This is an ode to the street where I live in Margate. An ode – a love poem, a dedication, a spoken-word vignette to the street I inhabit with other souls. We filmed this from our street/front garden in lockdown quarantine time in April 2020, and printed out copies of the words to post to neighbours (safely – using clean hands – I’ll sing ‘happy birthday’ ten times!) I feel lucky to live down this street. Thanks to Quiet Boy for filming, and to Gerry and Dame Jame for the cameo appearances!
Dear neighbour,
Here is a gift to you, from Brigitte Aphrodite at number 5! I wanted to write a piece for our beautiful street, with all its ups and downs, our colourful people and the joy we bring, even during this quarantine!
Please note, this poem is inspired by true events but I’ve used artistic license like I’m told all poets do, to make it more interesting. Hope you enjoy! x
An Ode To Our Street
This street shares its name with 127 other streets in the UK. Maybe I have sunset-tinted glasses on today, but, it’s hard to feel lonely on our street. Our neighbour Gerry plugs in his electric guitar every day at 2 and plays Bon Jovi ‘Hey man, I’m alive! Feeling like a Monday but someday on a Saturday…’
The Seagulls making lurve on the roof tops aburve.
Kate the nurse down the road who successfully home-dyes her hair everchanging colours. Paints sunflowers on her garden walls, enabling the radiation of joy.
The kids are running around the streets at a social distance playing knock-down ginger, although, this is not an unfruitful annoyance of a game, they knock knock knock and before you open the door they’ve hidden behind the wall and left a token, a brightly painted rock with messages in capitals saying ‘STAY SAFE, STAY POSITIVE, STAY INDOORS’.
Slap-bang in the middle street, there’s a rainbow - window masterpiece sending messages to our health workers and every Thursday the majority of our street stand outside our front doors and clap for the NHS till our hands are sore.
Each week it brings this street a little (metaphorically) closer.
The things you take for granted on normal days have become so much everything now.
The muscle man with the tattoos all over him is walking back home from his daily walk… de ne na ne neh… This is our street’s Diet Coke break... de ne na ne neh... he’s our streets eye candy… de ne na ne neh… Sorry to objectify you, muscle man but your tattoos are lovely.
In a front garden with chalk a little girl draws a hopscotch. She explains that she hasn’t quite got the hang of it yet cos she’s only 4 , but, maybe when she’s 5 she’ll be able to hopscotch it every time.
Maria Maria, screaming Maria on the street behind us. You can’t see her but you can always hear her. It’s comforting.
The sea breeze, breezily breezes down this street. Supping on a lemon-less G&T on the balcony.
Our street our street our street our street our street.
There’s a man who has 5 staffies and he never used to have them on leads. That worried everyone. He would follow the dogs around and shovel their shhhh with a spade, it was a sight to behold until someone complained. Now he has them on leads like a 5-headed mythical creature with smiling slobber kiss faces. Those darlings just need a poo, he still has the shovel though to pick up their door a dump da doo doo.
The resplendent Dame Jame on her balcony, the ‘QuaranQueen’. Today she films her first live-stream of ‘Drag Kween Story Time’.
We are all grateful that ‘Pizza Tonight’ is still delivering. The guy that runs it lives at number 9. If he knows you live down this street, he might give you an extra barbecue sauce.
We can hear the clock tower bells ringing since the car numbers have diminished and the darling starlings are here again, all starry starry night in their plumage.
Gerry’s switched it up today, he’s playing Alanis ‘I'm broke but I'm happy, I'm poor but I'm kind, I’m short but I’m healthy, yeah!’ I join in from my back garden. Me and Gerry call it a band rehearsal.
Spades, cups of sugar and bicycle pumps are being swapped, borrowed and left disinfected on each other’s doorsteps.
The Parakeets are swinging from each gutter, telephone wire and window sill. They’re loud, their chirps are strong. These birds are tipsy and singing their favourite karaoke song, they don’t give a flip if it goes all wrong.
On this street there have been breakups, break-ins and break downs. There has been money lent and money returned with a thank you note months later on this street.
The boy visits the girl every afternoon, she is in her dressing gown whilst the world stops around them. They are lockdown’s answer to Romeo & Juliet.
On the tip of our road we see drug deals like cigarettes kissing in the night.
The woman across the way has a knowing smile for everyone and is virtuoso with the DIY.
Gerry plays his first acoustic rock front garden gig. Teenagers film on their phones and kids dance, it’s a monuments moment.
A guy hurdles over everyone’s back gardens, tangled up in washing lines and stampeding over barbecues. His grey trackies flapping in the wind, proclaiming over his shoulder; sorry everyone I’m in a bit of a rush.
Not all streets are lucky enough to have a Gerry, my neurodiverse brother. He keeps everybody open, in time and full of love. He is the rhythm (guitar) of this street.
There have been giant rows, strong words, little moans, furrowed brows. There’s always a belly laugh. Sometimes you hear ‘Aaahhh b$*£&!£!, NO’ from an over-flowing bubble bath.
The hayfever is still tickling and itching. The birds are still swooping and zooming and the rubbish is still over-flowing. The gale force wind comes bouncing down our street and a £5 note is ripped out of a pocket and catapulted into the air, you can get robbed by the wind round here.
She, the sunshine, will always rise in the east and set in the west and she’ll never quite hit us at her best.
If you smile at this street, it smiles back at you.
Down this street there have been disco balls suspending in gardens, bunting, pride flags, Christmas lights in spring.
Our street is not for the super-rich but my gosh it is rich in heart. This street has music blaring out of it. This street knows where its priorities lie. This street is clever. This street is smart. This street sometimes has police glaring down it.
None of us are perfect, but, we are what we are. These days more people are planting things, more people are saying hello, and when this is all over, our street!, our street!, it will be remembered how in this time our street did glow. It glowed, it glowed, it glowed so bright! So bright you could see it from a satellite.
So thank you our street for being what you are. You’re an ever-evolving constellation of stars. You’re beautiful, you’re weird, you’re boring you’re wonderful.
Down this street, people have loved, people have been lost…
An ode to our street.
About the artist
I (Brigitte Aphrodite) am a neurodiverse punk poet, musician, writer, theatre-maker and feminist show-woman. I make expressive, multidisciplinary work and am an associate artist of Hackney Showroom.
Most recently, I am best known for my critically acclaimed shows: ‘My Beautiful Black Dog’, a part gig, part theatre, punk musical exploring depression; and ‘Parakeet’, an eco-punk, genre crossing, status-quo-defying musical about nature, friendship and fighting for what you believe in. My work has sold out at Edinburgh Fringe, Southbank Centre, Camden Roundhouse and has toured nationally. My work has also been featured in the Guardian, Elle and on the BBC 10 o’clock News.
As an artist, I am a keen collaborator. I have worked with film-makers, designers, performers, visual artists and musicians. I also mentor young artists, speak on panel discussions, curate variety performances, DJ and present events.
I am an experienced workshop leader and mentor, working for a wide range of organisations including the Eggtooth Project, Kent Refugee Action Network and Open School East. I believe the key to my success in this area is an active interest in the voices of the participants and a fluidity in my approach; I am truly interested in listening and I am not trying to force my own agenda. I am also very committed to everyone having fun.
I received Arts Council funding to R&D my latest show ‘Parakeet’ in 2018, and received a commission from Boundless Theatre (an NPO - National Portfolio Organisation) to write the show. It premiered at Paines Plough Edinburgh Fringe Festival and was programmed at Gulbenkian Theatre (another NPO) and the Margate Now festival at the end of 2019.
In February 2019 I was awarded two mini commissions by Gulbenkian and production company 1Degree East for the R&D and sharing of two new work-in-progress pieces for South by South East Festival.
I have been commissioned by The Inn Crowd and Applause Rural Touring to write ‘Living Legends (and Dead Ones Too)’ followed by a UK tour. The Inn Crowd works with some of the UK’s top spoken word and live literature artists. Applause Rural Touring is an Arts Council NPO.
Arts Council-funded ‘Ramsgate Festival of Sound’ are also commissioning me to write a poem for a live performance of award-winning album ‘Borders' by Elma Orkestra and Ryan Vail. This will be performed live in Ramsgate this Autumn.
Website: https://www.brigitteaphrodite.co.uk/
