A new role for Charles (From Penarth Times)

A new role for Charles

PENARTH'S new mayor, a schoolmate of the Archbishop of Westminster, has entered local government late into a colourful life.

The 72-year-old won an expensive custody battle for his daughter in the 1970s and has survived bowel cancer.

Roman Catholic Charles Curran was made new mayor of Penarth just a year after being elected to the town council.

Labour councillor Charles stood for election 40 years ago as a Liberal Democrat but finished in second place.

Charles attended Prior Park public school in Bath where he was a classmate of Cardinal Cormac Murphy O'Connor, the Archbishop of Westminster and head of the Catholic Church in Britain.

Of his old school Charles said: "I still go to the old boys' reunions. It's a very different place now.

"There was no mollycoddling in my day. The boys today have four or five dishes to choose from at lunch. Post war, times were much more spartan."

After splitting from his wife in 1972, Charles faced a fight to win custody for his daughter.

He said: "It cost me an absolute fortune - 22,000 in 1974/75 - but it was worth every penny.

"I have the most wonderful relationship with my daughter. I have a great deal of sympathy with the Justice for Fathers movement."

Charles's daughter Jane, who is a mental health specialist in Kent, has just given birth to his first grandchild Amy.

Charles worked as a voluntary Home Office appointed prison visitor for many years.

Charles says Percy, his pet Labrador-terrier cross, rules his house, but is the love of his life.

This might explain why The Dogs' Trust is one of his chosen charities as mayor.

The others are the Penarth Sea Cadets and Marie Curie.

Charles explained that both his father and grandfather died of cancer.

He said: "I had brush with bowel cancer myself but was rescued by modern surgery."

Charles's other passion is the sea.

Of the 3,500 books that fill his shelves, over 1,000 are on nautical subjects.

He is a member of the Society for Nautical Research which helped save the HMS Victory and promoted the Trafalgar celebrations.