Medway Messenger column, 8th February 2002: Royalty On Dirty Streets

Congrats to the Gills for making the Fifth Round of the FA Cup again this year, after their victory on Tuesday night against Bristol Rovers. Their cup run of two years ago when they knocked out then-Premiership side Sheffield Wednesday caused great amusement in Medway Methodist church circles, since our superintendent was an Owls fan. 

How the mighty have fallen. Now Gillingham are striding up the First Division table, and Wednesday are struggling to avoid relegation to Division Two. Who is David and who is Goliath now? 

So now the Gills can look forward to an away tie with Arsenal. (Oops, I missed those all-important words ‘money-spinning’.) Now that really is a David and Goliath contest, however much some supporters at Priestfield are starting to cherish optimistic ideas of a play-off place. 

And as a Tottenham fan myself, I’d especially like to wish our local team all the best against our deadly rivals! If I could supply the stone for our David to knock out Goliath, I’d be only too delighted. No doubt if Gillingham were drawn against Spurs, I’d see things slightly differently. Can’t think why … 

The remarkable turn-around of the Gills’ fortunes in recent years has often been commented upon, even on occasion in the national newspapers. From near extinction to the top half of Division One is a story worth telling. 

Medway itself is turning around, too. You don’t need me to rehearse the history of the Dockyard closure and the devastation that followed in an area that wasn’t exactly heaving with riches in the first place. A friend of mine described Medway as ‘a northern situation in a southern landscape’. 

Yet a number of the social indicators have begun to change in recent years. Although our health statistics are among the poorest in Kent, we are quite average for the country. Unemployment is not as bad as it was – though it is still a tragedy for those it blights. Economic regeneration through the work of Medway Council, the Thames Gateway initiatives, and other funding from regional government are beginning to make their mark. 

But underneath all this still lies evidence that all is still far from well. Drive our streets and slalom around the potholes: the roads of Medway have cost me two new car exhausts in four years. Or walk our pavements, along with those who feel compelled generously to share the smoke from their cancer sticks with you. 

Then look beneath your feet, and see the amount of refuse there. To my eyes at least, last year’s highly commendable Council campaign against that litter hasn’t had the hoped-for effect. 

And perhaps the rubbish is the clue. It says something about us – that many of us feel like rubbish as people. Cancer and heart disease aren’t the only major illnesses in Medway – low self-esteem is another killer. I have come across so many people here who tell me they are worthless. 

Talk to such people at greater length and you discover they are far from useless. They are gifted artists; they are skilled in a trade; they are perceptive judges of character. Yet they have a CD on repeat play in their minds, chanting, “You are hopeless, you are hopeless”. And they believe it. 

To me, that’s where God comes in. A God who made us ‘in his image’ thinks we’re special. Jesus Christ who died for our sins loves us dearly. The Holy Spirit who wants to take up residence in our lives is passionate for us. 

Believe that and you won’t have to wait for the Queen’s Jubilee visit to Medway for royalty to be present here. Princes and princesses – children of the King of Kings – will stride the streets of Medway, heads held high. 

And maybe the paving slabs beneath their feet will be cleaner, too.

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Copyright © David D Faulkner, 2006 except where other sources are attributed or noted as inspiration.