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Synopsis of Britain's Coal Mining Industry
Posted: Thu Dec 17, 2015 11:20 am
by porschesrule
As fans of BETM are well aware, the musical is set against the backdrop of the 1983/84 miners' strike. Lee Hall has called the year-long standoff "a battle over not only the future but the soul of Britain".
As the last deep coal mine (The Kellingley Colliery near Knottingley in northern England) shuts down on Friday, here's a very good concise description of the once important industry in Great Britain and how its long-term decline left many former coal mining districts with chronic unemployment.
http://news.yahoo.com/rise-fall-britain ... 24639.html
Re: Synopsis of Britain's Coal Mining Industry
Posted: Fri Dec 18, 2015 7:38 am
by Real Geordie
The irrepressible Brian Blessed says a few words, with a colliery band playing in the background
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-yo ... e-35124077
Re: Synopsis of Britain's Coal Mining Industry
Posted: Mon Dec 21, 2015 2:54 am
by kport
This fascinating article appeared in today's Guardian:
How one Easington Colliery family survived the closure of their mine:
http://www.theguardian.com/politics/201 ... -easington
Re: Synopsis of Britain's Coal Mining Industry
Posted: Mon Dec 21, 2015 6:49 am
by Todd
There was an article in our local Kansas City Star yesterday about the last deep coal pit in Britain closing - the Kellingley Colliery mine.
http://www.kansascity.com/news/nation-w ... 44370.html
Re: Synopsis of Britain's Coal Mining Industry
Posted: Fri Jan 22, 2016 3:30 pm
by kport
The Washington Post has published this opinion/review of Charles Moore's second volume of his biography of Maggie Thatcher, which covers the period of the Miners' Strike:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions ... story.html
Re: Synopsis of Britain's Coal Mining Industry
Posted: Fri Dec 02, 2016 10:33 pm
by Real Geordie
The final chapter. Leading up to, and following, the closure of Kellingley Colliery (the last deep-pit coal mine in Britain) the BBC filmed a two part documentary. The pit closed almost exactly a year ago . This gives a real insight into a community of miners and their families having to face the loss of their pit and jobs. The “catch up” iplayer service is probably only accessible from the UK (and strictly speaking you need a TV licence to view this - a strange UK anachronism). If you can watch it however, it is both moving and interesting. It will only be available for a limited period.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b0 ... -episode-1
http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b0 ... -episode-2