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Gloucester City 1960

Jim Dillon

Thursday, January 11th, 2001

1 Leave a comment on verse 1 0 Buses trundling around Kings square disgorging the masses to the Bon Marche store
Queues to see ‘Oklahoma’ at the ‘Regal’ then a ‘Wimpey’ next-door.
The smell of cows wafting from the cattle market a hundred yards away
And taxis at the hot-dog stand by the Queen St. saddlery.

2 Leave a comment on verse 2 0 Eighty-odd pubs in the city with beer at 1s 9p.
Dog Lane and Bull Lane and fish & chips in Hare Lane.
Martin’s bank and the Bell Hotel, the ‘Berkeley hunt’ and the milk bar for tea.
Two Woolworths and a Co-op and a Golden Anchor store, Southern’s, a Lyons and a Cadena coffee.

3 Leave a comment on verse 3 0 The cobbled entrance to Eastgate station not far from Barton gates
The hollow echo in the overhead tunnel to Central where one waits…
for new diesel engined trains to all points west and Wales.
Falling off your bike at the California crossing rails.

4 Leave a comment on verse 4 0 Al Kessel at the Guildhall dance on Saturday each week
Girls dancing round their handbags. Oglers too shy to speak.
A choice of ‘pictures including the ‘Elim pit’
No night clubs after half-past ten and the last bus too full to sit.

5 Leave a comment on verse 5 0 Yes. Gloucester was a bustling place, green buses on the cross.
People and traffic and ‘points’ polce; Barton fair and candy fl…
By day it thrived like market cities do with folks from all around
But if one wanted a nightlife then it was off to Cheltenham Town.

6 Leave a comment on verse 6 0 But at least in those days we had a decent football team too..

Source: http://footballpoets.org/poems/gloucester-city-1960/