Feeling Defensive

Tinkerbelle · 26-02-2005, 00:10

Whilst trauling the sewers of the internet i came accross these poems. Whilst there is an element of truth in them i felt an enormous wave of defensiveness wash over me!!!

Accrington was famous for it's Nori's

Great Harwood, for it's mills and fabled snuff,

And the Papermill at Rishton was a landmark,

As was the stream that wound through Priestly Clough.

To scale the mighty Coppice was a conquest,

Of late fragmented by a noisy motorway,

Like yer 'Lectric and yer Bulloughs, most is gone now,

Never more to see the light of Hyndburn's day.

Dear old Oswaldtwistle, too, is much devalued,

Gobbins' rarely lift their heads o'er Tinker Brook,

An' Pit at Huncoat lies a dusty memory,

Like it's power station - gone, long since forsook.

Branch line stations served the Urban population,

With sidings, yards and endless loops and tracks,

Whence industry and commerce thrived in tandem,

Till Beeching smashed the railways with his axe.

An amalgam of these proud old towns and hamlets,

Threw up Hyndburn - what an awful choice of name!

Still, just look around the townships and consider,

Is this cocked up shambles worthy of acclaim?

For a home without a heart amounts to nothing,

But a soulless place where smiles are seldom seen,

Where once proud streets are filled with drunks and litter,

'Tis as though our civic pride has never been.

Signs are we're soon to see our PicturePalace,

Our furtive Council have at last awarded trumps,

But to give us back our pride and reverse the ebbing tide,

We need to press all hands back to the pumps.

An Accrington Lament

© Derek Gregson 1998

Oh to be in Accrington,

Where yobs reign wild and free,

Where vandals, thieves and muggers

Prey on innocents with glee,

Where winos, drunks and foul mouthed kids

Make decent folks despair,

And litter strews the pavements

Mixed with dog dirt scattered there.

Oh to be in Accrington,

Where taxis jam the street,

Where burglars trade in anguish

And the police admit defeat,

Where druggies, fools and tattooed thugs

Make nonsense of the law,

And most town centre hostelries

Are places we daren't go.

Oh to be in Accrington,

Where slothness festers deep,

Where zeal is seen as stupid

By the riff-raff workers keep,

Where shops, arcades and market stalls

Count more on theft than sales,

Pray one day soon the worm will turn

And act to cure our ails.

Oh to be in Accrington,

When 'las the light shines through,

When kind words come with courtesy

And grim times are but few,

When parents and their children learn

The meaning of respect,

When that day comes we'll thank Our Lord

And gladly genuflect.

End

Litter Bugs

© Derek Gregson 1998

Walk the streets of Hyndburn if you dare,

In and out the piles of rubbish gathered there,

Tramp through dog mess inches deep,

Chip bags crumpled in a heap,

Or unmentionable things we should beware . . .

Crushed fag packets, pizza wrappers, broken bottles,

Empty crisp bags, squashed beer cans and so much more,

There are skips and bins provided for our rubbish,

So why then must we dump it on the floor?

See the parks and playgrounds as you may,

Though I doubt that you would really want to stay,

Cans and bottles fill the greens,

Dumped by children in their teens,

Whilst their language should not see the light of day . . .

Used syringes, ciggie papers, chewy wrappers,

Sandwich cases, magazines and so much more,

There are skips and bins provided for our rubbish,

So why then must we dump it on the floor?

PILKYBUSDRIVER · 26-02-2005, 00:13

At least the dog mess is a bit less these days.

Tinkerbelle · 26-02-2005, 00:26

Quote:

Originally Posted by PILKYBUSDRIVER

At least the dog mess is a bit less these days.

Suppose it's were you live in Accy but i don't think i have ever seen a syringe lieing in the street!

rockrabbit · 26-02-2005, 00:38

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tinkerbelle

Suppose it's were you live in Accy but i don't think i have ever seen a syringe lieing in the street!

its been in the papers about syringes found on the streets as for the rest of it as bad as accy is most of us still live round here and prob will in another 50 years after all theres far worse places to live

Tinkerbelle · 26-02-2005, 00:40

Quote:

Originally Posted by rockrabbit

its been in the papers about syringes found on the streets as for the rest of it as bad as accy is most of us still live round here and prob will in another 50 years after all theres far worse places to live

Yeah Blackburn or Burnley !!!

rockrabbit · 26-02-2005, 00:46

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tinkerbelle

Yeah Blackburn or Burnley !!!

burnley is a dump well the areas like stoops or whatever its called and parts of bburn like bank top and higher croft but id say round feniscoles and livesy branch road are some of the best areas round here apart from lack of shops and pubs . we might as well face it we love accy lol even though the shops are rubbish the pubs are as bad we d miss em like hell lol

Tinkerbelle · 26-02-2005, 00:50

Quote:

Originally Posted by rockrabbit

burnley is a dump well the areas like stoops or whatever its called and parts of bburn like bank top and higher croft but id say round feniscoles and livesy branch road are some of the best areas round here apart from lack of shops and pubs . we might as well face it we love accy lol even though the shops are rubbish the pubs are as bad we d miss em like hell lol

Thankyou rabbit you just made me realise i really do love Accy

!! It might be a s*ithole but theres worse places than Accy!!

Doug · 26-02-2005, 01:12

[QUOTE=Tinkerbelle]Whilst trauling the sewers of the internet i came accross these poems. Whilst there is an element of truth in them i felt an enormous wave of defensiveness wash over me!!!

It’s a sad reflection of how not only HBC but also the people of Accrington have let slip a once distinguished and proud town. These poems are date 1998, yet I’ve read the same expressions of distain on this web site in the last 12 months. I must admit I haven’t witnessed to much disorder when I’ve been back, but I have seen mess all over the streets and the town centre (even after being pass by a lass with a street cleaning machine). Accrington was never a pretty town, at best; it was dark and grim during my childhood but the architectural devastation of her industrial pride that has taken place over the last 20 or 30 years is criminal. It’s not only HBC that needs to get a grip of itself its us an all.

Tinkerbelle · 26-02-2005, 01:18

[QUOTE=Doug]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tinkerbelle

Whilst trauling the sewers of the internet i came accross these poems. Whilst there is an element of truth in them i felt an enormous wave of defensiveness wash over me!!!

It’s a sad reflection of how not only HBC but also the people of Accrington have let slip a once distinguished and proud town. These poems are date 1998, yet I’ve read the same expressions of distain on this web site in the last 12 months. I must admit I haven’t witnessed to much disorder when I’ve been back, but I have seen mess all over the streets and the town centre (even after being pass by a lass with a street cleaning machine). Accrington was never a pretty town, at best; it was dark and grim during my childhood but the architectural devastation of her industrial pride that has taken place over the last 20 or 30 years is criminal. It’s not only HBC that needs to get a grip of itself its us an all.

I'd like to think we try to do our bit Doug but when the council has no pride and couldn't give a s*it neither do it's people!!

Doug · 26-02-2005, 01:22

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tinkerbelle

I'd like to think we try to do our bit Doug but when the council has no pride or and couldn't give a s*it neither do it's people!!

I really do agree with you Tinkerbelle, and I’m not out to put anybody down least of all a people who I love and share my blood, but when will we stand up and call an end to this madness.

Tinkerbelle · 26-02-2005, 01:31

Quote:

Originally Posted by Doug

I really do agree with you Tinkerbelle, and I’m not out to put anybody down least of all a people who I love and share my blood, but when will we stand up and call an end to this madness.

I totally agree with you Doug when will it end, all one individual can do is keep their own kids in check, their own litter off the floor and their own house and gardens tidy but it's the powers that be that have trashed the town without apparently having to answer to anyone!!