South Wales Valleys

Last week marked the 60th anniversary of the disaster, so strap in and let's get into the details of this case.

Up until the 1970s, the South Wales Valleys were the UK's powerhouse for coal and steel production for both domestic use and export, in an industry that mined over 160 million tonnes a year by 1966.

Coal and steel were the bedrock of the Welsh economy.

As the mines developed, they sucked in many rural and farm workers from the countryside, attracted by the comparatively high wages and job security, transforming the small hamlets near each mine into thriving pit villages.

It was so physically difficult, but I think it made me as a rugby player, really.

typically you all are the English bloke playing in the Welsh Valleys so you're getting picked out of you every single week and it is very much sink or swim and I absolutely loved it it was amazing it's a really well supported club it's got a huge amount of history and so myself Alex and Sibi we played there for another year and we were trying to basically the aim was to get Pontypool back up to the Welsh premiership so so back in the day some of the younger listeners or you know the regionality there was there was clubs for instance like Ebbw Vale, Cardiff, Lethley, Neath, Bridgend all of those were the 12 I think it was 12 Welsh Premiership clubs, and they would compete in Europe.

It's exactly the same as in England, they compete in Europe.

But they're all in this sort of 50, 60 mile radius of, you've got Newport to Llethley, that's an hour and a half max, and then in this sort of bubble of South Wales rugby.

So, yeah, the feeling and the change, I mean, when we realised that sort of the pre-season went really well, we had a couple of warm-up games that went really well.

I think we went up to Wales, actually.

I think we went to Treorchy, which are, you know, a good team up in the Welsh Valleys.

And we went up there and absolutely battered them.

Now, I'm sad I wasn't there myself.

It's a small village in the Welsh Valleys in South Wales.

And you're part of the country.

My part of the country.

But also I think not just class, but like geography, I don't even think it's the most privileged places who are the most politically engaged.

If you look at like the South Wales Valleys, like economically not prosperous at all, but very politically engaged because they've seen single-handedly and directly how politics has directly affected generations.

Whereas I was saying in Ceredigion, where I grew up, a very politically engaged area at all and I think that became because we had the same MP or the same party for donkey's years until Ben Lake came along like I think nobody really engaged with it even during election time because you didn't really see how it impacted you so I do think sometimes you have to see how it impacts you and feel it before you take an interest I think the

community thing is interesting.

And my contract came to an end and I wanted to stay.

So I worked for a local care home in the Welsh Valleys.

And I went in as head chef.

And when I turned up, what I saw, I realized I could change and make better.

i remember once a guy called taffy that used to be our roadie and drive our bus and just basically was dad on tour to be fair um we went to stay with his family in wales and i think because he was a much older guy older than us In fact, he was probably my age now, our age now, but to us then, in our early 20s, in a punk band, he was like an old man.

And, yeah, we were in this kebab house in Aberdare, in the Valleys, and... woman came in an older woman who he clearly like been bad to in a previous relationship he'd clearly been a bit naughty or whatever

right

um she was not a fan of him and so she was sort of just in his ear chirping and i remember she looked just like rick flair and i remember my mate tell just going whoo really really loudly and that's funny really funny because we got joke and of course she didn't um but we thought she was a real douche and then he went on to explain how he'd i think he had sex with her sister or something when they were married and i went yeah i'm sort of on her side now yeah yeah i'm sort of on rick flair's side a