Category: Reflections

All human beings are made in the image of God.  Ethnic diversity is part of God’s wisdom, will and purpose.  One pattern – the image of God, but an amazing diversity.

Science confirms what theology has always insisted.  With all our distinctive, unique features, we are incredibly alike.

This means that the old theory of different races is out.  There are not different races any more than there are different castes, where one caste is inferior to another.

If we are one race how are our differences to be explained?  Is it our genes?  Our environment?  Different climates and therefore different skin colours, different foods and cuisines, different music and dance styles, different fashions and designs different Messengers and experiences of God, different scriptures, different responses to God and therefore different patterns of worship and prayer, and different religions.

Because we are different, we all have something of value to offer to each other and this enlarges us all.  Fantastic!  A cause for rejoicing and celebration.  So we celebrate diversity and promote equality.

Of course there are those who feel threatened by diversity and see no reason to celebrate it.  The politics of “race hate” are alive and spreading.  Racism – an evil grounded in the theory of different races which has been used to justify white supremacy – continues to influence individuals and institutions.

As long as human diversity is feared, human relations across ethnic, religious and colour differences will be jeopardised.  It is important therefore to protect, promote and celebrate diversity constantly.

The Biblical tools to resource this work include the insistence that we are all made “in the image of God” [Genesis 1:26].  Discrimination in Church is further challenged by the insistence that we are all members of “the Body of Christ” [1 Corinthians 12: 12-27].  These scriptural insights mean that Christians cannot give support to any ideology that discriminates against anyone on the basis of colour, gender, age, ability or sexuality.

We are called to do all we can in our communities, congregations and companies to ensure that equality and diversity will be embedded in our vision, structures and practice.  Give no support to anyone or any view that discriminates against or shows disrespect to people.

The test of any nation, organisation, community or congregation is its capacity to accommodate diversity and promote equality without wanting to dominate, diminish or destroy those who are different.  Constantly check your own attitudes and actions.  Always ask the question:  Will what is being planned enhance and maximise equality and diversity?  Settle for nothing less than actions and attitudes that promote equality and diversity.

Inderjit Bhogal

I accompanied Methodist Minister, the Rev Thurairajah Samuel of Morley, near Leeds, when he visited his home village Thirukkovil in East Sri Lanka.  He lost several members of his family and his family house in the Tsunami Disaster on 26th December 2005. This is my Report to the Morley Town Council upon my return.

“We are shocked at the destruction of the Tsunami.  This is the first time we have experienced such a disaster.  It will take years to recover from it.” These are words of the Rev Noel Fernando, President of the Methodist Church in Sri Lanka.  The Methodist Church is the most severely affected of the Protestant Churches in the Country, having lost many Members.  Many of the Methodist Chapels on the Eastern Coast are damaged beyond repair.

Churches and Church Schools were centres of rescue and relief in the immediate aftermath of the Tsunami. A month on, most people made homeless by the Disaster are in shelter in Refugee Camps.  “The long term objective is to rebuild broken and repairable houses, to help people find employment, to provide support for widows and orphaned children, and to offer trauma counselling,” says the Rev Fernando who was the first person we interviewed .  We met him in Colombo.

Having undertaken a twelve hour flight from Manchester to Colombo, and then a bone shaking twelve hour drive from Colombo to Thirukkovil, we arrived on the Tsunami affected Eastern Coast on a bright moon-lit night, about 11.30 p.m. 26th January. The route included a mountain pass of many hair-pin bends, and spectacular scenery of lagoons, colourful Towns, Tea Plantations, a myriad Palm Trees and a variety of animal life.  The “Pearl in the Indian Ocean” is a fitting title for this beautiful country.  The beauty of the place and its gentle people gives a context to the years of communal violence and suffering, and the devastation of the Tsunami.

The moon shone like a search light all around us.  We realised we were in Tsunami damaged area.  The sea to our left , with blue white waves lapping on the shore just a few yards away, was restrained now like a Dog on a lead.  We drove on in total quietness, silenced by the awesome destruction along the Coast.  Driving over damaged, fragile bridges was terrifying.

We arrived at our destination, Thirukkovil Methodist Church on the stroke of midnight.  The Rev Rasarethnam Dayanithy welcomed us.  Soon we learned that he had been conducting a Service on that fateful Boxing Day, when he heard three bangs in quick succession around 8.55 a.m.  His first thought was that LTT fighters had fired Bombs at the Army.  Then he began to hear the shouts, “Sea is coming, Sea is coming” and water began to come into the Church.  Every one rushed out in panic and the minister led them into the upper floor of the Orphanage in the Grounds.  As a swimmer, he then went down and started to rescue as many people as he could.

“It was a nightmare” said the Minister.  Having heard the story we tried to sleep.
  
The news that Sam was in the Village had spread quickly.  Friends and relatives started to arrive early in the morning to meet him.  This reunion was touched with pain and pleasure. There was embrace and smiles and tears.

We made our way towards the Sea and towards Sam’s family house.  It took practically an hour to walk a few Hundred yards.  Along the way many of Sam’s relatives and friends came meet him and to weep with him.  The local Opposition MP Mr Nehru came and joined us and made his view clear that “the Government is not helping us.  Help is coming from other countries but little from our own Government.  They are using money to build Military power.  Money should be used to build people and property.”

As we walked along we could see that practically every house within about a quarter of a mile of the Sea has been destroyed or severely damaged by the Tsunami.  Some work has been done to clear Roads but there is no sign of any work on Houses.

We reached Sam’s House.  From a distance Sam pointed it out.  There was just a mound of broken walls.  The bright Green paint of inner walls stood out in the searing Sunshine.  “Here is a part of the Steel Sheeting from the Roof,” he said while we were still a short distance away.

I stood with Sam on the mound of rubble which is all that is left of his family House.  It was a powerful emotional moment.

 No words, just silence and tears.

Sam grew up here, just a few yards from the Sea.  We could hear what today was the gentle lapping of the waves on the Beach.

A month ago the waves rose to the height of the Coconut trees around us, killed hundreds of people, and smashed the Houses.  One person said, “The Wave was like a Snake with five heads that rose high and came down on us.  It came very fast.  It took many people with it.”  All the wells are polluted.

Next door to Sam’s House we could see a Grave in the neighbour’s garden.  We were told that buried here is a mother and her six month child.  The mother had run into the House and locked the Door for safety.  The Sea broke in and filled the House drowning both mother and child.

I conducted a short Service of Holy Communion, using Sam’s well as the Altar.  We used Bread and Coconut Juice.  The Coconut was taken from the nearest tree.  The Pulley used to draw water from the Well formed a Cross in the background.  All these symbols remind us that God shares our hurt and pain. 

Several members of Sam’s family and neighbours who had gathered joined us.

As I broke the Bread and gave it out I remembered in prayer all those whose lives, homes and livelihood have been broken by the Tsunami.

 Standing and praying with Sam, his family, friends and neighbours on this spot was an important contribution to make on my part.

We moved on along the Golden Sands of the Beach.  A solitary Boat stood beside the Sea.  All other Boats from this once thriving Fishing Village were destroyed.

About 50-60 people had joined us by mid-day.  Sam invited them all to sit under the shade of a tree beside a Well.  He counted their number.  The two of us them handed out 50 parcels we had made up with Gifts from the people of Morley.  Sam explained where and who these Gifts were from.

We also gave out Gifts of 1000 Rupees [approx. £5.00] to 105 Households.  This money represents about a Months wage for local people.  Most of those who received the Money were Fishermen who cannot earn Money from their trade at present.

We sat in the Sand with the Fishermen and listened to their stories.  This is the poorest community here.  They have lost all but one Boat.  They are trying to repair another one.  They have lost homes and their livelihood.

At one point I asked them if the Tsunami had made them question their Faith and the existence of God.  “Not at all,” they said.  The question had not arisen for them until I’d asked them.  They had an unquestioning confidence that God is with them and had been with them in the Tsunami. 

“The Sea has been a source of life to us.  The same Sea became the source of death – this is what we cannot understand,” they said.

Before we left one Fisherman climbed a Coconut tree.  He dropped down several Coconuts.  These were cut and we were given Juice to drink.  We sat beside a Well and drank Coconut Juice.

There is a dignity here that has not been shattered or broken. 

We sat with some of the poorest people on the Earth now, in the Sand, listened to them and received of their generosity.  They fed us and gave us all they could – their stories, their tears, their smiles, their time, and Coconut Juice.  It has been our privilege that they have allowed us to enter into their experiences.

We later met some of the people of Thirukkovil in a nearby Relief Camp.  They were being given Pedialyte [ replaces fluids lost through vomit and diarrhoea ], Mattresses and Mosquito Nets.

Families are sheltered here in small Tents with practically no furnishings, and as someone said, “no water, no toilet, no bathroom.”  The toilet area is now full.  The water supply is not plentiful. 

One man said to me, “we have no houses, no jobs, only rest.”

There are no facilities for Children.  Schools have opened now but many children from these Camps are not returning.  What they need is trauma counselling first. 

Poor Fishing Families and middle-class Families Camp side by side.  The well to do Families have Motor Bikes parked outside their Tents.  One woman showed me that her Tent has no Furnishings of any kind.  She showed me three bags of Rice and a bag of Sugar.  “That’s all we eat now,” she said.  Rice Pudding. 

There are 500 people in this particular Camp.  We saw five such Camps between Thirukkovil and nearby Komari, another devastated village

How long will people have to live like this ?

We did go to the School in Thirukkovil at Assembly time.  Sam gave out the Letters that had been sent by children in Morley Schools.  It was clear that some classes are depleted on their numbers because Children hurt and bereaved by the Tsunami devastation are in no way ready to return. 

What are the immediate needs now?  How can the people of Morley help?

1.  Children in Camps need Therapy and Playschool type of support.  Arts and Crafts materials are needed.  Art plays an essential part in trauma counselling.  There is a need for Exercise Books, Pens, Pencils, Crayons etc.

2.  Toilet facilities, especially for Women, are needed in Camps.  Two, at least, are needed now.

3.  A Day Centre for Older People is needed, to provide somewhere to sit. A mid-day meal could be provided.  A meals on wheels service could be provided.  A small three wheeler vehicle is needed for this.

All these items have to be provided as soon as possible.  Sam can do a lot to get things moving while he is in Thirukkovil.

Long term, Sam is discussing this with people.  Essentially people need jobs and houses.  The Government has to take responsibility for housing needs.  What we can do is to provide at least one Boat for the Fishermen.

The people of Thirukkovil are enormously grateful to the people of Morley for their solidarity, and look forward to a developing and closer relationship of mutual support.

2 February 2005

Ivy Gutridge came to Wolverhampton from her home town of Swindon with her husband Ken. A committed Methodist all her life, Ivy was a member at St John’s Methodist Church in Wolverhampton. After a member of family who was seriously ill and cared for by Ivy had died, Ivy reluctantly took on the role of Note Taker at meetings of the newly formed Wolverhampton Interfaith Group (WIFG ). She became Honorary Secretary of the WIFG from 1974 to 1998, initially using her own home as the Office. Ivy’s infinite capacity to devote herself to people was focussed on the work of the Wolverhampton Inter-Faith Group. Ivy died in June 2004 after suffering from Alzheimer’s Disease for a number of years.

Ivy moved on from her nervous beginnings, including theological reservations, to becoming the driving inspiration of the WIFG. Ivy’s energy, courtesy and organisational ability brought credibility to the group. Ivy’s genius was that she realised how important it was to promote interfaith dialogue when it was not fashionable. Her vision and foresight has meant that the seeds she began to sow Thirty Years ago will continue to bear fruit well after her life.

In Wolverhampton Ivy worked behind the scenes to resolve conflicts, heal divisions and build relationships of mutual trust and respect. Ivy also travelled to other UK towns and cities to help develop interfaith groups.

In 1983 Ivy was appointed to the Methodist Committee for Relationships With People Of Other Faiths. She did much work from her own home towards the book ‘God Of All Faith’ put together by that Committee. Ivy was active in the founding of the national lnterfaith Network (UK) and was elected its first woman Vice-Chair in 1992. Ivy never sought any limelight or recognition, but was honoured for her Interfaith work when she was awarded the MBE in 1994.

Ivy regarded interfaith dialogue as her life’s work. She conducted it with humility, and was an inspiration to others. She was known in Wolverhampton as ‘Queen Of Interfaith’. Ivy’s interest in Interfaith dialogue was not academic but arose out of an intense desire to find out about, and honour, other people’s faith at a person to person level. She believed in people’s freedom and right to hold their own religious beliefs. A Muslim leader gave the address at a service of remembrance and thanksgiving for her, concluding with the words “As a Muslim, I would recommend her for Sainthood.” A fitting tribute to one who is among the pioneers of the Interfaith movement in the UK.

In the last week of January, the Reverend Thurairajah Samuel, a Methodist minister in Morley, visited his home village, Thirukkovil, in east Sri Lanka.  Several members of his family had been killed and his family house destroyed in the tsunami disaster of 26th December 2004.  He was accompanied by the Reverend Dr Inderjit Bhogal, a Methodist minister in Sheffield, who has written this account of their meeting with the people of the village on the first day of their stay.

“Sea is coming, Sea is coming.”

On Boxing Day 2004, the Reverend Rasarethnam Dayanithy was conducting morning worship in the Methodist Church in the village of Thirrukovil on the east coast of Sri Lanka.  At around 8.55am he heard three bangs in quick succession.  His first thought was that Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) fighters had fired mortar bombs at the Army.  Then he heard the shouts, “Sea is coming, Sea is coming”.   Water began to flood into the Church.  Every one rushed out in panic.  The minister led them to the upper floor of the Orphanage in the grounds.  Then, being a swimmer, he went down and started to rescue as many people as he could.
 
A month later he said to us simply: “It was a nightmare”. 

His was the first eye-witness account Sam and I were given of the disaster.  We had made the twelve-hour journey to Thirrukovil from the capital, Colombo, in the south-west of the island, arriving close to midnight.  Our journey had taken us through colourful towns, verdant tea plantations, mountain passes with their terrifying hair-pin bends, past lagoons, a myriad of palm trees, accompanied all the time by the cacophony of the abundant animal life.  The continuing beauty and vitality of the island – the ‘Pearl in the Indian Ocean’ – threw the devastation brought about by the tsunami into sharp relief.  We spent the last stretch of the journey in a silence induced by the awesome destruction, now lit by the moon, along the coast.

The following morning, the news that Sam was in the village spread quickly.  Friends and relatives started to arrive to meet him.  Reunions were touched with pain and pleasure, embraces wreathed in smiles and tears.

We made our way towards the sea and towards the site of Sam’s family house.  It took practically an hour to walk a few hundred yards.  As we walked along we could see that almost every house within about a quarter of a mile of the sea had been destroyed or severely damaged by the tsunami.

As we approached the place where his house had stood, Sam stopped and said, “Here is a part of the steel sheeting from the roof”.  On the site itself there was just a mound of broken walls.  The bright green paint of inner walls stood out in the searing sunshine.  I stood with Sam on the mound of rubble.  It was a powerful emotional moment.  No words.  Just silence and tears to mark the loss of what had been a home.

Next door to Sam’s house we could see a grave in the neighbour’s garden.  We were told that buried here are a mother and her six-month old child.  The mother had run into the house and locked the door for safety.  The sea broke in and filled the house, drowning both mother and child.

We moved on along the golden sands.  About 50-60 people, many of them fishermen, had joined us by midday.  Sam invited them all to sit under the shade of a tree beside a well.  One of the fishermen climbed a coconut tree.  He dropped down several coconuts.  These were cut and we were given juice to drink. 

We sat in the sand with people who now are amongst the poorest on earth, who yet display a dignity that has not been broken or abandoned.  We received of their generosity.  They gave us all they could – their tears, their smiles, their time, their coconut juice.

And their stories.   They told us they had lost all but two of the boats of this once thriving fishing village.  One of these boats stood alone at the water’s edge.  The other they are trying to repair further up the beach.  Besides their homes they had lost their livelihoods.

“The Sea has been a source of life to us.  The same Sea became the source of death.  This is what we cannot understand,” they said.

As they told their stories we could hear what today was the gentle lapping of the waves on the beach.  A month earlier the waves had risen to the height of the coconut trees, killing hundreds of people, demolishing houses, smashing boats.  One villager said, “The wave was like a snake with five heads that rose high and came down on us.  It came very fast.  It took many people with it.” 

The sea had sustained their village.  Then the sea had destroyed it.

My first impressions, when I saw the pictures on the TV, of scenes of floodwaters along The Wicker in Sheffield, took me back to the hurricane and floods of New Orleans and the Tsunami.  June has been our month of monsoon.

New Prime Minister, Car Bombs, Bomb alerts, Terrorism, War and the Smoking Ban have been in the news but our focus has been on our local reality.

When the big rains came, the volume of water and the routes it took, surprised everyone.  This was a flood of Biblical proportions.  The extremely heavy rains of June have broken all records.  Where was the ark to save us?  There were 3000 emergency calls in Doncaster alone between Mon 24 and Fri 28 June.  The Fire Service answered a call every 30 seconds.  The RNLI came from coastal regions to assist in the rescue efforts in South Yorkshire.

Sheffield’s floods exposed some important truths about our city. 

First, our City is divided into two by the River Don.  When the river swelled up and flooded, one of the greatest causes of concern was that people were prevented from crossing the river by road.  This was the cause of some of the most serious traffic jams and delays.  Many people were stranded away from home on the other side of the Don to where they lived.  Members of family were stranded in different parts of the City and separated.  Many people couldn’t get home from Day Service Centres, Hospitals, Schools, Work and Shopping Centres.  Nurses and other staff couldn’t get in to work to start their shift and relieve colleagues.

Second, the past five or six years have seen tremendous property development and investment along the River Don.  Luxury apartments have been built along the river banks and sold at astronomical prices.  At the same time, houses have been demolished, for example, on Wincobank and Woodside.  These are areas of considerable beauty that are considered to be “less desirable” for living or investing in.  Furthermore, the eating houses providing Caribbean, Kurdish and Pakistani cuisine along the Wicker were all flooded and are now closed awaiting refurbishment.  There has been investment for the wealthy, but not protection for the vulnerable businesses.

Third, the aged infrastructure in parts of Sheffield along the River Don has proved to be inadequate.  Nature has reclaimed the River Don since the Steel Industry has declined.  The tropical temperature of the waters has disappeared.  Fish have returned.  It’s good to see kingfishers and even cormorants.  Fig Trees abound along the river banks.  But the new pollution is the rubbish people throw into the River.  This along with fallen trees helped to block water routes in the river.  We cannot simply shift blame for the floods on to nature, or just ask “how could God allow such disasters”.  We also have to acknowledge the consequences of our own lifestyle.

Fourth, Pop song “Under my Umbrella” sums up the real sense of community spirit that has been evidenced among us.  The Major Incident Plan, and the Emergency Services went into action and deserve thanks from us all.  But they were assisted by countless acts of love and sacrifice from ordinary people.  Extra shelter was provided for those stranded, or suddenly bereft of their homes, by schools, superstores, the Royal Mail and hospitals.  Stories of hatred and terrorist activities have created fear in communities.  People transcended this and offered hospitality.  Many welcomed complete strangers into their homes and gave them shelter.  Radio Sheffield’s Good Neighbour scheme has been an excellent idea.  
Plans to prevent floods in the future will require attention around river banks, flood plains, architecture and design of buildings, roads and railways.  We must all consider our own lifestyles also, and reduce the amount of waste we create and throw away.  Throwing rubbish into the rivers and dykes must end, and the Council must take greater care of our rivers, river banks and river beds.

Our own floods will help us to empathise even more with people in other parts of the world who are victims of extreme weather and disasters.  Floods in Afghanistan, Pakistan and India over the same period in June killed six hundred people, and a total of 1.2 million have been affected by the storms. We have learnt from the Tsunami and the situation in New Orleans’ floods that our care strategy is judged by how we respond to the needs of the poorest and the most vulnerable among us.

1st July 2007

Gill Hicks lost both her legs in the 7/7London Underground bombs three years ago.  She is now walking between Leeds and London [200 miles] with her new artificial legs. 

I met Gill when she and her WALK/TALK Team walked through Sheffield.  The Sheffield length of the walk commenced in the City’s Peace Gardens.  Leader of the Council, Paul Scriven was among those who gathered to walk and talk with Gill and her team.  In his words to Gill, Paul Scriven said, “I want to launch a new initiative today.  Each year, during this particular week, we will encourage people to walk in each other’s shoes as a way of encouraging people to understand each other better.”  Mike Love, a member of the Walk/Talk Team called on people to build a shared future through conversation.  Then Paul joined fifty or so others to walk with Gill and colleagues through the streets of Sheffield.

I walked and talked with Gill.  As I did so recalled that in March 1997 I had set off from the Peace Gardens to walk to 10 Downing Street along the route Gill was taking to London.  I had walked to hand deliver a letter to the Prime Minister asking for a fairer deal for “Asylum Seekers”.  I asked her why she was walking to London.  “It’s to encourage people to walk side by side with each other and talk with each other, to encourage conversation.” 

“But why are you walking?” I asked her.

“Walking is the most difficult thing I have to do” she replied, “I want to say to people, if I can do this you can do something simpler, meet with each other and talk with each other”.  Gill particularly wants those who fear each other, or just never meet, to talk to each other, and “walk in each other’s shoes”.

The route brought us to Sheffield United Football Club, where former legends like Tony Currie and staff from “Football Against Racism in Europe” [FARE}, came and expressed solidarity.

The walkers moved on to Mount Pleasant Park, Sharrowvale, for a delicious lunch provided and served by Aagrah, the newest Asian Restaurant in Sheffield.  Mohammed Aslam, the Managing Director of Aagrah is part of Gill’s Walk Talk Team and walking to London, supplying refreshments and a support minibus for the entire route.

Perhaps the best way to engage in conversation with friends and strangers is over a meal, and along a walk.

Gill led the walkers on to Sheffield’s newest, purpose built Mosque, in Abbeydale.  The Mosque was packed with around 1000 worshippers gathered for Friday prayers.  Gill was introduced as one who lost both her legs in the 7/7 Bomb explosions and was invited to address the assembled congregation.  She walked up to the front and said what she was doing and shared her simple message of building good relationship with each other, of learning the art of living peacefully alongside each other. 

Gill then sat down, on a chair provided specially for her, and remained until prayers were concluded in the customary manner of sharing words of peace.

At the close of Prayers members of the Congregation came to Gill and expressed words of sorrow and regret at what had happened to her.  “We are very sorry for what has happened to you.”  These were the words said to Gill Hicks.  Words were accompanied by tears.  These were not empty words. 

It was one of the most powerful and emotional moments of love and forgiveness that I have ever witnessed.

It was also a moment of revelation and inspiration.  The path to forming relationships of respect trust among those who fear each other includes taking steps to forgive each other for the ways we have hurt each other.  Forgiveness is one of the hardest tasks in relationships.  “Sorry” is one of the hardest words to say.

Community tensions are heightened by fear of those who are different from us.  Kate Adie commenting in her book “The kindness of strangers” on the aftermath of 9/11, on her observation and reporting of events worldwide, says that we only become interested in strangers when we come to see them as a threat to us.  This is the world in which we live.  There are fears in our communities, of those who are of another faith, ethnicity or nationality, for example. 

Gill Hicks could have gone around to spread a message of hatred towards the Muslim community.  There are those who use fears to create hatred and hostility in our multi ethnic, multi faith communities.   

I came to walk and talk with Gill Hicks fresh from the Government launch of the “Face to Face and Side by Side” strategy, which Hazel Blears MP described as “a framework for a partnership in our multi faith society”.  The framework aims to create more opportunities for face to face dialogue along with side by side collaborative social action.  It’s about increasing our understanding of each other and coming together to share time, energy and skills to improve local neighbourhoods.

The Walk/Talk initiative is one very good example of what we can all do.  Gill says she is doing the most difficult thing for her, walk, to bring neighbours together.  In one day her walk brought people together in Parks, Streets, a Football Club and a Worship Centre.  In different environments she is creating opportunities for people who do not normally meet and talk with each other to do so.  It is possible to challenge political and religious extremism.  We can build a better and shared future together through conversation with each other. 

July 2008                

What if?  by poet laureate Andrew Motion adorns the side of a Hallam University building. Written for the 2007 ‘Off The Shelf ‘literature festival.

From the Sheffield Telegraph 01 November 2007:

Travellers to and from Sheffield rail station took a longer look than normal at the side of Hallam University’s Owen Building on Wednesday afternoon.

A light show playing on the wall revealed a 131 feet tall poem, What If?, by Poet Laureate Andrew Motion, who was in Sheffield for the unveiling.

In the past, the royal poet has written several poems to mark events ranging from Prince William’s 21st birthday to the Paddington rail disaster.

He has also written poems displayed on the Underground in London, and in several parks. However, the poem now on the wall of the Owen Building, part of Hallam’s central campus overlooking Howard Street, is the most conspicuous he has been commissioned to do, he said.

It was part of the Off the Shelf’s literary festival’s Text and the City project, which has already unveiled public art poems around Sheffield.

Andrew Motion was commissioned to write something to attract travellers on their way to and coming back from the station.

He said he was never in doubt that he should take on the project.

“I have honorary degrees from both Hallam University and the University of Sheffield. This was my chance to give something back to Sheffield,” he said.

The poem reflects arrival in a new city and the surprises and opportunities it can offer. “I wanted to say something about what someone arriving in this city would feel.

Paul Swales, the public arts consultant who has coordinated all of Text and the City’s public art projects in Sheffield, said it took two weeks and two teams of workers to put the large poem on the wall.

Listen to the poem whatif