The Famed Dynasty of Albert
No doubt youv all erd of Albert Ramsbottom
and no doubt youv all had a laugh
but I errssure you that being an Albert -
snot at all funny by half
I got lumbered with the andel of Albert
And got pooked fun of through Ramsbottoms fame
But it wasn’t from Ramsbottom I got it
It was from Prince Albert that I got my name
You see Prince Albert married his cousin Victoria
And some people thought that a sin
But she egnored all the rude gossip and comment
and went an had nine kids by em
Well Prince Albert wasn’t a bad sort
And marrying a Queen didn’t ert
He gave es name to an Hall and a Museum
Because Albert sounded grander than Bert
In England the name Albert was - embarrassing
So I ran away to Hong Kong
And because Albert’s wife made Hong Kong a colony
Being an Albert here - I could never go wrong
On Victoria Peck lived the Governors
Between Upper and Lower Albert Road
There’s buildings, and train stops, and dok yards
That all use the Princely name don’t ya know
So when I arrive er in Hong Kong
The name Albert was famous - and I really felt proud
My name had become part of the language
And Chinese kids shout “Albert” out laud
They all learned about Albert
when they went to school
The Great Exhibition – Crystal Palace
and the famed Albert Hall
So if the poems of Albert were translated
The Chinese wouldn’t find them funny at all
And Albert Ramsbottom would be a big hero
For in Hong Kong an Albert’s no fool
Now to end this serious rebuttal
There is one final thing I think I should say
No matter where you travel in China
An Alberts has sure passed that way
For Alberts a name that is popular
and in Chinese its pronounced just as its said
and not like Ramsbottom of Blackpool
Chinese Alberts are all cleaver and well read
And at the foot of a mountain called Everest
At a place where China and Tibet meet – its quite far
The Chinese have established “Albert’s Internet Café”
In a village that they’ve renamed - Shangri-La
Author notes
Sorry this was typed in a rush – I have been familiar with the Albert poems since I was a boy – and was made fun of because of them . . .Everything in my fun “poem” is true fact – I arrived in Hong Kong in 1964 and lived here on and off through the last three decades of British Colonel Rule. Hong Kong was taken over by the British in 1841 during the reign of Queen Victory and many buildings, roads and references were named after her German husband Prince Albert – who was her cousin. Prince Albert was also elected chancellor of Cambridge University 1847 – by coincidence I grew up in Cambridge and still have a home there and there are references to Albert there too.
China has allowed all the royal tributes and references to Albert to remain since the handing back in 1997. Finally - Partly to help the tourist trade – China have researched the exact location of the village referred to in “Lost Horizon” which is the first ever reference of “Shangri-La” and they have renamed a village Shangri-La – and in the middle of the high street in the newly established “Shangri La” is “ Albert’s Internet Café. . .
Written January 13th, 2004
A contest entry
- Fun with Albert by Old Poetry.
300 points, ended January 31, 2004, 5 entries
• next poem in this contest, remove from contest
What did you think
Comments
1 - 13 of 13
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It was a great poem and tribute to the poet to hold such knowledge of him and to be able to not only emulate it, but to, like bec
"hold down the fort" so to speak in the English cultural and dialectical aspects of the poem ( I wonder why? ::smiles:: ) And agreed, the personal experience mirroring the poem really adds to the flavour: loved it. You rate, is my recommendation.
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Fun. I like the ring of "been there, done that" this has in it. The dialect was fun to read as well.
Edited on Jan 19, 8:29 p.m. because 'typo'. -
Phewww, now that I've wrestled my Albert sequel into somewhat a semblance of sense, I've come to read your entry and am well pleased that I waited. For your content and dialect are so well suited to the tale that you tell and amazing that beyond the story created there is truth. Bravo!!
And lucky you who grew up on Albert. tis all new to me, but a true joy. -
This made me laugh
. You did a wonderful job writing this, and obviously put some effort into it...I wish you would have kept that way of typing it ("speaking it"?) throught the ending, but I like it this way as well. I learned a lot just from reading this... Thanks for the read!
-Britt -
A wonderful entry agazeley. This was truly a pleasure to read. I had never read any of the Albert series until recently and knew none of the story behind them, so your write is entertaining as well as informative to me. Your personal knowledge on the subject makes it even more fascinating. It's nice to meet an Albert
GypsyD -
This is brillian, I loved the way you put in all the history in it and made it funny too. It is informative in an interesting way and makes one want to go on reading. Very well written too. Good Luck. It really is a strange co incidence that you should be here writing in AP and a contest with a subject like this should come up that very few people would actually be able to personally relate to. It was great to be able to share your experiences.
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far far beyond excellent
I don't know what I enjoyed more. The poem or the authors comments. This was a delightful read and the dialect was perfecto. One of my faves and being bookmarked asap.
Desiree -
This is a real gem, the tale in the poem is fun to read, (with good use of dialect). The factual information weaved into this only helps to make the poem even more special.
I hope you enjoyed wotking on this piece, it certainly is a fun one to read.
Good luck with the contest.
Andrew -
Enjoyed this
Quite the message in this poem
Good luck in the contest
I just posted one for a contest too let's hope we both win
Do come see me won't you
BTW So nice to meet you and thank you for the comment on my other poem
Blessings
Susan~~~~~~
Good luck
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funny
This was quite funny, and very different, i enjoyed it...
I wasn't sure if you meant for all of those typos to be there or not, but you explained it in your authors comment, so no question there.
I enjoyed reading this, and will no doubt continue on to some of your other work in the near future, great job,
Crackertl82 -
Well, thank you so very much for this lesson in history, yours, Englands, and Hong Kongs. This is indeed very enlightening, whimsical, and witty. The language is like that of an English scholar, and the poem was a delighful, easy read. Thanks for the lesson, and good luck with the contest.
Much Love,
Renee
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I really enjoyed this, it reminded me of a song from a cole porter musical actually! I loved how Alberts are far more popular in hong kong! I am unfamiliar with Ramsbottom, but I think you gave me the general idea.
Thank you, and great effort. -
Thank you for our first entry into our Old Poetry contest.
I thoroughly enjoyed reading this, and I get the feeling you enjoyed writing it too.
Good Luck and thank you for entering.
~Von~
Old Poetry Team
Edited on Jan 14, 6:50 p.m. because ''.
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