Comments on: Blaenavon ??? How Serene is My Valley

By: McEff

McEff — Mon, 14 Oct 2013 19:45:28 +0000

Your words struck a chord with me, Hanna. Yes, those people said goodbye their families, walked out of the door and went to work. They had no idea of the tragedy that awaited them. I shall think on that.
Alen

By: Hanna

Hanna — Mon, 14 Oct 2013 09:42:27 +0000

Why am I not surprised? I think I already knew that the wages and the risk was not proportional. It is a terrible accident in Senghenydd coal mine in Wales, and it is right to remember the people who died just because they left home one morning to go to work.
All the best,
Hanna

By: McEff

McEff — Sun, 13 Oct 2013 20:41:17 +0000

Yes, Hanna, it was an extremely dangerous industry in the old days ??? and it remains dangerous even today. In fact, a memorial service is taking place tomorrow on the 100th anniversary of Britain’s worst mining disaster, in which 439 miners perished in Senghenydd colliery in Wales. My own grandfather was killed in a Scottish colliery, so it’s a subject I take an interest in. The wages were always poor in relation to the work and the risk.
I don’t always have a plan C. In fact plan B is usually: Look out of the window and if it’s raining then go back to sleep.
Cheers, Alen

By: Hanna

Hanna — Sun, 13 Oct 2013 13:14:26 +0000

Hi Alen. There must have been many very dangerous work situations. Was the salary proportionate to the risk, if you can make such a view?
I’m pretty crazy about you have a plan C at hand when needed :cool:
All the best,
Hanna

By: McEff

McEff — Fri, 11 Oct 2013 10:24:53 +0000

Hi Carol. I like that thought about the wagons fitting in well with their surroundings. In one sense they are incongruous because they have been removed from their original environment then plonked in the countryside, but in a very real way they have become as much a part of their new environment as the walls, the roads, the farms and everything else that man has touched. I might expand on that the next time I come across one.
And yes, the old mines and quarries have a sadness to them that the mist brings out. I’ve spent whole days walking round places like that.
Cheers, Alen

By: McEff

McEff — Fri, 11 Oct 2013 10:17:27 +0000

Hiya Tracey. Great, I’m glad you intend to make a visit. It’s a fascinating area with absolutely loads of walking potential. It took me by surprise, I must say.
Cheers, Alen

By: McEff

McEff — Fri, 11 Oct 2013 10:13:45 +0000

Hi David. I completely agree with you on those energy points. We’ll be saying the same about Royal Mail in a few years’ time and taking pictures of all the redundant post boxes.
I’ve seen the wagon on Bracken Rigg but never been up close to it. I passed within a few hundred yards of it the other week on my Pennine trek to Hexham, but it was raining hard at the time and I just couldn’t be bothered to make the detour to photo it. Mind, if I’d known there was a Belfast sink in the area too I would have made the effort!
Cheers, Alen

By: McEff

McEff — Fri, 11 Oct 2013 10:09:35 +0000

Hi Mark. Thanks for that. Blaenavon is a fascinating place and there is much more to see. But it must have been completely different when your mother was sent there as a child ??? perhaps unrecognisable to what it is today. Great area for walking.
Cheers, Alen

By: mountaincoward

mountaincoward — Thu, 10 Oct 2013 21:21:26 +0000

I’m not into museums generally but do like mining museums and visiting old mines. I think the old Welsh mines and quarries look better in the mist somehow – it seems to suit them. I also like to see ponies roaming all those high areas of Wales – we used to see lots of them when we were hostelling with our parents in Wales when we were kids.

The farmers really do like those old train wagons don’t they – they were well-made and make ideal animal field shelters. They look nice too and fit in well with their surroundings.
Carol.

By: Tracey

Tracey — Thu, 10 Oct 2013 21:13:44 +0000

I have to say I completely agree with you re mine closures. It was absolutely wrong, along with a few other things that were forced through in the 80’s and 90’s. Sadly there are only the remnants left, but like you, I enjoy spending time wandering through them. So I’ve added this place to me list.

By: David

David — Thu, 10 Oct 2013 19:48:23 +0000

That looks an interesting place to visit. The loss of such industry is still having an effect even now and some places never recovered. It seems crazy that the wind industry for example gets plenty of public subsidies, yet industries such as these were destroyed overnight despite there being plenty of coal left.

It’s funny whenever I see goods wagons on the fells I often think about your interest in them. The one I told you about up on Bracken Rigg in Teesdale is starting to look a bit skeletal now, although the more derelict it gets the less sure I am whether it is a genuine wagon or a bit of a cobbled together job. There is a Belfast sink nearby as well.

By: markswalkingblog

markswalkingblog — Thu, 10 Oct 2013 17:55:51 +0000

I love visiting old industrial museums, but I haven’t visited this one. My mother was evacuated to the area during the war from London to live with her cousins. She is Welsh but family moved to London. I would far rather see this pit still working providing energy for the UK and work for the communities in the area – perhaps it would stop some of the wind turbines being place on top of beautiful hills as well ! Oh btw – great post :)