Ebbw Vale SteelworksI remember when blast furnaces flamed the sky at nightI remember when tall chimneys breathed clouds in bright daylight I remember double deckers taking large and eager men to the bustling noisy steelworks again, again, again. I remember Dad working shifts, tired, glad to be in work I remember the locomotives he steered through coal dust murk I remember queuing trucks bearing limestone coal and ore consumed by fiery furnaces hungering for more and more. I remember the Social Club where we went one summer's eve I remember the drinks and crazy golf I was very loath to leave. I remember Christmas pantomimes provided by R T & B* holiday jobs with other students and the camaraderie. I remember Dad's towels, boots, dungarees, given free I remember steel capped footwear he then passed on to me I remember that very day just thirty-five years past and the old brown leather shoes the steelworks made to last. I'll remember the time forever they closed our steelworks down I'll remember the day forever they killed a thriving town I'll remember the valley people they too hastily tossed aside people left high and dry by the ebb of profit's tide. * RT&B: Richard Thomas & Baldwins' Steelworks before nationalisation. |
