24/11/2022
Ged Post: Last farewell to Redcar’s Blast Furnace Wednesday 23rd November 2022.
Well what can I say, the forecast was for rain throughout the morning but this major and sad moment for Redcar was having none of it. The Blast wasn’t going anywhere without one more opportunity to capture her iconic outline against one of those beautiful sunrises we are renowned for. She was going out in style. Many photographs later the sun came up to the left of the Blast, her rays filling one of the large remaining sheds. That was it for now a chance for a break before the main event.
So the moment of ex*****on had arrived at 9am on the dot, a thunderous bang filled the air, then a brief moment of silence before this colossal giant collapsed thundering to the ground before our eyes, in what seemed like a scene from a movie set. Brown smoke then billowed forward in our direction and blotted out the sky, a breeze eventually taking it all the way down the road in the direction of the lighthouse.
Then came the downpour that had just held off from preventing us all capturing this historic moment. What a spectacle to witness, one that filled you with a sense of awe one moment and then a sense of sadness the next. We had lost our iconic landmark, one that has graced our shores for as long as I can remember. It has provided jobs and security for friends and family throughout the entire Teesside area.
I feel fortunate enough to have played some small part in recording through photography over the past decade and a half our once proud history of steel making and I hope you have enjoyed seeing the images I have taken.
The Great North East Ged x
