Today's post is about retirement and closure, back in 2011 I was in Thorndon, Suffolk to meet woodwork teacher Brian Atkinson who had worked at the Kerrison School for 46 years the reason for his retirement was that the school was being closed by the local authority since it first opened after 150 years.
As soon as I stepped into the workshop, it was like being back at school myself, taking me right back to the day when I use to woodwork at school. It looked and smelt the same, the same wooden benches, bits of wood leant against the back wall, sawdust on the floor and the slight smell of burnt wood from a sanding disc.
For the pictures I did the usual ones of tight portraits of him upright and landscape, but gradually moving outwards to get more of him in the environment. Till I got to the one below, which shows Brian in situ of the workshop and the one which I like the most.
The school was originally set up in 1856 by Sir Edward Kerrison as a Reformatory school as a way for young offenders as an alternative to prison. The school and grounds have now been turned into homes.
https://thorndon.suffolk.cloud/history-of-thorndon-suffolk/kerrison-reformatory-school/
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