Every morning as a child,
I'd watch thousands of men walk down that hill
to work in the shipyard.
I'd watch those same men
walking back home every night.
It has to be said, the shipyard was not
the most pleasant place to live next door to,
or indeed work in.
The shipyard was noisy, dangerous,
highly toxic,
with an appalling health and safety record.
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Despite that, the men and women
who worked on those ships
were extraordinarily proud of the work they did,
and justifiably so.
Some of the largest vessels
ever constructed on planet Earth
were built right at the end of my street.