Back in 1961 Maureen was seriously ill in hospital,and i wrote a two page letter to Elvis knowing it would be a million to one chance that he would ever see it! I enclosed a photo of us as a family and asked that it should be returned-yes i was young and naive.Yet my luck was in -not only did Elvis send maureen a letter to the hospital but he also sent one to me at our home address!!! A very nice touch.

Maureen was dumbfounded when she received the letter from Elvis as i had told noone of my letter to him.I too got the shock of my life to find a long white envelope with American stamps on it waiting for me when i returned to our home later the same day.

We were both big Elvis fans in the late 50s-in fact we actually met because of Elvis! As one evening on my way to meet my friends for a night out i heard the distinctive strains of "Jailhouse Rock" blaring from the open door of a dancehall and i bought a ticket and went in alone.

Surveying the young people jiving away to the rock n roll song, my eyes focussed in on a beautiful young girl who was dancing so elegantly across the crowded hall.You guessed it-Maureen! And i was smitten.

Maureen was an Elvis fan too. Fate was taking a hand.Cutting a long story short we began to see each other more and more,the year was 1958.We spent our time going to the movies, Elvis,s "Loving You","JailhouseRock", and "King Creole" to name a few of hundreds.We had both seen, "Love Me Tender",in 1957. Taking long walks when money was short as it frequently was in those days we grew to know one another and fell in love.

A year later we were married. Impetuous indeed!and we still are,40 years later. So Elvis Presley in our minds is a different person than the one the media portrays in their cruel manner. Not that they have achieved much as there is hardly a week goes by that we dont hear the name, Elvis. Therefore it is becoming increasingly obvious that journalists are impotent when writing about the worlds greatest entertainer-no matter what they write Elvis,s stature continues to grow!

With the advent of the "International Conference on Elvis" 1995 at The University of Mississippi new horizons appeared on the Elvis Landscape-Academics in their droves were joining the growing intellectual interest in the most famous American that has ever lived,the boy from Tupelo, who grew to dominate the music scene in a unprecedented manner. Remember now his prophetic statement, "Ah don't sound like nobody". A cue for a poem if ever i heard one!

"Everyone knows his name". "Ah don't sound like nobody". Elvis said at Sun. And so the story goes, The beginning was begun. 'That's Alright Mama". He sang in a rare style, With a rockin' rollin' Rhythm, Uniquely versatile. Fame and fortune came his way, Elvis remained the same. And all around the world today, Everyone knows his name. Graceland is the place to be, At a certain time each year, When thousands gather at the gates, In the song filled atmosphere.

The above poem was printed in "Elvisland" a Hong Kong based Elvis fan club quarterly edited by the industrious Tommy Ooi, who aims to make the quarterly the worlds finest!

The new statue of Elvis on Beale Street Memphis is quite a work of art and i have been wondering ,how many statues of Elvis are there? I know of the one by the Mississippi River and one in Tokyo! possibley Las Vegas, one in Holland? and where else? can anyone answer the question for me?

"Kentucky Moons"