A poem by Bill Worthington (Lytham)

Wheer ever tha looked, ahl oe’r t’than

The could see’m stuck up like spikes on a crahn

Tall factory chimneys aw belchin ‘aht smoo-ak

‘N aw finding work fur thahsands o’ foo-ak

Weighvers ‘n winders, ‘n minders ‘n doffers

Creelers ‘n drawers, aw helpin t’boss fill up his coffers

For then King Cotton wor still on his throne

‘N factory work wor aht foo’ak hed known

Horrockses, John Hawkins ‘n many many moo’ar

Names that wor known the whole world o’er

But nah they’ve aw gone bar one or two

‘N foo-ak as worked there hev nowt ta do

Fur‘t’ places they sent stuff to, mek their own now

On machines wae med um ‘n showed um know-how

So what con ta expect after ah that It’s like thee catchin mice ta gi ta tha cat!

Book Source: Taken from the book Living Lancashire An Anthology of Lancashire Dialect Verse and Stories

Edited by Bob Dobson and Eric Topping Illustrated by Rama Jamarweera