Ted Hughes is in his local pub in North Tawton where he reacts to his nomination as the new Poet Laureate and successor to the late Sir John Betjeman. The position is a royal appointment to write for the nation and dates to 1668 when poet and critic John Dryden first held the post under Charles II after the Restoration of the Monarchy for the sum of £100 per year and a case of wine. The annuity remains unchanged and subsequent monarchs keep with the tradition of the Laureateship.