NoBodyImportant Posted February 19, 2020 Report Share Posted February 19, 2020 I am a tool a dye maker. Some days I watch YouTube for a week straight. Then some days a dye breaks. The hot runners are 500 degrees so being between the press plates is hot work. And sometimes I have 25 tons hanging over my head by a cable. I’m paid well below the US poverty level. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NoBodyImportant Posted February 19, 2020 Report Share Posted February 19, 2020 9 minutes ago, Rewulf said: Rates {housing tax} used to be calculated on how many windows in the dwelling. Less windows, less rates. Damn, I’d have a bunch of doors then Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
treetree Posted February 19, 2020 Report Share Posted February 19, 2020 (edited) You wont find a better account of what life was like for these men than the opening chapters of George Orwell's 'The Road To Wigan Pier'. I had never stopped to think about the life of a coal miner, but it certainly put in context the modern day gripes about work with petty office politics and the air conditioning being up too high! Edited February 19, 2020 by treetree Error Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
B725 Posted February 20, 2020 Report Share Posted February 20, 2020 8 hours ago, Rewulf said: Rates {housing tax} used to be calculated on how many windows in the dwelling. Less windows, less rates. And that I believe is were the saying daylight robbery stems from also why lots of house's bricked up some of the windows Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ratmanwan Posted February 20, 2020 Report Share Posted February 20, 2020 All the men in my family were miners up until the pits shut. When I was about to leave school and look for work my dad warned me to never go down the pit. He was a face worker and used to tell me story's of working in three foot High tunnels with a foot of water in the bottom. There was a roof collapse once and his mate lost his leg. I can still see how worried my mum looked as we waited for him to come home. He has the blue 'tattoos' on his hands and face. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rim Fire Posted February 20, 2020 Report Share Posted February 20, 2020 13 hours ago, wymberley said: Beat me to it, I was going to suggest the first volume of his trilogy, "The Rape Of The Fair Country" by Alexander Cordell. Mother's family hail from 'UpTheGarn'. Is that the Garn above PontyPool Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wymberley Posted February 20, 2020 Report Share Posted February 20, 2020 1 hour ago, Rim Fire said: Is that the Garn above PontyPool Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bobba Posted February 20, 2020 Report Share Posted February 20, 2020 "It ain't worth a candle" I'm aware of a number of so say origins for this expression but none tie in with my grandfathers explanation to me. He said it related to the pits when they were privately owned and pit owners provided the candles for underground work. To identify pit candles they were coloured. If miners wanted candles for home use they bought them at the ironmongers and they were creamy tallow. If a pit manager passed a cottage window (generally a tied cottage) and saw a coloured candle burning inside then the only way that candle could have got there was by theft from the pit. Consequently the miner list his job and was evicted from the tied cottage. Hence the expression "It ain't worth a candle". Has anyone else heard of this expression being attributed to pits / mines? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rim Fire Posted February 20, 2020 Report Share Posted February 20, 2020 5 hours ago, wymberley said: My mother was born there 👍 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
islandgun Posted February 20, 2020 Author Report Share Posted February 20, 2020 17 hours ago, Rewulf said: Rates {housing tax} used to be calculated on how many windows in the dwelling. Less windows, less rates. Would the houses be owned by the coal board/pit owners Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rewulf Posted February 20, 2020 Report Share Posted February 20, 2020 5 minutes ago, islandgun said: Would the houses be owned by the coal board/pit owners Possibly , but whoever owned them would pay the tax and pass it on I presume , however..... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Window_tax It appears the 'window tax' was repealed in the 1851 in England, so it seems it could be more about cost of re glazing that they were not put back afterwards. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wymberley Posted February 20, 2020 Report Share Posted February 20, 2020 55 minutes ago, Rim Fire said: My mother was born there 👍 Well, hello, Cousin. PM on way Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Davyo Posted February 20, 2020 Report Share Posted February 20, 2020 I did 13yrs at Easington Colliery,proper crack and no posy blokes like in my time with HMRC. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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