The Pint And Kettle

Tea has been a social lubricator across the classes for a very long time and people in mining communities were no different. The tea cups came out at times of  sadness, tragedy, exhaustion, boredom and gossip.

I am told that a very young brother of my natural father was knocked down and killed by a hearse in Langley Moor. He ran into the road without warning. No doubt not all  the mourners restricted themselves to tea in the aftermath.

My great aunt's first husband fell down a pit shaft during the early part of WW2. I imagine that family discussions in the following weeks were laced with tea, alcohol and sometimes both.

During periods of recreation some married  miners were  drawn to the alcohol driven working men's club rather than taking the opportunity to spend time with a better half. A great- grandmother  of mine had a drink problem and the conclusion drawn by this family historian is that she was neglected and  somewhat socially adrift.

Bored and neglected women could resort to female gossip. I don't think my great-grandmother did much of that but many women did. What were they gossiping about? Was it about the teenage girl that had just married a forty year old man? Was it about the girl that had all the appearance of being pregnant? What about the unpolished step at 27?  Or was it about the latest price hike at Broughs? 

Of course tea and beer had  competitors. Dandelion and Burdock, lemonade and gingerbeer spring to mind. Especially gingerbeer; my grandmother had a big brown bottle or two of it delivered every week and I can recall the pleasure of being offered a glass of it.

During the current troubled times the pint, and alcohol in general, have more serious overtones. Cheap beer and spirits are fuelling disorder in our towns and villages yet our government seems to have settled for supermarkets and others doing the right thing rather than legislating against heavily discounted prices. Please correct me about that if appropriate.

 To kettle or 'kettling' is very topical. It's a police tactic of containing protesters in a particular area. It is not unlike the 'corralling' of cattle. I am confident that the vast majority of students wish to demonstrate in a peaceful manner but that some have behaved very badly. Likewise I am sure that the vast majority of policemen are well motivated to do the right thing but it is likely that the remainder are inadequate in such  traumatic and testing situations. Of course the best way to establish the truth is to observe a student protest. Would it be helpful to kettle the police in order to give them a better understanding of what it's like to be caught short, hungry and without that cup of tea or pint?  Perhaps not.   

WB