Britain's Slough And Upton Poem by Joyce Hemsley

Brief Synopsis:

Just prior to German air raids on Slough
in World War Two, Thames Valley was
progressing with a new industrial plan,
which could have brought distress to
the peaceful rural land...John Betjeman,
the poet, wrote rhyming words to disapprove;
what more could a disappointed Laureate do?

'Come friendly bombs and fall on Slough,
it isn't fit for humans now'. John Betjeman.

But Slough today is a pleasant town,
where every amenity can be found...
and yew trees surround the graveyard
of the Norman Church of renown.
'Twas here ~ in his own Slough garden
Sir William Hershall of astronomy fame
built the world's large telescope,
for which stargazers honour his name.
And Sir Thomas Gray, poet supreme,
wrote a most delightful theme:
I now quote the first four lines of a very
long poem from historical times:

'Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard'
The Curfew tolls the knell of parting day,
the lowing herd wind slowly o'er the lea,
the plowman homeward plods his weary way
and leaves the world to darkness and to me.
Thomas Gray.