View From The Top

Agreed.

They'll get the ground, rightly IMHO, get -10 and then the run will really begin!

Word.

It's not about closing inefficient pits, it's about closing pits for political reasons as opposed to economic and that shortsightedness is costing us all now.

There were collieries in Staffordshire, on the same coal seam, but more accessible coal, until the power generating companies went overseas for their coal.

The huge fu.ck up with right to buy was that councils weren't allowed to re-invest they money raised in new housing stock, but to reduce how much rates/poll tax they charged. The acute lack of housing stock now, the criminally high prices landlords charge in rent and this nations obsession with houses as investments instead of home, can be traced directly to that decision. It could have been a fantastic program but like so much that she did, it was short term to create more tory voters.

The sheer ignorance shown regarding mining and energy security is truly stunning. They was cheap coal so we shut our mines, they then put the price up and the coal became expensive but what could we do, we'd shut our mines. The other side of Cannock Chase from me is Rugeley power station. Next to it used to be Hem Heath colliery, one of the profitable super collieries. The coal would go straight to the power station. The privitised generation companies decided they'd import cheaper coal & the colliery, losing its market overnight, was closed. That "cheap" coal, is now expensive coal so instead of British coal, dug from rich seams, next to the power station, we import expensive coal from around the world and wonder why our bills keep going up whilst these private companies make so much profit. We decided on North Sea gas, we were told it was very cheap and would last centuries and had, very handily, just be sold to private business. 25 years later we are told it's running out & we are importing gas from Russia and Nigeria which is hugely expensive. It was short sighted and based on political dogma instead of common sense but she didn't give a fu.ck as mining areas would never vote for her anyway.

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Reading are playing Liverpool. Good luck getting a minutes silence at that!

Don't chat boll.oxs. Read the fuc.king FL statement,

Really? What part of the FL statement don't you understand?

No. That is set in stone.

Is that a photo from operation Yewtree!

Tomorrow in win/win for us.

Not to mention all the LPG now being imported from West Africa into Milford Haven

What a knobber you are. Stick to bleating about how the skates have gotten away with it as you are fu.cking clueless about everything. I would imagine you struggle to actually walk and talk at the same time.

Doomed to go down the pit? You've not a clue mate. They were well paid jobs and included everything from those digging it out to engineers keeping it all going. Skilled jobs, with proper apprenticeships that have never been replaced. If they re-opened the deep pits now they'd be no shortage of men (and women no doubt) to do it.

I'll bow to the superior knowledge on this and look to northern Spain via France by car or the ferry into Bilbao/Santander.

What a pile of sh.it.

I've just got back from an ex-mining village. They are all out celebrating.

Closing the mines had more to go with the "dash for gas" and the newly privatised British Gas. We now import coal & gas on a colossal scale making us hostage to Russia & Nigeria amongst others. We could of easily invested in "clean" coal, especially as we are an island with such rich coal seams but it would appear that private business prefers to import coal from Poland & the share holders in BG wanted a good dividend. It was typically short sighted. The industry needed modernising, she destroyed it to destroy the unions and now, all of us, pay for it with our bills. Energy security should be near the top of any governments agenda IMHO.

Looks like the southern Spain option is slightly too far.

Calais to La Rochelle I've done in 6.5hrs, twice and I thought Northern Spain would be about the same again??

Living up north it'll be a chuffing national holiday!

Sums it up for me; No attempt at ethical or social seduction can eradicate from my heart a deep burning hatred for the Tory Party. So far as I am concerned they are lower than vermin. Aneurin Bevan