OCCUPIED COUNTRY

1963 Failsworth Manchester

It was just a dirty river

Effluent and rats

"You won't last two minutes in there" the biddies hollered.

We did:

On the odd occasion we ventured in to retrieve a misplaced football or just to cool our little feet on a frozen jubbly afternoon.  We lasted.

A band came on the radio with long hair and pimples.

Suddenly our dirty ol' river became a link to Merseybeat.

And the World shrank.