I find that I have a reverence for the mining communities. The feeling of admiration and respect probably stemmed from this pictures of the miner descending underground in a packed cage and then crawling along three feet seams to extract coal to keep us warm and to keep industry going--I remember seeing Ken Russell' classic portrayal of mining community in: 'Bedlington Miners Picnic' and in later perhaps a less sentimental, but still admirable 'Brassed Off'. It was that sense of a place where men were men and putting in an honest shift was matter of pride. It was an engine of social capital with their own community associations, sporting clubs, brass bands and churches. Generations of the same mining families lived in close proximity and were self-sustaining looking after each other in a spirit of mutuality. All of these emotions came flooding back as I visited Woodhorn Mining Museum near Ashington, what a fantastic record of a proud history of Northumberland and indeed of the north east.
It is not an easy visit for a Conservative politician and the accuracy of the events surrounding the miners strike would be something that I might contend, but museums and exhibitions at their best should provoke us to think and Woodhorn certainly does that in a fittingly impressive way. Looking back twenty-five years to the miners strike I think we, the Conservatives, understood the economic arguments perfectly but did not appreciate the immense social consequences, whereas the unions and the Labour Party understood the social implications but failed to be honest with mining communities about the economic and geological realities. The lesson is that Woodhorn teaches politicians is that policy should be a partnership of the socio and economic. (for additional reflection see You Tube video)
The exhibition is well worth a visit and the Queen Elizabeth II Park next door, a great family day out:
No comments:
Post a Comment