Simon's Blog

A short while ago I mentioned I was thinking about a new project to do with the 1984 Miners strike – 30 Years Later.  Today I’ve started to take the very first tentative steps along the path of making images for this project by visiting Bagworth – these are the first three images.

I thought the wind turbine protest was perhaps the most ironic as it was posted opposite the old pit yard at Bagworth – which is now a residential estate.  30 years ago the mine was dedicated to feeding the huge power stations along the Trent Valley with coal.  As a result untold amounts of CO2 was passed into the atmosphere – now the villagers are protesting about a technology that will try in some small way to repair the damage done by all that coal.   I thought there was a certain amount of symmetry encapsulated in this one notice.

The other two images record the passing of the railway, a constant companion of the mining industry from the 19th century onwards.   The difference here is that both lines are some of the earliest steam locomotive lines in the world as they are part of the Swannington to Leicester railway line which opened in the early 1830’s with the aim of bring coal from Bagworth and other west Leicestershire coal mines to Leicester.  They both went out of action a long time ago – replaced by more efficient ways to transport the coal and are now havens for wildlife.

Nature will Find a Way