tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-607719101484462692.post7690380828009740602..comments2024-01-23T12:27:05.258+00:00Comments on The Stone and the Star: Jo Shapcott's 'Gherkin Music': "Joining the Game of Brilliance"Clarissa Aykroydhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08571136118573329263noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-607719101484462692.post-50002967387364956802013-03-18T10:23:25.653+00:002013-03-18T10:23:25.653+00:00There is a good deal of controversy about the orig...There is a good deal of controversy about the origins of the Elephant and Castle name (it's an area I know quite well - not exactly one of London's most scenic spots, to put it mildly.) There are many pubs called Elephant and Castle, and the Wikipedia theory *may* be correct, but it has also been associated with a mispronunciation of Infanta de Castilia. Any or all of those may be urban myths, though...but the origins of London's place names tend to run deep and dark.Clarissa Aykroydhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08571136118573329263noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-607719101484462692.post-57288120420056702422013-03-18T09:06:58.703+00:002013-03-18T09:06:58.703+00:00Before I read the Wikipedia article I assumed the ...Before I read the Wikipedia article I assumed the name had gruesome origins and I was trying to remember if Dan Brown had used it in the London part of The Da Vinci Code! <br />The link with a pub reminds me of the origin of the name Elephant and Castle: I had exotic notions about it until I found out it came from the name of an inn. However, Wikipedia also said a cutler originally traded on the site and the cutlers' organisation had an elephant in its coat of arms, a reminder that handles were made from ivory. David J McDonaghhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16909505738468707485noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-607719101484462692.post-52855106207652207032013-03-17T13:41:22.086+00:002013-03-17T13:41:22.086+00:00David, thanks so much for bringing that out! I was...David, thanks so much for bringing that out! I wasn't aware of that pronunciation and would have totally missed the implied metaphor and alliteration. Love it! Also, I found out that the name "St Mary Axe" contains within itself the kind of tensions which I discussed in this entry. "St Mary" was the name of the historic church, but "Axe" was from the name of a historic tavern nearby...Clarissa Aykroydhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08571136118573329263noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-607719101484462692.post-40658030007159533152013-03-17T11:35:36.861+00:002013-03-17T11:35:36.861+00:00St Mary Axe is such a fascinating place name that ...St Mary Axe is such a fascinating place name that I looked it up. Wikipedia [ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Mary_Axe ] refers to a Gilbert and Sullivan song which spells it 'Simmery Axe', reflecting a local pronunciation, 'S'M'ry Axe'. <br />A Londoner, reading aloud, might pronounce the last line of the poem as 'Simmery Axe is brimming', thereby bringing out a clever internal rhyme (and creating an image of a simmering pot, brimming over). David J McDonaghhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16909505738468707485noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-607719101484462692.post-16447618138484648072013-03-03T22:56:13.552+00:002013-03-03T22:56:13.552+00:00I very much agree with all this. I think one of th...I very much agree with all this. I think one of the things that gives London its fascinating tension is this kind of thing - sometimes developments and contrasts are both exciting, and frightening or discouraging. You do wonder where it's all going to lead. Many think the skyline is getting too built up. It's still mainly concentrated in the City business district, and Canary Wharf - however, not far from where I live (Battersea/Vauxhall) there is currently a huge amount of construction going on and they are saying it may become "the new Canary Wharf." I find this both stimulating and worrying. And yes, I remember hearing that Charles was less than thrilled with the then new British Library. I like it very much, but more inside than outside, for sure.Clarissa Aykroydhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08571136118573329263noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-607719101484462692.post-81324851445796667142013-03-03T19:54:52.233+00:002013-03-03T19:54:52.233+00:00Somehow I like the Gherkin, and find it splendid o...Somehow I like the Gherkin, and find it splendid on the skyline, but it does make me wonder what the future will bring. The current Prince of Wales once remarked--as he rowed past it in low carbon fashion on the Thames--that the new library building looked more 'like a place where books would be incinerated rather than kept'. Your post was mostly about poetry, of course, and about sometimes disturbing contrasts. I find London quite irresistibly oppressive with both. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com