One of these 'spells' was "Rain-Charm for the Duchy", Hughes's 1984 hymn of praise to the rivers of the West Country, in celebration of Prince Harry’s christening.

Nye wrote, "John Betjeman's old suit hardly fits a dour Yorkshireman with ambitions to be a sort of royal witch doctor.

Its finished title was Rain-Charm for the Duchy: A Blessed, Devout Drench for the Christening of His Royal Highness Prince Harry.

Yet in early typescripts, it was entitled After the Five Month Drought, Rain Charm for Bringing Back the Salmon, or simply Rain-Charm.

... Alongside his characteristic language of the sublime forces of nature, Hughes includes a realistic catalogue of the pollutants which human beings have poured into the Tavy.