How
in 1969 to commemorate the centenary of the towns incorporation
the Naturalists association Antiquarian collection
was emptied onto the feet of young boys who kicked the stuffed birds down Eldon Street.
And how
in Locke Park'{victorian memorial to Joseph, local
ironroad engineer who made inrails to respectability.)
was stolen by cold miners in a strike.
Old beams became warmth, stuffed birds became play, linked in a medieval tithe barn dismantled and stacked
 becoming
links in belonging;
a new arriving
home to find you have not moved but it’s a new time and place

NOTE: This was published before the brilliant ‘Experience Barnsley’ was installed in Barnsley old Town Hall