Not that kind of mole

No, my silly Swedish girl - not that kind of mole. I am talking about the small digging mammal. Well, usually small - but in this case a giant mole.

My poem is based on the legend of the Giant Mole of Urmston.

Urmston is a small town just to the south west of Manchester.

When London began to build its 'Tube' network, halfway through the nineteenth century, Manchester decided to beat it to the post and began excavating for its own underground system.

Unfortunately when excavation began (in Urmston so as to confuse spies from London) the tunnels collapsed. Workmen would arrive at the site on a Monday morning to find that the tunnel they had dug the previous week had great holes bored through the sides which had caused falls of earth.

At first sabotage was suspected; that London had got wind of the rival scheme. But then sightings of a great black slug-like creature 'of enormous girth' began to be reported by terrified workmen. Its length was never ascertained because just a glimpse of this fearsome 'thing' was enough for men to throw down their shovels and picks, and run.

In the end, workmen simply refused to return underground and the scheme had to be scrapped. Eventually it was replaced by the sophisticated overground tram system which is today the envy of the capital - and indeed most other countries.

Although the Great Mole of Urmston does not get the publicity Nessy (the Loch Ness Monster) gets, it has been the focus of much scientific enquiry. The problem is that - unlike Loch Ness - the whole area where the sightings were made is now buried under several feet of concrete with houses, roads and tram-tracks on top.

But the legend lives on in Lancashire folk lore. Even today, in the folk clubs around Manchester, songs are sung about this fabulous creature; perhaps the most famous being: I'll go no more a tunnelling, down along Urmston way. 

So you see Anna, my poem is not a metaphor but a chilling reminder that there are more things lurking underground than we can ever imagine.

Sweet dreams

George