Transcript

I just find it very difficult to imagine what it’s like for people who did work everyday in the ship yards, because I still have this abiding memory of the sort of, the gates opening at the Swan Hunter entrance and this mass of humanity that’s only ever replicated in football matches now I think where suddenly hoards of people, at the same moment would emanate and disperse amongst these rows and rows of brick terrace housing and the whole structure if you look when your in Wallsend and you look down the rows of terraces its almost as if your being forced to look at the ship yards. Y’know they all come up, they’re not along side the river they’re all facing down the river, so as you walk down the street your walking to work, or your walking back from work. And I think it must have been very difficult for everytime there were massive lay offs of personnel because you couldn’t get away from what it was, just like the coal mining areas there’s those structures that are always there and I have to say it must be very, very difficult and it still fascinates me – what do all the people do who live in Wallsend now who used to be employed directly or indirectly by the ship yards?