Paul McCartney’s album The Boys of Dungeon Lane has struck a chord with readers who feel passionate about the area that inspired it. In response to an interview with the former Beatle, letters have poured in, reflecting on memories of and inspiration found in Liverpool, particularly the area around Dungeon Lane near Speke.
Environmental Concerns at Dungeon Lane
The area around Dungeon Lane, which was such an inspiration for Paul McCartney, provides a stark example of what is happening to green spaces and natural habitats across Britain. In 2019, despite local protests, Dungeon Lane was closed permanently when the perimeter fence of Liverpool airport was extended. Landowners are obstructing traditional rights of way, and the use of pesticides has reduced the numbers of butterflies and bees. The coastal path has fallen into disrepair, and aircraft exhaust fumes pollute the air.
Shamefully, it has been left to voluntary organisations such as Save Oglet Shore and academics to monitor this crisis. Research by Liverpool John Moores University has exposed the extraordinary build-up of PFAS (forever chemicals) on the shore. The Liverpool airport master plan envisages substantial construction in the area, and statutory regulators and semi-state environmental agencies have offered no effective remedies.
This beautiful little haven, designated as a wetland site of international importance, is home to small mammals, bats, butterflies, and thousands of wading birds and geese. It provides precious access to green space for locals, with positive outcomes for both physical and mental health. Yet its very survival is now in jeopardy.
The tragedy is that this situation is repeated in numerous small green spaces around Britain, combining to magnify the steady decline of natural habitat and green space across the country. It is a question that we as a nation must urgently address.
Personal Memories of Speke
Greg Quiery from Liverpool writes: "I lived in Oldbridge Road in Speke in the late 1950s and 60s, when the short walk down Dungeon Lane and the steep slope down to Oglet Shore was this child’s country dream. With woods on one side and lots of shade on sunny days, it was an adventure playground that would stay in my memory – as it has for Sir Paul McCartney – for all these years."
Stuart Robertson from Manchester adds: "Paul was right about the houses in Speke – designed by Sir Lancelot Keay, they were modern and spacious with, in our case, a separate loo and bathroom! And I think I may know the ‘Repartee’ joke that Paul mentions, which I heard first in Speke, and have been telling people – boringly – most of my life. If it is the same one, it is too colourful to give here, but it involves a clown and a pair of identical twins."
Maggie Patel from Bearwood, West Midlands, shares: "As a Speke girl born in a council flat, where the midwife who attended to my mother, Kitty, at my birth was one Mary McCartney, I was delighted to read Sir Paul recalling the way Speke was perceived as a real step up for its postwar inhabitants. I loved growing up in Speke, with its wide, tree-lined avenues, and houses which boasted indoor plumbing as well as front and back gardens."
She also recalls the joke: "A lad goes into Central Library and asks the librarian: ‘Have you got any books on sparkling wit and swift repartee?’ The librarian asks why he needs such a book and he replies: ‘My brother wipes the floor with me with his swift wit and quick repartee – for example, last night I told him to leave me alone and, quick as a flash, he came back at me: “Fuck off, you soft cunt.”’ I hope this helps Sir Paul."
Have an opinion on anything you’ve read in the Guardian today? Please email us your letter and it will be considered for publication in our letters section.
