end of an era

[llywela]

Kind of a big day in South Wales today, as the very last deep mine, Tower Colliery, closed forever some 13 years after being bought out by a worker's cooperative. They've shut down not because the mine wasn't making money, but because it is all mined out, and now there is more coal to bring up from that seam. Not bad for a pit the Tories closed saying it was 'unprofitable', and an amazing victory, really, for the workers who pooled their redundancy to keep it alive and successful all these years since.

It really is the end of an era. This country was so massively shaped by the coal industry over the last 200 years - I can't even begin to describe how much in a little post like this. But it's all over now.

Comments

[callistosh65.livejournal.com]

Oh Wow. That is quite lump-in-the-throat news. I can't believe that South Wales is now mined out.

[welshdreamer.livejournal.com]

There's still huge amounts of coal under South Wales - lots of other mines still had coal in them, but the Tories closed them down anyway. Maybe one day we'll have to open them again?

[llywela13.livejournal.com]

Two hundreds years that mine has been in operation. Amazing.

South Wales isn't mined out yet, though, just Tower Colliery. We still have numerous drift mines - this was the last deep mine. And a hell of a lot of the other deep mines were closed while still profitable and with rich seams still to be mined. The Tories just decided after the miner's strikes that they were too much trouble to keep open, so they shut them all as a blanket measure, and crippled the local economy completely. All hail government, eh.

Whether anyone will ever invest the money needed to reopen any of those mines is debatable. Coal has had its day, I think.

[welshdreamer.livejournal.com]

It is a hugely inspirational story. I hear that the miners are also set for their retirement - they will sell off the land the mine is on (that they own) and make more than the £8,000 they originally put in.

[llywela13.livejournal.com]

Hugely inspirational, yes. And since they've stayed open and in profit all these years, it says a lot about what good, strong management could have done for all the other mines that closed, perhaps - and for the local economy!

Apparently the land is to be sold for housing development, mind, but with not much in the way of employment up there, I'm not sure who is going to buy those houses. Commuters? The nature of the valleys communities is changing so much.

[littlepunkryo.livejournal.com]

I don't know anything about mining, but the phrase "mined out" makes me freak a tiny bit every time I hear it because: NATURAL RESOURCES HOLY CRAP MY KIDS ARE GONNA BE SCREWED.

Anyway, I spoiled myself for this week's episode because I have no self control at all and - NO SPOILERS I PROMISE - I think we're gonna have some interesting conversations!! I'm so excited about a new ep on Thursday.

[llywela13.livejournal.com]

Hey, it's just that one mine that's mined out - a lot of the others that closed down 15/20 years ago still had plenty of coal left in 'em. 'Twas just politics that closed them down. So it isn't all doom and gloom. *G* But yeah, dwindling natural resources = not good.

You caved to the spoilers, huh? Tsk tsk. I'm being strong. Only a few more days now. I can do it! I'm looking forward to post-ep conversations SO MUCH! Of course, I don't get to see new eps until Fridays, but then Fridays nights galathea_snb and I spend hours on msn talking about what happened and what it means and how much we are squeeing or awwwwing or eeeeeking etc. Although, since we share a brain and have the exact same opinion 98% of the time, I'm not sure what we find to talk about for so long! And then there will be LJ conversations, and it will be SO GOOD after so long without anything new to get our teeth into.

*is excited*