“Stand to attention, soldier" My grandfather's gentle voice spoke. I saluted him as I had been shown. "At ease," he spoke again. Then he pinned his medals to my shirt One by one, those shining disks Almost holy to me The proof of what I knew He was my hero” ChildhoodMemoirs50s Book:What Has He Done Now?: Tales from a North West Childhood in the 60s and Early 70s Source: What Has He Done Now?: Tales from a North West Childhood in the 60s and Early 70s
“A Lancashire Weaver This place might be haunted the ghost hunter said 'Midst the dust and the grime walk the feet of the dead. The machines now stand idle Looms clatter no more There's a stack of old bobbins piled up by the door. I remember my Mam she worked here, so she said A Lancashire weaver but now she is dead Along with this mill and along with the dreams of working mill lasses and their jobs, so it seems We once wove the best cotton cloth in the world But now that's all gone on the scrap heap been hurled The clatter of clogs on the old cobbled street the humdrum staccato from thousands of feet. Tough work and much hardship and many a care Folks they got by for brass, it was rare but still we had pride By Christ, did we ever! Will it ever come back The answer is NEVER This place might be haunted the ghost hunter said 'Midst the dust and the grime walk the feet of the dead. I'm glad that my Mam never saw it this way Out in all weathers came here every day When this closed down she had already died Perhaps just as well She'd have bloody well cried.” Poems On LifeAnthologies Book:Echoes from a Cobbled Street: Stories and Poems from the North West Source: Echoes from a Cobbled Street: Stories and Poems from the North West