VENT VENT VENT!!!
Ahem..
I've been away from UE photography for quite a long time now, so I haven't been keeping up with what's happening, or more to the point, the state of certain buildings.
Needless to say, I've just found out about Hartwood.
:'(
Unbelievable.. I still find it hard to comprehend that such a solid, ornate and functional building has been ruined by what I presume is a shower of chimps with nothing more rewarding in their life than seeing many years of history being reduced to rubble at their own doing.
I always liked Hartwood. It was one of the more interesting places to me, as I found and explored it through my own curiosity. This was before reading about it anywhere, so it felt like a unique discovery rather than revisiting a place which others had documented before. I was planning on going back in the not too distant future to photograph it more thoroughly. It certainly rams home what everyone says.. never, ever, ever put it off.
It also turns out that the Littlemill distillery in Bowling (just down the road from here) was torched last week. This was a VERY old and very attractive old building which was intended to be re-opened in the future as a heritage site. It also happens to be one of the first buildings I ever explored.
Although they arrested a group of neds, no justice would suffice except tying them to a chair and forcing them to watch their own home and belongings set alight, before throwing them in a big oven and having them cook slowly and painfully to death.
Happy happy happy thoughts...
David