And I don’t just mean my friends (BOOM! BOOM!).

Got a soft spot for Urban Exploration, living archaeology and the like. Think it’s important to remember that what happened in the recent past can be just as interesting or important as things which happened in the distant past, and that history isn’t just something in roped off sites or museums. Two things which you can go see, or just look at online if you’re lazier.

My friend Kym pointed me in the direction of Derelict London. It’s a project that’s been going on since 2003, and Paul Talling’s been gathering photos of various derelict sites around Greater London for that time. His site’s divided into different broad themes (Hospitals, Offices, Waterways and Wharves, etc). There’s stuff on there which is no longer around, and stuff which you could still go and see yourself. Some amazing pictures. This one’s Catford dog track:

 

Second is more melancholy, as it deals with aircraft crashes and the associated deaths. The Peak District has  more than its fair share of aircraft crash sites, due to the number of nearby military bases over time, the poor weather, and the sheer size of the landscape. The remoteness of these means that the wreckage was often left and preserved, and can still be found on the Peak today. Both Astreck’s The Dark Peak Aircraft Wrecks and Peak District Air Crashes are worth reading. Below is a Superfortress crash site from Astreck.