A lot of misplaced sentiment for mining
AS an ex-mineworker and later as a junior member of British Coal management one can easily fall into the trap of being sentimental regarding the demise of mining.
However, why in the eastern valleys after 30 years of the industry’s demise are we still inflicted with the scars of remaining spoil tips and other relics such as the Penallta Pit Head site? Many have been removed, true, but there are still some remaining.
Why exactly are we celebrating the exploitation of workers in the most dangerous environments, which occurred up until the 1950s?
Then later the agency for change in the 1980s – as a result of the miners strike – questioning the tenets of democracy.
Would residents of the Home Counties countenance spoil tips anywhere? Let’s return the Valleys in every corner to their natural beauty.