I've just read The Road to Wigan Pier, and if living conditions for some in Sheffield were half as bad as Orwell reports, they were dire beyond belief. And this was less than 100years ago. My mother was a child in 1936!
We can't condemn the workers who lived in these conditions though, but we can strongly condemn those that kept them in such poverty- the landlords, land-owners, industrialists and investors. Some things don't change, I'm sure they'd do the same now in pursuit of a quick profit!
I may not - well, don’t - live in a stately home, but I do live in Norton. We don’t seem to be that rebellious these days, being mostly of mature years, but I for one am eternally thankful for the fierce pride of the Sheffielders of yesteryear. Without such people asserting their right to be seen as human beings just the same as all the rich people (including the king!), we might still be breathing filthy air, living in slums and often being cold and hungry.
(Having said that, of course some people do still live in awful conditions. It angers me that the wealthy are so often reluctant to make much of a contribution to helping their fellow citizens.)
I’m no king, but as a Weymouth resident, next time I wander along the seafront I shall exclaim “Sheffield, damn fine place”, if that helps. I only spent a day there but I thought it was an attractive city centre…I may have to visit again now.
I’m not sure Orwell had much time for anyone else of any class or place. Much as I enjoy his fiction and non fiction I am not sure he was an astute or empathic person? Perhaps that is why he seemed happiest on Jura. However I suspect it is the citizens of Wigan who have the most to feel aggrieved at what became an international reputation for slum living even if the ‘pier’ has generated some tourist income.
I've just read The Road to Wigan Pier, and if living conditions for some in Sheffield were half as bad as Orwell reports, they were dire beyond belief. And this was less than 100years ago. My mother was a child in 1936!
We can't condemn the workers who lived in these conditions though, but we can strongly condemn those that kept them in such poverty- the landlords, land-owners, industrialists and investors. Some things don't change, I'm sure they'd do the same now in pursuit of a quick profit!
I may not - well, don’t - live in a stately home, but I do live in Norton. We don’t seem to be that rebellious these days, being mostly of mature years, but I for one am eternally thankful for the fierce pride of the Sheffielders of yesteryear. Without such people asserting their right to be seen as human beings just the same as all the rich people (including the king!), we might still be breathing filthy air, living in slums and often being cold and hungry.
(Having said that, of course some people do still live in awful conditions. It angers me that the wealthy are so often reluctant to make much of a contribution to helping their fellow citizens.)
Interesting,thanks.
I’m no king, but as a Weymouth resident, next time I wander along the seafront I shall exclaim “Sheffield, damn fine place”, if that helps. I only spent a day there but I thought it was an attractive city centre…I may have to visit again now.
I’m not sure Orwell had much time for anyone else of any class or place. Much as I enjoy his fiction and non fiction I am not sure he was an astute or empathic person? Perhaps that is why he seemed happiest on Jura. However I suspect it is the citizens of Wigan who have the most to feel aggrieved at what became an international reputation for slum living even if the ‘pier’ has generated some tourist income.