0:00:02 > 0:00:04'Pubs have been at the heart of Britain for hundreds of years...'
0:00:04 > 0:00:06Cheers, mucker!
0:00:06 > 0:00:07'..in city taverns...
0:00:07 > 0:00:09'..and village inns.
0:00:09 > 0:00:12'Landlords have pulled pints for locals, travellers...'
0:00:12 > 0:00:14And, well, the odd king or two.
0:00:14 > 0:00:15'Myself included.'
0:00:15 > 0:00:17Try and have a drink now.
0:00:18 > 0:00:20LAUGHTER
0:00:20 > 0:00:22'But with 30 pubs closing every week,
0:00:22 > 0:00:25'our historic taverns need defending.'
0:00:25 > 0:00:27Step, step.
0:00:27 > 0:00:30We're heading out to discover amazing stories linked to the
0:00:30 > 0:00:32nation's watering holes.
0:00:32 > 0:00:34- Not far to go.- How far?
0:00:34 > 0:00:36- Oh, a couple of miles.- What?!
0:00:36 > 0:00:38'From the Wars Of The Roses...'
0:00:38 > 0:00:41To shipbuilding on the Clyde.
0:00:41 > 0:00:44We've ditched our bikes so that we can sample an ale or two.
0:00:44 > 0:00:46Get in!
0:00:46 > 0:00:47This is very good.
0:00:47 > 0:00:48LAUGHTER
0:00:49 > 0:00:50'So join us for...'
0:00:57 > 0:01:00'With its green valleys and rousing male voice choirs,
0:01:00 > 0:01:02'I could only be in South Wales.
0:01:02 > 0:01:05'But this area's most famous for one more thing -
0:01:05 > 0:01:06'coal.
0:01:07 > 0:01:11'For more than two centuries, up to 250,000
0:01:11 > 0:01:13'hard-grafting miners worked the pits.
0:01:15 > 0:01:18'And where did those brave lads go after a long day at the coalface?
0:01:18 > 0:01:20'Why, the good old British pub, of course!
0:01:23 > 0:01:25'My old buddy Si couldn't be here today,
0:01:25 > 0:01:28'so I'm exploring Welsh mining pubs on my tod.
0:01:29 > 0:01:32'I'm missing you already, Kingy.'
0:01:33 > 0:01:3712 hours a day, six days a week, what a way to earn a crust,
0:01:37 > 0:01:41and nowt but bread and dripping and a bottle of water to keep you going.
0:01:41 > 0:01:43So it's little wonder why, at the end of a shift,
0:01:43 > 0:01:46those thirsty miners headed straight for the pub,
0:01:46 > 0:01:48which is precisely where I'm heading.
0:01:52 > 0:01:56'Before coal mining took off in the 1850s, the green valleys
0:01:56 > 0:02:00'of South Wales was home to only the odd farmer and his sheep, of course.
0:02:03 > 0:02:06'That is, until the discovery of black gold.
0:02:09 > 0:02:12'Within half a century, the landscape had transformed,
0:02:12 > 0:02:14'the population had mushroomed,
0:02:14 > 0:02:17'and the place of employment was down the pits
0:02:17 > 0:02:19'for a life of hard graft.
0:02:22 > 0:02:26'I'm heading to the village of Wainfelin, to a pub that was,
0:02:26 > 0:02:30'and still is, at the heart of this South Wales mining community...'
0:02:31 > 0:02:33The Little Crown Inn.
0:02:33 > 0:02:36It's an usual name for a pub, although I do believe
0:02:36 > 0:02:39there are over 500 Crown Inns throughout Britain.
0:02:39 > 0:02:41Well, what's with the "Little"?
0:02:41 > 0:02:42Well, this pub dates back to the 1800s
0:02:42 > 0:02:46when there was a little woman on the throne, Queen Victoria.
0:02:53 > 0:02:56'Of course, the pub's been brought up to date since Victoria's day,
0:02:56 > 0:02:59'but local boy and landlord Ian Gregory
0:02:59 > 0:03:02'is still passionate about its history.
0:03:02 > 0:03:04- Hello, Ian, I'm Dave. - Hello, Dave.
0:03:04 > 0:03:06What a lovely pub.
0:03:06 > 0:03:09Here, tell you, you don't have to be Sherlock Holmes to work out that
0:03:09 > 0:03:12this place has a strong connection with the mining industry, do you?
0:03:12 > 0:03:13No, very strong.
0:03:13 > 0:03:16I got some photographs here of the Elled Level.
0:03:16 > 0:03:19'The Elled Level Mine, on this very site,
0:03:19 > 0:03:21'opened up in the late 1800s.'
0:03:22 > 0:03:25That's one of the old pit ponies, and looking down the valley,
0:03:25 > 0:03:28- you can see the pub in the distance. - Gosh.
0:03:28 > 0:03:30- The drift mine with the rail tacks going in.- Right.
0:03:30 > 0:03:33- So it's a proper miners' pub, this one?- Oh, without a doubt.
0:03:33 > 0:03:36So, was the pub more than just a pub in those days?
0:03:36 > 0:03:38I think so, it was a meeting point.
0:03:38 > 0:03:41People used to finish work and they would go to the pub
0:03:41 > 0:03:43before they went home.
0:03:43 > 0:03:46'Back then, the pub housed the offices of the mine,
0:03:46 > 0:03:48'and was the centre of the local community.'
0:03:49 > 0:03:51This used to be a payment office
0:03:51 > 0:03:53and also a shop underneath here for provisions.
0:03:53 > 0:03:56It's a bit dangerous though being paid in the pub, isn't it?
0:03:56 > 0:03:59Well, the employers owned the shops and the pubs,
0:03:59 > 0:04:03and they was paid in tokens, so they couldn't go to any other shop.
0:04:03 > 0:04:05- Win-win for the employers, wasn't it?- Isn't it?
0:04:05 > 0:04:07- It's very crafty that, isn't it? - It is.
0:04:07 > 0:04:09Must have been some camaraderie in this place, though.
0:04:09 > 0:04:11Oh, without a doubt.
0:04:11 > 0:04:12I used to work in a steelworks,
0:04:12 > 0:04:15and the main thing I remember about that was the camaraderie.
0:04:15 > 0:04:18Pub was at the centre of it. You were saying with the shop here,
0:04:18 > 0:04:20you bought your daily bread here, you spent your beer tokens here.
0:04:20 > 0:04:23- Yeah.- It's so much part of life.
0:04:23 > 0:04:25And the relief must have been amazing when you get up
0:04:25 > 0:04:28- from underground...- Yeah.- ..and you know the beer's waiting for you.
0:04:28 > 0:04:31- Still a relief now, isn't it? - THEY LAUGH
0:04:31 > 0:04:34'Ian's so potty about his pub's heritage,
0:04:34 > 0:04:37'he's given it a rather unusual makeover.'
0:04:37 > 0:04:40We've had a mural painted on the wall by one of the locals
0:04:40 > 0:04:43of a pit scene and surrounding areas.
0:04:43 > 0:04:47I've made the corridor to the toilets look like a mineshaft.
0:04:47 > 0:04:48Come and have a look at this.
0:04:51 > 0:04:55'The corridor leading down to Ian's lavvy is just the pits.'
0:04:56 > 0:05:00He-he! Do you know, that's the first time I've been down
0:05:00 > 0:05:03a mineshaft to go to the loo!
0:05:03 > 0:05:05So where did you get all the bits and pieces?
0:05:05 > 0:05:07- A lot of it off locals... - Right.
0:05:07 > 0:05:09..who worked in the pits, or their parents,
0:05:09 > 0:05:11their father worked in the pit.
0:05:11 > 0:05:14What I love about this pub, it's still a pub for the locals,
0:05:14 > 0:05:16the locals who remember the mining industry,
0:05:16 > 0:05:20but it's still very much a living part of the community,
0:05:20 > 0:05:22do you know what I mean?
0:05:22 > 0:05:23Definitely.
0:05:23 > 0:05:26The bar is the hub, and I think that's the way it should be.
0:05:27 > 0:05:31'Mining communities thrived until well into the 20th century.
0:05:33 > 0:05:35'But sweeping closures in the '80s
0:05:35 > 0:05:39'ensured the pits are all but gone today, and sadly,
0:05:39 > 0:05:43'over half the pubs around here have disappeared with them.
0:05:44 > 0:05:47'Former mine worker and rescuer, Roy Haymer,
0:05:47 > 0:05:50'remembers what they meant to the working community.'
0:05:54 > 0:05:57- Hello, Roy.- Hello, how are you? - I'm pleased to meet you.
0:05:57 > 0:05:59Now, Roy, I know you've got first-hand experience of what it
0:05:59 > 0:06:01was like being underground.
0:06:01 > 0:06:03How old were you when you first joined the pit?
0:06:03 > 0:06:06I joined the pits when I was 17.
0:06:06 > 0:06:09I got into the mine in the mid '50s.
0:06:09 > 0:06:11What was it actually like to be a miner?
0:06:11 > 0:06:13- Very hard to start with.- Uh-huh.
0:06:13 > 0:06:15- I was in the rescue station.- Yes.
0:06:15 > 0:06:18During my time, one way or another, I was involved with over
0:06:18 > 0:06:21100 emergencies, but it was the two Ms -
0:06:23 > 0:06:25and that's mining and music.
0:06:25 > 0:06:28- Oh, wonderful. - But in that order.- Aye, aye.
0:06:30 > 0:06:34There must have been some fantastic entertainment with all those voices.
0:06:34 > 0:06:36Oh, yeah, I mean, there's no doubt about that.
0:06:36 > 0:06:41It was real class people and the entertainment in the locals was...
0:06:41 > 0:06:44People would be singing, and when I say singing,
0:06:44 > 0:06:46I say to you, singing of a high standard.
0:06:46 > 0:06:49Welsh have always been well-known for it.
0:06:49 > 0:06:52- I would obviously say that coming from Wales.- Absolutely.
0:06:52 > 0:06:55Shirley Bassey, I believe, she toured the valley on many occasions
0:06:55 > 0:06:59as a teenager, singing on a Saturday night, and that's how it was.
0:06:59 > 0:07:03See, the other thing in the clubs and pubs - in the old days,
0:07:03 > 0:07:07I would say in virtually every single club,
0:07:07 > 0:07:09there was a debating room.
0:07:09 > 0:07:13And people would sit there and debate the topics of the day.
0:07:13 > 0:07:17Right, so the pubs could be where you got paid, where you drank,
0:07:17 > 0:07:19where you met people and where you put the world to rights.
0:07:19 > 0:07:23That's right. And they certainly put the world to right!
0:07:23 > 0:07:26What I like about the story of the miners
0:07:26 > 0:07:27is the good that the miners did.
0:07:27 > 0:07:31- Oh, gosh, yes.- Sometime in the late 1800s, I would say,
0:07:31 > 0:07:36the miners decided to give a penny out of their pay packet
0:07:36 > 0:07:40to provide hospitals and educational centres.
0:07:40 > 0:07:44The miner, he wanted to make life for his children far better
0:07:44 > 0:07:46- than what he had.- Mm-hm.
0:07:46 > 0:07:51# I remember the face of my father. #
0:07:51 > 0:07:55'Roy's friend wrote a poem that sums up the mining spirit.'
0:07:55 > 0:07:59I've got a little poem which is called Remember The Miner
0:07:59 > 0:08:03by a gentleman in the valley by the name of Terry Jones, and he's
0:08:03 > 0:08:04magic with mining words.
0:08:05 > 0:08:09"In the years to come, the Rhondda will say,
0:08:09 > 0:08:13"For your grandkids' lives you gave your today.
0:08:13 > 0:08:16"And sometimes at night, out in the street,
0:08:16 > 0:08:20"You'll still hear the sound of hobnailed feet,
0:08:20 > 0:08:25"Reminding us all how hard it was then.
0:08:25 > 0:08:28"And telling our children -
0:08:28 > 0:08:29"No...
0:08:30 > 0:08:31"Never again."
0:08:32 > 0:08:35Does make you think about how hard things were for the miners then,
0:08:35 > 0:08:39but what a lot they gave for the future generations, you know,
0:08:39 > 0:08:41for the children, the communities.
0:08:41 > 0:08:43- Yep.- Toast to the miners.
0:08:43 > 0:08:46- Cheers to the miners. - Cheers, Roy.- Cheers.
0:08:46 > 0:08:50# Take me home. #
0:08:50 > 0:08:53'Aye, to the miners,
0:08:53 > 0:08:57'and to the pubs that refreshed them after all their hard graft.'
0:08:57 > 0:08:59Time for a cheeky pub fact.
0:08:59 > 0:09:03Did you know that in the town of Rhayader in mid Wales,
0:09:03 > 0:09:06it is said that there are more pubs per head of population
0:09:06 > 0:09:08than anywhere else in the UK?
0:09:08 > 0:09:12Well, there are 12 for just 2,075 people,
0:09:12 > 0:09:14which works out at...
0:09:14 > 0:09:15lots!
0:09:19 > 0:09:24'And in South Wales, there's lots more to learn from the pub signs.
0:09:24 > 0:09:26'Here are three of my faves.
0:09:28 > 0:09:31'The Llantarnam pub boasts one of the most fascinating pub signs
0:09:31 > 0:09:33'in Britain.
0:09:33 > 0:09:36'Written in Welsh in 1719, it translates to
0:09:36 > 0:09:39"The Greenhouse, good beer and cider for you, come in,
0:09:39 > 0:09:41"you shall taste it."
0:09:41 > 0:09:42'Mmm, don't mind if I do!
0:09:44 > 0:09:47'In this land of legends and myths, The Skirrid Mountain Inn
0:09:47 > 0:09:50'is named after the famous nearby mountain.
0:09:50 > 0:09:52'It's said to have been struck by lightning
0:09:52 > 0:09:55'the moment that Christ was crucified.
0:09:55 > 0:09:56'Spooky!
0:09:58 > 0:09:59'And The Merlin!
0:09:59 > 0:10:02'It was a Welsh clergyman who, in the 1100s,
0:10:02 > 0:10:06'first wrote of this mythical wizard, and this Pontypridd pub
0:10:06 > 0:10:09'boasts a statue of the very man, complete with leek and a harp.
0:10:09 > 0:10:10'Magic!
0:10:14 > 0:10:17'But getting back to reality - some harsh realities.
0:10:17 > 0:10:20'I'm at Big Pit National Coal Museum in Blaenavon
0:10:20 > 0:10:22'to explore life at the coalface.'
0:10:24 > 0:10:27# Working in a coal mine, going down, down, down
0:10:27 > 0:10:31# Working in a coal mine, about to step down. #
0:10:31 > 0:10:34This colliery, the Big Pit, was a working coal mine
0:10:34 > 0:10:36until it shut in 1980.
0:10:36 > 0:10:39But just three years later, it reopened in 1983
0:10:39 > 0:10:42as the National Coal Mining Museum of Wales.
0:10:42 > 0:10:45Now, instead of exporting coal, it imports people -
0:10:45 > 0:10:48loads of them - which is great news for me, cos I'm going
0:10:48 > 0:10:51300 foot underground to find out what life was like down the pit.
0:10:55 > 0:10:57'But first, a wardrobe makeover.'
0:11:00 > 0:11:03All right, thank you, that's a good fit.
0:11:03 > 0:11:06Did you know I haven't been dressed since I was four?
0:11:06 > 0:11:07Smashing, that's me set up.
0:11:10 > 0:11:13'I'm meeting the deputy manager of Big Pit, Paul Green,
0:11:13 > 0:11:16'an ex-miner who started when he was just 15.'
0:11:18 > 0:11:20- How do, Paul?- Good morning, Dave.
0:11:20 > 0:11:21- Welcome to Big Pit. - Nice to meet you.
0:11:21 > 0:11:23We'll go through a few regulations before
0:11:23 > 0:11:25we can take you underground. Although it's a museum,
0:11:25 > 0:11:27- we're still classed as a working mine.- Right.
0:11:27 > 0:11:29So, it's known as contraband,
0:11:29 > 0:11:32so I want your wristwatches, your cameras, your mobile phones.
0:11:32 > 0:11:34Are you sure you haven't got a stall on the market?
0:11:34 > 0:11:36- I think that's me.- That's it.
0:11:36 > 0:11:38You know, Paul, it's such a shame Si's not here,
0:11:38 > 0:11:41he would have loved it, cos his uncle and his grandfather,
0:11:41 > 0:11:42they both worked down the pit.
0:11:42 > 0:11:45I mean, was it the same in this town where whole families
0:11:45 > 0:11:47followed each other into the industry?
0:11:47 > 0:11:50Yeah, well, I started as a young 15-year-old in Bargoed,
0:11:50 > 0:11:52my grandfather worked in Bargoed Colliery,
0:11:52 > 0:11:54my father worked in Bargoed Colliery, and his brother,
0:11:54 > 0:11:57and you'll never guess where I met my wife.
0:11:57 > 0:12:00- True story, she was working in the canteen. - DAVE LAUGHS
0:12:00 > 0:12:01Right, let's go, then.
0:12:03 > 0:12:06It's like the gates of Mordor, isn't it?
0:12:06 > 0:12:08# Well, I've been working in a coal mine. #
0:12:08 > 0:12:11'Going down! Menswear, please.
0:12:13 > 0:12:16'Ooh, crikey, hold on to your hats!'
0:12:16 > 0:12:19Maximum speed we're going to travel today is two metres per second,
0:12:19 > 0:12:20we've slowed it right down.
0:12:20 > 0:12:23Now, when I started as a young 15-year-old in Bargoed,
0:12:23 > 0:12:26that one was 700 metres deep.
0:12:26 > 0:12:30And the speed you would travel through that one was 35 feet a second.
0:12:30 > 0:12:33- Good grief, so you'd be dropping like a stone. - You would drop like a stone.
0:12:33 > 0:12:36You'd get on the cage, like we did there, and all of a sudden, you're gone.
0:12:36 > 0:12:39- I bet your stomach would be in your mouth.- Exactly, you'd pick it up at the end of the day!
0:12:39 > 0:12:43- DAVE LAUGHS We're here. - We're here, we've landed.
0:12:43 > 0:12:46OK, watch your footing as you come out there.
0:12:46 > 0:12:48So we're going to go a bit further into the mine,
0:12:48 > 0:12:51- and we'll show you a seam of coal.- Right.
0:12:58 > 0:13:00- Watch your head. - Thanks, Paul.
0:13:00 > 0:13:03'Paul's showing me what it was like for miners in 1900.
0:13:04 > 0:13:07'You need to eat your carrots to survive down here.'
0:13:07 > 0:13:10What would the working day have been like?
0:13:10 > 0:13:13Working day, that would be 12 hours a day.
0:13:13 > 0:13:14- Right.- Six days a week.
0:13:14 > 0:13:16I bet at the end of that though you'd have been relieved
0:13:16 > 0:13:20- to see the pub.- Yeah. No beer down the mine though. It's illegal.
0:13:20 > 0:13:23They'd bring down their water bottle and their snap tin.
0:13:23 > 0:13:25Back in the day, what would you have had in your snap tin?
0:13:25 > 0:13:28Them days, it was probably bread and dripping.
0:13:28 > 0:13:29It doesn't seem very much for a whole day,
0:13:29 > 0:13:32I mean that's not much water and it's not a very big tin.
0:13:32 > 0:13:34Yeah, yeah.
0:13:34 > 0:13:36'Not enough to keep a Hairy Biker going!'
0:13:38 > 0:13:41How, Paul, do you actually get the coal out?
0:13:41 > 0:13:44You'd have man and boy working together, father and son,
0:13:44 > 0:13:46so they'd pick the coal off onto the floor,
0:13:46 > 0:13:50then it would be the boy's job to fill the dram of coal.
0:13:50 > 0:13:52- And a dram is the trolley? - Dram's the trolley.- Right.
0:13:52 > 0:13:55Once the dram was full, you call the haulier out with the horse,
0:13:55 > 0:13:56off it would go.
0:13:59 > 0:14:02'Back in 1900, the drams, or trolleys,
0:14:02 > 0:14:06'were hauled by pit ponies, and their stables are still here today.'
0:14:06 > 0:14:09Gosh, the stables. So were the horses kept underground?
0:14:09 > 0:14:13Yes, Dave, and in its heyday, 72 horses working here at Big Pit.
0:14:13 > 0:14:16The names you see are actually horses
0:14:16 > 0:14:18that actually worked in this pit.
0:14:18 > 0:14:21'It's shocking to think of the horses kept underground,
0:14:21 > 0:14:25'but by the standards of the time, they were quite well cared for.'
0:14:25 > 0:14:27Did the miners become fond of the horses?
0:14:27 > 0:14:29Well, of course they did.
0:14:29 > 0:14:31Now, I told you that the miners would work 12 hours a day.
0:14:31 > 0:14:34- Yes.- In those days, horses, eight hours a day.
0:14:34 > 0:14:35So better than the miners.
0:14:37 > 0:14:40'Things eventually got a little better for the ponies and workers
0:14:40 > 0:14:44'when the coal mines were nationalised in 1947.
0:14:45 > 0:14:48'They all got a fortnight's holiday in the Valleys.'
0:14:49 > 0:14:52So, on the night shift, they take the horses out of the mine,
0:14:52 > 0:14:54let them run around in a field.
0:14:54 > 0:14:56Then a couple of days before we were due to start back to work,
0:14:56 > 0:14:59we'd have a team of men chasing them around to try and catch them,
0:14:59 > 0:15:02- to get them back.- They wouldn't want to come back to work.
0:15:02 > 0:15:04You know what they say? Strong as a Welsh pit pony.
0:15:04 > 0:15:06My dad used to say of my mum, cos she was quite short,
0:15:06 > 0:15:08he said she had legs like a pit pony!
0:15:08 > 0:15:10That wasn't very complimentary, then, was it?
0:15:10 > 0:15:13Strong woman, though, worked in the shipyard.
0:15:15 > 0:15:17'By 'eck, it was a tough life!
0:15:17 > 0:15:19'Get me back to the 21st century.
0:15:21 > 0:15:24'Now where did I put my phone?'
0:15:25 > 0:15:27OK, here's your contraband back there, Dave.
0:15:27 > 0:15:30- One watch.- Right.
0:15:30 > 0:15:32- One phone. - Oh, somebody's called me.
0:15:32 > 0:15:34And you didn't bring me any food,
0:15:34 > 0:15:36so I thought I've give you something to go back with.
0:15:36 > 0:15:38DAVE LAUGHS
0:15:38 > 0:15:39It's one of Ainsley's Cup-a-Soups!
0:15:39 > 0:15:41I'm having that.
0:15:41 > 0:15:43'That'll do for a snack later.'
0:15:47 > 0:15:50'Collieries like Big Pit fuelled the industrial boom that drove
0:15:50 > 0:15:54'the nation from the mid 1800s to the 1970s.
0:15:59 > 0:16:01HORN BLASTS
0:16:01 > 0:16:03'But there was no point in getting coal
0:16:03 > 0:16:05'out of the ground in rural Wales
0:16:05 > 0:16:09'unless you could get it to the big industrial centres that needed it.
0:16:10 > 0:16:13'And that's where my next new best mate comes in.'
0:16:14 > 0:16:17- How do, Alex? - Hi, Dave, nice to meet you.
0:16:17 > 0:16:19Nice to meet you too, and thank you for this.
0:16:19 > 0:16:22Steam trains are one of my favourite things.
0:16:22 > 0:16:24She's beautiful. Let's get cracking, eh?
0:16:26 > 0:16:28Now what's the process to get her going?
0:16:28 > 0:16:31Right, well, first of all, we've got to put it into forward gear.
0:16:31 > 0:16:34- Right.- OK, so give it a squeeze, and push it all the way forward.
0:16:34 > 0:16:37And this is the regulator, so this is the thing that makes us go.
0:16:37 > 0:16:39- Like your throttle. - This is like a throttle.
0:16:39 > 0:16:42Give a toot to the guards. HORN TOOTS
0:16:42 > 0:16:43"Toot toot," says Thomas!
0:16:45 > 0:16:50- Got a green flag.- Green flag. - That's it.- All right?- Yeah.
0:16:50 > 0:16:54- Oh, it's the stuff dreams are made of.- Go on, that's it.
0:16:54 > 0:16:56- And we're off.- Wey-hey!
0:16:59 > 0:17:03HE WHISTLES A TUNE
0:17:12 > 0:17:16'The Pontypool and Blaenavon Steam Railway now carries tourists,
0:17:16 > 0:17:20'but it once carried the coal that came from the area's pits.'
0:17:20 > 0:17:22What would this line have been used for?
0:17:22 > 0:17:26Well, this line was built predominantly to get the coal out
0:17:26 > 0:17:29of Blaenavon up to the Midlands for the Industrial Revolution.
0:17:29 > 0:17:32So, Wales was fuelling the Industrial Revolution?
0:17:32 > 0:17:34It was, it was indeed.
0:17:34 > 0:17:36It must have completely changed the mining industry.
0:17:36 > 0:17:39Yes, without a doubt, you know, it meant they could get
0:17:39 > 0:17:45more coal out down to the docks to be transported all over the world.
0:17:45 > 0:17:48What was conditions like back in the day for the crews?
0:17:48 > 0:17:49It would have been...
0:17:49 > 0:17:52Give it a bit more, give it a bit more, we're going uphill now.
0:17:52 > 0:17:55Conditions would have been... pretty grim, really.
0:17:55 > 0:17:59Not a lot of light, a lot of smoke and such, you know.
0:17:59 > 0:18:02- Be better than working underground. - Oh, that's for sure.
0:18:02 > 0:18:04ENGINE CHUGS
0:18:04 > 0:18:06This'll be interesting, we'll see if we can notch it up now,
0:18:06 > 0:18:11so you've got to put your foot on there, give it a squeeze,
0:18:11 > 0:18:13- and then pull back. Go on. - I've got you.
0:18:16 > 0:18:19'I've always wanted to be a train driver.'
0:18:19 > 0:18:20HORN BLASTS
0:18:20 > 0:18:22Excellent.
0:18:22 > 0:18:24Have I got the job?
0:18:24 > 0:18:25You've got the job.
0:18:25 > 0:18:28'Sorry, Si - I've found a new vocation.'
0:18:28 > 0:18:31You know, on a rainy, blowy day like this, on the footplate
0:18:31 > 0:18:35of a locomotive, there's nowhere I'd sooner be, really.
0:18:46 > 0:18:49'But I'm not ready to give up cooking just yet.'
0:18:49 > 0:18:51You know, things are grim down the mine, I mean,
0:18:51 > 0:18:55all they had to eat was, like, bread and dripping and a bottle of water.
0:18:55 > 0:18:56Did you do any better on the locos?
0:18:56 > 0:18:58Oh, yes, the engine is great,
0:18:58 > 0:19:02because we've got a furnace right here to cook anything we want on.
0:19:02 > 0:19:05If you have a look in that little tool box behind you,
0:19:05 > 0:19:08- there might be a few things in there.- Ha-ha!
0:19:08 > 0:19:09Sausages...
0:19:10 > 0:19:12..bacon.
0:19:12 > 0:19:14You lads come prepared, don't you?
0:19:14 > 0:19:16'It's always been a perk of the driver's job
0:19:16 > 0:19:19'to cook up some shovel food in the firebox.
0:19:19 > 0:19:21'Oh, I can't resist!'
0:19:22 > 0:19:23Warm your shovel first.
0:19:23 > 0:19:26We're not worried about cholesterol, are we, really?
0:19:26 > 0:19:28We're roughy-toughy engine drivers.
0:19:28 > 0:19:29Put my bangers on.
0:19:32 > 0:19:33You see, there's method to my madness.
0:19:33 > 0:19:36I've kept them in a string of sausages, so they won't
0:19:36 > 0:19:38- roll off my shovel. - That's a good idea.
0:19:38 > 0:19:41Aye, they're for walking, this is for cooking.
0:19:41 > 0:19:44Oh, my shovel's on fire. Hold on.
0:19:44 > 0:19:47Hoo-hoo! Got a sausage flambe. Here we go.
0:19:47 > 0:19:49Bit of colour on, to say the least.
0:19:53 > 0:19:57It's possibly one of the warmest kitchens I've ever cooked in.
0:19:58 > 0:20:01My father used to say to my mother,
0:20:01 > 0:20:04"Mother, don't sit in front of the fire,
0:20:04 > 0:20:06"you'll end up with corned beef legs."
0:20:06 > 0:20:08I think I'm getting a corned beef face here!
0:20:13 > 0:20:15There you go, Alex. Oops!
0:20:15 > 0:20:16- Oh, lovely.- Thank you.
0:20:19 > 0:20:21All we need now is a pint to wash this down, lads.
0:20:23 > 0:20:26'And I know a little place in South Wales where you get
0:20:26 > 0:20:30'a decent pint and some quite unexpected entertainment with it.
0:20:30 > 0:20:33'It's time to meet some locals who love their local.
0:20:38 > 0:20:42'Like my train buddies, The Old House Inn in Llangynwyd
0:20:42 > 0:20:46'likes to keep tradition alive, and two enthusiastic locals,
0:20:46 > 0:20:49'Gwyn Evans and Anthony Bye, are doing just that.
0:20:49 > 0:20:51BELL RINGS
0:20:51 > 0:20:53'Every New Year's Eve in the pub, they perform
0:20:53 > 0:20:59a very colourful ancient Welsh custom known as the Mari Lwyd.'
0:20:59 > 0:21:02# Wel dyma ni'n dwad
0:21:02 > 0:21:05# Gyfeillion diniwed
0:21:05 > 0:21:09# I ofyn am gennad
0:21:09 > 0:21:11# I ofyn am gennad
0:21:11 > 0:21:13# I ofyn... #
0:21:13 > 0:21:16Well, it dates back to 1147.
0:21:16 > 0:21:19I wasn't around at the time, but...
0:21:19 > 0:21:21Well, at one time, they thought the Mari Lwyd
0:21:21 > 0:21:25was going to die out in Wales, but my father
0:21:25 > 0:21:30took it up many years ago, and when he passed away in '96,
0:21:30 > 0:21:33I thought, "Well, I can't let it just drop."
0:21:33 > 0:21:37# Ei lygaid mawr duon... #
0:21:37 > 0:21:40'In case you're wondering, the Mari Lwyd is
0:21:40 > 0:21:45'a decorated horse's head, donned by one of a party of revellers.
0:21:45 > 0:21:49'On New Year's Eve, they sing loudly in Welsh at the pub door,
0:21:49 > 0:21:51'hoping to gain entry for some ale.'
0:21:51 > 0:21:54- # ..heno... # Ha! Diolch yn fawr, bois! - BELL RINGS
0:21:54 > 0:21:56'Bonkers!'
0:21:56 > 0:21:59There is a sense of anticipation on New Year's Eve waiting for Gwyn
0:21:59 > 0:22:03to arrive with the Mari Lwyd, and everybody becomes excited.
0:22:03 > 0:22:05'They know each other pretty well round here,
0:22:05 > 0:22:08'and the pub's the place to be.'
0:22:08 > 0:22:11It's the focal point of the village, they serve food here, there's all
0:22:11 > 0:22:15good ales, the hospitality is great here, there's always a warm welcome.
0:22:15 > 0:22:17We have a saying here -
0:22:17 > 0:22:19if somebody sneezes at the top end of the valley,
0:22:19 > 0:22:22by the afternoon, everybody's got a cold down the bottom of the valley.
0:22:22 > 0:22:25You could describe it as the land of the ruffled curtain.
0:22:25 > 0:22:28Nothing happens without everybody knowing about it.
0:22:28 > 0:22:30LAUGHING AND CHEERING, BELL RINGS
0:22:30 > 0:22:33'And everyone knows about the Mari Lwyd.
0:22:33 > 0:22:37'What a great excuse for a bit of horsing around.'
0:22:37 > 0:22:40I think my dad would be very pleased to know that
0:22:40 > 0:22:43I'm keeping the tradition going.
0:22:43 > 0:22:48I think it's an outstanding custom, which I will never drop until...
0:22:48 > 0:22:49Till the day I die!
0:22:49 > 0:22:51HE LAUGHS
0:22:51 > 0:22:53'And not a long face in sight!
0:22:53 > 0:22:56'Wahey!
0:22:56 > 0:22:59'Back on my Welsh whistle-stop pub tour, the steam train has
0:22:59 > 0:23:02'stopped near Blaenavon, where there's a surprise in store.'
0:23:03 > 0:23:05Thanks, Alex, that was the best.
0:23:05 > 0:23:06HORN BLASTS
0:23:08 > 0:23:10'The end of the line means The Whistle Inn,
0:23:10 > 0:23:13'near to where the Kay Slope pit used to stand.'
0:23:13 > 0:23:16Well, this place was a one-stop shop.
0:23:16 > 0:23:18You've got a railway line, you've got a pub,
0:23:18 > 0:23:20you've even got a pit at the bottom of the garden.
0:23:20 > 0:23:22That pit, in the heyday, employed 400 men,
0:23:22 > 0:23:25and I bet I know where they went when they finished
0:23:25 > 0:23:28a long, hard shift, so I know where I'm going.
0:23:28 > 0:23:30'Out of the wind for starters.
0:23:31 > 0:23:34'The Whistle Inn dates back to 1754,
0:23:34 > 0:23:36'so it's seen its fair share of change.
0:23:41 > 0:23:45'At the peak of mining, there were over 50 pubs in Blaenavon.
0:23:45 > 0:23:47'Now there's just a handful.
0:23:47 > 0:23:50'Landlord Cliff Herbert's been pulling pints here
0:23:50 > 0:23:51'for 29 years.'
0:23:54 > 0:23:57- Hello, Cliff.- Ah, good evening, David.- How do, Cliff?
0:23:57 > 0:24:00- And how are you?- I'm all right. It's wild and woolly out there.
0:24:00 > 0:24:01It is wild and woolly.
0:24:01 > 0:24:04Well, I've been driving a steam train, I've been down a pit,
0:24:04 > 0:24:06and I've worked up quite a thirst.
0:24:06 > 0:24:08But not quite this thirsty.
0:24:08 > 0:24:10'This is nothing.
0:24:10 > 0:24:12'When Kay Slope's miners ended their shift,
0:24:12 > 0:24:15'they'd find rows of pints waiting for them on the bar.
0:24:15 > 0:24:19They'd walk in from the opening here, outside the pub.
0:24:19 > 0:24:22They'd be very thirsty, and they'd be very dirty.
0:24:22 > 0:24:24So, they'd come in then and have a few drinks,
0:24:24 > 0:24:27and then they'd go home and have a bath then, in them days,
0:24:27 > 0:24:30because, obviously, they'd have the tin baths, and they would come back
0:24:30 > 0:24:35to the pub, and basically, have a nice evening then on the beer.
0:24:35 > 0:24:38Did you do anything apart from just drink and food?
0:24:38 > 0:24:41- They had a few funerals from here, I can tell you that.- Really?
0:24:41 > 0:24:44Yeah, brought the coffins in and took the coffins out and...
0:24:44 > 0:24:46I can imagine some of the miners' wives say,
0:24:46 > 0:24:49"Well, you lived in the pub, you might as well die in it."
0:24:49 > 0:24:50That's right, that's right.
0:24:50 > 0:24:52- Cheers, Cliff. - Cheers, cheers, David.
0:24:54 > 0:24:56'What a great place to end your days.
0:24:56 > 0:25:00'But there was more to mining pubs that just the booze,
0:25:00 > 0:25:04'something local historian Keith Jones knows only too well.'
0:25:04 > 0:25:06- Hello, Keith. - Hello, Dave, how are you?
0:25:06 > 0:25:07- Pleased to meet you.- And you.
0:25:07 > 0:25:10So, Keith, tell me, how important to mining communities were the pubs?
0:25:10 > 0:25:14Oh, vitally important. They were social meeting places,
0:25:14 > 0:25:16they worked together, they drunk together.
0:25:16 > 0:25:20You know, that sense of camaraderie was engendered further
0:25:20 > 0:25:22in their social habits as well.
0:25:22 > 0:25:26It was the only place that people had to go to get together and relax.
0:25:26 > 0:25:30It was a little oasis from the humdrum of work,
0:25:30 > 0:25:33and a little escape from the home as well, perhaps, to have a drink
0:25:33 > 0:25:37with your friends and neighbours and your workmates.
0:25:37 > 0:25:39- Yes, yeah.- So it was very important in that respect.
0:25:39 > 0:25:42So what other functions did the pubs service?
0:25:42 > 0:25:44Well, lots of things went on in pubs.
0:25:44 > 0:25:47You had various meetings, you had cycle clubs, domino clubs,
0:25:47 > 0:25:50you name it, it was all happening in the pub.
0:25:50 > 0:25:52Literary societies and debating societies.
0:25:52 > 0:25:55Cos, you know, they didn't have anywhere else to meet.
0:25:55 > 0:25:58I know the Welsh have got a great tradition for boxing clubs.
0:25:58 > 0:26:01A lot of pubs, they were kept by boxers. When they retired from
0:26:01 > 0:26:06the ring, they became licensees, so they, in turn, would attract
0:26:06 > 0:26:08a lot of clientele, cos they might be quite famous,
0:26:08 > 0:26:12and also some of them would have boxing booths upstairs,
0:26:12 > 0:26:13where they would be sparring.
0:26:13 > 0:26:16Choirs, even, would meet behind in the backroom.
0:26:16 > 0:26:19So, the odd pint or two would certainly help the voice.
0:26:19 > 0:26:21Well, to lubricate the larynx.
0:26:21 > 0:26:23Lubricate the larynx, absolutely.
0:26:23 > 0:26:26There's nothing better than a well-drilled choir
0:26:26 > 0:26:29being put through its paces, cos it gets the hair
0:26:29 > 0:26:31- on the back of your neck standing up.- Aye.
0:26:31 > 0:26:33And I think we're very fortunate tonight that we
0:26:33 > 0:26:35do happen to have a local choir.
0:26:35 > 0:26:38- What a treat, Keith. - So we look forward to it.
0:26:39 > 0:26:41'Turns out Gareth and the choir enjoy the
0:26:41 > 0:26:44'odd pint here after practise.
0:26:44 > 0:26:46'Here's hoping they'll do me a turn.'
0:26:46 > 0:26:47Hello, lads. THEY CHEER
0:26:47 > 0:26:49- Hello, Gareth. - How are you doing, Dave?
0:26:49 > 0:26:52Did the choir have strong associations with mining?
0:26:52 > 0:26:55- They did. The miners would sing underground very often...- Right!
0:26:55 > 0:26:58..and then would often go back to the pub and sing there also.
0:26:58 > 0:27:00Aye, and this choir's quite special, isn't it?
0:27:00 > 0:27:03We've just won the Best British Choir in our class
0:27:03 > 0:27:05at the Cornish International Festival of Male-Voice Choirs.
0:27:05 > 0:27:08- So all the hard work's paying off. - It certainly is!
0:27:08 > 0:27:09I tell you what, do you know what would make
0:27:09 > 0:27:12my trip to Wales complete? If I could hear you sing.
0:27:12 > 0:27:14We'll do that.
0:27:14 > 0:27:18PIANO PLAYS INTRO
0:27:18 > 0:27:21# Men of Harlech,
0:27:21 > 0:27:27# In the Hollow, do ye hear like rushing billow
0:27:27 > 0:27:31# Wave on wave that surging follow
0:27:31 > 0:27:35# Battle's distant sound? #
0:27:35 > 0:27:38'What a wonderful end to my trip.
0:27:38 > 0:27:41'The pits may have closed, and many of the pubs with them,
0:27:41 > 0:27:45'but the music and community spirit is still going strong.'
0:27:45 > 0:27:53# Honour's self now proudly leads us
0:27:54 > 0:28:02# Freedom, God and Right. #
0:28:04 > 0:28:07Wonderful! APPLAUSE
0:28:07 > 0:28:10Ah, just listen to that. It doesn't get any better, does it?
0:28:10 > 0:28:13Talking about fabulous Welsh voices,
0:28:13 > 0:28:15here's a little pub quiz question for you.
0:28:15 > 0:28:19In which famous cartoon series does local boy Tom Jones
0:28:19 > 0:28:21appear as himself?
0:28:21 > 0:28:23Give you a clue.
0:28:23 > 0:28:26HE HUMS "THE SIMPSONS" THEME TUNE
0:28:26 > 0:28:28It's The Simpsons.
0:28:28 > 0:28:29Cheers!