It’s a Man’s Man’s Man’s World ………. is it ???

[Arblasterfromthepast]

I suppose I’m talking about physical work as a team - as they were at the pit.
I’m sure if local pits were open it would solve a lot of angst within young men.
Theres definitely been a shift in mental wellbeing since the mines shut.

I’m not saying this applies to everyone of course and it sounds like the work you did suited you.

The work I did was mentally demanding and stressful at times. As Animal has alluded to above, I'm certain that call centre work can also be very stressful. One academic one non-academic but both demanding in their own ways. Although I mainly worked alone and had a lot of responsibility, I still had other staff, from other disciplines, that were there as part of the team. They might not understand the work that I was doing but there was always someone there to speak to about any issues that I had. So I never really felt alone. Having said that, I would describe myself as mentally quite a strong person and I'm thankful for that. But I also recognise, and I saw this first hand a number of times, that other people aren't always mentally strong. That's just how life is. And I think it's always been the same, just as Animal says. So I don't think mental illness is a new thing, I just think that, thankfully, people can be more open and honest about it these days. The way that mental illness is viewed has changed dramatically over the last 15 or so years. That's a good thing. But I don't think the lack of or reduction in the physicality of work these days has had any influence on mental illness. Just my opinion based on my experience.

[animallittle3]

I suppose I’m talking about physical work as a team - as they were at the pit.
I’m sure if local pits were open it would solve a lot of angst within young men.
Theres definitely been a shift in mental wellbeing since the mines shut.

I’m not saying this applies to everyone of course and it sounds like the work you did suited you.

Well the pits were open in the 70's and 80's plus a load of other heavy industries .

So how do you explain the colossal amount of football hooliganism during those times ?

[Arblasterfromthepast]

I believe YN is going down the back in the day macho man route Arby .

He seems to forget the cushy numbers at the pits along with the more physical and demanding work .

The fact that the advancements in technology have also contributed greatly to the workplace today and whilst in many cases the physical side may not be what it once was the mental demands have more than replaced them .

Call Centre work is also very mentally demanding .

I've worked in Warehouse and Distribution for the last 30 odd years and my body has had a beating , thankfully I've a role now more in keeping with a man of my age , which is just as well because I couldn't do what I once did .

Where he's going with " we didn't dwell on things in my day " I'm not certain .

That's because back in the day nobody dared talk about mental health for fear of ridicule .

Thankfully things have moved on from those dinosaur years .

Agreed Animal, especially in terms of advancement in technology and mental demands being greater these days. Thinking can be as tiring as performing physical tasks. I've done plenty of physical work away from my day job, but like you, I'm thankful that I don't have to work doing physical tasks, such as brickwork, plastering or similar at my age now, because I would definitely struggle to do it week after week 😉

[Jules88]

I suppose I’m talking about physical work as a team - as they were at the pit.
I’m sure if local pits were open it would solve a lot of angst within young men.
Theres definitely been a shift in mental wellbeing since the mines shut.

I’m not saying this applies to everyone of course and it sounds like the work you did suited you.

I would solve a great deal,of “Angst” ( and this includes my son, and son in law…..).
Get them in National service.

[pass_and_move]

Anybody watched that miners strike 3 part documentary on Channel 4 which was screened recently? Powerful stuff. Brought more emotion art o mi than owt I've seen before, especially the Orgreave one

[Arblasterfromthepast]

Anybody watched that miners strike 3 part documentary on Channel 4 which was screened recently? Powerful stuff. Brought more emotion art o mi than owt I've seen before, especially the Orgreave one

It's next on mi list Pass.

[animallittle3]

No. Some faces were 3 miles outby the paddy took you maybe 1/2 way then you had to walk with your tools and no belt riding as belts were running the opposite way and you walked with the deputies. I would have loved to see some of you people who talk about the pits shift a heap of ripping after boring it with the 4foot drill.

I'm well aware of that Colliers , I was playing devils advocate with YN .

Some interesting points raised none the less from yourself , I suppose it could be argued that the work done in mining in the 19th century was considerably harder than what was experienced by latter day miners , they would probably have bit your hand off for the bit of kit you used .

I also wonder if mining had survived in this country what it would look like today with the advancements in technology ?

I wonder too how the NUM would have handled that , advances in technology , probably less miners required underground and a more automation than sweat .

All hypothetical I guess as things turned out .

[animallittle3]

There's a picture in the link of a proposed new coal mine set to be built in Cumbria .

Looks a bit different to Grimey and Houghton Main .


https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/explainers-56023895

[upthecolliers]

There's a picture in the link of a proposed new coal mine set to be built in Cumbria .

Looks a bit different to Grimey and Houghton Main .


https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/explainers-56023895

Coal for the steel works Don't make me laugh Coal is only used in the Blast Furnaces, not the electric ark furnaces and by gum they are shutting the last of the Blast Furnaces in the country down in Port Talbut due in a big part because of Brexit, 3,000 jobs up the swany, mind thee that little snippet is dated 8th of December 2022

[Young_Nudger]

The initial thread isn’t about coal mining per se.
It’s about the work men used to do at one time - around Barnsley it was generally coal mining - compared to the work that men do these days and the impact this has on their mental wellbeing.
When I’m talking about men especially young men ‘coping with life’ I’m talking about the high rate of suicides there is within that group these days.

The thread is NOT about how many miles someone walks in a warehouse.