0:00:20 > 0:00:23This story belongs to Hayden and his grandpa Bryn.
0:00:35 > 0:00:38It's a tiny tale about Grandpa Bryn's life
0:00:38 > 0:00:40and the things he used to do.
0:00:44 > 0:00:48Now it's time for him to share his memories and take Hayden
0:00:48 > 0:00:49on a journey of discovery.
0:00:59 > 0:01:00Where will they go?
0:01:00 > 0:01:01And what will they do?
0:01:01 > 0:01:03Let's find out.
0:01:08 > 0:01:12- Hayden, are you cold? - A little bit.- A little bit?
0:01:12 > 0:01:16I'll put some coal on the fire, then, see if we can get it warm.
0:01:16 > 0:01:20Hayden has come to visit his grandpa. They live in Wales.
0:01:24 > 0:01:27He's adding coal to the fire to keep the house warm.
0:01:30 > 0:01:34- Oh, it's empty! We need some...? - Coal.
0:01:34 > 0:01:36Well, we'll have to go down to the coal shed and get some.
0:01:36 > 0:01:39- I'll carry your bucket. - You'll carry the bucket?
0:01:39 > 0:01:41Oh, you are kind. Come on then, let's go.
0:01:41 > 0:01:45And off they go to collect it from the coal shed.
0:01:45 > 0:01:47What a lot of coal!
0:01:47 > 0:01:49And what's that by the door?
0:01:50 > 0:01:54That's my shovel when I was working as a miner in the pit.
0:01:54 > 0:01:56That's very, very special to me.
0:01:56 > 0:01:58What is a miner?
0:01:58 > 0:02:03A miner is a person that digs coal out from under the ground.
0:02:04 > 0:02:07What is coal made of?
0:02:07 > 0:02:10A long, long time ago, in the time of dinosaurs,
0:02:10 > 0:02:13trees, plants and animals that died lay in the sea
0:02:13 > 0:02:14under layers of rock.
0:02:16 > 0:02:21Over millions of years, these trees, plants and animals turned into coal.
0:02:24 > 0:02:29- Why did people dig it up? - They dug up coal because...
0:02:29 > 0:02:34Grandpa Bryn talks some more about coal and what it's used for.
0:02:41 > 0:02:45Grandpa Bryn and Hayden have a good old chat about the old days.
0:02:47 > 0:02:50Hayden just loves to hear his grandpa's old stories.
0:02:53 > 0:02:57Grandpa Bryn explains he was a young boy of just 15
0:02:57 > 0:03:01when he became a miner, just like all his friends and his family.
0:03:01 > 0:03:04They were ALL miners.
0:03:05 > 0:03:08Hayden can't wait to find out more about mining.
0:03:15 > 0:03:19So, what did mines look like and what were they used for?
0:03:22 > 0:03:24Mines were open all day and all night.
0:03:31 > 0:03:35To go to work, miners had to go into these special lift cages.
0:03:36 > 0:03:39Down, down, down.
0:03:41 > 0:03:43Deep down they went to work.
0:03:43 > 0:03:45Way, way underground.
0:03:45 > 0:03:47In the dark.
0:03:47 > 0:03:51It was so dark they had to wear bright lights on their helmets
0:03:51 > 0:03:53to be able to see and find the coal.
0:03:54 > 0:03:57These underground mines had lots of tunnels.
0:03:58 > 0:04:00The miners broke off the coal from tunnel walls
0:04:00 > 0:04:04and then shovelled the coal into special trolleys.
0:04:04 > 0:04:07The trolleys were then pushed along back to the cage
0:04:07 > 0:04:11and then taken away above ground to be used for heating homes.
0:04:11 > 0:04:15There are still some working mines in Great Britain,
0:04:15 > 0:04:17but most of them are now closed.
0:04:23 > 0:04:27Grandpa Bryn is taking Hayden somewhere close to his heart -
0:04:27 > 0:04:30they're going to a special mining museum.
0:04:39 > 0:04:43Grandpa Bryn loved the mine so much, he made a hobby out of it.
0:04:43 > 0:04:47In his spare time, he and his friend created a whole miniature world
0:04:47 > 0:04:49of all the bits in a mine.
0:04:51 > 0:04:56We done the model and we got it working.
0:04:56 > 0:04:58If you press the button over there,
0:04:58 > 0:05:00you can show the cages going up and down.
0:05:07 > 0:05:12Whatever went down or up the mine had to be taken by these cages,
0:05:12 > 0:05:16whether it was coal, men, trolleys or even horses.
0:05:18 > 0:05:23- How deep is it under there? - It's a long, long way down.
0:05:23 > 0:05:31- What can you see on the bottom now over there?- Horses, coal, wood...
0:05:31 > 0:05:34tracks.
0:05:35 > 0:05:40And Grandpa Bryn and his friend made each and every one of these models.
0:05:45 > 0:05:48It might have been dark, dirty and gloomy down the mines,
0:05:48 > 0:05:52but there was one feathered friend that brightened up their day.
0:05:59 > 0:06:04- Hayden, could you tell me the name of these birds?- Canaries.
0:06:04 > 0:06:07These birds are kept in every colliery
0:06:07 > 0:06:11because if there you had a fire or an explosion,
0:06:11 > 0:06:14dangerous gases comes out.
0:06:14 > 0:06:20The canaries will detect the gas quicker than human beings.
0:06:20 > 0:06:25Sometimes there were gases down the mines which could harm miners.
0:06:25 > 0:06:27These clever canaries would smell it first
0:06:27 > 0:06:31and let the miners know it was time to leave the mine until it was safe.
0:06:33 > 0:06:37- Would you like to go down the pit with me?- Yeah.- Righto.
0:06:37 > 0:06:39We will go and see about it then.
0:06:46 > 0:06:49Hayden's now going to find out what life is like down a mine.
0:06:49 > 0:06:53Look - the museum has a special place which is made to look
0:06:53 > 0:06:54just like mine.
0:07:02 > 0:07:04It's hard work, you know.
0:07:04 > 0:07:08It's dark, it's cold, it's dirty and there's lots of digging.
0:07:12 > 0:07:15There's a shovel. And you use it like this...
0:07:18 > 0:07:21And you go as fast as you can.
0:07:21 > 0:07:25Have a try. See if you can shovel that coal.
0:07:25 > 0:07:28Go on. You can do it.
0:07:32 > 0:07:35Hayden can see how tough a job it is.
0:07:35 > 0:07:38Luckily, Grandpa Bryn is here to help.
0:07:42 > 0:07:45When Grandpa Bryn worked in the mine,
0:07:45 > 0:07:48he would fill eight trolleys a day!
0:07:53 > 0:07:57Let's go and we'll have a look down here. OK?
0:08:03 > 0:08:06Well, Hayden, that's our shift over with.
0:08:06 > 0:08:08Time now to get tidied up
0:08:08 > 0:08:12because we don't want to go home like this to see your gran, do we?
0:08:12 > 0:08:15You know your gran, she'll shout, "Get out! Get out!"
0:08:15 > 0:08:19- So we've got to go and get tidied up, is it?- Yeah.
0:08:27 > 0:08:30Canaries were not the only animals to help miners with their work.
0:08:34 > 0:08:35The coal was heavy.
0:08:35 > 0:08:38Too much for a man to carry so ponies were used to pull
0:08:38 > 0:08:41the trolleys full of coal.
0:08:45 > 0:08:49Mines were also called pits, so these ponies were called pit ponies.
0:08:54 > 0:08:56Pit ponies worked just as hard as the miners,
0:08:56 > 0:08:59but most have now stopped working.
0:08:59 > 0:09:01Just like Grandpa Bryn.
0:09:06 > 0:09:10Now Hayden and Grandpa Bryn are off to visit some retired pit ponies
0:09:10 > 0:09:12who are enjoying the sunshine.
0:09:18 > 0:09:21- You're a lovely boy.- Is it a boy?
0:09:21 > 0:09:24We all called them boys, never mind what they are.
0:09:24 > 0:09:27They worked down the pit like me.
0:09:27 > 0:09:29Grandpa Bryn used to put the coal into the trolleys
0:09:29 > 0:09:32and the pit pony would pull them out of the mine.
0:09:39 > 0:09:41He's after the sweets here.
0:09:41 > 0:09:44When working, the ponies had stables underground.
0:09:44 > 0:09:47After work each night, the pit ponies would be fed,
0:09:47 > 0:09:50groomed and well looked after.
0:09:58 > 0:10:00In the summer,
0:10:00 > 0:10:04pit ponies would come to fields like this for a well-deserved break.
0:10:04 > 0:10:05Well deserved.
0:10:09 > 0:10:14They were really, really good horses. And we used to appreciate them a lot.
0:10:18 > 0:10:20They really like you, Hayden.
0:10:28 > 0:10:31It wasn't just coal that Grandpa Bryn found
0:10:31 > 0:10:33while working underground.
0:10:33 > 0:10:36He would also find lots of other rocks, just like this one here.
0:10:38 > 0:10:41Have a look at that.
0:10:41 > 0:10:44- What is that now?- Gold!
0:10:44 > 0:10:45I wish it was.
0:10:45 > 0:10:47Then me and you would be rich.
0:10:47 > 0:10:48It's not real gold.
0:10:48 > 0:10:51It's a different kind of metal that looks just like it
0:10:51 > 0:10:53and it's got another name.
0:10:53 > 0:10:55That's what they call fool's gold.
0:10:55 > 0:10:57Now can you tell me what that is?
0:10:58 > 0:11:00A fossil!
0:11:00 > 0:11:03- A fossil of what?- A tree.- Yes.
0:11:03 > 0:11:08Just like coal, over millions of years this piece of tree
0:11:08 > 0:11:11has turned to stone and is called a fossil.
0:11:11 > 0:11:13See all the lines?
0:11:13 > 0:11:18- A tree is like that, isn't it? With the bark?- Yeah.
0:11:18 > 0:11:21See this lovely place around here now,
0:11:21 > 0:11:23there's a lot of fossils around here.
0:11:23 > 0:11:25Can we have a look?
0:11:25 > 0:11:28Come on, then, let's go and have a look. Come on.
0:11:30 > 0:11:33Ah, so you don't have to be a miner to go way underground
0:11:33 > 0:11:34to find fossils.
0:11:37 > 0:11:39Look on any beach, in any part of the land
0:11:39 > 0:11:43and you're sure to come across them on the pebbles and rocks.
0:11:44 > 0:11:47- Found a fossil?- Yeah.
0:11:47 > 0:11:49Is that a fossil?
0:11:49 > 0:11:51Oh, that's a good one.
0:11:55 > 0:11:56Cool.
0:12:01 > 0:12:03You've got another one.
0:12:03 > 0:12:06I think I should leave you down here by yourself.
0:12:06 > 0:12:08You're finding all the best ones.
0:12:11 > 0:12:14Don't forget to leave the rocks on the beach, Hayden.
0:12:18 > 0:12:20That is a good one.
0:12:22 > 0:12:24Found one!
0:12:25 > 0:12:28Oh, I can say that, yeah.
0:12:28 > 0:12:31- It goes all the way across. - It goes right through.
0:12:31 > 0:12:33Look at how many we've got now!
0:12:33 > 0:12:35There!
0:12:35 > 0:12:38Look at that now.
0:12:38 > 0:12:40You were good. You are good.
0:12:46 > 0:12:49Mining, shovelling, pit ponies, canaries,
0:12:49 > 0:12:53and looking for fossils - what an exciting day for Hayden.
0:12:54 > 0:12:57Thank you for a great time, Grandpa.
0:12:57 > 0:13:00- You enjoyed yourself, did you?- Yeah.
0:13:00 > 0:13:03- Can you remember what we done?- Yeah.
0:13:03 > 0:13:06Pit pony, fossil hunting,
0:13:06 > 0:13:09mining, canaries.
0:13:09 > 0:13:12What was your favourite part, Grandpa?
0:13:12 > 0:13:15My favourite bit was going down the pit
0:13:15 > 0:13:20and it brought a lot of memories back because I used to work in the pit.
0:13:20 > 0:13:22What was your favourite?
0:13:22 > 0:13:24- Er, fossil hunting.- Fossil hunting?
0:13:24 > 0:13:29- And you've had a good time? - Yeah.- Ah, good-oh. Five.
0:13:29 > 0:13:31What a fabulous heap of fun.
0:13:32 > 0:13:36That was Hayden and Grandpa Bryn's tiny tale about the things
0:13:36 > 0:13:38Grandpa Bryn used to do.
0:13:38 > 0:13:40And why he has an old shovel.
0:13:41 > 0:13:44Grandpa Bryn has shared his story with Hayden.
0:13:44 > 0:13:47And now Hayden is starting his own story.
0:13:47 > 0:13:50Do you know someone with a story to share?
0:13:59 > 0:14:01Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd