tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6401528799218373095.post4620582164866694118..comments2024-03-28T22:25:01.210+00:00Comments on Positive Letters ... inspirational stories ...: Fancy a Tipple? ...Hilary Melton-Butcherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17596532480645510678noreply@blogger.comBlogger43125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6401528799218373095.post-32016201213902615282018-09-21T18:15:44.232+01:002018-09-21T18:15:44.232+01:00@ David - I haven't ventured below the surface...@ David - I haven't ventured below the surface of old mines ... as I know I wouldn't last long. It must have been awful working in one of those early mines - the camaraderie would be essential for them.<br /><br />But yes - this place will go up one day ... somehow - earthquake or tsunami. Lots of activity going on around the Pacific Rim of Fire - so no doubt it will happen - if it could hold off for now I'd be grateful!<br /><br />Thanks for the visit - HilaryHilary Melton-Butcherhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17596532480645510678noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6401528799218373095.post-86736336097047348002018-09-20T19:17:49.394+01:002018-09-20T19:17:49.394+01:00I have visited a couple of old mines and the sheer...I have visited a couple of old mines and the sheer sense of claustrophobia compels me to get back to the surface as quickly as possible. It must have been hell indeed to work in those places. Vancouver Island is one of my most favourite places, but even the most cursory acquaintance with seismology tells you that one day it is going to be devasted by an earthquake and sunami. Some experts conclude that it is imminent as those things go.David M. Gascoigne,https://www.blogger.com/profile/17229638811027153569noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6401528799218373095.post-89892722757325684122018-09-18T15:16:30.571+01:002018-09-18T15:16:30.571+01:00@ Chris ... it usually is - except in mining situa...@ Chris ... it usually is - except in mining situations ... so no wonder you thought in the booze direction... <br /><br />@ Sandra - they (the scabs) were brought in to break the strike ... but I guess realised or were talked into the situation re the mine - perhaps they also realised it was an awful mine to work in ... regardless of the wages. Those days were just so difficult ... <br /><br />@ Pat - yes working together they'd have formed a strong bond wouldn't they ... and I so agree - I wouldn't even have got in the cage to go down into the mine in the first place: as you say one miserable job ... <br /><br />@ Trisha - good to see you ... and once I'd come across this other meaning I thought that it would make a good 'hook'. The Winston Graham books are very Cornish and very well written ... hence so many miners left and opened mines in other countries ... Australia, South Africa, Mexico and the Americas and I'm sure elsewhere ...<br /><br />Mining now is safer - yet things still happen. <br /><br />Thanks so much - glad you came across to read about 'tippling' ... cheers HilaryHilary Melton-Butcherhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17596532480645510678noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6401528799218373095.post-24350898981526171332018-09-18T01:24:42.378+01:002018-09-18T01:24:42.378+01:00I learned something new! I always think of the ...I learned something new! I always think of the 'little drink of alcohol' but didn't know this alternate meaning of 'tipple'. :)<br /><br />When I read the original POLDARK series, I got a real feel for how awful working in the mines was - and probably still is!Trishahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16927558937796802496noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6401528799218373095.post-9268009984638072472018-09-18T00:38:02.431+01:002018-09-18T00:38:02.431+01:00Sure has to be quite the bond indeed. Heck, I woul...Sure has to be quite the bond indeed. Heck, I wouldn't even last 7 hours haha one miserable job indeed.Pat Hatthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07745293224202430152noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6401528799218373095.post-68461534475354922202018-09-17T21:49:08.641+01:002018-09-17T21:49:08.641+01:00That's interesting that the scabs joined the m...That's interesting that the scabs joined the miners' strike. Who'd a thought. I wonder if they were coerced by the miners or felt their loyalty lay with their fellow workers. It couldn't have been easy to walk away from a paycheck.Sandra Coxhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03814573408898140885noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6401528799218373095.post-84575190173853168732018-09-17T20:48:53.853+01:002018-09-17T20:48:53.853+01:00I almost thought a tipple was a drink. HAHAHA!!!I almost thought a tipple was a drink. HAHAHA!!!Chrys Feyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11955009490266358041noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6401528799218373095.post-49092881722887929192018-09-16T16:21:53.226+01:002018-09-16T16:21:53.226+01:00@ Nas - well it's a microscopic snippet of lif...@ Nas - well it's a microscopic snippet of life in those days - so hard as you say ... especially if we put ourselves in their way of life ... <br /><br />@ Lynda - you're so right ... we can't possibly relate back to those really terrible, awful, dangerous days of just going to work to earn a penny or two ... <br /><br />@ Fil - I agree having been down one mine in tourist conditions ... I really don't want to do it again. I imagine the 'new' museum in Northumberland would have been very interesting and I'm sure now with the techie bits they could really bring the exhibits and stories to life ... <br /><br />@ Rosey - I can't understand how they kept working ... but guess they didn't understand the dangers - other than the fact it was a way of life ... and they had to earn money somehow. <br /><br />Re putting lives at risk as we work ... I think in so many ways 'we put money before precious life' ... as you suggest ... <br /><br />@ Jess - well I'm sort of doing what I can while here ... and in this day and age - it's made it easier for the least intrepid of us (me!) to be able to visit various places relatively easily.<br /><br />Yes, we are lucky that people because they were born in their era were able to get us better working conditions - and it continues on ... <br /><br />Thanks for visiting and thinking back to our forefathers and their way of life in the 1800 - 1900s ... or earlier in some instances.<br /><br />Cheers to you all - and I hope everyone and their families and friends are safe ... HilaryHilary Melton-Butcherhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17596532480645510678noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6401528799218373095.post-53981197542822077262018-09-16T15:17:46.537+01:002018-09-16T15:17:46.537+01:00I love how much you are learning about your surrou...I love how much you are learning about your surroundings! So many interesting places to explore. I can't even imagine going down in a mine and doing work- the conditions sound difficult to say the least. Thank goodness for the people who fought for better working conditions. Thanks for sharing. :) <br />~JessDMShttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04202502753961748992noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6401528799218373095.post-26270663430983733882018-09-16T11:50:02.369+01:002018-09-16T11:50:02.369+01:00Just the fact that your body would react so negati...Just the fact that your body would react so negatively to it would make you want to run (regardless of if it leveled out or not after a bit of time). It's amazing how people can/could/and still do in different ways, put money before precious life. mail4roseyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17850985344834209198noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6401528799218373095.post-87436117749107485202018-09-16T11:34:09.198+01:002018-09-16T11:34:09.198+01:00Very interesting story Hilary - It really makes me...Very interesting story Hilary - It really makes me shudder to think what those miners did - we visited the mining museum in Northhumberland recently - those kinds of places make it very vivid. <br />Filhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09027496923235464642noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6401528799218373095.post-64011799883508688032018-09-16T10:39:18.739+01:002018-09-16T10:39:18.739+01:00Coal mining . . . I don't think we, in the saf...Coal mining . . . I don't think we, in the safety of our jobs that are not life-threatening (in most cases), can grasp the daily dangers these men faced, simply going to work.Lynda Dietzhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15442214431341019380noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6401528799218373095.post-84292703271581690492018-09-16T09:41:58.416+01:002018-09-16T09:41:58.416+01:00This is an interesting post about the history of i...This is an interesting post about the history of it. Yes, life was so hard back then. Nashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14984530648140460594noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6401528799218373095.post-43522297554262507802018-09-16T01:13:11.560+01:002018-09-16T01:13:11.560+01:00@ Debby - those early days ... must have been frig...@ Debby - those early days ... must have been frightening - but worse if one didn't have a job and thus couldn't feed the family, or oneself ... but lung disease must have been horrible - it still is ... <br /><br />@ Elizabeth - how interesting that he was able to change trades and had the guts to do it ... and then needed time to get away - my uncle used to go down the garden to the shed to get away from my aunt - they even had no children!! Kids ... I remember how noisy we were - so can understand your grandpa ... <br /><br />@ Lenny - that's a great video - I'm going to add it at the bottom of the post - cool music as you say. I couldn't resist calling the post that title ... thought it would intrigue ... <br /><br />It's interesting isn't it - I use Wiki and usually get the answers I want - which I did this time ... and coal mining came up first ... actually mining I think ... but it could be an ore tipple.<br /><br />I know the Appalachians are a great coal mining area ... and with lots of interesting people living in and around there. It's an area I need to know more about - sometime! <br /><br />So brilliant comment - and thanks for looking out the video on Coal Tipple - delightful music and song, along with the pictures of the tipple and railroad in Widen, West Virginia ... <br /><br />@ Mary - I'm sure this is the sort of work your grandparent's family may have been involved in - and I'm sure the timing would have been similar. Each area would have had similar, yet different methodologies - dependent on the type of coal they were mining ... <br /><br />It is interesting to think back that hundred + years ... so much change in this past century ... thanks so much for all your comments - see how much has happened - cheers HilaryHilary Melton-Butcherhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17596532480645510678noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6401528799218373095.post-16416184190063324662018-09-15T21:12:39.088+01:002018-09-15T21:12:39.088+01:00My mother's mother, her family came to the US ...My mother's mother, her family came to the US in the early 1900s. They were coal miners. I wonder if the timing is related.M Paxhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14096697282530998519noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6401528799218373095.post-52406202530257785742018-09-15T17:38:48.956+01:002018-09-15T17:38:48.956+01:00wow! how interesting. like some others, i thought ... wow! how interesting. like some others, i thought "tipple" had to do with drinking hard liquor. never knew it had to do with coal mining. <br /><br />i had to look it up on Google and definitions only spoke of drinking so i typed in "tipple in coal mining" and got a lot of good information. being a coal miner was and still is a dangerous job. for sure not something i'd want to do. <br /><br />in Appalachia in the states, primarily West Virginia, coal mining still remains the only profession that sustains families and small towns. i watched a short video that shows a good view of the tipple and surrounding structures. it's in the states. check it out. cool music too. a song called Coal Tipple, Coal Mine. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oJ90RMeUEvI<br /><br />thanks for another interesting post. i always learn something new from your posts. Lenny Leehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12822588007434789481noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6401528799218373095.post-14909036720562388572018-09-15T06:36:33.827+01:002018-09-15T06:36:33.827+01:00My grandpa started out as a coal miner, but it was...My grandpa started out as a coal miner, but it was hard, dangerous work. He decided he wanted a new career, so he studied to be an electrician. He and my grandma already had four kids, so he would lock himself in the bathroom to get a bit of quiet time. Elizabeth Seckmanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00045076826326574984noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6401528799218373095.post-23164223545274159852018-09-15T00:11:34.044+01:002018-09-15T00:11:34.044+01:00Fascinating article Hilary. Miners certainly riske...Fascinating article Hilary. Miners certainly risked their lives in more ways than one, especially their lungs! :( Great piece of history. :) xxD.G. Kayehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04292901895982357952noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6401528799218373095.post-43392811597587679862018-09-14T15:30:16.578+01:002018-09-14T15:30:16.578+01:00@ Sandra - well that was the way back then ...
@...@ Sandra - well that was the way back then ... <br /><br />@ Sandie - I know any of the big projects cost lives and where conditions weren't at all easy ... <br /><br />@ Liz - mining is dangerous and makes us think about life back then ... <br /><br />Thanks for your visits - cheers HilaryHilary Melton-Butcherhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17596532480645510678noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6401528799218373095.post-76843916154903892802018-09-14T06:29:52.321+01:002018-09-14T06:29:52.321+01:00@ Andrea - that's what amazes me about being h...@ Andrea - that's what amazes me about being here ... the areas here were all being developed at the same time as those in South Africa, where I lived for a while. Then my Cornish origins help bringing the mining history to life ... but here I'm finding out more. Not so long ago ... seems like it should be centuries, not just one + century ...<br /><br />@ Yam - it's always interesting to note certain facts ... bringing this sort of thing to life - making us remember how difficult life was for so many ... <br /><br />@ Steve - tipple in the trifle would be a very good idea. A good trifle is delicious. Immigration was the mainstay of that early population in the Americas, as elsewhere. <br /><br />I was so interested to read about the different sorts of coal from different parts of the world ... your American coal came from hot steamy swamps, burning rapidly ... while the coal in South Africa burns really hot ... not sure how the British or European coal burns ... Sometimes - we just learn things!<br /><br />Cheers and good to see you ... let's hope Florence doesn't do too much damage to the east coast - all the best for everyone in her path - Hilary<br /><br />Hilary Melton-Butcherhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17596532480645510678noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6401528799218373095.post-15987942937763261422018-09-14T01:47:43.306+01:002018-09-14T01:47:43.306+01:00Mining is such a dangerous job.Mining is such a dangerous job.Liz A.https://www.blogger.com/profile/16531953467834426316noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6401528799218373095.post-1857034426100337182018-09-14T01:20:22.154+01:002018-09-14T01:20:22.154+01:00Look up sometime how the Hoover Damn was built - i...Look up sometime how the Hoover Damn was built - it was horrible too. A harsh way of making a living - during the depression. SandieChatty Cronehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02232040517217024681noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6401528799218373095.post-31013846073698263642018-09-14T00:16:45.958+01:002018-09-14T00:16:45.958+01:00What a harsh way to make a living.What a harsh way to make a living.Sandra Coxhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03814573408898140885noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6401528799218373095.post-83301295434526176502018-09-13T22:25:33.388+01:002018-09-13T22:25:33.388+01:00When I saw the title I thought of a dessert. I wil...When I saw the title I thought of a dessert. I will have some more tipple please.LOL Lots of mining here brought in many types of people, but only limestone any more. The coal was too soft.Out on the prairiehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09548162534362532705noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6401528799218373095.post-39633488505381506402018-09-13T20:36:09.235+01:002018-09-13T20:36:09.235+01:00Hari Om
Love this sort of history, Hilary. Ta for ...Hari Om<br />Love this sort of history, Hilary. Ta for bringing it to us! YAM xxYamini MacLeanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18383916589808462620noreply@blogger.com