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Dear Miranda,
Thankyou for your kind words. I'm starting to feel the magnitude of this event: tonight I was phoned by the secretary of the El Alamein Veterans Association: he asked me to put a paragraph between a photograph of the statue and the text of "Tunes and Flowers" in the official programme.
That jolted me into considering, yet again, how I should introduce the poem. I don't have a problem about reading my poetry in public, but given the presence of the massed ranks of army, navy and airforce veterans of the North African Campaign, their children and grandchildren, and thousands of others, this will be a humbling experience.
Yours,
Andrew.

Dear Andrew,

It sounds like this could be a pretty nerve-wracking experience but I'm sure you will come up trumps. Please keep us all posted.

Miranda

Andrew

Good luck next Saturday with the reading of the poem.
I'm sure it will be excellent
Trust that you know all the words off by heart ( in case your paper blows away)....just make sure that the words are in the correct order
(as Eric Morecambe said to Andre Previn.."I can play all the right notes but not necessarily in the right order )

Let us know how the poem what you writ went when you've read it (only Morecambe and Wise fans will appreciate this last comment!)
Pete

Dear Pete, Miranda, Elizabeth et al

"Tunes and Flowers" is being published this Saturday in The Herald. The website is http://www.theherald.co.uk. The Edinburgh Evening News will feature an article on Thursday or Friday, centering on me, the local angle.
Saturday is not my day: it belongs to the veterans of the North African Campaign; those who fought a desert war, and don't want another one.
Andrew.
P.S. George Bush, are you listening??

Dear Pete, Miranda, Elizabeth et al

"Tunes and Flowers" is being published this Saturday in The Herald. The website is http://www.theherald.co.uk. The Edinburgh Evening News will feature an article on Thursday or Friday, centering on me, the local angle.
Saturday is not my day: it belongs to the veterans of the North African Campaign; those who fought a desert war, and don't want another one.
Andrew.
P.S. George Bush, are you listening??

"Tunes and Flowers" was unveiled , today, Saturday October 26th. Yes, I read my poem to an audience of over 400 veterans of El Alamein and thousands of others. Right now, words fail me. Now that's a change. This was, undoubtedly, the most emotionally charged experiernce of my writing life.
Andrew.

Dear Andrew,

It sounds as though it was a wonderful experience. For you and the veterans. Congratulations.


Miranda


P.S. I went to the link you provided but could not find the section with the poem. Do they provide an archive? I would like to also see the article on you in the Edinburg Evening Evening News. Can you provide a link to that as well. It would be appreciated.

Dear Miranda, Pete, and others who were thinking of me on October 26th.
Thankyou for your kind remarks. I will try to find internet links to the many reports written about that day. Some of the papers are local Scottish ones, e.g. The Perthshire Advertiser, The Dunfermline Press, The Dundee Courier, The Edinburgh Evening News, The Sunday Post, to name a few.
In the meantime, can I offer just two examples of how "emotionally charged" I felt?
My reading of "Tunes and Flowers" was interupted, twice, by the screech of fly-pasts by R.A.F. squadrons. I had to stop, look to the sky on each occasion, then continue when the noise subsided. It was an incredibly appropriate moment, as many testified afterwards.
When it was finally time to go home, I wanted to take one last look at "my" little poem/plinth beside the statue. A collection of wreaths,crosses, mementos lay at the base of the statue....and a minature cask, containing ashes. These had clearly been placed there, in private, by El Alamein veterans, after the official ceremonies were over. Again I looked to the sky, and this time, I cried .
I have written better poetry, and worse; but "Tunes and Flowers" will have a special place in my life, and many others too.
Yours, honoured and humbled,
Andrew.

I spoke too soon Andrew. THIS is superb. There is such depth to this poem. Dare I call it a manifesto? A proclamation of war weariness and the tenderness of the innocent.

This is evidence, Andrew, that you do have talent.

Andrew knows he has talent.

This is a strange remark. "Andrew knows he has talent." It seems like an insult.

A very direct statement. Andrew knows he has talent.

I stand corrected.

Dear Vesuvius,
The line is also drawn on this poem: it's older than M&O, and I have aged more than both of them. It was exciting and satisfying to have "Tunes and Flowers" finished. Yes, it's over now, and I'm glad. There's more to write, and much more to read and learn. A writer is only good as his/her last poem. In that respect, I stand by my own advice.
Thanks to all who contributed to this string.
Yours, Andrew.