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In 2018 I had 'Bampy' released, a pamphlet about my grandad - a war refugee from Hungary - and about him being my escape as a young kid in Redruth.
Here's a thread of some things about the book.
Here's a thread of some things about the book.
'I mourn the dead ' is from the 1798 German poem 'Song of the Bell' by Friedrich Schiller:
The motto of the poem in Latin, beneath the title, reads 'Vivos voco. Mortuos plango. Fulgura frango'
Meaning 'I call the living, I mourn the dead, I repel lightning'
The motto of the poem in Latin, beneath the title, reads 'Vivos voco. Mortuos plango. Fulgura frango'
Meaning 'I call the living, I mourn the dead, I repel lightning'
Other translations have 'Fulgura Flango' as 'I break the thunderbolts'.
Imre Nagy was the leader of the 1956 Hungarian revolution against the Soviets. He would be executed in 1958. He was buried in a corner, face down, hands and feet bound by barbed wire.
Imre Nagy was the leader of the 1956 Hungarian revolution against the Soviets. He would be executed in 1958. He was buried in a corner, face down, hands and feet bound by barbed wire.
Next to his grave there is a bell with those lines from Song of the Bell inscribed in Latin, Hungarian, German, English.
The 'gold coins, silver too' bit comes from János Arany's poem The Mother Of King Matthias:
'Gold coins, / silver, too, / will save you from your doom;'
The 'gold coins, silver too' bit comes from János Arany's poem The Mother Of King Matthias:
'Gold coins, / silver, too, / will save you from your doom;'
Here's how I also used that in St Day Road (which was written before Bampy, but released after).
The oak farm here is a reference to Acton in London where my father is from.
Drown me in the river is a reference to Redruth, my place of birth (Red=River, Ruth=Red. Red River)
The oak farm here is a reference to Acton in London where my father is from.
Drown me in the river is a reference to Redruth, my place of birth (Red=River, Ruth=Red. Red River)
Burn me in the cave is a reference to Budapest, the Pest part (believed) to mean a cave where fires burned.
Trinity, therefore, in Father: Acton, Son: Redruth, Holy Spirit: Budapest.
Allowing for a death with my birthplace, or my Bampy's, but never following the path to Father.
Trinity, therefore, in Father: Acton, Son: Redruth, Holy Spirit: Budapest.
Allowing for a death with my birthplace, or my Bampy's, but never following the path to Father.
Anyway, back to Bampy.
Államvédelmi Hatóság were the Hungarian secret police. They were a soviet appendage, and Nagy reined them in a bit. Their former headquarters is now a museum known as The House of Terror.
Államvédelmi Hatóság were the Hungarian secret police. They were a soviet appendage, and Nagy reined them in a bit. Their former headquarters is now a museum known as The House of Terror.
'Esküszünk' is from Nemzeti Dal (national song), a poem by Sándor Petőfi.
'Esküszünk,
Esküszünk, hogy rabok tovább
Nem leszünk!'
'We vow,
We vow that we will be slaves
No longer'
'Esküszünk,
Esküszünk, hogy rabok tovább
Nem leszünk!'
'We vow,
We vow that we will be slaves
No longer'
The bathing in the Danube river bit is about my Nan and Bampy. My nan lost her engagement ring in the Danube River.
(and there's a reference to the Blue Danube Waltz)
(and there's a reference to the Blue Danube Waltz)
Then there's another call back to Vivos Vocos... But the thunderbolt line has been changed to a prayer to the red Cross. My Bampy made it to the red Cross in Austria who sent him to Plymouth.
His friends weren't so lucky.
His friends weren't so lucky.
