This brings back memories! The day it happened a few friends and I sat in a pub in Yorkshire (very under-aged at 14) and talked about the tragedy. We all lived in the heart of the West Riding coal fields and really felt for the poor sods in the village. My mum, although a Yorkshire woman, spent her childhood in Methyr, which is almost next door, so this felt particularly close to home.

We decided we would do something about it and hitched down to Wales but were sent away again as 'mere kids'. Sad, as we were full of energy and the diggers were getting tired. We did manage to help a little bit by serving tea but it wasn't enough. We just left feeling useless and, for some reason, guilty.

Rhiannon