In Today's Issue
Coal
Coal Not Dole
That's Amaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaazing
Random Joke
Freebie
Cheap Book
COAL
I work in the dark, deep underground
I toil in the muck where all light is drowned
In the dirt and the dust
I hack and I pick.
Shovel and crawl
My blood it runs thick
My skin eats the dirt
Tattooed with coal
The carbon that eats
Right down to my soul
But now it’s all gone
On a political whim
We import our power
From some pseudonym
The men were so proud
To toil for their pay
To ensure we had the means
To turn night into day
They worked underground they worked in their sweat
We owed them more, forever in debt
The 1984 Miners' Strike was a last attempt by the mining unions to stop mining closures and the loss of jobs.
The strike ended on 3 March 1985 with the NUM having failed to achieve concessions from the government
In March 1984 more than 187,000 miners came out on strike when the National Coal Board announced that 20 pits in England would have to close with the loss of 20,000 jobs.
It was the start of one of the most confrontational strikes ever seen, marred by picket line violence and clashes between police and miners.
Miners in Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire and Leicestershire eventually followed Yorkshire pits and came out on strike.
But some miners continued to work and were branded as "scabs" by their colleagues when they crossed picket lines.
The Government branded the striking miners as "the enemy within".
When the strike ended 12 months later, it was estimated that the total cost had been £3 billion.
Over 11,000 people had been arrested, and around 5,000 miners stood trial for a variety of offences.
Many of the threatened closures took place in 1992.
Mining communities throughout the country were scarred, and many never fully recovered.
It was the end of the industry that had once been the backbone of industrial Britain.
It was the end of the industry that had once been the backbone of industrial Britain.
Collapse of an industry
In 1984 there were 170 collieries in Britain, employing more than 190,000 people.
The last deep coal mine closed, in Yorkshire, in 2015.
The record for filling a 508 kg (0.5 ton) hopper with coal using a banjo shovel by a team of two is 14.8 seconds, by Brian Coghlan and Piet Groot (both New Zealand) at the opening of the Brunner Bridge, South Island, New Zealand, on 27 March 2004.
If you think about it, your belly button is your old mouth.
Free Audio Story
My short story - Thyme For Love was broadcasted on Sheffield Radio on Friday.
I have obtained a copy of the sound file.
It can be downloaded free at :-
http://www.filefactory.com/file/bz5tiaracp9/AUD-20180119-WA0000.mp3
(Simply paste into your browser)
Bargain Book
Did you get a kindle or e-book reader for Xmas? Then as a New Years gift from me you can now buy
my recent release, "Tales of the Unexpected" for the amazing low price of £1.99 (cheaper than a cup
of coffee)
CHECK OUT THE 5 STAR REVIEWS -
B Silver
5.0 out of 5 starsGreat diverse short stories
28 October 2019
Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase
Love this writer I bought his previous books and in my opinion this is the best so far. The stories are much more diverse than the others. For a book of short stories there are a lot there, great to pop in and read as and when you want to. Read mine on the train, I laughed out loud at one point making my fellow passengers jump out of their seats. Recommended read....
5.0 out of 5 starsGreat diverse short stories
28 October 2019
Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase
Love this writer I bought his previous books and in my opinion this is the best so far. The stories are much more diverse than the others. For a book of short stories there are a lot there, great to pop in and read as and when you want to. Read mine on the train, I laughed out loud at one point making my fellow passengers jump out of their seats. Recommended read....
YOU CAN FIND IT ON AMAZON NOW !
