Sunlight on Sharp Street ...... earlier in the week

It is of course stating the obvious to say that pretty much anywhere looks better in bright sunlight.

That said I can think of a few forlorn places behind gasworks and those old tanning works which would challenge the idea that a warm sunny dayncould transform a rubbish scene.

But Andy’s pictures of his adventure down by the old Ragged School near Angel Meadow prove that Sammy sunshine can lift a place.

Back in the 19th century and into the 20th the area was grim and even in the 1990s it wouldn’t qualify for a scenic award.

For while the crummy housing, and decaying factories and warehouses had gone it was still a dismal place not lifted by its history which was equally grim and depressing.

Now I could go on about the awful living conditions around Angel Meadow and its slide into an area of open spaces, car parks, and empty properties, all waiting for something to happen.

But I won’t, instead I will share more of Andy’s photographs which are chronicling the transformation of the area.

Some will mutter that the developments are bland, off the peg architecture and will be home to many who do not care about the history all around them.

 But that is to be unfair to the residents and to the developments, which have the merit of replacing those old windswept car parks which were empty by 6 pm with a bit of busy life again, albeit a less grim one.

Location; Sharp Street

Pictures; down by Sharp Street , 2018 from the collection of Andy Robertson