| The miners strike 17:09 - Jul 25 with 1080 views | thornabyswan |
Did this strike have any impact on any on here.
And did it shape you politically for years afterwards. |  |
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| The miners strike on 17:11 - Jul 25 with 1075 views | thornabyswan |
Sorry if this has been posted before on here. | |
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| The miners strike on 17:37 - Jul 25 with 1037 views | Professor |
Yes. I grew up in the Rhondda. The strike was during the time of my 'O'' levels and Into sixth form. It was to an extent, a 'last stand' for the old industries of South Wales against the economic changes of Thatcherism and Reaganism. The end of the industry reshaped the valleys. What you see now-the inherent problems of long-term poverty are a consequence of the loss of coal and steel in South Wales. Even in Swansea-the rise of the call centre job.
Directly impacting on me was that several classmates had fathers on strike. Some had to leave school rather than take 'A' levels. One even appeared on 'Newsround' and BBC news for refusing to deliver 'The Sun' a year later when the print workers were on strike (they had supported several NUM lodges financially). The walk back to work at Maerdy, the last Rhondda mine, is as moving a sight you may ever see in terms of workers solidarity. It killed Maerdy and the Rhondda Fach- at least those in the Fawr could get the train to Cardiff and work-where many friends went onto-Companies House, Mid Glamorgan council, the Welsh Office and so on.
The valleys are all green now. The blacks scars banished. It took with it much of the community and replaced with selfishness and 'I'm alright Jack'. It has taken over a generation to recover but at least some places like Treorchy are enjoying a renaissance of better times. Other places are not.
Whatever, it has left me with a long disdain for the Conservative party, Perhaps not quite at Nye Bevan's 'vermin' level, but with a distrust for them and a desire for fairness. [Post edited 25 Jul 2018 17:43]
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| The miners strike on 17:59 - Jul 25 with 985 views | moonie |
Fair comment Paul but Labour dud more than their fair share of closing large industrial complexes ,like Ebbw Vale ,Foot s constituency .
Uneconomic pits had to go. It's how they went and what replaced them is key.
I've always felt we shouldn't be looking at men and kids crawling around underground in filth to make a living .
I m just sorry Wales ever had pits or slate quarries which were dealt as equal a blow but largely forgotten in South Wales . South east England became and stayed rich without the evils of filthy industrial mega complexes . It's cruel that Wales, the north and Scotland suffered and the south east didn't . | | | |
| The miners strike on 18:05 - Jul 25 with 968 views | Darran |
Yes moonie earned lots of money in overtime off Mrs Thatcher for assaulting innocent miners and the vile prick has voted Tory ever since. |  |
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| The miners strike on 18:07 - Jul 25 with 971 views | LeonWasGod |
| The miners strike on 17:59 - Jul 25 by moonie |
Fair comment Paul but Labour dud more than their fair share of closing large industrial complexes ,like Ebbw Vale ,Foot s constituency .
Uneconomic pits had to go. It's how they went and what replaced them is key.
I've always felt we shouldn't be looking at men and kids crawling around underground in filth to make a living .
I m just sorry Wales ever had pits or slate quarries which were dealt as equal a blow but largely forgotten in South Wales . South east England became and stayed rich without the evils of filthy industrial mega complexes . It's cruel that Wales, the north and Scotland suffered and the south east didn't . |
You say uneconomic pits had to go, but how’s that different to the government subsidising failing rail franchises or pumping billions into QE? The money’s there to be spent or creative if there’s a will it seems. |  | | |
| The miners strike on 18:09 - Jul 25 with 967 views | Professor |
| The miners strike on 17:59 - Jul 25 by moonie |
Fair comment Paul but Labour dud more than their fair share of closing large industrial complexes ,like Ebbw Vale ,Foot s constituency .
Uneconomic pits had to go. It's how they went and what replaced them is key.
I've always felt we shouldn't be looking at men and kids crawling around underground in filth to make a living .
I m just sorry Wales ever had pits or slate quarries which were dealt as equal a blow but largely forgotten in South Wales . South east England became and stayed rich without the evils of filthy industrial mega complexes . It's cruel that Wales, the north and Scotland suffered and the south east didn't . |
Labour lost it under the later Wilson governments. Jim Callaghan was a decent bloke but the damage had been done. Yes, you are right, Wales, Scotland and the North toiled to make the south rich. No one should have to go down the mine-my grandfather bravely struck out as builder after his apprenticeship as a pit carpenter, but many mines could have remained open for much longer with investment-as did Tower, though of course it is closed now. There was at least an option over doing nothing which so many of my generation and beyond ended up at.
I also look at the dignity and community that the pits brought. The Parc and Dare Hall in Treorchy is one example of this. Library, theatre and snooker hall. Will never see such buildings in small towns again. | | | |
| The miners strike on 18:12 - Jul 25 with 955 views | moonie |
Friend.
I dint personally believe uneconomic industries are subsidised by the public purse.
How angry were the people of Wales against closing uneconomic ship yards in Birkenhead,Belfast,Sunderland and Glasgow or the fishing industry of Hull and Grimsby
Areas who lost their industries should have had far greater regeneration.
My point is....London is miles away from industrial blight ,it's where government is, where majority of population are and therefore they don't givve a shite
Both main parties are to blame | | | |
| The miners strike on 18:16 - Jul 25 with 922 views | Professor |
| The miners strike on 18:12 - Jul 25 by moonie |
Friend.
I dint personally believe uneconomic industries are subsidised by the public purse.
How angry were the people of Wales against closing uneconomic ship yards in Birkenhead,Belfast,Sunderland and Glasgow or the fishing industry of Hull and Grimsby
Areas who lost their industries should have had far greater regeneration.
My point is....London is miles away from industrial blight ,it's where government is, where majority of population are and therefore they don't givve a shite
Both main parties are to blame |
...and this is true. Except for the subsidy we gave to the financial sector that I pay for every month. | | | |
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| The miners strike on 19:12 - Jul 25 with 858 views | moonie |
It's good,Paul, that we can exchange contrasting views without Rancour.
I think we should be forwarded for POTY
As you know, I'm no Labour man and certainly no Conservative although both my parents voted so.
I have equal contempt for both and am arrogant enough to argue the toss with any of them. | | | |
| The miners strike on 19:16 - Jul 25 with 853 views | Pacemaker |
| The miners strike on 17:37 - Jul 25 by Professor |
Yes. I grew up in the Rhondda. The strike was during the time of my 'O'' levels and Into sixth form. It was to an extent, a 'last stand' for the old industries of South Wales against the economic changes of Thatcherism and Reaganism. The end of the industry reshaped the valleys. What you see now-the inherent problems of long-term poverty are a consequence of the loss of coal and steel in South Wales. Even in Swansea-the rise of the call centre job.
Directly impacting on me was that several classmates had fathers on strike. Some had to leave school rather than take 'A' levels. One even appeared on 'Newsround' and BBC news for refusing to deliver 'The Sun' a year later when the print workers were on strike (they had supported several NUM lodges financially). The walk back to work at Maerdy, the last Rhondda mine, is as moving a sight you may ever see in terms of workers solidarity. It killed Maerdy and the Rhondda Fach- at least those in the Fawr could get the train to Cardiff and work-where many friends went onto-Companies House, Mid Glamorgan council, the Welsh Office and so on.
The valleys are all green now. The blacks scars banished. It took with it much of the community and replaced with selfishness and 'I'm alright Jack'. It has taken over a generation to recover but at least some places like Treorchy are enjoying a renaissance of better times. Other places are not.
Whatever, it has left me with a long disdain for the Conservative party, Perhaps not quite at Nye Bevan's 'vermin' level, but with a distrust for them and a desire for fairness. [Post edited 25 Jul 2018 17:43]
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I am a few years older than you and grew up in Treherbert, my father and his brother were from Cwmparc and worked the Dare mine as young men in the early 60's at the time of the Dare explosion. The rest of my family worked Blaenrhondda, Fernhill and latterly Tower. My father and his brother left the NCB not long after the Dare disaster, my uncle never really worked again having been caught up in it.
I left Treorchy Comp 1977 my father was adamant that my brothers and I were not to go underground and even at that time work in the Rhondda was getting much harder to obtain than in the years prior to that. My brothers and I have worked all over the world and only my youngest brother lives there, he travels to Treforest where he is an accountant.
I often yearn for thr Rhondda of my youth where we lived in a fantastic community but those days have long gone, there is still a semblance of community but most people are for themselves first. In the current state of the country is perhaps understandable.
As for Scargill I remember him for what he was, the year before the last strike the Welsh pits were getting closed down and the national NUM did nothing to support us. The year they started up north they came down here to picket knowing we wouldn't cross the line. However the pits were old and needed to be kept running or they would fail anyway. The deputies were allowed to cross the line to keep the pumps going but Scargill did as much to kill the S Wales pits as Thatcher and he knew that.
The geography of the valleys and the Rhondda in particular means that investment is limited to lack of suitable land, transport links have been poor up u til recently and the trains are still a disgrace compared to my youth.
As for policing in the early days it was just pushing and shoving in S Wales but the Govt knew that mining communities were v close knit and then sent SWP up north and sent the Mets and other metropolitan forces to Wales.
The resulting battles were part of the breakdown of communities as much as anything else that occurred and a deliberate policy by the Govt of the day.
How did the Tories get away with it? Because most people by that time were pissed off by the unions effectively dictating their day to day lives, the three day week, hyper inflation, and massive waste of money schemes. The Tories had carey Blanche to for what they wanted for the best part of 20 years as a result of the pathetic governments of the 60's & 70's. |  |
| Life is an adventure or nothing at all. |
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| The miners strike on 19:21 - Jul 25 with 841 views | moonie |
Pace.
Have to say that is amongst the best posts Ive ever reD on here . IT should be memorised by those who weren't around at the time.
I came across Scargill once and it was memorable . Let's just say he did better out of it than the poor fookers he represented | | | |
| The miners strike on 19:31 - Jul 25 with 820 views | Professor |
| The miners strike on 19:16 - Jul 25 by Pacemaker |
I am a few years older than you and grew up in Treherbert, my father and his brother were from Cwmparc and worked the Dare mine as young men in the early 60's at the time of the Dare explosion. The rest of my family worked Blaenrhondda, Fernhill and latterly Tower. My father and his brother left the NCB not long after the Dare disaster, my uncle never really worked again having been caught up in it.
I left Treorchy Comp 1977 my father was adamant that my brothers and I were not to go underground and even at that time work in the Rhondda was getting much harder to obtain than in the years prior to that. My brothers and I have worked all over the world and only my youngest brother lives there, he travels to Treforest where he is an accountant.
I often yearn for thr Rhondda of my youth where we lived in a fantastic community but those days have long gone, there is still a semblance of community but most people are for themselves first. In the current state of the country is perhaps understandable.
As for Scargill I remember him for what he was, the year before the last strike the Welsh pits were getting closed down and the national NUM did nothing to support us. The year they started up north they came down here to picket knowing we wouldn't cross the line. However the pits were old and needed to be kept running or they would fail anyway. The deputies were allowed to cross the line to keep the pumps going but Scargill did as much to kill the S Wales pits as Thatcher and he knew that.
The geography of the valleys and the Rhondda in particular means that investment is limited to lack of suitable land, transport links have been poor up u til recently and the trains are still a disgrace compared to my youth.
As for policing in the early days it was just pushing and shoving in S Wales but the Govt knew that mining communities were v close knit and then sent SWP up north and sent the Mets and other metropolitan forces to Wales.
The resulting battles were part of the breakdown of communities as much as anything else that occurred and a deliberate policy by the Govt of the day.
How did the Tories get away with it? Because most people by that time were pissed off by the unions effectively dictating their day to day lives, the three day week, hyper inflation, and massive waste of money schemes. The Tories had carey Blanche to for what they wanted for the best part of 20 years as a result of the pathetic governments of the 60's & 70's. |
My grandfather was in the Parc. I grew up largely in Cwmparc. My contempt for Scargill is close to that of Thatcher. He used the NUM Wales appallingly. Without a ballot it was a hiding to nothing. I concur with what you say. Rhondda has been let down by poor MPs and no investment. At least I see improvement in the upper valley now. My brother now lives over the Fach and mum moved to Tenerife, so have little call back. Like you went to Treorchy and left for University in 1986. Would not go back now-no job for me in South Wales sadly. I yearn for some more consensual democratic socialism that could facilitate change. Labour Party member but dislike Corbyn and the left wing metropolitan types. Just want a fair chance for all. | | | |
| The miners strike on 19:34 - Jul 25 with 804 views | Professor |
| The miners strike on 19:12 - Jul 25 by moonie |
It's good,Paul, that we can exchange contrasting views without Rancour.
I think we should be forwarded for POTY
As you know, I'm no Labour man and certainly no Conservative although both my parents voted so.
I have equal contempt for both and am arrogant enough to argue the toss with any of them. |
Nothing wrong with disagreement and debate. Does not have to mean anger and arguement. I see some sad news of a young girl dying from an overdose in Greasby. Very close to you. | | | |
| The miners strike on 19:36 - Jul 25 with 798 views | moonie |
To be honest Paul,you speak for the majority of British people ,outside London anyway .
You ve done well and no doubt you re family were and are proud of you.
One day, you can analyse my daughter s Malionois . | | | |
| The miners strike on 20:31 - Jul 25 with 744 views | Pacemaker |
| The miners strike on 19:31 - Jul 25 by Professor |
My grandfather was in the Parc. I grew up largely in Cwmparc. My contempt for Scargill is close to that of Thatcher. He used the NUM Wales appallingly. Without a ballot it was a hiding to nothing. I concur with what you say. Rhondda has been let down by poor MPs and no investment. At least I see improvement in the upper valley now. My brother now lives over the Fach and mum moved to Tenerife, so have little call back. Like you went to Treorchy and left for University in 1986. Would not go back now-no job for me in South Wales sadly. I yearn for some more consensual democratic socialism that could facilitate change. Labour Party member but dislike Corbyn and the left wing metropolitan types. Just want a fair chance for all. |
Which I think is the opinion of all decent people, just give us a fair chance. | |
| Life is an adventure or nothing at all. |
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| The miners strike on 20:35 - Jul 25 with 734 views | moonie |
Yep, she was 14 yrs ok'd | | | |
| The miners strike on 20:59 - Jul 25 with 693 views | lifelong |
| The miners strike on 19:36 - Jul 25 by moonie |
To be honest Paul,you speak for the majority of British people ,outside London anyway .
You ve done well and no doubt you re family were and are proud of you.
One day, you can analyse my daughter s Malionois . |
All that you have said about Valley people on here over the years I find your posts on this thread quite nauseating. [Post edited 25 Jul 2018 21:00]
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