Heroes & Villains, the Aston Villa fanzine
Heroes & Villains => Heroes Discussion => Topic started by: Toronto Villa on December 07, 2023, 12:18:38 PM
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The day after our wonderful win very sad to hear of the passing of poet Benjamin Zepaniah. A dedicated Villa fan and ambassador. Here is him speaking passionately about us. RIP brother Ben.
https://x.com/justin_avfc_/status/1732718543634833835?s=46
(https://i.ibb.co/VgfkLQq/IMG-1229.jpg) (https://ibb.co/VgfkLQq)
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Edit: I see this is being discussed in the celebrity thread. Mods feel free to close this thread.
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Actually take the posts from there into here as he deserves his own separate one as the other thread is also about faux fans which he is definitely not.
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Yeah I agree keep this for him, I've met him many times and aside from being a massive villa fan and probably the most talented speaker I've ever heard in the flesh he was also one of the nicest and kindest of people. Villa and Birmingham as a whole has lost a genuinely great man today.
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I've met him once he was real gentleman very sad news.
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What terrible news. A proper gentleman.
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That's very sad news.
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Very sad news, I always liked listening to him, he was a gifted wordsmith and by all accounts a lovely human being. Another HEITS. Hope he's given a fitting send-off.
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His poetry wasn't my thing, but that's more poetry overall than about his ability as he was obviously very talented. He was though a great orator, and everything i've heard about him is that he was a very good human being. The world, and especially our city, is a bit darker today.
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Very sad news. RIP Benjamin, I hope there is some kind of fitting tribute at the match on Saturday.
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Tears in my eyes last night after that win.
Tears in my eyes hearing this.
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Sad, sad news. Sincere sympathy to all the great mans's family and friends.
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Yeah I agree keep this for him, I've met him many times and aside from being a massive villa fan and probably the most talented speaker I've ever heard in the flesh he was also one of the nicest and kindest of people. Villa and Birmingham as a whole has lost a genuinely great man today.
All this. I met him a few times and he was lovely. A really vital, powerful voice in our culture too. So sad to lose him so young.
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Very sad news.
What a massive loss. Too young.
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Oh buggery!
Such a great poet, character and Brummie/Villa ambassador!
Loved the guy and his word play
I just hope he saw the score!
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RIP Benjamin
Hope they read one of his poems before the match on Saturday.
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RIP Benjamin
Hope they read one of his poems before the match on Saturday.
They'll probably play that ode to Villa but edited to remove the Baggies relevance to the time.
RIP.
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Wife just told me about this, came straight on here. Both saddened by the news.
Rest in peace, man.
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Craig Charles paying a nice homage to him right now on BBC 6 Music.
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Thanks for many enjoyable reading, viewing and, especially, listening hours Benjamin.
You did Birmingham proud.
I will be kind to my Turkey this Christmas.
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Very sad news. You did us and yourself proud.
RIP Benjamin
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Always had a great deal of time for his work and took a group of pupils to see him about 10 years ago....had a lovely chat with him...born very close to each other, Villa (obviously), and both vegan...he said something like "we could be twins!"
He was brilliant at communicating his ideas to a young audience, dealt with Q and As really respectfully, superb with the kids and had a pretty big impact on almost all of them.
Feel like we've lost a really good, genuine, wonderful friend.
RIP Benjamin.
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A round of applause on 65 minutes on Saturday would be fitting.
RIP Benjamin
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I felt quite upset when i heard this today. Never had the privilege of meeting him, but as a Hockley boy originally he didn't come from too far from me. An inner city Brummie, a great human being and a Villa man. I hope there is a tribute before k/o on Saturday. RIP Benjamin, Holte Ender in the sky.
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To see this today filled me with sadness. Rest in Power Professor Zephaniah.
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Really sad news. I often teach some of his work among which "Ode to Aston Villa "
Really really sad.
RIP
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A round of applause on 65 minutes on Saturday would be fitting.
RIP Benjamin
Totally agree. I think the club itself should have a tribute to him before the game too. The ode to Aston Villa he made is very moving. Its understated and so full of effortless charm.
They could do worse than playing that before kick off as a start
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I'm genuinely upset about his loss. Remember him coming to my primary school in South Brum in the 90's. Eyes started watering on the Cross City Line when I heard the news. I liked him because he was a Villa fan, I loved him because he was a Brummie and great human being.
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With my Jamaican hand on my Ethiopian heart
The African heart deep in my Brummie chest,
And I chant, Aston Villa, Aston Villa, Aston Villa,
Believe me I know my stuff.
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What a day. Spent the morning drooling over last night's highlights and listening to people all over social media purring over my team. Then my son texted me with the sad sad news of the passing of Benjamin Zephaniah. I don't mind admitting i shed a few tears.He was a beautiful human being a proud villa fan and a proud Brummie. What an emotional roller coaster of a day that will live long in the memory.
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RIP Benjamin
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Form is temporary but class, that is permanent.
RIP
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This makes me smile and it’s even more sad to think that he is no longer with us.
https://youtu.be/v4AgPSjzXkw?si=nFhU_3YbSxQXkD8S
RIP Professor Benjamin Zephaniah, HEITS.
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RIP lovely man.
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God bless you Benjamin RIP.
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Good bloke, will be missed
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Really felt this one, feels like we've lost a person we could really do with not losing.
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Very sad news. Seemed like such a nice guy. RIP.
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Beautiful
(https://i.ibb.co/C2zGFvD/IMG-1236.jpg) (https://ibb.co/C2zGFvD)
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Don't know whether this has been posted already.
An old documentary/feature that was repeated after Newsnight last night. A good watch, and Villa are included.
You will need iPlayer. If link doesn't work it was on BBC2.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m001bmc0/a-picture-of-birmingham-by-benjamin-zephaniah
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The best thing about that final in 2015...
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53383101197_d84dbbf8d4_m.jpg)
a couple of photo bombers there too.
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The best thing about that final in 2015...
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53383101197_d84dbbf8d4_m.jpg)
a couple of photo bombers there too.
Names please.
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A round of applause on 65 minutes on Saturday would be fitting.
RIP Benjamin
Was thinking of a suitable minute for applause for hom and that would be fitting.
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A lovely man and a huge shock when I heard. We should really do something for him tomorrow.
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I'm truly in awe of the way he touched peoples lives in some way. Take for instance a friend of mine, not a Villa fan, not even a football fan, a rough, tough, hard as nails former SF soldier who posted on his Facebook along the lines of 'not a poetry fan but I always took notice of what Benjamin had to say, would love to have sat and had a pint and a chat with him'
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His was the kind of Britain I've always wanted to live in.
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A lovely man and a huge shock when I heard. We should really do something for him tomorrow.
Totally agree, I hope we do something in his memory tomorrow. Listening to him and reading the comments has brought tears to my eyes.
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https://twitter.com/AVFCOfficial/status/1733238018310332687
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Really felt this one, feels like we've lost a person we could really do with not losing.
This. The world has become a slightly worse and blander place today. Loved him.
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His was the kind of Britain I've always wanted to live in.
👍
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His was the kind of Britain I've always wanted to live in.
Me too.
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His was the kind of Britain I've always wanted to live in.
Me too.
<iframe title="vimeo-player" src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/9726755?h=8a88bbd87e" width="640" height="360" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
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Well I fucked that up.
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https://poetrystation.org.uk/poems/football-mad
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I'm truly in awe of the way he touched peoples lives in some way.
Indeed. I'm amazed at the numbers of posts from friends of all ages who I thought wouldn't have been interested in him and his work. He really was a beautiful soul.
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It would be ace if before kick off tomorrow the club played that video. What a way to celebrate his life and get the crowd going.
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“Form is temporary but class, class is permanent. And you know what? We have class.”
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https://twitter.com/AVFCOfficial/status/1733238018310332687
A genuine tear for a wonderful man.
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https://twitter.com/AVFCOfficial/status/1733238018310332687
A genuine tear for a wonderful man.
Me as well. He just seemed to be a genuinely lovely man as well as a Villa fan. RIP Benjamin.
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As well as everything else that has been said, we'll miss that smile.
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I really hope they play that just before kick off when most of the crowd are at their seats, he deserves that.
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They played it before the Albion FA Cup home game ( Saturday evening) ,it was spine tingling.
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https://x.com/MichaelRosenYes/status/1733459541218451748?t=IUO2stV8s9oG2kxUiN9VXg&s=08
A lovely tribute from a fellow poet.
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Rosen is another guy who will make the world a sadder place when he is gone. I also didn't realise Roger McGough was still going until I saw his tribute to Benjamin on the BBC.
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Rip Benjamin you will be missed