Coal House

[mrsflibble]

anybody seen this? I just stumbled upon it on iplayer. yeah, ok it's another "let's send poeple back to live in thepast without actually sending them in a time machine" program, but it seems better than 1900 house.
I wish I'd known about it earlier; aparently I've missed 3 episodes

[linzibean]

This was shown on primetime BBC1 here in Wales earlier in the year. It was very interesting, espcially the family's different ways of coping - had to laugh at the woman sho struggled with her range stove all week, poor thing.

[citizentwiglet]

I'm watching it on BBC4 on Sunday evenings. As my family were all from the coal mining community in the Rhondda and my grandmother would have been a 9 year old in 1927, I'm finding it fascinating.

How many times does Mrs-Voice-Over-Lady have to tell us that the men have an hour and a half walk to the pit, though? And guess what? It's an hour and a half back home, too! (Can't quite work that out, as homewards would be downhill and should therefore take slightly less by my reckoning)..

How long does it take them to get to work again, then? Anyone?

[ina]

(Can't quite work that out, as homewards would be downhill and should therefore take slightly less by my reckoning)..

Yeah, but they are tired after work and walk more slowly... Could be an explanation. Depends on how steep the hill is.

I think the woman finds it so unbelievable that somebody actually walked 3 hours per day, every day, within living memory, just to get to work and back, that she has to keep saying it - maybe if she says it often enough she'll believe it in the end!

I used to walk that distance, quite regularly, only a few years ago; depending on how much cash I had, and whether there was a bus in the first place. So what? (Mind you, mine was an office job...)

[citizentwiglet]

Good point Ina! And to think they walked all that way without even knowing if there would be work for them when they arrived....it really says something about the human spirit, doesn't it?

It was really interesting about the Volunteer Mine Rescue service - my great-grandfather was a volunteer, I've got quite a few fascinating and sometimes gruesome stories about some of his rescues. Sadly, he was killed himself whilst attending one of these rescues; which in turn forced my Uncle down the pit at 13 to become the breadwinner for his mam, two sisters, grandmother and two widowed aunties (also widowed through the mines).

When you think about the lengths families went to in order to put food on the table and clothes on their children's backs as well as support extended family members not even 100 years ago; it's very humbling isn't it?

[mrsflibble]

I like the lady who speaks welsh so her lodger can't understand what she's saying.
Also, I love the fact that that family still speak welsh as their first language at home, I think that's fab.

I don't get though how the veg man is allowed to raise his prices willynilly?! and I also don't get how they're surviving on the wages they get.

[richyboy]

I think the price changes are quite true to life. If anything is in short supply, the price goes up (ref: Economics supply & demand graph). Wages-wise, with no mortgage to pay and living far more simply, I can see that money would go a long way. If you don't realise its available - you don't want (or think you need) something!

I could now go off on a rant about the differences between needs and wants, but I'll save that one up for those long winter evenings when I'm bored in front of the fire.

[paulbrrtt]

Hi all Im quite a new member and stumbled on this topic which intrested me because I worked all around there and live nearby. Some of the walls you see I built (bricklayer/stonemason). The track that they walk aint that step. My mother who funny enough was born in 1927 says it was 10 times worse than that and poverty in Merthyr was everywhere, but still insists that they were better days.

[Millymollymandy]

I think there must have been two series of this then as there is a mention of 1927 in a posting. The series I saw earlier this year was set during WWII. I really enjoyed it.