Long and merry ago, neighbours, I wrote of how Yeovil celebrated the time spent living in the borough of Thomas Hardy OM, by sticking his blue plaque on a wall, 18 inches high, next to a dustbin. Just about the level that a large dog might choose to - ahem - mark his scent.
Surely, after seven years, Yeovil has changed things - you might think. Realised that arguably our greatest all-round writer (poetry, occasional play, short story and novel) doesn't deserve that. Oh yeah. Oh yeah. They've changed things. Well done, Yeovil.
They're piling up bin bags in front of the plaque now.
I think the best thing for Yeovil to do would be to give the plaque to Taunton. They respect their heritage in Taunton. They could put it up in the Museum of Somerset with a note below it.
The note would say "This used to be in Yeovil. But Yeovil couldn't be trusted with it.'"
surely to have the 'saddest looking' plaque in the country is exactly what Hardy would have wanted?
ReplyDeleteAnd what exactly does it commemorate - 'preparing to write' = 'not writing', so Thomas Hardy lodged here and did nothing for a few months. Tbh not much has changed, apart from the multiplex and a few charity shops he wouldn't find that much to do if he was there now.
As the Great Man pointed out, he never expected much.
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