I’m in the trenches helping others now
Uddingston musician’s football anthem featured in Fergie film
Garry King is a fine example of how people can bounce back from the lows of substance or alcohol use and live a positive and productive life.
Garry and his son, also Garry, from Wishaw, are volunteers with Lanarkshire charity Blameless and their experiences come from opposite sides of the spectrum.
They may share the same name but they have very different experiences of living with the impact of addiction.
Garry senior battled and overcame addiction issues, spending months in a rehab centre.
For a number of years he has worked with Blameless – located at the Hamilton Accies stadium – a charity for children who have been directly or indirectly affected by addiction or alcoholism.
He also spent four years as the football club’s community outreach manager and is now involved in a Wishaw-based project helping others overcome addiction issues.
Garry, senior, said:“i’ve been an addict almost all my life, and I still consider myself that way. There are plenty of mind-altering substances out there, whether it’s guys getting methadone from the chemist, or the granny taking too many co-codamol. Anyone can fall into addiction.
“I decided to come back to my own town to work and give people some sort of fast-track signposting opportunities to help not only themselves but their families as well.
“We’ve had a community group; Go Together, going through lockdown, based at St Andrew’s Church in Wishaw. On a daily basis I’m talking with at least half a dozen addicts in recovery, it’s sort of‘in the trenches’work.
“There are a lot of people confused about addiction and don’t see certain things as being problematic.
“We are trying to help people that are low in self-esteem and give them the tools to help them fend for themselves, and be open and honest. There are different ways people can get involved. We want to create something family orientated. It’s about trying to improve social interaction and community, and having a good time doing that.
“We want to let people know that there is a solution to the way they’re living, and give them a bit of hope.
“People can and are changing their perception of life and getting well.”
Garry junior also uses his own life experiences to help others.
He said:“blameless is for children who have been affected by parents who have problems with addiction.
“I’m 32 but I’m a child of someone who had terrible problems with addiction. Sometimes when you have outsiders with no experience the children can say‘well you don’t know what it’s like’, whereas I have first hand experience.
“I can say‘this is my dad and he is a drug addict’. He gets to come at it from the side of being an addict and I am a family member of someone who is.”
Success Aberdeen manager Alex Ferguson (left) and assistant Archie Knox celebrate with the trophy
A football anthem by an Uddingston composer is to feature in a new film about Sir Alex Ferguson.
European Song, written by the late Harry Barry, celebrated Aberdeen FC’S victory in the European Cup Winners’ Cup final in 1983.
Now it’s back centre stage in the documentary Sir Alex Ferguson: Never Give In, which was directed by Ferguson’s son Jason as the football legend recovered from a brain haemorrhage in 2018.
Harry’s European Song was recorded with the Aberdeen squad including players Jim Leighton, Gordon Strachan, Alex Mcleish, Willie Miller and
Mark Mcghee as well as winning goal scorers Eric Black and John Hewitt. It was pressed as a 7-inch single in the Dons’ trademark red and white colours and had to be reissued when initial supplies of 100,000 copies ran out, as fans queued at record stores in the Granite City. Demand was so great that distributors drove to Wales to collect boxes of the record direct from the pressing plant. Harry, who died suddenly in 2013, has a huge back catalogue as a writer and producer.
He played drums and sang on Ally’s Tartan Army with the 1978 Scotland World Cup squad and wrote most of the songs on the official album.
He also wrote hundreds of songs and TV and radio jingles and songs over his 50 year career many which are still running today.
Locally he was best known for The Big Elastic Band which produced two albums and countless singles.
The debut recording When Big Roy Sang on Annie Mcgregor’s Juke Box was inspired by an Uddingston cafe owner.
In 2010 he recorded Jimmy Shand’s On the Wireless which celebrated Uddingston life in the 1950s and produced a new play called The Hauf and Half which showcased the unique language of Coatbridge.
The family set up the Harry Barry Prize for Music at his former school,
The song was written for European Cup Winners’cup champions Aberdeen, led by then manager Sir Alex Ferguson (inset)
Uddingston Grammar, in 2015.
The annual award includes a trophy and professional studio time for a talented young musician.
Harry’s daughter Kate, said: “We’re delighted that dad’s memory lives on in his music and look forward to the film. “He was a talented man.”
Sir Alex Ferguson: Never Give In premieres at the Glasgow Film Festival on March 6.
Speaking about the documentary, Sir Alex, said: “Losing my memory was my biggest fear when I suffered the haemorrhage.
“In the making of the film I was able to revisit the most important moments of my life, good and bad.
“Having Jason direct the film has ensured an honest and intimate account.”
It’s in cinemas from May 27 if restrictions are lifted and on Amazon Prime Video from May 29.
For more information on Harry or to download the track see www. harrybarrymusic.com
We look forward to seeing the film. He was a talented man
The family of a young Motherwell dad who died suddenly from heart disease are taking on a charity challenge in his memory.
Adam Mcknight and his fiancée Dannika were due to get married and had been celebrating the birth of their baby boy Blane, when Adam passed away in 2016.
The 28-year-old had gone to hospital with chest pains and later suffered a fatal cardiac arrest.
Now as Adam’s family and friends mark the fifth anniversary of his death, they’ve signed up to take part in this year’s virtual Kiltwalk, in support of the
British Heart Foundation (BHF).
“Adam was and still is the best dad and fiancé that anyone could have asked for. His memory carries on in his son Blane,” explained Linda Dykes, Dannika’s mum.
“He died of ischemic heart disease but had no idea he had it – it was all so sudden. He went to hospital with pains in his chest, went into cardiac arrest and never woke up.”
Adam’s family has already raised more than £1500 for the BHF – the largest independent funder of research into heart and circulatory diseases in the UK.
During the first lockdown last year, Linda and her niece Siobhan set themselves the challenge of walking 26 miles in 12 hours – taking in a local route from Carfin to Carluke and back, and then from Carfin to Motherwell and back. Now they are preparing for this year’s virtual Kiltwalk in April.
Linda added: “We are supporting the BHF so that other families are spared the heartache of losing a loved one in such tragic circumstances.
“This shouldn’t have happened to such a young, fit man and we’re determined to do everything we can in Adam’s name to help others.”
The family’s efforts come at a critical time for the BHF and the charity is hoping to encourage its biggest ever team of fundraisers to sign up for the virtual Kiltwalk this spring.
The last 12 months have been the hardest in the BHF’S 60-year history.
The Covid-19 crisis has had a devastating impact on its income and, as a result, research funding had to be cut in half this year, putting future life-saving discoveries at risk.
James Jopling, head of BHF Scotland, said: “Our research in Scotland and across the UK to help save and improve lives is only made possible thanks to wonderful supporters like Linda and her family, and we need the public’s support now more than ever.
“The closure of our shops during lockdown and the cancellation and postponement of traditional fundraising events means we are facing our biggest ever challenge.
“Cutting research funding will impact the development of new ways of preventing, diagnosing and treating heart and circulatory diseases and we cannot allow the progress we have made over the last six decades to slow. That’s why we’re so inspired by Linda’s family and friends, fundraising for us in Adam’s memory and in these challenging times, to help us beat heartbreak forever.”
Heart and circulatory diseases cause around 50 deaths each day in Scotland and across the country an estimated 700,000 people are living with the daily burden of these conditions.
If you would like to sign up to BHF Scotland’s Kiltwalk team, you can find more details at www.thekiltwalk.co.uk/ events
For more about the work of the BHF and how you can help support us, visit www.bhf.org.uk
The other week I shared my chicken liver parfait, and this easy bread is a great accompaniment to have with it.
What I really like is that once it is over a day old it toasts beautifully, and is even more delicious buttered with the parfait.
For a change, you can use other herbs like dill or thyme – they all work well.
This recipe makes two loaves and can easily be halved if you only want to make one.