The Evil European

A bit I wrote for a uni mag.

Meadowhall at 2am on a Sunday is not normally a place one would want to be. But then, this was no normal Sunday. After 70 years, the cooling towers for the Blackburn Meadows Power Station, which was closed down in the 1970s, were to come down.

While we arrived at 2am, there had been reports that people had been arriving all day. In the Meadowhall car park, there must have been at least 500 people, possibly over a 1000. However, the flashing of cameras on the hills all the way around the cooling towers pointed to many more people watching the mass destruction.

The atmosphere was one more akin to fire works display, with a wide cross-section of Sheffield present. An elderly couple with their grandson stood to our right, a 20 something couple to our left, and a group of teenagers behind us. There even appeared to be a hen night in full swing below us. I did not know controlled demolition was a traditional hen night theme!

Given that it was August, the height of the British summer, it was raining. Umbrellas were going up and down all night, but as we approached 3am, the umbrellas all came down to give those behind a better view.

The towers were light up, and as demolition time approached, the horns blasted out. We were expecting a loud explosion, but instead we got a two dull ‘thuds’ and a rumble in the ground. The towers seemed to come down in slow motion, and for a glimpse, you could see the concrete sections of the towers coming part. Dust spewed out from the sides and top of the towers, eventually covering the entire sight.

There were a number of cheers; though the teenagers behind seemed rather sad to see the towers go, giving of a loud booooo! Once the dust had settled, everyone pretty much departed.

The site is to be cleared now, making way for a new biomass power plant, 21st century fuel replacing 19th century.

More pictures here.