Miner My Story

This story belongs to Hayden and his grandpa Bryn.

It's a tiny tale about Grandpa Bryn's life

and the things he used to do.

Now it's time for him to share his memories and take Hayden

on a journey of discovery.

Where will they go?

And what will they do?

Let's find out.

-Hayden, are you cold?

-A little bit.

-A little bit?

I'll put some coal on the fire, then, see if we can get it warm.

Hayden has come to visit his grandpa. They live in Wales.

He's adding coal to the fire to keep the house warm.

-Oh, it's empty! We need some...?

-Coal.

Well, we'll have to go down to the coal shed and get some.

-I'll carry your bucket.

-You'll carry the bucket?

Oh, you are kind. Come on then, let's go.

And off they go to collect it from the coal shed.

What a lot of coal!

And what's that by the door?

That's my shovel when I was working as a miner in the pit.

That's very, very special to me.

What is a miner?

A miner is a person that digs coal out from under the ground.

What is coal made of?

A long, long time ago, in the time of dinosaurs,

trees, plants and animals that died lay in the sea

under layers of rock.

Over millions of years, these trees, plants and animals turned into coal.

-Why did people dig it up?

-They dug up coal because...

Grandpa Bryn talks some more about coal and what it's used for.

Grandpa Bryn and Hayden have a good old chat about the old days.

Hayden just loves to hear his grandpa's old stories.

Grandpa Bryn explains he was a young boy of just 15

when he became a miner, just like all his friends and his family.

They were ALL miners.

Hayden can't wait to find out more about mining.

So, what did mines look like and what were they used for?

Mines were open all day and all night.

To go to work, miners had to go into these special lift cages.

Down, down, down.

Deep down they went to work.

Way, way underground.

In the dark.

It was so dark they had to wear bright lights on their helmets

to be able to see and find the coal.

These underground mines had lots of tunnels.

The miners broke off the coal from tunnel walls

and then shovelled the coal into special trolleys.

The trolleys were then pushed along back to the cage

and then taken away above ground to be used for heating homes.

There are still some working mines in Great Britain,

but most of them are now closed.

Grandpa Bryn is taking Hayden somewhere close to his heart -

they're going to a special mining museum.

Grandpa Bryn loved the mine so much, he made a hobby out of it.

In his spare time, he and his friend created a whole miniature world

of all the bits in a mine.

We done the model and we got it working.

If you press the button over there,

you can show the cages going up and down.

Whatever went down or up the mine had to be taken by these cages,

whether it was coal, men, trolleys or even horses.

-How deep is it under there?

-It's a long, long way down.

-What can you see on the bottom now over there?

-Horses, coal, wood...

tracks.

And Grandpa Bryn and his friend made each and every one of these models.

It might have been dark, dirty and gloomy down the mines,

but there was one feathered friend that brightened up their day.

-Hayden, could you tell me the name of these birds?

-Canaries.

These birds are kept in every colliery

because if there you had a fire or an explosion,

dangerous gases comes out.

The canaries will detect the gas quicker than human beings.

Sometimes there were gases down the mines which could harm miners.

These clever canaries would smell it first

and let the miners know it was time to leave the mine until it was safe.

-Would you like to go down the pit with me?

-Yeah.

-Righto.

We will go and see about it then.

Hayden's now going to find out what life is like down a mine.

Look - the museum has a special place which is made to look

just like mine.

It's hard work, you know.

It's dark, it's cold, it's dirty and there's lots of digging.

There's a shovel. And you use it like this...

And you go as fast as you can.

Have a try. See if you can shovel that coal.

Go on. You can do it.

Hayden can see how tough a job it is.

Luckily, Grandpa Bryn is here to help.

When Grandpa Bryn worked in the mine,

he would fill eight trolleys a day!

Let's go and we'll have a look down here. OK?

Well, Hayden, that's our shift over with.

Time now to get tidied up

because we don't want to go home like this to see your gran, do we?

You know your gran, she'll shout, "Get out! Get out!"

-So we've got to go and get tidied up, is it?

-Yeah.

Canaries were not the only animals to help miners with their work.

The coal was heavy.

Too much for a man to carry so ponies were used to pull

the trolleys full of coal.

Mines were also called pits, so these ponies were called pit ponies.

Pit ponies worked just as hard as the miners,

but most have now stopped working.

Just like Grandpa Bryn.

Now Hayden and Grandpa Bryn are off to visit some retired pit ponies

who are enjoying the sunshine.

-You're a lovely boy.

-Is it a boy?

We all called them boys, never mind what they are.

They worked down the pit like me.

Grandpa Bryn used to put the coal into the trolleys

and the pit pony would pull them out of the mine.

He's after the sweets here.

When working, the ponies had stables underground.

After work each night, the pit ponies would be fed,

groomed and well looked after.

In the summer,

pit ponies would come to fields like this for a well-deserved break.

Well deserved.

They were really, really good horses. And we used to appreciate them a lot.

They really like you, Hayden.

It wasn't just coal that Grandpa Bryn found

while working underground.

He would also find lots of other rocks, just like this one here.

Have a look at that.

-What is that now?

-Gold!

I wish it was.

Then me and you would be rich.

It's not real gold.

It's a different kind of metal that looks just like it

and it's got another name.

That's what they call fool's gold.

Now can you tell me what that is?

A fossil!

-A fossil of what?

-A tree.

-Yes.

Just like coal, over millions of years this piece of tree

has turned to stone and is called a fossil.

See all the lines?

-A tree is like that, isn't it? With the bark?

-Yeah.

See this lovely place around here now,

there's a lot of fossils around here.

Can we have a look?

Come on, then, let's go and have a look. Come on.

Ah, so you don't have to be a miner to go way underground

to find fossils.

Look on any beach, in any part of the land

and you're sure to come across them on the pebbles and rocks.

-Found a fossil?

-Yeah.

Is that a fossil?

Oh, that's a good one.

Cool.

You've got another one.

I think I should leave you down here by yourself.

You're finding all the best ones.

Don't forget to leave the rocks on the beach, Hayden.

That is a good one.

Found one!

Oh, I can say that, yeah.

-It goes all the way across.

-It goes right through.

Look at how many we've got now!

There!

Look at that now.

You were good. You are good.

Mining, shovelling, pit ponies, canaries,

and looking for fossils - what an exciting day for Hayden.

Thank you for a great time, Grandpa.

-You enjoyed yourself, did you?

-Yeah.

-Can you remember what we done?

-Yeah.

Pit pony, fossil hunting,

mining, canaries.

What was your favourite part, Grandpa?

My favourite bit was going down the pit

and it brought a lot of memories back because I used to work in the pit.

What was your favourite?

-Er, fossil hunting.

-Fossil hunting?

-And you've had a good time?

-Yeah.

-Ah, good-oh. Five.

What a fabulous heap of fun.

That was Hayden and Grandpa Bryn's tiny tale about the things

Grandpa Bryn used to do.

And why he has an old shovel.

Grandpa Bryn has shared his story with Hayden.

And now Hayden is starting his own story.

Do you know someone with a story to share?

Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd