[TV] The Miners’ Strike 1984: The Battle for Britain.

[Dinner with Gotsmanov]

A mate told me about this, and I’m finding it a very good watch. Not a date by date analysis but looking at three individual stories, quite horrifying what was going on, and the anti democracy on both sides.

Recall we played at Barnsley in the FA cup early in 85, and Albion fans holding up tenners in response to our defeat. Nice…

 

[BluesRockDJ]

Was there at the beginning as a Sussex Police officer. We travelled up in a convoy of buses, for, alledgedly a "couple of days" . A week later, having been put up in an Army base in Grantham (ironically !) went home.
Went time and again after that, yes, well paid, but patrolling the mining villages on foot was not great, although contrary to public belief, fed by the media, played football with the strikers, every now and then the Sun would come up and say to both sides "can you look aggresive" for a photo call. On the other hand Orgreave was not a walk in the park !
A quote from the strikers to colleagues riding their bikes in to work "How can you ride a bike when you have no back bone" and to us " Who's f*****g your wife while your here" resonate with me......could have asked the same question of them !
Then you had the Met with their mission to put their stickers everywhere , including the penalty spots at The City Ground.....................available for interviews !!

 

[kojak]

there's only one Maggie thatcher at Cardiff fans

 

[nicko31]

Recommended viewing...

Just watched the send episode "The Battle of Orgreave", the behaviour of the police was absolutely shocking and the press reporting very one sided, the miners were demonised.

The footage filmed by the NUM shows what really happened, they were brave. Alas no one in the police has ever been held to account, amazing no one was killed.

And in this area today, your MP SIR Michael Fabricant, pffff......

 

[Machiavelli]

We've also watched the first two. Very evocative.

 

[Cheshire Cat]

 

[Invicta]

Looks worth a watch. CHANNEL 4 it seems.

Huge story when I was growing up but coal usage absolutely died and villified not long after.

 

[Thunder Bolt]

Recommended viewing...

Just watched the send episode "The Battle of Orgreave", the behaviour of the police was absolutely shocking and the press reporting very one sided, the miners were demonised.

The footage filmed by the NUM shows what really happened, they were brave. Alas no one in the police has ever been held to account, amazing no one was killed.

And in this area today, your MP SIR Michael Fabricant, pffff......

David Wilkie, a taxi driver, taking a miner into work, was killed by striking miners dropping concrete off a bridge. The miner had a few small injuries. The two attackers were charged with murder but commuted to manslaughter.

 

[Rogero]

Arthur Scargill is still alive at 86. .

 

[Neville's Breakfast]

Looks worth a watch. CHANNEL 4 it seems.

Huge story when I was growing up but coal usage absolutely died and villified not long after.

Exactly. If the Government hadn’t shut it down the shift towards more environmentally friendly fuels would have done.

 

[Thunder Bolt]

Exactly. If the Government hadn’t shut it down the shift towards more environmentally friendly fuels would have done.

Many of the mines were worked out. The only new field was Pontefract/Selby.