Wednesday November 30th 2022

Middle Street, Consett (Photo: Pauline Eccles)

It's more of a former steel industry community than mining - and with a population of 25,000 it's a bit bigger than you think. (You're not thinking of Tow Law are you?). The cooling towers were a huge landmark that really dominated the Derwent valley. It used to be known as Red Town for the red dust that covered everything - as the sun went down everything turned a vivid red like Ayers Rock. When the BSC works closed in the late 70s nearly 4,000 workers lost their jobs. Some of them were offered jobs in the Phileas Fogg crisp factory. Not quite the same as working in a blast furnace.

I'm sure that will be cracking - be sure and fall in Ullswater. I fell in Coniston once and those around thought it amusing rather than expressing any concern that I'd fallen from a yacht fully clothed.

I'm minded of an old story about a chap that got done for criminal damage after he had walked round a corner and stuck one on a threatening looking chap only to find it was his reflection in a shop window.

I worked at what was then called Consett Technical College for three years when the steelworks still existed. Generally, the local people referred to it as "the company" (though it had been nationalised for some time).

The red dust which came from the steelworks, (which Harry refers to) was indeed everywhere. Inside the College, were you to run your finger along a shelf that had not been dusted for a while, you would collect a line of red dust. A white car would gradually assume a shade of dark pink if it were not washed frequently. They did put filters in the chimneys, but this seemed to have little effect.

The town was hugely dependent on the steelworks which produced high quality steel. The College was perched a little way down the hill more or less opposite the huge chimneys of the works. The College was a very small one, later to be renamed Derwentside College (which still exists). There were panoramic views of the surrounding countryside as Consett is about 900 feet above sea level. If you could see the Cheviots, you could expect rain and if you could not, then it was raining (a local saying). It could get very cold indeed in winter with substantial snowfall. I had the most dangerous drive of my life driving back through snow to the other side of Tow Law when the College closed early on night when I had an evening class. I had never experienced the effect of snowdrifts across roads where there are field gates which form solid humps and which are invisible until you hit them in zero visibility in driving snow. The car leaps in the air!

On another occasion a man died at Tow Law going home from the pub and losing his way. He could not be found until the next day.

Much of the College's provision was dependent on the steelworks, as it provided technical, electrical and engineering courses up to a high level. It was a colossal blow to the community when Thatcher's attitude to nationalised industries (BSC) saw the works close in 1980 leaving unemployment in the town at 35%. (I left in 1978). At that time, the operation was not making a loss as BSC had pared back the staff substantially. I think some employees moved to Redcar, but I am not sure.

A large number of people left the town altogether and the population of Derwentside fell by over 20,000 over the following decade. I caught up on an article from 2015 in the Northern Echo when the Redcar steelworks closed. It's a pretty positive spin, I think, but what alternative was there apart from lamentation?

Though the population has recovered, I doubt that the level of pay will be anything like the pay that the highly skilled steelworkers earned.

I think it would be right to describe what happened to Consett as tragic as so much of the social fabric was devastated.

Well done, Luke. Richard Hobson has done well with this horse, going regualarly to France with him. Proper French heavy ground suits him, being by Saint Des Saints out of a Poliglote mare, and Haydock was pretty testing today.

I had a pulmonary embolism a few years ago.My father in law died the same week,my consultant would not let me fly to the funeral without taking blood thinners.I would expect the doctors in Thailand will make sure Milton is prescribed some before flying home.

Sky are paying 4 places in this a nine horse race…the Cheltenham run is a bit of a worry…but is carrying no weight today.

Much debate on this race on the old whatsapp this AM, I'm a fan of Chambard, and owes me nothing after the Kim Muir at 40/1! A friend is going with Siant Xavier. The other obvious one being Coo Coo. I've left Coo Coo, have the other two in different multiples and now a small EW on Another Emotion. They can't all win, but I've some cover!!

Its a cracking race - like probably all of us here i really like the Veterans races and they are wide open! Looks over priced - good luck!

And they say money is tight ! 5.4 million was the top lot .