Cosmopolitan UK – September 2019

Much of Corby’shigh

street is nowderelict

COSMOPOLITAN · 95

appeared in 1984 and with it came
promises from wealthy developers that
WonderWorld would rival Disneyland,
and bring the community 23,000 jobs
by the year 2000. But three years later,
the news emerged that the money had
dried up. “WonderWorld”
spent the next two decades
as a building site. This came
like a sucker punch to a
town that had long been
defined by the closure of
its steel works in the ’80s,
a move which hurled a
third of its residents into
unemployment. Today the
level of unemployment sits
at 4.9% – higher than the
rest of Northamptonshire and
the UK average.†
“That tells you everything, doesn’t
it?” Corby-born-and-bred comedian

Alexandra Haddow, 31, tellsme.

“WonderWorld was symptomaticof

how the whole place felt; youwere

promised change but it alwaysfell

through. So eventually peoplejust

stop hoping for it. As a childI grew

up with the mentalitythat

you get out as soonasyou

can... you do well inschool

so that you can getout.

That’s what you aimfor.”

It was only when

Alexandra did getout,

moving to Leeds for

university, that sherealised

just how isolated her

hometown was.

“People I met [at

university] talked about travelling

over the summer and how they’d

paid for it by working in restaurants.

That was my first indicationthatthe

“Eventually

people just

stop hoping

for change”

READ

lifewehadwasn’twhateveryone

elsehad;wedidn’tevenhaveany

restaurantstoworkin.

“Whenyou’reinit,it’ssohardto

seehowbadit is,sowhenI leftand

cametorealisethatotherplaceshad

somethinggoingforthem,I started

thinkingthatthereshouldbemore

anger.It’sdemoralisingandhopeless.”

Alexandratakestothestagenight

afternighttodostand-upcomedy,

sosheis nostrangertodiscomfort.

Andyetevenshecan’tshakeoffhow

herhometownmakesherfeel.Her

sister,whostilllivesinCorby,is a

paramedicandseesfirsthandthe

effectsofa communityplungedinto

struggle.WhenAlexandratalkstoher

aboutthedeprivationsheseeswhen

shevisitsCorby,hersistertellsher,

“Youhavenoidea,noideaatall.”

ACOMMUNITYINNEED

Whilechattingtothelocals,I noticed

something.EverytimeI mentioned

thetopicofmentalhealthorsuicide,

whoeverI wasspeakingtohadsome

kindofconnectiontoit.Whetherthey

knewsomeonewithmentalhealth

problems,hadlostsomeoneto

suicideorhadalsotriedtotaketheir

ownlives,theyallhada storytotell.

ForDan,a rakishmanwithdoeeyes

anda voicesoquietandgentleI strain

tohearhim,it wassomeoneinhis

family.Hefiddleswithhisphoneas

hemovestheconversationalong›

Daniella found

a town in crisis

*ONS.

†NORTHAMPTONSHIRE.GOV.UK