in hope of helping
here's a makeshift manual
a handy local lexicon
for "elephant", read "pig"
for "castle", "tinderbox"
for "family", read "barrier"
for "culture", "distances"
for "neighbours", read "nervous"
for "fish and chips", "dilemma"
for newspapers, don't read noosepapers.
© Paul Taylor 2005
Southwark Hour programme 5: spontaneous poem
In a discussion about communication problems between generations in Somali families living in Britain, those who were now integrated into the British way of life were called "fish and chips". Brewer's Dictionary gives an ancient alternative for "Elephant and Castle. The last line relates to racist undertones in some so-called newspapers.
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