Return to Longhill

Walked round what was St Margaret's Welcome Centre on Longhill this afternoon. A place I once knew as Longhill Link-up, back in the early 2000s. A community centre, a cafe, a library, a church. Where so much has gone on over the years.

Parties, youth clubs, Mums and Tots groups, Holy Communion, line dancing, nativity plays, summer fayres, craft clubs, Bible studies, Christmas tree competitions, pie and peas nights, chair aerobics, singalongs with JJ McColl, prayer gatherings, after-school computer clubs, Thursday men's club, chats over coffee, tears over cake, laughs with Karen and Barbara, Barrie and Marie, Alison and Lilja, Alisha and Carol, Cathy and Jean, Kelvin and Irene, Sharon and Miles, Dorothy, Jan, Judy, Ed, Marilyn, Mike.....

Now it's all boarded up. With a For Sale sign on the side.

Wandering round the back, looking down at the brambles and broken glass, suddenly, there's a noise. Thought it was a car alarm but looking up, soon realised it was birds in a tree. Squawking, screeching. Above what used to be the chapel. And then, whilst filming, some of them took flight in a mini murmuration. 

In the midst of bleakness, a burst of delight.

    

Fiona P