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New Roots, Old Soil - Fenland Lives In Transition

Year

2024

Considering the impact of the EU’s A8 Accession legislation on the Fens of East Anglia, where migration has reshaped traditional industries & communities. An exploration of the effect on the population & the tension between economic growth & the idea of a cohesive society.

New Roots, Old Soil

Farm workers harvesting cabbages during a rain storm near Sibsey, Lincolnshire. Leafy vegetables like cabbages, kale and cauliflower are pulled in the early winter when the first frosts come. Known as the Brassica season, much of the working day is spent in the wet and cold.

New Roots, Old Soil

The Reverend Ian Cuthbertson of Gosberton Church blessing the Council gritters at Pode Hole Depot, Linconshire. Prayers are given for the safety of drivers during the Winter months before the gritting vehicles set off to deposit salt on the county's roads to combat the icy conditions.

New Roots, Old Soil

A woman from Estonia walks along the A47 in Cambridgeshire between her two jobs at McDonald's and a petrol station, Cambridgeshire.

New Roots, Old Soil

Pest controller in Southery, Norfolk.

New Roots, Old Soil

David Bishop, aka Lord Byro of the Church of the Militant Elvis Party campaigning at the Sleaford & North Hykeham by-election, Lincolnshire. He polled 55 votes, losing to Caroline Johnson of the Conservative Party.

New Roots, Old Soil

Migrant workers from Eastern Europe shopping in Boston town centre on a Saturday afternoon.They’ve adopted the ‘gopnik’ look, popular amongst fans of 'blatnaya pesnya' - literally 'criminal’s songs’, a genre of music popularised by East European hip-hop artists but with its roots in 19th Century czarist Russia.

New Roots, Old Soil

Woman at car boot sale with dogs, Wiggenhall St Mary Magdalen, Norfolk .

New Roots, Old Soil

A hairbrush, a broken mirror, a plate.

An abandoned pigsty inhabited by two Latvian women who came to the UK seeking work but found themselves homeless and eating dog food to survive. Wisbech, Cambridgeshire.

New Roots, Old Soil

Tourists from China visiting Cambridge.

New Roots, Old Soil

Mr & Mrs Morris collecting for the Help for Heroes charity at the Anglia Motel, Fleet Hargate, Lincolnshire.

New Roots, Old Soil

Waiting for the first customer of the day at Baxter's chip shop window, Sutton Bridge, Lincolnshire.

New Roots, Old Soil

Algimanta showing the Christmas turkeys at Mr Eagle's poultry auction, Swaffham raceway, Norfolk.

New Roots, Old Soil

Babak, a Hungarian of Iranian descent waits for his friends in Wisbech market place on a Saturday afternoon wearing his new jeans. Taking advantage of the Citizens' Rights Directive 2004/38/EC he came to the UK for work and is employed in a vegetable packing factory on the edge of the town. Initially working the night shift he has recently been promoted to team leader and now works days.

New Roots, Old Soil

Graffiti on a disused agricultural building near Lolworth, Cambridgeshire. The structure, known as the Conington Barn was originally built by the route of the Via Devana - the Roman road which skirted the undrained Fens. The road subsequently became the A14. The barn enjoyed a secret life in the latter years of the 20th Century as a resting place for hitch-hikers going North until the A14 became dualled and traffic speeds increased to the extent that it became impractical for vehicles to stop. After that it became a popular canvas for graffiti artists who were assured of an audience of tens of thousands of passing motorists daily.

The barn was demolished as part of the A14 widening project in 2018.

Councillor Tracey Carter and her mother, Sandra, preparing celebrations for the wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex at the Women's Institute hall, Holbeach, Lincolnshire, 2018.

Kings Lynn Mart 2013

On the Waltzers at the Mart, King's Lynn.

Si Barber

Mr Andrew Fletcher's 784lb entry to the Soham Pumpkin Fair, 2019.

One of the intended consequences of the enlargement of the EU in 2004 was to create an underclass of foreign manual workers compelled to scurry around member countries to function as a check on the domestic workforce, ensuring wages and conditions were kept as low as possible. This was particularly acute in the UK agricultural sector which relied on foreign labour to deliver produce to the supermarkets at minimal cost.

The trickle down effect of Brexit combined with economic growth in their home countries emboldened A8 workers to militate for better pay, conditions and the ability to contemplate alternative employment, much to the disdain of the the large agricultural corporations who regarded their workers as an inconvenience rather than an asset. Ultimately prices had to rise to reflect the real cost of production, much to the disappointment of shareholders and shoppers, the latter of whom had been fooled into believing a low-wage, low growth economy was a feature of modern, successful society.

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Selling selfie-sticks, Cambridge.

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Shippea Hill rail station in Cambridgeshire. The request-only stop was once famous for being the least used station in Britain. In latter years it became more popular as migrant workers commuted from the villages surrounding the Ely interchange to catch the 07.17 train for the nine minute ride to Shippea Hill where they would be mini-bussed to the packhouses of the Fens which surround the towns of Soham and Mildenhall. However, during the Covid pandemic demand fell away as many workers returned to their countries of origin when it was thought that having the jab would become a condition of employment.

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Tribute to Margaret Thatcher at St Mary Magdalene Church, Gedney Lincolnshire. The memorial features coal, a handbag and a book on the Falklands war.

Si Barber

A Tullos threshing machine up for sale at a dispersal auction of the late Jessie Watson, farmer of Littleport, Cambridgeshire. Mr Watson purchased the vehicle in 1946 and paid for it to be transported to the Fens by train from Aberdeen, Scotland. Then it required three workers to operate it and another to tow it by tractor. Today, its tasks can be completed by one person.

Woman looking out from Baxter's chip shop window, Long Sutton,Lincolnshire,UK

Early morning Shift change at Fleet Hargate, Lincolnshire.

A demonstration in Boston, Lincolnshire, calling the invocation of Article 50, which would initiate the process of the UK leaving the EU. It was finally granted by PM Teresa May on 29th March 2017 sending a formal notification to the European Council, triggering the two-year period for withdrawal negotiations .

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Palm Sunday service at St Michael's Church, Swaton,Lincolnshire Held on the Sunday before Easter, the event commemorates the arrival of Jesus into Jerusalem on the back of a donkey before His attendance at the Last Supper.

LIttle Europe shop in Wisbech, Cambridgeshire

Agostinho from Portugal waits for the agency minibus to take him to work. A 'limb' worker in Wisbech, he has no contract of employment and is often employed on a daily basis for cash.

A police raid on a car wash suspected of employing illegal workers.

A room to rent,advertised in Russian, King's Lynn, Norfolk

Dr Victoria Bateman

Dr Victoria Bateman, Cambridge academic,economist & anti Brexit activist presenting her thesis called Brexit Leaves Britain Naked. Whilst making her speech she strips off her clothes until naked and then invites the audience to sign her body.

Iasmina, Horatiu and Luminata, factory workers from Romania, shopping after finishing work on Saturday afternoon.

Si Barber

King's Lynn Conservative Club, Norfolk,UK.

Migrants in Wisbech Cambridgeshire.

migrant workers seeking work in Wisbech, Cambridgeshire.

Rooftop graffiti depicting the Virgin Mary cradling a bottle of beer in Boston Lincolnshire, UK. apparently representing the dependence on alcohol & religion

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Ali Dent, Butcher in Hilgay, Norfolk,UK

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Labas Mini-Market in King's Lynn, Norfolk which was closed by court order for selling illegal vapes and illicit tobacco

Middle aged punk couple at a carnival

Image by Si Barber

Spalding Flower Queen

Amy Harrison, Flower Queen of 2012 shows off the Queens dress and talks to the finalists about the duties and responsibilities of the role.... ..

The Spalding Flower Queen is a decades old contest in which the young women of Spalding, Lincs, UK compete for the title of Queen which entitles them to head the The Spalding Flower Parade. Due to austerity and recession the parade will come out for the last time in 2013. Please contact me for the full text or go here sibarberphotographer.blogsp...