Do you mind my mother said
I in the pram
That man you’re shouting at
Now that’s my man
We’re down at A&T
Down Astley way
The football’s on
That woman has her say
Another time
My father got sent off
He hit a lad
He smacked him in the gob
It’s all right referee
As you did nowt
This feller here
He needed sorting out
And so my father
Ended his career
A footballer of note
And one to cheer
He had a recommendation
After military station
To sign for Arsenal
And it came v’ar near
But Hitler put a stop
To that ambition
And six years later
Still in good condition
My father tried Maine Road
And passed the test
But age was now against him
All the best
And so at A&T
We find our man
Playing out his days
As best he can
But a little canny Scot
Kept on kicking him and got
An answer from my dad
Now I’m your man
Brian Fahy
15 April 2021
This is 1947 and I a new-born baby. Mammy and Daddy are living with Tommy and Elsie in Cranworth Avenue, Astley. Daddy is now back down the pit and Mammy is acclimatising to this new Lancashire life, after her years in Manchester. Mammy told me about the woman having a go at daddy on the pitch, and daddy told me the story of the annoying bloke who kept tackling him late and kicking his ankles, and the ref doing nothing about it. Daddy decided to even things up and walked off the pitch.
Erris Poetry 