The proof that a sunset can make even the most listless of industrial estates - I'm an avid loather of them since they are clearly some of this planet's most uninspiring and ugly places. Always. They always make my heart sink and I try to shy away from them as much as possible - can be pleasing to they eye at certain times.
In the middle of the estate is a pond and two fountains. There is also a little island with a wee bridge. Apparently there are more reasons to that than meets the eye at sunset.
A) When the estate was inaugurated in the mid 70ies the Swedish industry company ASEA (now a part of the ABB group) had factories here. One of the company's largest share holders was one of the Wallenberg family (prominent Swedish industrial dynasty, of which I have no idea who's who apart from Raoul Wallenberg of course). For the inauguration he and the Swedish king arrived in a helicopter for the ceremony. They landed on the small island in the pond. For the island isn't an island as such it's in fact a helipad. Though that was the only time ever it has been used as a helipad. Conclusion: the ridiculousness of the rich and famous knows no boundaries.
B) The pond and the fountains have an important task, they are in fact part of a clever cooling system for the adjacent manufacturing production. No longer the place of ASEA ABB factories obviously, but other industries. To be honest I have no idea if it's industries which produce environmental things this planet really needs or not, but I think the cooling system pond and fountain is rather an ingenious way to solve that need.
It's probably a reasonably common way for cooling systems at industrial estates - since I try and spend as little time as possible at them I didn't learn about that until now. It was a day of learning something interesting and new as well as something ridiculous and new. It was a day of a beautiful industrial estate sunset.
Isn't it a wonderful thing that there is always beauty to be found - even in the most unlikely places.
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