Twenty thousand fae four hunner souls,
O’er time Blantir grew ‘an grew,
Hard workin folks, tae make ends meet,
‘An decent through n through.
It started wi monks ‘o which were few,
At thon Priory doon the Cawther,
A holy place n nice to settle,
I’m awfy glad they bothered.
Barnhill n Stonefield, folks built hames,
The tap cross n village tae,
Wi thatch n stane built tae last,
Right doon the old Pech Brae.
Seventeen hunners, arrived the mills,
‘An workers flocked in tae spin,
Joabs fir all, when boom times ruled,
‘An Communities united as kin.
Churches, chapels pubs n clubs,
No stoappin the eighteen fifties,
Davy livvies, schools n shops,
Fir people that wurnae thrifty.
Then came coal, good times and bad,
Oor town in size fair doubled,
Galas, fetes, bazaars ‘an merkets,
Bonded folks in times sae troubled.
Progress paid a heavy price,
Twa wars n closing doon oor shoaps,
Ripped the hert oot o everything,
Till the park e’n lost it’s boats.
The wind ‘o change at last has come,
Blantir Folks hiv hid enough,
Poetry, bridges, new merkets beckon,
Tae improve this toon we love.
Paul Veverka 2012