Astley Brew

We used to play at buses
When we were children
Sitting on the stairs in single file
One was the driver
One the conductor
The other two were passengers
For a mile

The driver made a noise
Just like the engine
Changing gear
Changing tone of voice
The other gave out tickets and took money
The other two just sat there with no choice

Lancashire United Transport
Were our buses
To Manchester on Sunday afternoons
Visiting the aunties
On the south side
And home again to the place that we called ‘Bongs’

The best bus for noise
It came up Astley
Coughing like a miner up the brew
A miracle to get in second gear
It won’t make it, I thought, a time or two

I take a bus to town now
Here in Stirling
A reminder of the days that I once knew
When as children on the stairs
We went collecting fares
And the driver knew his way up Astley Brew

Brian Fahy
13 May 2021