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 A Salford Poem by Jimmy Potts
Salford lad Jimmy Potts has written this poignant and humourous poem about his beloved Salford and what the planners have done to it. The City of my childhoods gone.....not destroyed by Hitlers bomb....the planners did what he could not..they pulled it down bulldozed the lot.....the city where i once ran free,,,has gone forever,lost to me.....its people scattered far and wide..salford folk with lots of pride.....neighbours were friendly they showed they cared...what little they had was always shared...,,,they would help one another if neighbours were stuck.....and wouldnt see anyone down on there luck.....the girls would play house ,hopscotch tiggy it...and for skipping rope games you had to be fit..played whip and top and a game kick the can....or stroll round the streets with a doll in a pram.....boys games were robbers knock all kinds of tricks....tie door knobs together, it had us in fits.......cricket and soccer were played in the streets.....with coats down for goalposts and pumps on our feet......we played out till bedtime no fear or a threat......from a gun or a knife or an ASBO you,d met.......no mugging our old folk no fear from the yobs....the youngsters in my day just wanted good jobs...respect ,it was given to both young and old....looked out for each other,it has to be told...our old folk so rightly were treated with awe....we remembered what they did for us in 2 wars....a night at the local a once weekly treat.....where friends and the neighbours would gather to meet......a sing song, piano and singers galore....you cant find that in salford no more....what happened to games and communal fun.....or playing in parks till the sunlight had gone....where buties of sugar and sauce was the norm......we grew up on these from the day we were born...no mobiles or lap tops only tv..... and an old washing line for skipping did me....a 4 wheel bogie from a disgarded pram...we,d race down the brews as fast as we can.... when i think of my childhood my heart fills with pain...and think of the good time we had on Cross lane.....the barracks ,the market and all of the pubs.....and Albert lucetti who sold us hot spuds........the back of the market was great cross lane fair......kileens, and parkers the chippy with flair....there were so many pubs in under a mile....and in teddy boy suits boys strutted their style..... albion st sidings, the old cut canal......where we often played hookey and fished with a pal..... the picture houses which once we all knew.....before we had tv, there was always a queue......gabby hayes, gene autrey roy rodgers were fun......then you galloped off homeward slapping your bum....west liver, st ambrose hope street were hard ... and many fair fights were done in the yard....acadamy, madame jones the places to dance..where saturday night we fancied our chance....there were boys clubs,billiards and the salford dog track...im afraid its all gone now theres no turning back.....I look back with nostalgia with tears down my face.....for those wonderful folk in that wonderful place......when i think of my city theres an ache and a sigh....MY BELOVED OLD SALFORD..GOD BLESS YOU... GOODBYE. Due to problems with spam only SalfordOnline members can now leave comments. Becoming a member of SalfordOnline only takes a minute, just hit the red Join Us button at the top right hand side of the page to create your Personal account. |
