The biggest council estate in Europe
This were where I grewed up
in the 50s
when Manchester were a building site
slums and bomb sites
and jobs galore
mekin ends meet
me mam
frittered money away -
or so I heard me dad say
on cake and such like
extravagances
or so I gathered
listening t'rows
when I were lying in bed
awake at night
and when she left
fer a week
sick n tired of it all
us kids had mince n stewed pears
everybloodyday
but it were worth it
in th'end
'cos th'owl feller
got such a fright
worse even that what th'Japs
gived him in Burma
or so he said.
John Marks
Thu 8th Sep 2022 00:04
Thank you Keith, John, Frederick and Flyntland. The Jesuits had it right: give me the boy upto 7 years of age and I'll give you the man.
James Joyce’s pithy summary of his central religious dilemma was telling a friend: “You allude to me as a Catholic. For the sake of precision and to get the correct contour on me, you ought to allude to me as a Jesuit.”