"Slough" is a ten-stanza poem by Sir John Betjeman, first published in his 1937 collection Continual Dew.
The poem was published two years before the outbreak of World War II, during which Britain (including Slough itself) experienced actual air raids.
During her visit, Lycett Green presented Mayor of Slough David MacIsaac with a book of her father's poems.
[7] Punk band Gallows, who originally formed in Slough, and whose singer Frank Carter has frequently expressed his dislike for the town in interviews, have several references to Betjeman's poem in their music: their album Orchestra of Wolves features a song entitled "Come Friendly Bombs", and an earlier song entitled "Swarm Over Death" (released on the band's 2005 demo) features the lyrics "Come friendly bombs/ And fall here now/ It isn't fit for humans now/ Swarm over death".
[citation needed] In the television series The Office, which is set in Slough, the character David Brent (portrayed by Ricky Gervais), reads extracts of the poem interjected with comments such as "You don't solve town planning problems by dropping bombs all over the place, so he's embarrassed himself there, next."