A new home to Grandparents, ‘immigrants’ from Eire
A sense of community and not “them from over there!”
Neighbours blurred into family, my Mum and my Dad,
Protective eyes everywhere, show the young good from bad,

Dirt, scuffs and laughs forge irreplaceable mates,
Arguments then make-ups with r’kid until late,
A house full at me mam’s for ‘community’ meals,
Irlam Rotary provided r’kids first set of wheels,

Good people with little, yet giving so free,
This is what Manchester always taught me,

Nana’s, Aunty’s and Uncles – though not all related
So close as we grow – it’s so highly rated
Raised by community, most gone not forgotten
All absolute gems from the ‘oppolis’ of cotton,

St Teresa’s, St Pat’s, school years so long gone,
Dodgy clipper cards on the old 501
First steps of independence on the train t’ Arndale
Teenage kicks through the night in Town, Urmston & Sale

Out with my mates and it’s not me, but its ‘WE’,
This is why Manchester gets loyalty from me,

Hugs, shrugs, hands held & juvenile fights,
Loves, laughs & stories made on those formative nights,
Big fights, short memories, the banters the best,
Sense of humour forged when life puts to the test,

Mum and Dad’s worries when r’kid stayed out late,
Mates getting him home when he couldn’t drive straight,
Fear never came knocking as there wasn’t a lack,
Of good mates, or mates of mates, who’d look after your back,

The landmarks and history? No, it’s the people you see,
That’s what our Manchester has branded on me,

The Catholic, The White Horse, The Railway, The Ship
Generations have trodden the well-worn road trip,
Games of killer, too much beer, the girls and their lippy,
Snide fried, a chip barm special or the Ferry Hill Chippy,

Friends follow Blue, but I’m dyed in Red,
From Bryan and Remi, to Ole and Ted,
Stories of Munich and how Busby answered our call,
Watching fledglings in Europe, felt like ‘we’ conquered them all,

A 'City' 'United', sharp banter - we never agree
These are the memories Manchester’s given to me

Salford Uni came calling I didn’t stray far,
The Pav, The Venue, Royales and walkabouts bar,
RISK, Champ Manager, Rugby Lads acting the clown
New Uni friends from all over, chose our ‘Dirty Old Town’

Earning & learning with such a group of young teams,
Ink on paper we learned, with a head full of dreams,
All orientations & views, All colours and creeds
Hard working together - what our City breeds!

Industrial revolt birthed our strong worker bee
This is why Manchester works so well for me,

One day like this may strike at our heart
But our love is to strong it won’t tear us apart
On a blue Monday, is this is how it feels
Remembering pain and the fates that it seals

The birthplace of computers, code breaker Turing,
Now plays helpless witness to a horrible thing
Oasis, The Mondays, James, The Smiths are our thing
For we are a City that helps the world sing

We’re sorted, we’re wicked, twist your melon for free
A soundtrack to prove Manchester still sings to me

St Annes Square, Castlefield, The Northern Quarter
Yates’s Blobs, 21’s, Moon Under the Water
42nd St, Corbieres, a real ale evolution
Deansgate locks, Mulligans, a Cuban ‘De’ Revolution

Some spread their wings, some never depart,
‘J’ had to go, but he’ll always remain in our heart,
This city, this people, we all like to roam,
To Manc’s near and far there’s only one place called home

A true home, a new home, whatever it may be,
It’s a family is Manchester and not just to me,

A city that has given me so many memories and joys,
St Mary’s & Hope where I first met my boys,
The city that’s given me the love of my life,
My ‘tribe’ of a family and my soon to be wife,

How perverse, In this moment of horror and fears
The lucky parents the ones who can still wipe their child’s tears
We’ve already faced this old foe and rebuilt our fair City
Yes, temporarily deflated, but this scum will not infect with self-pity

The city stands tall, I’m so proud to see
This is why Manchester now means even more to me

So evil creeps in our shadows, answering their deluded ‘call’
But our Shadows will only grow as we stand ever more tall
Yes, we will think twice, hesitate and debate
Protecting our children from this useless, spineless, hate

BUT we will come together despite their venom filled wish
Swimming as one, a Manc shoal of fish
We will remember our fallen, our hurt and those left behind
In our prayers, in our hearts, never far from our minds

We will talk of these stories, never forgetting yet FREE
And it’s these things together that make Manchester perfect to me.