my husband and i used to
keep the teapot
said mrs duckworth
of oadby - head house keeper
at the magnum hotel
i wouldn't like to stay in a
modern hotel even though i love
working in one

it was built with -
suave and brutal optimism
said the critics, who always
have something to say

and pretty girls are reckoned to
abound - in leicester
written
of course in the
same seedy tone

though the buxom barmaid is judged
to be a thing of the past -
chic and feisty
has arrived

thanks in no small part to
the new-fast
modern and now international
hotel
[i wouldn't like to stay in one]

anger - as lights go out
on big fight
and where now is that optimism?
the penguin's a long slide off sophistication
flickering into the long winter
500 people bought 9 pound tickets
to watch the bruno -
tyson fight [before the power was cut]

disappointing
just disappointing
is the typical verdict
of guests - as reported
in the mercury
[no last lurch for iconic
elijah herald to some form of
regeneration]