"The 30-year-old, from Southend-on-Sea, was asked by the Mayor of London's office if part of his work could be used during the annual display at the London Eye. "It's like you think your mates are pranking you. I almost put the phone down, I almost said 'are you winding me up?'," he said. "I was completely kind of flabbergasted really.""
"Here's what England means to me - the real England. When it's sunny, it's too hot. When it's cold, the weather's rubbish. England to me is a cup of tea, how many sugars? I'm sweet enough. England to me is Caribbean barbers with a sharpish trim, it's Christian neighbours saying Happy Hanukkah mate, and Muslim mums saying Merry Christmas love. And you think you're seeing flags now? Wait until the World Cup's on, then you'll kno"
Sonny Green, a 30-year-old spoken word poet from Southend-on-Sea, created a poem in response to heightened political commentary and gained hundreds of thousands of online views. The Mayor of London's office requested permission to use a shortened version during the annual London Eye New Year's Eve fireworks display. The city's largest pyrotechnic show featured 12,000 fireworks and about 100,000 spectators along the Thames, plus nationwide television audiences. Green expressed amazement at the exposure and positioned the work as encouragement for people from council estates to write and be heard. The poem juxtaposes everyday British life with multicultural imagery and humour.
Read at www.bbc.com
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