Ancoats Remembered

Ancoats. I remember it well
Waking up on Sunday morn
To the sound of the local church bell
It was on with our best clothes, clogs and all
Going passed the big mills with chimneys so tall
We came back from mass and changed our clothes
Then out to play-for the rest of the day
The picture houses near our home
Were the Tower, Savoy and Don Cinema too
But you’d have to be early to get a good view
There were bugs and beetles running around
So you stamped on their heads and put them to ground
We would push our pram to Bradford Road gas
And queue for hours to get our coke pass
Then on the way home through the snow and rain
I’d think to myself it would be nice to have a fire again
Smithfield Market was a place to go
Watching porters going to-and-fro
They would pull their carts around the stalls with such speed
And when all was finished it was off to the cafe to have a good feed
New Islington baths was not far away
We’d go early on Saturday and stay nearly all day
We all had a swim then into the shower
And on the way home we would pass by the Tower
Ancoats lads’ club-we would go every night
Playing snooker, table tennis, darts and even a fight
Some would lose and some would win
But at the end of the night it was a good place to be in
And then it was home with kit in our bag
Having a good laugh and a drag on a fag
Now it’s all over and things must go on
There’s no Tower. Savoy or even the Don
The mills the chimneys the gas works too
They are all in the past
But my memory of Ancoats will always last
Yes I remember it well.

Mr. A Hankinson.