2011 Streak Day 139: Cycle - 15.85 miles, Time - 1hr 6min, Weather - blue sky, fluffy clouds
I take a childish delight in seeing diggers munch their way through concrete and marvel at their power - just look at the size of the concrete beam the yellow one is lifting. I somehow imagine them as a pack of animals feeding on the debris.
Here they are flattening a processing plant in the business park. Watching the destruction I know it will only be a short time before I have forgotten the building was even here.
Quite a good social history could be written by tracing the changes in the business parks of the New Towns around London. In the beginning there was a heavy reliance on the aerospace industry but now that has mostly gone. (In Hemel the example of this was Lucas Aerospace, which opened a plant in 1956). Now it is distribution and logistics.
Looking back at your local history is one of the reasons you need public libraries. They keep the old maps, directories and accounts, without which you are lost. Otherwise it is amazing how quickly your own memory fades. A simple example from the high street, when one shop closes and is replaced by another - how long does it take to completely forget about the original shop?
1 comment:
It's quite thrilling to see how easily they make a meal of rock and rubble isn't it? Sometimes Hector moves to stand behind my legs, as if watching something scary yet compelling through his fingers.
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