Monday 14 October 2019

The United Kingdom of Song #37: Barnsley


Sadly, this post doesn't represent a return to regular blogging or a resurrection of old features. Things are still tumultuous and may be set to get more so... I'm holding my breath on that one and for the best.

I'm not going to bore you with the ups and downs of my current predicament though, particularly as I know many of you are going through tumults of your own. But I put this tune on a compilation for Sam the other day and the mention of Barnsley leapt out at me.

Barnsley is the town where I work, and has been for the last 8 years. It gets a bad rep, as many northern towns do, but I reckon it's got quite a lot going for it, once you get past the "It's grim up north" cliches. The fact that I hate my job has nothing to do with the town in which I work - indeed, having commuted to Bradford for 20+ years prior to that, I find my 40 minute drive to Barnsley to be a delight... if it wasn't for the rocks rolling round in the pit of my stomach the closer I get to my purgatory. It's certainly a nicer and easier place to get to than Manchester, Leeds, Sheffield or any of the sexier cities round these parts... just one of the factors which makes searching for a new job a bit of a minefield.

Anyway, I can't find any other songs that mention Barnsley, but this one was a favourite of mine back in the late Britpop era and it still stands up pretty well today. I've no idea what these lyrics are about though...

Christopher Robin blew his friends away
Wrapped 'em up and moved up Barnsley way
Got a job he's milking plastic trays
Got a line in filling early graves


Take care of yourselves. Nobody else will.


8 comments:

  1. Good to hear from you Rol. Sending positive vibes for better times ahead.

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  2. As the Swede said Rol.
    Stay strong

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  3. Barnsley, Rotherham, Doncaster, Wakefield... my in-laws live over that way so I have a working knowledge of some of these towns.

    Hope things get better soon.

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  4. I'm so sorry to hear things are tumultuous for you at the moment. As said above, really hope things improve v soon and in the meantime sending you my best wishes Rol.

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  5. It is good to hear some news from you Rol, even if it was no good news. Take care of you and keep your head up. Hope better times will come soon my friend.

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  6. So sorry to hear that things are tough for you at the moment and of course makes me even more apologetic about my recent rant - Like you, I know a fair few of us are going through tumults at the moment, but sometimes good to offer up an explanation as to why our blogging output is somewhat down at present. As you can see from the comments above, the blogging community are all sending you good vibes which doesn't necessarily help on a practical level but something positive to cling on to.

    Personally I think the weight of negativity in the news at present is putting a cloud over everything we do in our daily lives. Better, less troubled times lie ahead, I'm sure of it. We've just got to hang on in there and really appreciate all the little things in life, but not easy I know.

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  7. I'm in Wakefield tomorrow, Rol. Short notice, I know, but if you can spare an hour, I'd love to meet you for a quick coffee.
    john@johnmedd.com

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  8. Sorry to hear things are not great. Wishing you better days ahead

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