Wednesday 6 October 2010

So the B******s Burnt it!


Sorry for the swearing but am so very very mad and saddened by the loss of the pier. Yesterday early morning at least two people decided the pier wasn’t needed anymore and they burnt it. The lovely ballroom is now a shell of twisted metal rising out of the sea. But sadly due to the controversy surrounding the pier I very much doubt that, phoenix style, any restorations will rise as well. It’s just far too much for them to do when they couldn’t even sort out the compulsory purchase order in the first place. So probably its either going to rot for many many years similar to the Brighton one along the coast or someone might actually get around to pulling it all down.




Think this poem I found on You-tube sums up the Towns feelings rather well. It’s by a lad called Christian Watson:
"They Burned it Down"

They burned it,
They burned it down.
One of the best things about this town.
They burned it with inaction and excuses,
Time, lack of money, lack of care.
Don’t it make you feel useless?

If they had given me a hammer and a couple of nails,
If they had given me some glue and a bucket of paint.
If they had given into the peoples demands,
If they had given me permission
If they had given me a hand.

They leave this town rotting,
Observer building, The Ridge;
Moving the Soul of the College into an oversized fridge.
There’s no money in restoring.
It’s all in construction.
In whoring cheap materials cheap labour,
Under the table deals sold of Council favours.
Then give it a few years its up and its “Bye see you later”.

But we have to live here,
While you burn it down.
One building at a time,
Don’t it make you feel proud?

They burned it,
They burned it down.
Two teenagers bored and un-amused
A claim to fame,
Exploding into flames.
And come the morning the gray light smoke fades,
As the soot washes down the drain.

Those boys in a cell they’re just products, two sad little names.
That we can put on the rock that sees this town wither and wane.

Well I’m fed up the uming, the ahing, the handwriting, the handwringing, the sighing.
The filling out forms creating the contracts.
Watch the rats as they feed at the supports.

I’m fed up of waiting.
And when I can see what needs doing.
So grab a hammer, grab a box of nails.
Get some wood from Stamco, get some paint.
And what else?
We just need some people, each with a pair of hands.
Because if we move as one, we can make them give into our demands.

We need to reclaim our seafront, Our beaches, Our castle, Our bricks and mortar.
The town we call home.
Because we knew what needs doing, Where to put the love and care.
It’s time to claim what we own,
Before it’s burnt up and burnt away.
Like the Pier.
That we lost today.

Photo credit Simon Hookey


So what to do, for ages a lot of infighting no doubt. Indifference even maybe? I hope not. I really do. This town is slowly suffering and we need our history to move forward. I hope that it gets rebuilt or a brand new one in its place.
Grr, rant over.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

I'm so sorry, this is awful!!

Debra She Who Seeks said...

A terrible story -- what a loss!

Wendy said...

A pier where I live which has been famous since the 60's burned down and they just closed it off and now it looks like the ghost of days past. I wish they had a special "pier" restoration project. Sorry for the loss of another beautiful landmark.

Leanna said...

How could they do that to a piece of history? It's so sad.

No one said...

Wow- I can't believe you copied the poem down. Thanks for sharing it man, I think I hit a nerve- it was just an immediate response to what was happening, I'm so glad people feel the same. Take care.

J said...

It had a secondary fire today too though now out I do wonder how much more will be destroyed. Really am so sad about it all, so many memories.

@No.1 Fake: No problem, tried to find a way of asking/telling you I was going to do it, hope it was typed the way you meant it to be? btw, how did you know it was here?