Zoe - Angela1864@aol.com
Sent: 07 October 2008
I'm writing a novel (fiction). What Was It Like Being A Miner In A Mining Village?

Hello, my name's Zoe,
I've just stumbled across your web-site (which has been very helpful) and I'm hoping you can help me. I'm in the process of starting a novel (fiction) of which a large part will be set in a Yorkshire (again fictional) mining village. All though the story-line isn't directly dedicated to working down the pits, village-life will be an integral cog; therefore it's important that I get my facts-straight.

It would be a great help if I could speak to, either via email, or preferably in person, to any willing ex-miners.

I'm particularly interested in the year of the strike, '84-85', and of the years up until '94, as the number of working-pits had dwindled (community atmosphere, feelings, frustrations).

I'll be focusing on what life was like for the kids growing up during this time, so dads will play a significant role: shift-patterns, uniform, snap, routines, home-life. (I believe village-life was close-knit during the eighties, and that everyone knew each others business?)

All though not directly set down the pits, I would love to learn more about the different job-descriptions and what day-to-day life was actually like for workers, as it will still play an important part.

It's first-hand experiences, interesting stories, and over-all-opinions which I'm after. If you know of any body who could help me, or point-me-in-the-right-direction it would be a great help to me. If not, thank you for your time the web-site is great!

I hope to hear back from you

Kindest Regards
Zoe

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