January 31st – Since mass manufacture upped sticks and left town, one of Darlaston’s largest employers – in terms of ground space, if not number of employees, has to be the scrap metal recycling trade. There are several large yards operating in the area to the east of Darlaston Green. These are huge, well run commercial concerns operated by big companies. At the top of the scrap food chain, there are constant deliveries and collections of scrap metal coming into and out of this yard. 
On the far side of the Canal at Bentley Bridge, I notice a pile of the kind of white goods collected by tatters. It will have undoubtedly been delivered from a smaller scrapyard. Items off the pile have toppled down the canal bank and lie in the water. Anyone labouring under the impression that the scrap trade can be made fully traceable should look at this and consider how – and this is a good yard. Imagine the state of the bad ones…