Laura Fry

I was born in the UK, have also lived in Holland, France and Croatia but Hull is home to me in every way. I have just moved to York after a year in Surrey which was awful. I got my degree in French, Italian and Scandinavian Studies at Hull University then an MA by Research from Nottingham in Slavonic Studies, which was basically discussing the differences between Croatian and Serbian in the 20th century. At the end of this month I start another MA at Hull, this time in Translation. As well as native tongue English I speak fluent Croatian, Italian, Dutch and Serbian and rusty French, German, Swedish and Norwegian.

In Croatia I translated novels into English and was awarded citizenship, but never stopped writing poetry. I wrote a poem in Croatian about the tennis player Goran Ivanisevic called A Prayer For the Eternal Runner-Up which I recited on a chat show on Croatian TV. I married Ben in Hull in 1998 and we've got two cats in Croatia called Winnie and Stipe, who is called after the Croatian president who is a great bloke who had the balls to say no to sending troops to Iraq. I have been a vegetarian since 1987 and love all animals, particularly cats. It would not have been fair on Winnie and Stipe to put them in a French quarantine for six months so they live with my good friend Suzi, aka The Catwoman, and her four cats, so we still get to visit them! My other passion is Eurovision, and listeners of the Top 10 at 10 on Viking FM may know me as Laura, The Eurovision Diva, who always guesses the correct year and says who won Eurovision in that year! I was actually at Eurovision 2006 in Athens which was the experience of a lifetime, and it was great to be The Only Straight in Eurovision Village, as when my mates went off to gay bars they gave me their tokens for free drinks! My dad was Norwegian and died when I was five, and my mother is a bitch from hell so I don't speak to her. My Grandma, who died last year, was my mother in every sense of the word.!

Laura's contributions are listed below.. For the index by Section to all Laura's work Contributions click here. No Sections:  2   No Items:  19

Poetry - Fate, The Brown-Eyed Boy and Sweden By Laura Fry

	I don't believe in God, but I believe in destiny The strange course of events cannot explain the mystery And when I try to find a common link it's clear to see It hangs there on the flag of Sweden I was shacked up with a bloke who made my life a living hell Trapped inside his web of lies, nothing was going well Read more...

Fiction - 100 Words Competition - The Latter-Day Luddite Saves the Day By Laura Fry

	The police were on a coffee break, at a loss. Despite all the technology, the wanted man had got the better of them. They didn't notice the young woman at the opposite table with an old-fashioned tape recorder, on her way to teach a friend's child German. She had found the man who had just left the café somewhat suspicious and pressed record. This latter-day Luddite was able to tell Read more...

Fiction - 100 Words Competition - A Depressive and a Botched Suicide By Laura Fry

	And once again boats sail down the Danube, but you; don't worry about me any more, I'm like leaves, the wind blows me away, wolves die alone... The mourners read the translation of the deceased's beloved Croatian song. The male voice booms from the CD through Hull Crematorium, bringing additional shivers to the late autumn Yorkshire morning. The European flag Read more...

Poetry - Fate, The Brown-Eyed Boy and Sweden By Laura Fry

	I don't believe in God, but I believe in destiny The strange course of events cannot explain the mystery And when I try to find a common link it's clear to see It hangs there on the flag of Sweden I was shacked up with a bloke who made my life a living hell Trapped inside his web of lies, nothing was going well Read more...

Poetry - Black Dog By Laura Fry

	My whole life has been plagued by this black dog I found my prince after So many frogs But then I thought there must be something greater Home grass is so much greener, I found out later I was so wrong I found myself a slave to sin and drink Read more...

Poetry - The Petite Bourgeoisie By Laura Fry

	Your parents did their best for you And that's why money's always meant a lot They were never well-to-do So you'd do so much better, so you thought Baby-boomer, Sixties child Sex and money all rolled into one Read more...

Poetry - Depression and Grime By Laura Fry

	The turkey is burnt, and nobody's learnt That the whole malarkey is nothing but twaddle Uncle Bert's put his new socks in the bin And Grandma's on her third bottle of gin Christmas time Depression and grime Read more...

Poetry - Number Two By Laura Fry

That autumn day you brought bad tidings Daddy was never coming back I was so young, but understood it And my whole world had turned to black You didn't even let me say goodbye Because all this time you just Read more...

Poetry - Lament for Hull By Laura Fry

I'm lying in the bed I made No longer angry, now resigned to fate For the follies of my twenties, I'll pay the high price And live on in this hell that I thought was paradise I gave not a thought when I jumped in head first That I'd married the man I Read more...

Poetry - For the Dad I Barely Knew By Laura Fry
	Your friends, they still miss you today They say you were larger than life You're still in my mind I've still got my short memories You were gentle and kind Laughing brown eyes And almost raven hair Read more...

Poetry - Destiny By Laura Fry
	A Yorkshire November Set the scene for our perfect day And I still remember Each detail as if it were yesterday Church bells were ringing Late autumn wind ruffled my bridal gown Read more...

Poetry - Silver Spoons By Laura Fry
	People like you think you're a cut above the rest of us Mere mortals But you're not So what if I'm a Northerner I'm proud of said fact So what if I'm a Guardian reader Read more...

Poetry - The Last Goodbye By Laura Fry

Now comes the hearse My last goodbye To the woman I considered my mother Let me speak Let me say how much she meant Then I'll go, and give you no more bother So take my bag, I don't expect a sorry Read more...

Poetry - Estonian Courage By Laura Fry

He Will always be here in my heart And you knew this from the start And the real man that you are knew he had to understand He Although my love was all in vain Read more...

Poetry - The Green-Eyed Monster By Laura Fry

There's no logical reason that I should feel insecure, But when one's had the life I've had one can never be sure You are so sweet; your love is so true It was me that you married, my trust is in you But then I see these women that are Read more...

Poetry - Thank You Friends Reunited By Laura Fry

Thank you Friends Reunited, for helping me see That I've actually done rather well Because almost all those who bullied me at school Have hardly moved an inch out of the same old suburban hell They still see all the same old faces And miss the same old buses Read more...

Poetry - - Southern European Fashionistas By Laura Fry

Southern European fashionistas They really do my head in With their snotty manner and ten-inch stilettos That no-one in their right mind would be seen dead in Trying to get a smile on their faces Is like trying to jump a ten-metre hurdle Read more...

Poetry - The Gateway To The Soul By Laura Fry

They say that the eyes say it all The gateway to the soul, that either repels or enthrals You know almost immediately that he is the one The love that you feel for him is second to none You know that he is the one When the most boring of tasks can Read more...

Poetry - Ben By Laura Fry

The little things that mean so much The reassurance of your kisses Tender sensations at your touch The eternal thrill of being called Mrs Used and deceived so many times Destitute and broken-hearted Read more...

Poetry - November Bride By Laura Fry

I once was a girl who thought she knew best Until her true love was put to the test And what she'd thought to be great left her less than impressed Take me home I admit I was wrong, you were right all along And humble pie tastes much Read more...