Airdrie & Coatbridge Advertiser
Town reflections
Dear Editor
I would like to share my poem with Advertiser readers.
It is entitled Coatbridge (a look at the past, a glimpse at the future).
Coatbridge, the Iron Burgh, a town synonymous with steel has faced so many challenges and changes in its progress through the years. Once just a scattering of villages, a new future began to unfold, and it grew in size and influence as the need for steel took hold.
Suddenly, it became a magnet for those looking for a job, and people flocked to the town and very quickly were absorbed. By far the biggest influx came from Ireland, a country ravaged by poverty and famine, desperate to make a new life for themselves hoping for a new beginning.
How difficult it must have been to take that step into the unknown but they came here in their thousands and made this town their own. Others came from far and wide in a never-ending flow including many from England who made their homes in streets with names like English Square and Cornish Row.
Steelworks, mines, shops and housing sprung up everywhere; the landscape changed, flames lit the sky, a sense of optimism filled the air. Jobs were plentiful – the Calder, British, Clyde tube works, Gartsherrie, to name a few employed workers in their thousands as the town just grew and grew.
Work was hard, the hours were long, health and safety a distant dream but despite this people tried to make ends meet by whatever means. Housing too was pitiful; there was the famous “single end”– cramped and damp accommodation with four or five sharing a bed. No ensuite in those days, an outside toilet was the norm; and you either went outdoors at night or struggled by till morn.
But thankfully so much has changed since those early days. Most people now lead different lives – good jobs, nice houses, holidays. Yet in the midst of this new prosperity some still struggle to survive, their lives blighted by poverty with many needing foodbanks to get by.
Still I believe it’s a town to be proud of despite all the problems that it faces with its strong sense of community not always found in other places. A town that’s neither fancy nor pretentious but it has so many worthwhile virtues – hardworking people, warm and generous who don’t take kindly to excuses.
Today it’s a very different place, long gone are the works which made its name; replaced by small and medium enterprises playing their part in putting it back on the map again. Sadly, recession has hit very hard with town-centre shops closing by the day but Coatbridge is not alone in this so many other towns are also struggling in this way.
So challenges there are plenty but of one thing I am sure – the town has seen more difficult days and again it will endure. In life there always is a cycle and I believe good times will come again if negativity is cast aside and Coatbridge calls on all its strengths.
It’s time for a change of image; like many, I despair of the one portrayed. This town, the people are among the best, so let the case be made. Let’s look at some of the positives – some parts are busier than ever before with places like the Faraday centre bringing thousands to our doors.
We have Summerlee Museum, the Time Capsule, Drumpellier Country Park – real gems upon our doorstep; let’s spread the word about places like that. The future of course is uncertain, not just here but for towns overall but it’s vital we carry on the legacy left by our forebears who built this town out of nothing at all.
James Millar, Via email