Croft was certainally still in use in Leeds where I grew up - in a house called "Woodcroft".

"Smelt the spring on the smokey wind" - the smells of industry were ever present but you still got the occasional wiff of a blossom tree or other scent of spring from someone's garden - perhaps this was what inspired the line.

I've often pondered "Spring's a girl in the street at night" - to me it conjours an image of something delicate a beautiful against the dirty backdrop of the town.

Like Lanfair in Salford, I can remember when all the public buildings in the centre of Leeds were black with soot - my mother used to think they were built of coal when she was a girl.