Taken whilst passing by on the train, this scene is so familiar from past journeys, though it has changed substantially, there are fewer chimneys and the air is clearer now. It is a magnificent and iconic scene of Wales’ industrial past, a dark tangle of metal silhouetted against the sky, swathed in smoke and steam, wet slate glistening in a shaft of sunlight. I imagine the noise, thundering of heavy machinery, lung-filling smoke and dust, bitter smells of steel working, searing heat from furnaces, workers rough clothes heavy with sweat and dirt and I’m thankful it’s not me who has to toil there.
Sally Wakelin - Studies in Creativity 