In Exeter

I spent a few days in Exeter during this summer, visiting a conference. When I travel and I can get the time I like to read a bit about the place where I'm going. In this case I was lucky: I could read a short summary of Exeter's history and also, I arrived a day before the event started so I had time to look around a bit. After a nice walk in historical downtown I had a lovely coffee in the main square while preparing for a seminar I'm teaching.


Suddenly, after years, the urge to write a poem rose up again. I wrote it in Hungarian, but proceeded to make a quick translation. Here is the result:


In Exeter, on the 11th of July 2013

The long buzz of the bell of the Cathedral,
While I lay in the grass reading the Meno,
And above the green square seagulls flew.
Cloudless, blue sky, cheerful,
But how different this sounds from that heard seventy-one years ago,
The humming and the company of speakers both changed.
Behind me the Spanish chatter,
Sometimes the sound of airplanes,
No traces of the scare, caused five years ago,
By a young Arabian man,
Who exploded the toilet on himself.
I'm going to the loo, it was nice to see you,
And I walked by 'the house that moved'.


Some things that help you understand it:
- In front of the cathedral there is a nice, big grassy field.
- Plato's dialogue 'The Meno' is about knowledge and virtue.
- In the second world war the Germans bombed Exeter heavily and most of the historical buildings were destroyed. They didn't rebuild them in the same style, so you see some beautiful older buildings besides very simple or ugly modern ones.
- In 2008 a young Arabian man wanted to blow up a bomb in the toilet of a cafe in the city center, but the bomb wasn't effective and it only hurt him.
- There is a house called 'the house that moved'. During the 1950's when the city's road system underwent large developments this old house happened to be in the way of one of the new roads. Instead of destroying it they laid down rails, lifted the house on the with some cranes and moved it out of the way. There it stands in it's news place. Lovely building, see some more photos here.
Some things that help you understand it:
- In front of the cathedral there is a nice, big grassy field.
- Plato's dialogue 'The Meno' is about knowledge and virtue.
- In the second world war the Germans bombed Exeter heavily and most of the historical buildings were destroyed. They didn't rebuild them in the same style, so you see some beautiful older buildings besides very simple or ugly modern ones.
- In 2008 a young Arabian man wanted to blow up a bomb in the toilet of a cafe in the city center, but the bomb wasn't effective and it only hurt him.
- There is a house called 'the house that moved'. During the 1950's when the city's road system underwent large developments this old house happened to be in the way of one of the new roads. Instead of destroying it they laid down rails, lifted the house on the with some cranes and moved it out of the way. There it stands in it's news place. Lovely building, see some more photos here.
Some things that help you understand it:
- In front of the cathedral there is a nice, big grassy field.
- Plato's dialogue 'The Meno' is about knowledge and virtue.
- In the second world war the Germans bombed Exeter heavily and most of the historical buildings were destroyed. They didn't rebuild them in the same style, so you see some beautiful older buildings besides very simple or ugly modern ones.
- In 2008 a young Arabian man wanted to blow up a bomb in the toilet of a cafe in the city center, but the bomb wasn't effective and it only hurt him.
- There is a house called 'the house that moved'. During the 1950's when the city's road system underwent large developments this old house happened to be in the way of one of the new roads. Instead of destroying it they laid down rails, lifted the house on the with some cranes and moved it out of the way. There it stands in it's news place. Lovely building, see some more photos here.

I was fascinated with how people tried to destroy Exeter again and again, but it is still there and it is so peaceful and lovely, and some of the buildings still stand and are used. This contrast between the earlier and more recent horrific events, and the cheerful, careless atmosphere of the main square before the Cathedral struck me.