I have just watched the film "Brassed Off" once again which starred the late, great Pete Postlethwaite. I still have tears in my eyes...

For the Man, for the Music, for the Miners and for the memories too

In some ways British Brass Band Music is an alternative kind of folk. The majority of bands that were successful and went on to inspire so many other brass bands all over, their history is deeply rooted in our industrial history and heritage.

Watching those men down the mines I cannot say I am sorry we no longer send men down underground to do such a dangerous job every day (though I know it is still occurring worldwide and not just for coal). To me their bravery in what they did is no less than the danger of being on a frontline somewhere defending your country. Both have led to great loss of life. There are parallels too in that many miners continued to lose their lives to illness related from their jobs long after they finished work. Soldiers too suffer this fate from various sources.

The communities that were split by the miner's strikes and the demise of the industry are still very much to be seen. Very different and some still carrying the wounds of the let downs they had when their pits, their livlihods and their lives were changed forever.

So... I just wanted to bring it up for attention, just in case anyone has forgot, just what the miner's did do daily for us (and still do in some countries).

Just the music and the memories remain... do let's keep them :-)

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