Thanks Arni

yes, I don't think the poem's brilliant either, but maybe it does touch
certain raw nerves, I wanted to be 'Lawrentian' as it were. Frank's
suggestion I have certainly taken 'on board'.

St Martins is probably the least interesting of the Leicester centre
churches: St Mary de Castro has a spire to almost die for (and Geoffrey
Chaucer got married there!) while St Nicholas preserves features of
Anglo-Saxon origin, nestling as it does against a Roman wall, and All Saints
has the honour of being the place where a hearing of the burgers kicked out
Margery Kemp for distracting the wives from their duties.

The cheap bookshops, I am sad to say, have mostly gone. A few remain, but
....

btw, I live about 100 yards from the Phoenix, and dropped in there tonight
for a while with me mates!

Best

Dave



----- Original Message -----
From: "Árni Ibsen" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Wednesday, October 30, 2002 12:15 AM
Subject: Re: I hate England


on 10/29/02 11:53 PM, david.bircumshaw at [log in to unmask]
wrote:

> the Leicester Cathedral is a converted church, as it were, St Martins by
> name. It is not very cathedral-like in appearance, for yonks Leicester was
> part of the diocese covered by Peterborough you see.

I'm no closer to knowing, but next time there (if ever) I'll most certainly
look around for it very carefully! (Best thing about Leicester then was all
the cheap bookshops).

> 'Premier Screw and Repetition' which for some reason always made the girls
>  hysterical with rampant giggles.

It has me in stiches, Dave! I never laughed so hard during the hard time I
did at Leicester.

> As for my poem, I'm amazed people like it, I just woke up from a boozed-up
> sleep mid-morning and scribbled out those lines. Is it really any good?

It's not brilliant, Dave. But it's hit a very touchy nerve with me. I know
it's written during the storm, a phenomenon I know only too well, such a
thing ruffles your brain at least, but the poems's caught my ambivalent
relationship with your country, which I love and hate, and love to hate, and
hate to love. And as an ex-patriot, or whatever you prefer to call the likes
of me, I know I'm not properly allowed to criticise anyone but my own
country. But I do love to hate to love yours!

And I'd most definitely second Frank's suggestion of dropping the 'of'
towards the end. Could you possibly take a hard look at it and elaborate? An
elaboration could do wonders to it, I feel. Just a suggestion. The poem did
get to me.

Best


Árni



--
Árni Ibsen
Stekkjarkinn 19,
220 Hafnarfjördur,
Iceland

tel.: +354-555-3991
e-mail: [log in to unmask]
http://www.centrum.is/~aibsen/


David Bircumshaw

Leicester, England

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