Cigarette smoke, frenzied chitchats,

Manchester folk in starched pillbox hats.

Ash trays on tables and wise women’s fables,

The glory of the caf’ in the amusement arcade,

After works laugh, always time overstayed,

Men in workers jeans stand at fruity machines

Hookey Street plays on loops repeating,

The good old days, nostalgia’s treating,

Hard plastic chairs, whispers of illicit affairs,

A chat, a gamble, a pint, a greasy fried dinner,

Until home they scramble, purses now thinner.