Griselda Guthrie
“My earliest memory was listening to classical music 78’s on the wind-up HMV gramophone,” Griselda Guthrie tells me when we meet. “I think it was almost inevitable that music and the arts generally would play a large part in my life with my family background and interests.”
Griselda, born in Buckinghamshire, was the daughter of a former Naval officer with a distinguished war record. He had a long strong and affectionate bond with the Dart and Dartmouth that was sustained by regular family sailing holidays from the Solent. This eventually led to her parents returning to live here on retirement.
After being inspired at home during her early years she studied the piano from the age of seven, gained an honours degree in music as well as performance and teaching diplomas at Goldsmiths College University of London and the Royal Academy of Music & the Guildhall, specialising in piano, organ and harpsichord. Whilst studying and teaching in London she also sang in three internationally renowned choirs.
After teaching in the late sixties, in 1971 she made a complete change in her life.
Following a perilous and, for the times, incredibly unusual land journey across the USSR (often without visas) to Japan, Griselda ended up in New South Wales in Australia.
“I spent the following 20 months teaching and travelling and exploring as much as I could during that time. I moved to New South Wales in Australia permanently in 1973,” she tells me, “I married a solicitor and I continued to teach music. It was so very different from Britain – and a real challenge that often seemed insurmountable and so depressing. However, I did apply myself and became doggedly determined to improve the status of music and drama in all schools and I feel that I achieved a lot. The music provision was frankly non-existent when I started – a complete nightmare – but I worked very hard to secure funds for equipment and instruments and to build respect for music within the curriculum wherever I went. I particularly enjoyed working with the Aboriginal children and finding ways to bring them into the curriculum as well as encouraging them to enjoy and appreciate their own musical culture and to feel more of a part of the school community. I also set up rural schools programmes through the Sydney Opera House that brought together a feast of cultural opportunities for visiting schools including opera, concerts, plays and gallery exhibitions.
“My last role as a teacher in Australia was to establish a performing arts academy on the premises of a Catholic school that was moving to a new campus. I recruited numerous talented and extraordinary people. We began to work together presenting wonderful concerts, establishing bands, orchestras, theatrical presentations with poetry evenings and then dance classes of numerous varieties for people of all ages. My final achievement was to gain a grant of massive proportions and as far as I know the funding continues.”
After 30 years in Australia, Griselda came back to Britain – and found herself in Dartmouth.
“After my father’s naval career my parents had moved back to Dartmouth on their retirement. When they got older and then fell ill, I started to come to Dartmouth more and more. For a while I’d travel from Australia at the end of every term but that became too much and I wanted to return home to Britain – Dartmouth seemed the perfect place to stay!”
Griselda soon became heavily involved in the community – in short order she became a town councillor, district councillor, helped out with the Dartington Players and stage-managed the Dartmouth Shakespeare Week production of ‘Taming of the Shrew’. She also volunteered at Coleton Fishacre as a gardener and was involved in the successful campaign to build the Flavel Arts Centre. In her spare time, she had also studied and graduated both in History and English at Masters Honours level in Australia as well as more recently following horticultural courses through Bicton College and photography and fine art studies at Plymouth College of Art. She was also a member of the D & K committee for 14 years. Griselda is also a member of the Vernacular Architecture Society. It’s clear she enjoys challenging herself.
“I really enjoyed so much of what I did, as I met and got to work with great people in all of it,” she said. “As a district councillor I was on the environmental committee and worked to increase access to walks around the area and that led onto work with the Market and Coastal Towns’ Initiative – on the strength of that, I was asked to set up a local walking programme with South Hams. This lead later to the highly successful Dartmouth Walk and Talk programme that has been running since November 2007. It was where I started to look at how to organise walking programmes around the Dartmouth area.”
Over the years Griselda has been involved in setting up and leading walks with a team of nine other trained walk leaders. The programme covers over 40 different walks including the ‘Diamond Jubilee Walk’ opened in 2012.
They hold weekly walks on Thursday mornings around the Dartmouth, Kingswear, Slapton, Dartington and Torbay areas.
The walks are being organised with South Hams Council as part of the national Walking for Health scheme with support from the Ramblers Association and Macmillan Cancer Support.
“It’s a great programme which uses a levels’ system - so if you aren’t used to walking lots of hills or long distances go on a Level 1 walk but if you want a bit of a challenge go on a Level 3.
“The other great thing about these walks is, of course, the ‘talking’ part. We not only chat and get to know each other but also look at history, architecture and nature as we walk and it’s a great opportunity to find out about your local area. In Dartmouth I think there is so much of interest that people can find out about the town and the whole area – it has so much that is unique to discover.
“These walks are great – the different levels mean that anyone can get involved and make the most of these walks. We also welcome dogs!”w
If you are interested in finding out more about the Walk and Talk programme, contact South Hams Council’s Kate Wright on 01803 861234 or email leisure@swdevon.gov.uk. Or call Griselda Dartmouth W & T Co-ordinator 01803 834762.
First Published July 2014 By The Dart