Dexter, a classicist with a particular love of Greek, was a very clever man.
James Neville talked about Colin’s passion for Classics, Wagner, and real ale hostelries.
Val McDermid talked about Colin and the Crime Writers’ Association – he was the first event in the first Harrogate Crime Writing Festival. They had first bonded over a shared love of ‘The Archers’. In an amusing speech, she described him as a highly sociable and charitable man, who always had time for his fans and to help new writers. He was a self-deprecating man, she said, with a wicked sense of humour.
Val McDermid
After the talks, one of the Morse fans had compiled a montage of clips of many of Colin’s cameo appearances in ‘Morse’, ‘Lewis’ and ‘Endeavour’, and this was shown on a large screen in the front of the hall. It was highly entertaining, but also quite moving as we watched Colin change from the young man he’d been when the TV series was first made, to the older Colin of recent years.
Just before we attempted to do justice to the sandwiches and cakes that were set out on large round tables and down the centre of the room, Kevin Whately came on to the platform with Sally Dexter, Colin’s daughter, who, with Don Manley, had organised so much of the afternoon, and he presented her with flowers.
Sally Dexter and Kevin Whately
Long tables lined the centre of the room.
Scones with jam and cream. I managed to take a shot before the plate was empty.
I spoke to several familiar faces afterwards. Kevin Whately tells me that, alas, there won’t be any more episodes of ‘Lewis’. Not so with ‘Endeavour’, though. Colin said many a time how excellent he thought Shaun Evans, and how well he’d captured the onset of the Morse mannerisms that would intensify over the years.
Kevin Whately and Lady Macclesfield.
Shaun Evans and Abigail Thaw
At the end of the Reception, every guest was given a goody bag. Inside, there was a postcard copy of the oil painting, done in 2011, that hangs in The Morse Bar of the Randolph Hotel, Oxford; the book Cracking Cryptic Crosswords, which was written by Colin, and a booklet in which he answers questions put to him by fans about himself and Inspector Morse.
The goody bag.
Now to the question of how did I get to know him? I think most authors would agree that at some point in their quest for publication, they had a stroke of luck which helped them on their way. My stroke of luck was meeting Colin, who was later to read The Road Back, my debut novel, when it was still in manuscript form. Not only did Colin read the novel, but he said that he liked it so much that he wanted to endorse it. The words that he wrote are on the front cover. They are:
A splendid love story, so beautifully told.
With Colin Dexter at the launch of The Road Back in Waterstones Oxford
To wind the clock back, Colin Dexter was always a great supporter of new writers, and a friend to the Oxford Writers’ Group, to which I belong. Indeed, it was at an OWG party in 2011 that I was introduced to him.
We quickly found out that:
* we both shared an addiction for The Archers, but were very critical of the recent themes and the large number of ‘new’ voices,
* Colin knew Belsize Park, where Patricia, in The Road Back, was brought up, as was I,
* and we both loved cryptic crosswords.
The following day, the Chair of the OWG received a phone call from Colin, asking if he could be put in touch with me so that he could give me a book he had witten.
We met in The Morse Bar at The Randolph Hotel in Oxford, and he gave me Cracking Cryptic Crosswords. During our conversation, we got on to Gray’s Elegy in a Country Churchyard – don’t ask! – which I’ve always liked. We started to recite it in unison. I faded before the end of the second verse, but Colin continued. Although he was already a sick man at that time, his mind was still fully alert, and his passion for poetry as strong as ever.
That was the first of a number of afternoons in The Morse Bar, me with a glass of white wine, he with a glass from which alcohol was missing. Tourists were regularly introduced to him, and as his books were on sale in the hotel shop, as was a model of Morse’s car, he was frequently asked to sign these. His real pleasure, though, was chatting to the people to whom he was introduced.
With Colin Dexter in The Morse Bar of The Randolph Hotel.
Eventually, his declining health made further such visits impossible, and his wife would make me a coffee in his home and we would chat there.
He was a good friend to me, and to many other people connected with writing in one way or another, and he’ll be greatly missed. Hopefully, from his cloud on high, he will have stopped doing his crossword on Thursday for a moment or two, switched off the Wagner, and listened to his Memorial Service and Reception, and he will know how highly esteemed he was, and always will be.
Looking back from the entrance to the Cathdral, to Tom Tower, the bell tower above Tom Gate, through which we came into Tom Quad. The bell is called Great Tom.
Colin Dexter, O.B.E. Rest in Peace.
What a lovely account, and what a lovely man.
Many thanks for your comment, Rosie. I do miss my chats with Colin. imagine the photo of my book launch brought back memories. Happy ones, I hope!
Thank you so much for sharing!
I had the pleasure of meeting Colin twice. The first time during filming in Oxford when I’d come up for an interview – I sat down next to him and asked if he knew what was being filmed. He told me Morse, and I started raving enthusiastically about the show, and the books – explaining that the show had been influential in my decision to study at Oxford Brookes (the Polytechnic as it then was). He let me ramble on until I ran out of steam – then asked gently, “You don’t know who I am, do you?” I shook my head, and he told me, “I’m Colin Dexter.” He was very amused that I hadn’t recognised him – and seemed charmed by my enthusiastic ravings. I, on the other hand, was terribly embarrassed not to have realised who he was.
A few years later, when I was back in Oxford living and working, I went to a talk he did at the Literary Festival, and got a book signed. I mentioned we’d met before, and briefly described the meeting, and he recalled the meeting and assured me that he hadn’t minded a bit that I hadn’t recognised him, and had been flattered by my enthusiasm about Morse.
What a lovely account of your meetings with Colin, Michele. Thank you for telling me about them. He was, as Val McDermid said, a modest, self-deprecating man, and I’m sure he wouldn’t have minded in the least that you hadn’t recognised him. It would have amused him not to have been unrecognised while you enthused about his creation. He would have enjoyed your enthusiasm for Morse, though.
A most moving piece of writing in honour of Colin Dexter by Liz Harris with superb and unforgettable
photographs. When you watched Morse, you could forget everything. You could immerse yourself in his stories and relax. The setting and and how the tables were laid out must have made this occasion
special and memorable for everyone present. Tributes made people remember the pleasure this writer gave to so many people, whether it was watching Morse on TV or reading the writer’s inviting and inspiring novels. Poetry chosen and that was read was another moving item added to the programme. Writers I’ve met over the past few years are warm and generous people. The photograph of both Liz and Colin Dexter must be a constant reminder of how generous and kind the author was to Liz and other writers. just
as Liz has been most generous and kind to me.
Many thanks for your kind comments, Ann. I hope I deserve them – I know that Colin does. His kindness to new writers was legendary in Oxford, and there are many who have good reason to be grateful to him. I was extremely fortunate to have been introduced to him. I shall never forget his amusing speech at my book launch. It was at the height of the furore about Fifty Shades of Grey, and he used this title for the start of his talk, only it was Fifty Sheds of Grey that he quoted! Thank you again for your comment.
What a lovely article. Well done, Liz. A fitting tribute to a memorable writer.
Thank you very much for your comment, John. I think you and he would have got on well. It’s a shame you didn’t meet him.
Thank you, Liz, that was delightful. A great hero of mine, as you can imagine.
Thank you, Lesley. I can well believe he was one of your heroes, given the number of marvellous crime novels you, too, have written.
What a wonderful tribute, Liz and thank you for sharing this with us. I’ve always been a huge fan of the books and all the series.
I’m glad you enjoyed the account, Angela. Thank you so much for taking the time to read the blog and then make a comment.
Liz, thank you for sharing this. The pictures of the memorial event for Colin are lovely and your account is moving. Other pictures brought many memories to mind. Do you remember when we met him years and years ago in the Morse Bar and helped him over to The Ashmolean for the launch of The Crowded Bed I think it was , perhaps a OWG event. He told us to be careful not to leave anything in our pockets when we hung up our coats . Then there was your book launch. What memories you must cherish. I think this just touches the surface. I am glad he had such a beautiful goodbye.
Many thanks for your lovely comment, Carol. You’re right about us helping Colin across to the launch of The Crowded Bed, when he went to the Ashmolean to support a newly published member of the OWG. I had forgotten. He was a very kind man and I’m so happy that he had such a lovely send-off. The warmth and affection for him were tangible in the Cathedral and at the Town Hall.
Thanks for sharing this Liz. I met Colin at your Waterstone’s do, he was such a vivid, enthusiastic chap. You painted his picture perfectly.
Many thanks, Maggi! It was a well deserved tribute to him that people came from so far to say goodbye and to show his family the esteem in which he was held. I met people there who’d come from Wales, Scotland, the north of England, to name just a few of the locations. It speaks volume for the sociable man he was, and his ability to inspire lasting friendships.
I really enjoyed reading your blog and seeing the photos of the memorial to Colin Dexter. Like you, I remember how kind he was to new writers and what a tremendous support he was to Oxford Writers Group. He was a familiar guest at OWG parties and a lively raconteur. Colin will be greatly missed.
Heather
http://www.heatherrosser.com
You’re so right, Heather – he will be greatly missed. He has his own immortality, though: everyone who watches ‘Morse’, Lewis’ or ‘Endeavour’ will instantly think of him, and this will be true for many years to come. Thank you for commenting.