As people in the UK can gather from my surname my family is originally from the North West. Both sides of my family were coal miners. Both met an early grave thanks to coal dust. My father worked at the pit above ground.
My grandparents and parents worked very hard to provide me with the environment to succeed. Success? Stopping another generation from going down the pit.
Whilst I was at university so many other students had the same background. As mundane as call centre and supermarket work maybe at least so few are subjected to those working conditions in the UK now.
> My grandparents and parents worked very hard to provide me with the environment to succeed. Success? Stopping another generation from going down the pit.
This feels like the generalised version of the story in the BBC article, in a way. Though with the pit closures, what happened to the generation whose parents didn't work hard to get them a chance to do something different?
Half my family is Welsh and I have coal-mining ancestors -- only my great-grandparents, I think, as my Taid ran a pub. I'm the first one in that side of the family to go to university, and I know they were always extremely proud to have put my mum through nursing school and let her find a different path. It really makes you stop and think, and in my case, feel deep gratitude for those who worked hard to set up a better life for relatives they barely even met.
My grandparents and parents worked very hard to provide me with the environment to succeed. Success? Stopping another generation from going down the pit.
Whilst I was at university so many other students had the same background. As mundane as call centre and supermarket work maybe at least so few are subjected to those working conditions in the UK now.