Steeltown - Life after Burberry

Thinking Allowed

BBC

Science, Society & Culture

4.4 • 973 Ratings

🗓️ 4 April 2012

⏱️ 30 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

When the factories close, what happens to the communities they leave behind? In this week's programme, Laurie investigates the effects of industrial decline in Wales, examining in-depth sociological studies of the residents of two industrial Welsh towns. Professor Valerie Walkerdine discusses the impact of the closure of the steelworks in 'Steeltown.' How does an community cope when its focal point finally closes? How does the community attempt to maintain a sense of identity? How do young men deal with the embarrassment of being branded "mammy's boys" for having to take on 'feminine' work? And how do women manage to hold the community together? Also in the programme, Jean Jenkins tells Laurie about her research on how the closure of the Burberry factory in Treorchy affected non-work life for the workers concerned. Many people found part time work, but did that really improve their life at home? Producer: Charlie Taylor.

Transcript

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0:00.0	Take some time for yourself with soothing classical music from the mindful mix,
0:06.0	the Science of Happiness Podcast.
0:08.0	For the last 20 years I've dedicated my career to exploring the science of living a happier more meaningful life and I want
0:14.4	to share that science with you.
0:16.1	And just one thing, deep calm with Michael Mosley.
0:19.4	I want to help you tap in to your hidden relaxation response system and open the door to that calmer place within.
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0:30.0	Just before this BBC podcast gets underway, here's something you may not know.
0:36.0	My name's Linda Davies and I Commission Podcasts for BBC Sounds.
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0:44.4	featuring the most knowledgeable experts and genuinely engaging voices.
0:49.5	What you may not know is that the BBC makes podcasts about all kinds of things like pop stars
0:55.8	poltergeist cricket and conspiracy theories and that's just a few examples
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1:08.0	This is a Thinking Loud Podcast from the BBC and for more details in our terms of use and much much more about
1:14.7	thinking aloud go to our website at BBC.co. UK.
1:20.0	This is the sound and the fury of a working steel plant. The white-hot flash of
1:30.6	steel melting in furnaces, the crank of the drop forges, the sizzle of the water cooling
1:37.2	rods and the rumble of the giant labels carrying the molten metal.
1:42.1	And this book which I now hold in my hand is the story of what happened when those sounds stopped forever one day back in 2002. It's a story of how the people in one
1:57.1	small town in South Wales coped with the closing down of the iron and steelworks
	...

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