We got the fattest piers and the fattest harbor in the world. ibid. Johnny
Which side are you with? ibid. her to him
You want to hear my philosophy of life? Do it to him before he does it to you. ibid. him to her
You gotta get a little fun out of life. ibid.
It wasn’t him, Charlie. It was you ... This ain’t your night. My night – I coulda taken Wilson apart. So what happens? He gets the title shot outdoors in the ballpark and what did I get? A one-way ticket to Palookaville. You was my brother, Charlie. You shoulda looked out for me a little bit. You shoulda taken care of me ... I coulda had class. I coulda been a contender. I coulda been somebody instead of a bum. ibid. Brando
Jenson was the principle witness in a grand jury investigation into the waterfront rackets. The Mob 1951 starring Broderick Crawford & Betty Buehler & Richard Kiley & Otto Hulett & Matt Crowley & Neville Brand & Ernest Borgnine & Jean Alexander & John Marley & Charles Bronson & Walter Klavun et al, director Robert Parrish, chief rozzer to Damico
Your job is to bring in Blackie Clay. ibid.
Mary, a successful marriage is based on a wife letting her husband lie a little. ibid. him to her
The Thames: Lifeblood of Britain’s capital. An empire was born on its banks, and from here it traded with the world. Throughout its long life the river has sustained its people. But at times it has been fierce and unpredictable. A focus for work and play. The River Thames: Then & Now, Channel 5 2020
The River Thames flows 215 miles to the North Sea. Its epic course takes it into the heart of London, passing landmarks recognised the world over. Lightermen have been hauling cargo along the Thames for centuries. ibid.
In the early twentieth century, in the age before smokeless fuel, London was often shrouded in fog known as Pea Soupers. ibid.
‘Eight miles of docks on either side’ … ‘It was tough manual work’ … ibid.
In the post-war years the docks continued to thrive. Few Londoners could imagine a city without a working port and an army of working men at its heart. But by the 1960s that future was disappearing in front of the workers’ eyes. ibid.
Back then the key to London’s wealth was its docks. ibid.
Now the Thames handles more than five million tons of cargo. The vast majority of cargo now arrives and leaves in containers. ibid.
‘The first container ship arrived in this country in the early 1960s. And that was the beginning of the end. And very fast about 35,000 people lost their jobs on the docks and then all the ancillary workers, and it was catastrophic.’ ibid. Sophie Campbell, historian
Battersea would be key as London went electric … The largest brick construction in Europe. ibid.
Twenty-eight bridges span the river … ‘I’m standing in front of the most iconic bridge on the Thames: Tower Bridge. Everybody knows it. It’s got those twin towers. And it was built in 1894 so that the shipping could still come into this very valuable bit of water, the pool of London … It looks medieval, and that was the plan … It’s a really early steel-framed construction, but on the outside they put Cornish Granite and Portland Stone dressings … So it looks like a medieval castle.’ ibid. Sophie Campbell
An extraordinary structure that helps keep the floodwater away … The Barrier had closed nearly 200 times since becoming operational in 1982. ibid.
1858 was the year of the Great Stink. A smell of old father Thames was so bad that MPs moved parliament out of London. For centuries, untreated human waste was pumped directly into the Thames … Bazalgette built 1,100 miles of sewers. ibid.
And the shipyard workers did what they came to do – they carried their campaign to the streets of London. Martin Bell, BBC News
[jaunty music] Liverpool. A world city at the heart of the new county of Merseyside. It’s a city full of contrasts. A kaleidoscope of contradictions. Liverpool Narcos I: Heroin, public information film, Sky Documentaries 2021
We don’t class ourselves as being English: we’re the People’s Republic of Liverpool [laughs]. ibid. old lady in greenhouse
We have a degree of accepted lawlessness here. It’s like Cowboys and Indians. They don’t follow the rules ’cause they’re outlaws … the epicentre of drugs … Welcome to Liverpool. ibid. comments
What was it about Liverpool that made it such a big player in the drug trade? The docks? ibid. Michael Showers, the boss
The hard part was getting it off [ship]. Customs were very very alert in Liverpool. Our firm had people who had relatives in senior positions. And that was it. It was just a matter of choosing the right time for them to take it off. Then pass it over to our sales division. And our sales division did their work. And then when I came home, just counted the money. ibid.
Pleading guilty at 15 to something I hadn’t done was my greatest regret. My greatest regret. Because that started it all. ibid.
In the ’80s a number of things conspired to bring brown smokeable heroin to Liverpool … 47% of black workers unemployed, 43% of white workers [news clip] … No opportunities whatsoever … Young people weren’t of any value to society, or so they felt. And then of course we had the Toxteth riots in ’81 … A visitor from the US came in the ’80s and said, This is like Beirut. This is like bombed-out shell, a husk of a city and a number of other things … ibid. comments
The game-changer was a cheap, high-grade smoking heroin became available. It was from Pakistan. And I’ve got Pakistani family. So I immediately kind of seized the opportunity to capitalize on that. Yeah. ibid.
Samples: if you went to source in Pershawa, you can buy a kilo over there for £2,500, 3K. Yeah, and that would be 80-90%. ibid.
It was like total destruction. It spread like cancer. Straightening out your foil, putting in your little bit of powder, at the corner where you wanted it. Getting a little pleat in your foil. Tilting it a little bit. Your flame underneath the powder. And then inhaling. Everything seemed to slow down a bit. You feel comfortably numb. No more worries, no stress, nuttin’, just comfy. ibid. Billy Moore
It was an epidemic that happened in this city. You know this city was flooded with narcotics. ibid.
Everyone’s on heroin? How the hell did that happen? ibid.
Operation Rainman surveillance … Suddenly, these guys were doing seriously well. And flaunting it. And that kind of rankled with us. So we kind of took that personal. ibid. rozzers
This was the early ‘80s. You drove round in a white Rolls Royce? ibid. rozzer to Showers
So in 1983 the police tried to prosecute Michael Showers for the second time in short succession. On this occasion it was for possession of a fire-arm, cannabis, and heroin. The case collapsed in court. And Michael Showers to this day maintains that the case was never legitimate against him. In effect he was fitted up. ibid.
British Customs subsequently bring the heroin into the UK. ibid.
Rozzer: You were convicted of smuggling heroin?
Showers: Yes, convicted on fabricated evidence by Her Majesty’s Customs and Excise. ibid.
And he was sentenced to 20 in prison. Which for that amount of drugs was extraordinary … The system wanted to make an example of him … ibid.
In 1991 Michael went to prison for 20 years. He served 10. Then in 2010 he was arrested in Turkey and charged with intent to supply heroin internationally. He denied the charges but was sentenced to 10 years in a Turkish prison. He returned home to Liverpool in 2016. ibid.
When one talks of the Thames Docks beauty is a vain word. But romance has lived too long upon this river not to have thrown a mantle of glamour upon its banks. Joseph Conrad 1906
It’s not for me, it’s for my lad. I just want my life to be perfect again. Jimmy McGovern, Dockers ***** docker in pub, Channel 4 1999
We’re working to a finish. ibid. supervisor
It’s a wildcat! It’s got fuck-all to do with the T&G! ibid. union officer Jack
The only thing that’s made this job half decent is solidarity. ibid. striker
When my grandchildren say to me in fifteen, twenty, twenty-five years time, Where were you when the Liverpool dockers were fighting for their jobs, their community, their dignity, and their pride, I want to be able to say, I was there marching with them side by side. ibid. Bill Morris
He [union officer] told me there’d be no appeal on behalf of the five men who were sacked even though I offered to reinstate them. ibid. employer
Think of the pain that they’ve endured for twenty-two months, and oppose this executive council, and support the Liverpool dockers. ibid. address to conference
The Blitz: It was a time when Britain’s fate hung in the balance. Rob Bell & Michael Buerk & Angelica Bell, The Blitz: Britain on Fire I, Channel 5 2019
Hitler was determined to bring Britain to its knees and ordered a series of raids on the nation’s ports. ibid.
Now the bombers headed north-west to the biggest port in England … Liverpool was in the eye of the storm. ibid.
Tuesday 1st May 10.45 p.m. Day 1: After the sirens had sent the people of Liverpool scurrying for cover, the first German bombers appeared overhead.
A week of continual bombing … The May Blitz. ibid.