Comments on: Born To Work http://cosmopolitanscum.com/2009/08/21/born-to-work/ cities arrived at and left Thu, 02 Feb 2012 14:58:31 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.com/ By: Steve http://cosmopolitanscum.com/2009/08/21/born-to-work/#comment-100 Tue, 08 Dec 2009 17:40:28 +0000 http://cosmopolitanscum.com/?p=218#comment-100 During the 1980s I was involved in a study of ‘corporate social responsibility’ (!) which took me regularly onto the shop floor at a major foundry in the Midlands and to food factories too. Your images of foundry workers reminds me of that foundry. I liked the smells of casting sand resin, the heat and even the tremendous noise of a grinding shop (grinding off excess grey iron off differential gearbox castings). That was the toughest work that I have ever seen anybody do. The management was institutionally racist without realising this (and we told them so). The food factory was a happier place!

I’m pleased I did some factory work as it taught me the meaning of solidarity, and though I took no photographs the images remain in my head. I also learned that factory workers only insult you if they like you. If they don’t they are polite! Torrents of coarse abuse would greet me at RHM Bakery Canterbury, and I loved it there on nights (no managers on shift/ so yipee). It wasn’t the done thing to swear in the presence of women…. who were mostly restricted to Day Working.

Great images. Thanks again.

]]> By: Liz Wade http://cosmopolitanscum.com/2009/08/21/born-to-work/#comment-91 Sat, 28 Nov 2009 22:13:24 +0000 http://cosmopolitanscum.com/?p=218#comment-91 Great to see Lee, Howl mentioned. I was the last member of my family to work there. My gt.uncle worked there so did my cousin.

It was a family firm.

Liz

]]> By: Writtenbylight » The boy and the flag… http://cosmopolitanscum.com/2009/08/21/born-to-work/#comment-78 Tue, 29 Sep 2009 18:56:15 +0000 http://cosmopolitanscum.com/?p=218#comment-78 [...] the photographs that etched itself upon my psyche.  This image, as well as a body of work entitled ‘Born to work’ by the photographer Nick Hedges made me want to take photographs [...]

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