CONTEXT

• Unemployment had been rising throughout the 1970s as companies set about restructuring

and modernising their businesses.

• But it picked up speed after the conservatives took power in 1979, rapidly rising to over three

million out of work in 1983.

• Unemployment hit hardest in Northern Ireland, where one in five people was out of work in

the early 1980s, along with the industrial areas of Northern England and Scotland.

TAKE A LETTER MISS JONES• Annotate the song

• Consider how the events here link to the context.

•What message is Russell sending about conditions for the working classes in

cities such as Liverpool?

•How does he shape our opinion of Mr Lyons?

THE AUTHOR

• Read the extract from an interview with Russell.

•How do his views link to the topics discussed in this section of the play?

•Highlight the most important sections and write a summary paragraph in

your books.

SOCIAL CLASS - CONSOLIDATION

•How is the gulf between the two classes shown in this scene?

•What impression do we get of Mr Lyons?

•What is the writers purpose here?