Mention Slough, and the average man-in-the-street will bring to mind at least the first line of Betjeman's 'friendly bombs' poem. Certainly, most newspaper journalists can't write an article about the town without mentioning it somewhere.

Although published in 1937, the poem was actually written in 1928. And ironically, as Betjeman revealed many years later, the poem was not even written about the town at all, but about the Trading Estate, which he saw as "the menace of things to come".

In fact, when Betjeman's daughter, Candida Lycett-Green, recently presented a book of his poetry to the Mayor, she revealed that Betjeman had come to regret having written the poem, and did not even want it to be published.

The poem has had a significant influence on people's perceptions of the town, giving the impression that it is a gloomy and depressing place to live. So ingrained is this impression that when Ricky Gervais needed a location for 'The Office', Slough seemed like the natural choice.

Betjeman's poem has also had another effect, however. It has galvanised the people of Slough into providing a response. In 1987 the 'Slough Observer' launched a competition to try and redress the balance, by inviting the people of Slough to write poems in the town's defence. The result was a booklet called 'In Praise of Slough', published in October 1988, which collected the best of the entries, including the overall winner of the competition, 13-year-old Matthew Moore. For the booklet, a poem was commissioned from underground poet Attila the Stockbroker:

SLOUGH

Come tourists all, and flock to Slough
as many as the streets allow
By bus, or train - no matter how -
Come, very soon!

And lift forever the sad curse
once laid in dull, sarcastic verse
by one whose poetry is worse
than Mills and Boon!

Sir John - oh, what a sense of farce!
A poet of the teacup class
obsessed with railways, and stained glass
and twisted bough

and thus impervious to the call
of the post-war suburban sprawl
of Harlow, Basildon and all
and glorious Slough!

Oh Slough! Harbinger of my dreams!
home of a thousand training schemes
and theme pubs, patronised by streams
Of tetchy men

with blow-dried hair and blow-dried brain
diplomas in inflicting pain
and ne'er a thought for Larkin, Raine
and Betjeman!

A thousand jewellers' shops contend
The kitchen unit is your friend
Designer labels set the trend
with a blank stare

And now - the latest, brightest star -
a brand new ten screen cinema!
The folk will come from near and far
to worship there!

Oh self-made, independent town!
The jewel in Margaret's southern crown!
No more will poets put you down
with mocking voice!

Come tourists all, and flock to Slough
as Milton Friedman takes a bow
This town is fit for heroes now -
Come, and rejoice!

Copyright Attila the Stockbroker

Also, in 2005, as part of Volvic's 'Spark Up Your Day' campaign, popular poet Ian McMillan produced the following poem to again try and redress the balance:

SPARK UP SLOUGH

Come friendly words and splash on Slough!
Celebrate it, here and now
Describe it with a gasp, a 'wow!'
Of Sweet Berkshire breath

Slough is open, wide and green
With gorgeous buildings in between;
In the museum can be seen
Slough life, Slough death

Which show the history of a town
That people have tried to put down
By talking of it with a frown
And cruel sneers.

It's true Slough Town don't always win
But losing's shrugged off with a grin;
Slough can take it on the chin
And has, for years.

Some towns are just seen as a joke
Through a fog of prejudicial smoke
Well, let's shut up these put-down folk:
Their opinions smell!

Ask Slough people if they're glad
To live in Slough, dismissed as bad:
Mum and dad and girl and lad
Are living well!

In 1196 it was known as Slo
And through the years it's had to grow:
People came here 'cos they didn't want to go
To Maidenhead.

On foot, in coaches, trains and cars
To the factories, houses, shops and bars
They came to play or work for Mars
And stayed, and bred.

It's people, living lives with care
And breathing in the Berkshire air
That make a town think 'Yes, I'm there!'
And the sneering fails.

So, Children, Husband, partner, wife
Dismiss the poet's rhyming knife
Slough's the place to live your life
So hoist Slough's sails!

Copyright Ian McMillan www.ian-mcmillan.co.uk
Written for Volvic, 19.4.05
as an antidote to John Betjeman's take on the town