Hard to love
Why it is hard to advocate for an industry when sometimes the positive only just outweighs the negative.
It is almost a decade since I co-wrote the children’s book “My Dad Does Demolition”. Immediately after it was published, myself and my co-author - former Institute of Demolition Engineers’ president, John Woodward - visited a number of schools (John in and around the Midlands; myself in the South East of England) to give out books and to perform readings.
I can’t speak for John but, for me, those readings were a truly memorable career high point.
The children were wide-eyed and engaged. They came with no baggage or prior knowledge, so they didn’t think that all demolition involved explosives, Fred Dibnah or both.
They listened intently as I told them about the massive machines; the recycling; the ability to take demolition skills acquired in the UK to the four corners of the globe; and about the lifelong friendships that are born out of a career in the demolition sector.
Whether John and I inspired anyone to pursue a career into demolition, I have no way of knowing. But I would like to think that we each gave those children something to think about and to talk about with their friends and parents.
However…
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