The 1980s saw the industrial landscape of the UK change forever. A deep economic recession, combined with a drive to develop the country’s financial sector meant the end-of-the-line for many famous firms across the country, a fair proportion of them based in the Midlands. Nationally, there were upwards of 3 million people unemployed between 1982 and 1986 – 12.5% of the population. In the Midlands the gates closed on pits, mills and foundries - big employers that had provided work for generations of families. Smaller enterprises fared no better, with working men’s clubs and bingo halls finding themselves out of step with a younger generation that wasn’t interested in their parents’ and grandparents’ idea of a night out. This collection is an often poignant look at the final days of Victorian industrial giants and small family run businesses. It includes interviews with people about to, or having just lost their jobs, their anger and sadness palpable. In spite of this, there are some bright patches against the grey – as doors close we see the Midlanders’ innate capacity for change come to the fore, looking into the future, not the past.