Letters: Brian Patten obituary

While it’s not (to my knowledge) in any collection by Brian Patten, his little 16-line verse Something For Everyone, promising all kinds of delights on and off stage, was a present to the new Towngate theatre in Basildon, Essex, in 1987.

Even he would admit it was nothing special in itself, but he was delighted to see the poem cover the 300 yards of hoardings surrounding the building site, brought to vibrantly coloured life by the local graffiti artists Jay & Metso.

Totally impermanent, it was, nevertheless a joyful commission by its outreach department to announce the theatre’s arrival.