I thought we had it cushy till I spent a bit o time on pit top Redbrook with external services Electricians ,they did know how to make it crack. Incidentally after a knee op playing football. Can tha remember 2 brothers from Royston ar Al , I ended up teaching his kids to drive years after . Small world. I called off for a couple of hours wi Yoki last week.
Jappys yes oh I thought they were from Royston , reight lads. Yes Yoki is doing OK, has a laugh like we did on re enactment at Orgreave.
Just watched it Baz. On BBC iplayer. I was tearful throughout. So many of the people I resonated with during the programme. Nothing but contempt for a couple of em. Those notts miners that struck have nothing but my greatest admiration. It's why I allus struggle/d. To chant at football matches. As it must cut through em. The bloke you refered to btw is on the programme. Russell Broadhead. All. Please watch and I defy anyone who had a different view to myself on the conflict not to be moved. If you have no any idea of the camaraderie. Then this is a programme you need to (must) watch.
I know Russ from my Houghton Main days, Lovely bloke, see him regularly at Oakwell, a big reds fan. The other guy, his mate,who was trying to stop the beating, also took a beating, another Houghton Main lad Wayne Lingard (rip).
I used to drink with Russ mate. And As I told Baz. have a funny story re the incident. A year or so later. But I'm not sure it's for this forum.
If it’s so uneconomical I wonder why Germany is still the 4th largest coal producer in the world? A country with a higher GDP then our own.
Here you go. The German hard coal mining industry has experienced numerous economic difficulties since the “coal crisis” of 1958. For almost half a century, Germany has paid significant subsidies or aids1 to the hard coal mining sector. Germany had by far the largest subsidized hard coal production of all OECD countries. In January 2020, the German Administration tabled a proposed coal exit law that foresees to end the country’s coal-fired power generation by 2038 at the latest and achieve a 65% renewable power generation mix by 2030. As for coal production themselves I think you mean user. Their last coal mine apparantly closed in 2018. But fossil fuels are still subsided by billions.
As 1 of my electrician mates once said Baz. Tut gaffer. "If tha sees me sat on mi arse. It means everything's running". . True story. I was a pit top electrician. (failed x ray whilst underground as an apprentice) Fast on, ont neets. Int workshop where all the spares for the pit were kept. Leets turned off. Woken up by shift charge electrical engineer. (Came off the same street as me) . Looking through the racking with just his cap lamp on searching for what he needed. Lol. Dare'nt let on he'd woken 2 of us up. We just laid still. He'd found his part. And closed the door gently behind him leaving the workshop as to not disturb us. Bless his cotton socks. . Rule of thumb ont pit top. Sparks and fitters. 1. Day shift. do the work laid out and eat into the afters schedule. 2. Afters shift. Finish the afters schedule and most if not all of the neets schedule. 3. Neet shift. If no breakdowns. Happy days. Which tbf was more often than not. As an aside for others. Wages were crap ont pit top and we were the top paid in that group. Being there was about as much as it was worth. When I went to YW. My wages increased by 35%. Mon-fri. days only and same hrs. So when it was quoted miners were well paid. It depended entirely on bonus payments and which pit you worked at. And believe it or not. Canteen ladies could get more than some face workers at the same colliery. The system was flawed to say the least. Whilst I was on £120 pw. + an average of £14 bonus (only based on working days) when I got made redundant in 1988. It was scaled 40/60/70/100 %. Depending on where you worked in the mine. And other anomalies. Eg pit or area averages. Canteen ladies could choose either. Rest of us couldn't. Whereas in rich coalfields Miners could earn huge amounts in comparison. Hence I held in contempt the Notts miner who selfishly talked about the caravans, holidays abroad new cars etc. That selfish b'std. I dont believe for one minute. Would have voted to strike. I and others in the programme read him like a book. Ctun, I like others fought for jobs and communities. Notts scabs. Thought only of themselves. I salute those who didn't in the Notts area.
Haha…enjoyed yours too P. Father in law was an electrician (council) as was his youngest brother at the pit. He always used to rib him about it being cushy.