I’d wake up to bird song.
We had no double glazing
To cut out all the noise.
But then it didn’t matter;
There wasn’t so much traffic
Grinding in our streets.
There wasn’t central heating.
In winter it was freezing.
We would all wear dressing gowns,
Beds were topped with eiderdowns
And all the girls and boys
Wore hats and coats and scarves and gloves
To keep them warm, the little loves.
My mother didn’t go to work.
She’d pack me off to school
And I’d come home at lunchtime
To have a three course dinner.
My father worked nearby
So he’d come home as well.
We’d listen to the radio
Playing “Workers’ Playtime”
And when we’d finished eating
We would both go out again;
No umbrellas for the rain.
Some evenings we’d have company.
When on our own we’d watch TV.
At first we had the BBC,
But then when we got ITV
Our lives were changed tremendously.
At weekends we’d go visiting
To see extended family.
My father always wore a tie,
It wasn’t a formality;
He wasn’t dressed without one
And nor was I, my father’s son.
Though many years have passed away
Those times still seem like yesterday;
More vivid than my life today.
And any recent memory
Will never seem as clear to me.