Meeting a Founder<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />

by Babu Gogineni

Thanks to Jane Wynne Willson’s and Harry Stopes- Roe’s help and initiative I was able to accompany them on their periodic visit to Harold Blackham’s house, on Ballingham Hill, some 30 minutes away from Hereford. Hereford is three hours by train from London, but do note that London is eight hours on your return… Whoever said only socialism produced good quality fiction forgets the marvellous contribution of the privatised British railways in the form of their published timetables.

I was pleased to fulfil on behalf of the EC the responsibility of the IHEU to report to one of its founders on progress at the IHEU (raised eyebrows at the present membership and the number of countries where we have member organisations!) and of its 50th Anniversary Congress: Blackham is perhaps the only surviving IHEU official from those founding years - he was Secretary General of IHEU till 1967. As author of the much-translated textbook Six Existential Philosophers, he is well known among humanists in India.

Now he is nearing a hundred, and I was delighted to see his warm welcoming smile, and pleased to hear his clear and distinct speech. He retains a remarkably lucid mind for his age, even if at the end of the two-hour visit he was rather tired and began forgetting things, including the fact that he had received the IHEU’s International Humanist award in 1974.

His memory was sharper at the beginning of the meeting, and the names of Dr Indumati Parikh and Tarkunde (both had visited him), and of M N Roy, brought ready recognition to his face. He also asked why the Roy campus project in Bombay was not progressing. He agreed that Africa was where humanism most needed to grow and approved of the point that humanists should expand the agenda to address new concerns.

Dr Blackham lives alone but has some lovely neighbours who visit three times a day to see how he is doing. He climbs the stairs himself to his first-floor bedroom and study full of books. Until not too long ago - when he started falling down - he also grew vegetables!

He was quite pleased with the IHEU’s Jubilee book. Seeing his own picture inside, he admitted that he could not deny it was him, when Jane presented the evidence of the ‘big nose’ - at which point Harry made the pertinent philosophical point that he could of course deny it but definitely not refute it!

Very much alive to the world around him, he pointed with delight to the wonderful view from the house -  and also enjoyed the nice meal prepared for us by his son Paul, who was also visiting.

It was a real privilege to meet one of our founders!