Impressions of Hanley

Well hobbled around Hanley today. The social deprivation is so visible. Large numbers of homeless. The people are from my experience lovely once you get them to engage, but so many avoid eye contact and even are often walking with their heads to the ground.
There are no aires and graces from these folk. I spoke to a lovely woman who worked in a town centre cafe. She said she was not interested in politics but could see how terrible things have got and continue to get. She said the last few years had crippled Hanley.
Again the people are truly affable, but not cheery or even happy. Most on the face of it are without hope.
There are so many empty shops even within the actual town centre.
The local Wetherspoons seemed to be the most frequented commercial premises despite the early hour.
Today there was an evident military police and local police presence in the town centre.
Hanley is deprived, it is run down and has more than its share of social issues that can only be evident to any visitor, but it is not dirty, nor rough and to me completely free from the aggression or tension that some other cities display.
Sadly though it is a shadow of the bustling town i remember even from twenty years ago, and nothing like it was in the heydays of the world renown potteries.
It has left me feeling quite sad, and longing for better times.
Jonesy Jones