Dear Readers,
Hope you’re keeping well and having a gorgeous and glorious weekend!
Saturday 20th January 2024 marks the 30th death Anniversary of Sir Matt Busby, the Boss of all bosses. A kind man. A resilient man. Just a Legend.
Leave with me and discover his story!
(Please enable video settings 📹)
First of all, let’s take a peep at BELLSHILL in Scotland, Sir Matt’s birthplace …
Well, just about The Beatles, did you know that Sir Matt was mentioned in DIG IT ?
Here’s the lyrics…
‘Like a rolling stone
Like a rolling stone
Like a rolling stone
Like the FBI
And the CIA
And the BBC
B.B. King
And Doris Day
Matt Busby, dig it, dig it
Dig it, dig it, dig it
That was “Can You Dig It” by Georgie Wood
And now we’d like to do “Hark the Angels Come”
BUT WHERE IS BELLSHILL?
Mr Wikipedia explains:
Bellshill (pronounced “Bells hill”) is a town in North Lanarkshire in Scotland, ten miles (sixteen kilometres) southeast of Glasgow city centre and 37 mi (60 km) west of Edinburgh. Other nearby localities are Motherwell 2 mi (3 km) to the south, Hamilton 3 mi (5 km) to the southwest, Viewpark 1+1⁄2 mi (2.5 km) to the west, Holytown 2 mi (3 km) to the east and Coatbridge 3 mi (5 km) to the north. The town of Bellshill itself (including the villages of Orbiston and Mossend) has a population of about 20,650. From 1996 to 2016, it was considered to be part of the Greater Glasgow metropolitan area; since then it is counted as part of a continuous suburban settlement anchored by Motherwell with a total population of around 125,000.
The earliest record of Bellshill’s name is handwritten on a map by Timothy Pont dated 1596 although the letters are difficult to distinguish. It’s possible it reads Belſsill with the first s being an old-fashioned long s. The site is recorded as being east of “Vdinſtoun” and north of “Bothwel-hauch” (which confusingly is above “Orbeſton” on Pont’s map). The name can also been seen on another map, which was derived from Pont’s work, made by the Dutch cartographer Joan Blaeu where the place is called “Belmil”. The village consisted of a row of quarry workers’ houses owned by Mr. Bell, who owned a stone quarry to the south of Belmill. Charles Ross’ map of 1773 has “Belsihill” marked north of Crosgates and Orbiston. About 1810, this new settlement took on the name Bellshill and continued to grow. It absorbed nearby villages such as Nesnas, Black Moss and Sykehead. Bellshill was on the road which linked Glasgow and Edinburgh.
The first mine to open (and the last to close in 1953) was the Thankerton mine.Others followed swiftly and rapidly increased the size of the town, even attracting a steady stream of immigrants from abroad, particularly Ireland and Lithuania, so much so that the town is sometimes referred to as ‘Little Lithuania’ (or historically ‘Little Poland’, as contemporary evidence shows locals made little effort to distinguish the incomers’ backgrounds). Factors adversely affecting integration for the first generation of these ‘new Scots’ included a language barrier, minority religion (most were Catholic) and hostility based on suspicion of taking jobs, undercutting wages and breaking strikes – therefore the Lithuanians in Bellshill and elsewhere tended to identify more closely with the Irish communities of each town who had similar issues. The rise in the migrant population (though severely impacted by the political landscapes of First World War and subsequent Russian Revolution which adversely affected the status of Lithuanians both in their homeland and in Britain) led to the opening of The Scottish Lithuanian Recreation and Social Club on Calder Road in the Mossend area, but much of the culture has faded over the decades, with younger generations sometimes unaware of their family’s history due to a desire to assimilate into Scottish life and changes to distinctive surnames (either voluntarily or by obligation). Among the most famous of the descendants of this community was footballer Billy McNeill of Celtic and Scotland, while other mid-20th century players of the same heritage included Andy Swallow, Alex Millar, Matt Balunas and John Jack.
So, that’s a sight for sore eyes! Thank you to Mr Wikipedia for the detailed and remarkable explanation.
Well, we know his birthplace now . So let’s discover his figure and listen to the mesmerizing and great INTERVIEWS with SIR MATT:
We cannot forget the great and awesome figures he met during his life.
HERE’S TO YOU GEORGE BEST!🎉🍾
Please take a look at this touching and romantic page celebrating Matt Busby ( I do believe George Best is absolutely the best: his wise words are definitely a keen tribute of affection and respect ❤️)
And we cannot forget another important figure: his great nephew, Mr. Brendan Coyle ( the idol of lots of Dowtonians…). About that, Downton Gazette is very proud to announce its next book (coming very very soon) in tribute to Sir Matt Busby and the imaginary figure of Mr. John Bates ‘Guiding Lights’. That’s just an awesome and emotional celebration of these two resilient men, with the enchanting and sublime Fontana Shelter’s illustrations !
Finally, let’s talk about Sir Matt’s LEGACY : HUMILITY, HUMANITY AND KINDNESS.
Yes indeed, he was so gentle and polite to all the people around him. He was a bigger man for his attention to the little things. Well, that’s all, his brave motto was ‘JUST GO OUT AND ENJOY YOURSELF!’ as his whole reason for living was to enjoy it.
And his moral values and virtues surely are now cultivated and shared by the Volunteers at ORBISTON NEIGHBOURHOOD CENTRE, a dynamic, community-based organisation operating for the benefit of people living in the Orbiston and Bellshill area of North Lanarkshire. Their vision is of a thriving, inclusive community where people live, work and play in harmony.
Principal services are Childcare, Elderly Care, Community Cafe, Food Coop, Computer Learning, Befriending and Volunteering. In addition to this they also provide meeting space for other groups and activities
The company was established in 1993 by a group of local people from two Church of Scotland congregations. The Orbiston Neighbourhood Centre was opened in 1995 to provide a base for services and initiatives seeking to address problems of social exclusion and deprivation in the Bellshill community.
1994-2024
WELL, HE WAS A LEGEND: A KIND MAN THAT LOVED EVERYTHING IN LIFE THAT WAS GOOD.
Written by Downton Gazette & Fontana Shelter Art
downtongazette@gmail.com
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