John Prior

Updated: Mon, 25 Jun 2018 02:28 pm

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Biography

I'm a 41 year old Mancunian. I'm happilly married to my second wife with four young children between us. Life is busy and fast. I'm very lucky but I struggle at times. Writing has helped me find more balance in my life. My Wife posted some of my writing online and the response was really positive and so i've decided to try and find similar people on line to help me understand and learn more abiout writing. Lets see how things go. JP

Samples

Manchester to Me. A new home to Grandparents, ‘immigrants’ from Eire A sense of community and not “them from over there!” Neighbours blurred into family, my Mum and my Dad, Protective eyes everywhere, show the young good from bad, Dirt, scuffs and laughs forge irreplaceable mates, Arguments then make-ups with r’kid until late, A house full at me mam’s for ‘community’ meals, Irlam Rotary provided r’kids first set of wheels, Good people with little, yet giving so free, This is what Manchester always taught me, Nana’s, Aunty’s and Uncles – though not all related So close as we grow – it’s so highly rated Raised by community, most gone not forgotten All absolute gems from the ‘oppolis’ of cotton, St Teresa’s, St Pat’s, school years so long gone, Dodgy clipper cards on the old 501 First steps of independence on the train t’ Arndale Teenage kicks through the night in Town, Urmston & Sale Out with my mates and it’s not me, but its ‘WE’, This is why Manchester gets loyalty from me, Hugs, shrugs, hands held & juvenile fights, Loves, laughs & stories made on those formative nights, Big fights, short memories, the banters the best, Sense of humour forged when life puts to the test, Mum and Dad’s worries when r’kid stayed out late, Mates getting him home when he couldn’t drive straight, Fear never came knocking as there wasn’t a lack, Of good mates, or mates of mates, who’d look after your back, The landmarks and history? No, it’s the people you see, That’s what our Manchester has branded on me, The Catholic, The White Horse, The Railway, The Ship Generations have trodden the well-worn road trip, Games of killer, too much beer, the girls and their lippy, Snide fried, a chip barm special or the Ferry Hill Chippy, Friends follow Blue, but I’m dyed in Red, From Bryan and Remi, to Ole and Ted, Stories of Munich and how Busby answered our call, Watching fledglings in Europe, felt like ‘we’ conquered them all, A 'City' 'United', sharp banter - we never agree These are the memories Manchester’s given to me Salford Uni came calling I didn’t stray far, The Pav, The Venue, Royales and walkabouts bar, RISK, Champ Manager, Rugby Lads acting the clown New Uni friends from all over, chose our ‘Dirty Old Town’ Earning & learning with such a group of young teams, Ink on paper we learned, with a head full of dreams, All orientations & views, All colours and creeds Hard working together - what our City breeds! Industrial revolt birthed our strong worker bee This is why Manchester works so well for me, One day like this may strike at our heart But our love is to strong it won’t tear us apart On a blue Monday, is this is how it feels Remembering pain and the fates that it seals The birthplace of computers, code breaker Turing, Now plays helpless witness to a horrible thing Oasis, The Mondays, James, The Smiths are our thing For we are a City that helps the world sing We’re sorted, we’re wicked, twist your melon for free A soundtrack to prove Manchester still sings to me St Annes Square, Castlefield, The Northern Quarter Yates’s Blobs, 21’s, Moon Under the Water 42nd St, Corbieres, a real ale evolution Deansgate locks, Mulligans, a Cuban ‘De’ Revolution Some spread their wings, some never depart, ‘J’ had to go, but he’ll always remain in our heart, This city, this people, we all like to roam, To Manc’s near and far there’s only one place called home A true home, a new home, whatever it may be, It’s a family is Manchester and not just to me, A city that has given me so many memories and joys, St Mary’s & Hope where I first met my boys, The city that’s given me the love of my life, My ‘tribe’ of a family and my soon to be wife, How perverse, In this moment of horror and fears The lucky parents the ones who can still wipe their child’s tears We’ve already faced this old foe and rebuilt our fair City Yes, temporarily deflated, but this scum will not infect with self-pity The city stands tall, I’m so proud to see This is why Manchester now means even more to me So evil creeps in our shadows, answering their deluded ‘call’ But our Shadows will only grow as we stand ever more tall Yes, we will think twice, hesitate and debate Protecting our children from this useless, spineless, hate BUT we will come together despite their venom filled wish Swimming as one, a Manc shoal of fish We will remember our fallen, our hurt and those left behind In our prayers, in our hearts, never far from our minds We will talk of these stories, never forgetting yet FREE And it’s these things together that make Manchester perfect to me. By John Prior.

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