I couldn’t resist publishing this again, it’s my poem about the “Bing” which was a huge amount of debris that sat as a mound at the corner or Place View and Newhouse Drive, Kilbirnie before it was converted into a small playpark for kids around 1983 or 1984.
In Scottish terminology, a “Bing” refers to a large pile or heap of waste material, especially the waste rock and debris piled up in the process of mining, such as coal mining. These Bings are remnants of the industrial era, particularly in Scotland’s coal mining regions, where they were created from the spoil that was brought to the surface during the mining process. Over time, some of these Bings have become landmarks or have been reclaimed for various uses, while others still dominate parts of the Scottish landscape.
Warriors Bing refers to the Largs Hills where the Battle of Largs was fought, known locally as Warrior’s Bing.
O the years upon the Bing,
With cousin Margaret children played,
Climbing up with all our power
By Newhouse drive where people stayed,
Amid the thorns and grey cement,
There seemed a moment, time well spent,
And sliding down the gravel slope,
I skinned my knees without a hope,
My grannie waiting at the door,
With borax, plasters by the score,
O the hills we thought were steep,
When now an older life we keep,
Mountains slopes upon our minds,
Perhaps some Bings of different kinds,
Climbing o’er our darker thoughts,
Just like the thistles we did trod,
Lessons from the Bing well learnt,
Of my Granny’s soothing balm,
O how that Love returns to me,
And brings with it a sense of calm,
Behind this mound sat Warrior’s Bing,
Perhaps a sign of future years,
With bigger slopes and hills to climb
Amidst the darker fading years.