My Home Town

The fact is that severe household poverty ruled throughout Britain. and every major town and city had its rough-edges and bad reputation with thousands of unemployed citizens. Housing was primitive, overcrowded and run-down. In the background you had far too many public houses creating local problems with drunkenness, rowdy behaviour and men drinking their wages each week in these bars. The Jockey Club and Racing Press caused great problems by encouraging men to gamble on an horses speed and probability of winning a race knowing full well that the odds offered by book makers were mercenary, obscene and bad value, and summing up there is nothing worse than a population whose broke, living in poor conditions, and allowed to drink and gamble freely. Millions of men were dismissed for creating problems at work, and thousands charged with being disorderly, breach the peace, and being fighting drunk. And this problem was rife across the land. In the Teesside area you had Britain's number 1 deprived town Middlesbrough, with Cannon Street, South Bank and Thornaby being dark-mirrors of the conditions found there. Across the land you have known black spots such as South London, the Gorbals Glasgow, Hull, Sheffield and Liverpool. Education and TV, did wonders to make people alter for the best.