From Bristol to Manchester

From Bristol to Manchester

 

Overheard in a café in the motorway services northbound on the M5.

 

 

It was crowded that morning.

Not a table was free so I sat where I could.

 

An old man sipped his tea right next to me.

There was a rare empty chair on the other side.

A man in a hurry came and sat down

With no hint of “OK with you if I do?”

With no smile, just a frown as he sat down there.

 

The old man looked, put down his tea and said,

“So where are you going in such haste, my friend?

“From Bristol to Manchester if you must know.

I’m upping sticks and moving house today.

I need some fresh air and a change of scene.”

“Somewhere different from where you have been?”

“Exactly. Now, what are the people like where I’m going?”

“Well, tell me first, my friend, the folk you’ve left,

What did you think of them?”

“Scum, the lot of them. Not one that I could trust.

There wasn’t one I wanted for a friend.

I was glad to get out of there in the end.”

“I am sorry for you then, for you will find

The people of Manchester are just like them,

Like the men and women you’ve left behind.”

 

With a scowl he went.

A young man saw the chair,

And smiled at us as he sat down there.

My neighbour looked at him and said

“And where are you going to now?

“To Manchester.  I’ve worked in Bristol a year or so.

But because of my job I have to go.

Now what are the people like where I’m heading?”

“Well, tell me first, my friend, the folk you’ve left,

What did you think of them?”

“I’ll miss them, you know, for I made good friends.

 I‘m sad to have to leave them all.”

“I’m happy for you then, for you will find

The people of Manchester are just like them,

Like the men and women you’ve left behind.”

 

The old man pushed aside his empty cup

And he smiled at me as he got up.

When he walked away and made for the door,

I nodded at the young man sitting there,

And I said good bye and I wished him good luck.