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This programme contains
very strong language
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that may be considered offensive.
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INTERVIEWER:
What were you like as a kid?
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I was very, very happy, go lucky.
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I would never ever
take this make-up off.
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You would catch me
running around the neighbourhood,
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skateboarding in a skirt.
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It's quite rare that, isn't it?
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Oh definitely, yeah.
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I mean, not a lot of parents, um
you know, don't really want
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to let their kids express themselves
in that kind of way.
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It's not always been easy.
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I mean,
there's always gonna be people
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who don't really like,
you know, you.
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I was walking home from school
one day and this woman saw me
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and I guess she really didn't like
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my outfit that I was wearing
at the time.
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And she just decided to spit at me.
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Which is kind of rude, very rude.
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Like, I'm not harming anyone.
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So, you know, my parents
already said, you know,
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"As long as you're not
hurting anybody,
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you can do what you want to do.'
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Oh wow!
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Wow!
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MAN: What do you think, Bea?
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I think I quite like it.
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It's like the Yellow Brick Road.
The Yellow Brick Road.
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It is.
That's exactly what I was thinking.
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MARGARET THATCHER: "Children
who need to be taught to respect
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traditional moral values
are being taught that
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they have an inalienable right
to be gay.'
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Has anyone seen a drag queen before?
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Yeah, I have seen loads.
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Jacob, have you ever seen
a drag queen?
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No.
You haven't?Never.
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NEIL KINNOCK: What we're witnessing
is an even greater abyss of division
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than that which
we witnessed previously.
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The violence and intimidation we
have seen should never have happened.
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It is the work of extremists.
It is the enemy within.'
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WOMAN: (ON PHONE)
A homosexual act is unnatural.
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It's perverted
and it's incredibly filthy.
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Shut it down!
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Shut it down! Shut it down!
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Two groups of protestors clashed
outside a children's drag story time
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in Forest Hill this morning.
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TAYCE: Some people think that
what we're doing today is wrong.
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It feels like things
are starting to go backwards.
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So today, I am showing them
that we will not be stopped
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and that there's nothing
to be afraid of.
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I'm going to take these kids
to another world...
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..and tell them a story
with an important lesson.
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That we're stronger together.
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Oh, oh, oh, oh!
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What is going on over here?
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Hello, hello, hello.
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ALL: Hi.
Yeah!
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Did somebody call for a drag queen?
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ALL: Yeah.
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I've got some juicy gossip for you,
OK. Are you ready?
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MAN: If you know
what a coal mine looks like,
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get a job in Britain's
modern mining industry,
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and get more out of life.
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# Hey there, miner,
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# Living life the way
you want it to be
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# Come on now, miner,
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# Let's mine you
Lots of money and security! #
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Be a miner.
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Ask at your local pit
or job centre in South Wales.
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Can anybody tell me what a miner is?
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Mmmm... You, my lovely.
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These miners were mining coal.
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Yes! Well done, baby. Well done.
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One of the big places
where coal mining happened
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was in my ends, gorgeous South Wales.
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And this is where our story begins.
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Mining was hard, scary work.
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And even though
there was so much risk involved,
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the men that did it, loved it.
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I think I was like most people.
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I just wanted to go to work
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and do a fair day's work
for a fair day's pay, really.
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Well, my father, all of my uncles,
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my grandfather, my step-grandfather,
they all worked in the colliery.
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I remember as a child
sleeping in my grandmother's,
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which has got quite a steep hill
outside it.
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And early in the morning,
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the colliery's siren would go
to call the shift,
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and I remember the hobnail boots of
men walking down the hill, you know.
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But do you know, there was something
comforting about it, really.
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One got used to the idea
that they would always be there.
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(CHILD SHOUTS)
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SIAN JAMES: Everybody knew
everybody else's business.
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The land of the moving curtain.
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(LAUGHS) You know, all those
lace nets were twitching away.
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I was a very happy housewife.
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As long as my mother
could come and visit me
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and not find any evidence of dust.
(LAUGHS)
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You know, literally, "Ah. Hm.'
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You know, not a word was said.
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So, I grew up in an atmosphere
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where you did your best
by your neighbours
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and your neighbours
did their best by you.
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And that community spirit
was very, very safe.
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Without even realising it, you were
absorbing a sense of community.
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You were absorbing a sense of...
of pride.
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All the miners paid a contribution
and we built these welfare halls
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and they became
centres of education.
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They had libraries.
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But they became
centres of enjoyment,
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and the focus of these communities.
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(LAUGHTER & CHATTER)
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If you are a miner, everybody's
having a couple of pints,
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nearly every night.
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Every day, you'd have a laugh.
Every day.
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Yeah, there was always
banter going on.
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I could name everybody down-
down the street,
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from the bottom all the way up.
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And that would be about
60 houses or more.
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(MALE VOICE CHOIR SINGING)
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Male voice choirs, they were very
strong in those mining communities.
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The sheer joy, if you like,
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of going in and listening to
a male voice choir.
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That was something
that pleased the community.
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Concerts happened usually
within the Welfare Hall.
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(MALE VOICE CHOIR SINGING)
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# ..Loose the folds asunder
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# Flag we conquer under!
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# The placid sky now bright on high
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# Shall launch its bolts in thunder!
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I think there was
that brief period of time,
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between the Second World War
and Margaret Thatcher,
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when there was a feeling
of optimism.
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And it was, in many ways,
an idyllic upbringing, really.
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And we did feel as though
everything was possible.
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# Freedom, God and Right! #
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The only cloud on the horizon was
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00:08:08,720 --> 00:08:12,560
Margaret Thatcher
with her new plan for Britain.
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Where there is discord,
may we bring harmony,
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00:08:22,200 --> 00:08:25,280
and where there is despair,
may we bring hope.
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REPORTER: The rioters came
from behind the security of
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their burning barricades
to lob petrol bombs.
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REPORTER: Over three million people
are now claiming benefits.
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I grew up in the '30s
with an unemployed father.
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He didn't riot.
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He got on his bike
and looked for work
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and he kept looking till he found it.
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What we were seeing was
vast numbers of people
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in the United Kingdom
being chucked on the scrapheap,
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being made redundant,
and put on the dole queue.
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And that motivated people,
at this point in time,
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to say, "This is our fight.'
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The National Executive Committee
declare the proposed strike action
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in Yorkshire and Scotland,
and in any other area
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which takes similar action,
as official.
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The miners were on strike
because the government intended
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to close 20 pits,
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and, in that process,
was going to lose 20,000 jobs.
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(INDISTINCT CHATTER)
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In South Wales,
everybody was on strike.
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In our particular area, I believe
there were 2,500 miners on strike.
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A striking miner
had no money coming in.
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Nothing.
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If you haven't got money,
you can't feed yourself.
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SIAN: We had ยฃ10 a week, what was
then known as family allowance,
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and ยฃ10.60 a week benefit.
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00:10:01,400 --> 00:10:04,760
It was like a constant
robbing Peter to pay Paul.
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00:10:04,800 --> 00:10:08,360
I had two small children,
and the ice cream man used
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00:10:08,400 --> 00:10:10,880
to come round and, er,
and you just couldn't afford
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00:10:10,920 --> 00:10:14,600
to buy them an ice cream, like.
Oh, it was bloody heart breaking.
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00:10:15,600 --> 00:10:19,360
The minute you went on strike,
you were deemed to make yourself
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deliberately unemployed.
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So, the men were not eligible
for any form of benefit.
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00:10:25,520 --> 00:10:30,120
And in some families,
you might have the father on strike,
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two brothers on strike, you know.
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And so, absolutely
no money coming in at all.
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00:10:39,680 --> 00:10:42,200
A couple of weeks or so
into the strike,
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we decided to try and start
getting food donations,
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so financial donations, to help.
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Everybody did their bit,
and my role,
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very early on in the strike,
was very traditional.
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I had no worries about
selling raffle tickets door to door,
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00:11:09,360 --> 00:11:14,360
selling plants door to door,
um, asking for donations.
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00:11:14,400 --> 00:11:18,560
If that's what it took
to keep us out on strike,
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00:11:18,600 --> 00:11:20,840
I wasn't too proud to do that.
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It's all a bit of a blur really,
because one minute there was
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just this little, small idea
of gathering a few things together,
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and then we founded the Neath
& District Miners Support Group
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to provide food for families
of striking miners, as simple as.
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DAVID WILLIAMS: Took some
organising, fair play to 'em,
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00:11:44,800 --> 00:11:47,360
but leave it to a woman,
isn't it? They'd organise it.
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00:11:47,400 --> 00:11:49,680
I think we'd be just scratching
our heads and going,
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00:11:49,720 --> 00:11:51,360
"Where do we start?' (LAUGHS)
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00:11:53,280 --> 00:11:56,360
MARTIN: My wife,
she was always collecting money,
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00:11:56,400 --> 00:11:58,720
and when this came along, it was...
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she stepped into it
and took over like.
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00:12:02,880 --> 00:12:06,960
We wanted people to have dignity
and make decisions.
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00:12:07,000 --> 00:12:11,600
So in our support group, it was
fundraising was the big thing.
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00:12:11,640 --> 00:12:16,200
Raise the funds, so then we could
provide a food parcel
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00:12:16,240 --> 00:12:18,600
every week, for everybody.
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00:12:18,640 --> 00:12:24,120
And we had between about 800
or 900 mining families to support.
202
00:12:24,160 --> 00:12:28,600
And we had to raise,
you know, about ยฃ5,000 a week.
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00:12:29,960 --> 00:12:32,360
Well, Tesco give us
a load of carrier bags.
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00:12:33,040 --> 00:12:38,400
Loaf of bread, milk, corned beef.
Nothing the matter with corned beef.
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00:12:38,440 --> 00:12:40,920
You can do a lot with corned beef.
Corned beef stew.
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00:12:40,960 --> 00:12:43,520
Corned beef hash. Corned beef pie.
Corned beef and chips.
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00:12:44,520 --> 00:12:48,720
I heard somebody with a food parcel,
he had, er, spaghetti.
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00:12:48,760 --> 00:12:51,120
And er, I think there was
an announcement you know,
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00:12:51,160 --> 00:12:55,800
in a meeting, "For fuck's sake.
Don't put it in the chip pan.'
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(ALL LAUGH)
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00:13:01,640 --> 00:13:05,280
If your colliery was
the one that was going to close,
212
00:13:05,320 --> 00:13:06,800
what happened to you?
213
00:13:06,840 --> 00:13:09,200
People would lose their jobs.
214
00:13:09,240 --> 00:13:11,320
That's "coal not dole".
215
00:13:11,360 --> 00:13:13,760
"I can't find another job.'
Where do you from there?
216
00:13:13,800 --> 00:13:18,400
If my husband loses his job now,
he will never work again.
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00:13:25,480 --> 00:13:31,000
It was either we fought for our jobs
or we laid back and said,
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00:13:31,040 --> 00:13:33,040
"Right-oh. You can do what you want.'
219
00:13:34,040 --> 00:13:36,440
One of the biggest questions
I was asked was,
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00:13:36,480 --> 00:13:40,920
"Why are you fighting so hard
to keep these awful jobs?'
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00:13:40,960 --> 00:13:45,880
My answer to that was,
"What else is there for us?'
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00:13:46,880 --> 00:13:49,640
(TAYCE READING ALOUD)
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00:13:53,960 --> 00:13:56,520
What do you think the miners
and their families would have
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00:13:56,560 --> 00:13:59,200
been thinking?
The stupid Prime Minister says,
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00:13:59,240 --> 00:14:01,960
"We should close down
all the mines.'Yes.
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00:14:02,000 --> 00:14:07,040
Well as actually, you need the mines
to pay the bills and to have heat.
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00:14:07,080 --> 00:14:12,280
It would be really challenging
because you need, like, money
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00:14:12,320 --> 00:14:14,120
to do a lot of things, like...
229
00:14:14,160 --> 00:14:15,680
Imagine if you were in
that position.
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00:14:15,720 --> 00:14:17,120
You'd want somebody to help you.
231
00:14:17,160 --> 00:14:20,480
Yes. Imagine walking a mile
in someone else's shoes?
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00:14:21,360 --> 00:14:24,200
Right, now that you've met
the Welsh lot,
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00:14:24,240 --> 00:14:26,400
it's time to meet
the other heroes of our story.
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00:14:26,440 --> 00:14:29,440
They lived a long way
from the valley, in London.
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00:14:29,480 --> 00:14:32,400
(CHORAL RENDITION OF
"I Feel Love" by Donna Summer")
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00:14:38,520 --> 00:14:41,000
Beginning of 1984,
I would have been 29.
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00:14:41,040 --> 00:14:45,120
I'd been out for ten years by then.
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00:14:45,160 --> 00:14:48,320
I was really, really happy,
and I was free,
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00:14:48,360 --> 00:14:50,040
I was having lots of sex,
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00:14:50,080 --> 00:14:54,600
and meeting people who were similar
to me, people who were left-wing,
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00:14:54,640 --> 00:14:57,960
working class, and who were gay.
That was great.
242
00:14:58,000 --> 00:15:05,000
# ..I feel love...
243
00:15:06,560 --> 00:15:11,080
There was a gay bar in King's Cross
called The Bell that became
244
00:15:11,120 --> 00:15:14,880
really an important venue
for people to go to.
245
00:15:14,920 --> 00:15:17,320
There was very high unemployment
in those days,
246
00:15:17,360 --> 00:15:20,880
so people could come
and spend their giros at The Bell.
247
00:15:20,920 --> 00:15:23,800
NICOLA FIELD:
I loved going to The Bell.
248
00:15:23,840 --> 00:15:28,040
It was where you did everything
and where you met everyone.
249
00:15:28,080 --> 00:15:31,720
You just danced
and got off with people.
250
00:15:32,480 --> 00:15:35,400
You know, I'd come to London
from the home counties
251
00:15:35,440 --> 00:15:38,160
from a very you know,
conservative family.
252
00:15:38,200 --> 00:15:40,240
I didn't want to be
the kind of woman
253
00:15:40,280 --> 00:15:42,640
that I was being trained to be.
254
00:15:42,680 --> 00:15:47,760
I couldn't cope with all
the nylon tights and the high heels
255
00:15:47,800 --> 00:15:49,720
and underskirts
that you had to wear.
256
00:15:50,600 --> 00:15:55,880
We all were part of creating
a community of defiant resistance.
257
00:15:56,600 --> 00:15:59,400
(MALE VOICE CHOIR CONTINUES)
258
00:16:01,600 --> 00:16:07,240
# I feel love...
259
00:16:07,280 --> 00:16:12,000
London as a young gay person
was the only place to be really.
260
00:16:12,040 --> 00:16:15,400
You were surrounded by
people like you.
261
00:16:15,440 --> 00:16:17,040
(CROWD CHANTING INDISTINCTLY)
262
00:16:19,200 --> 00:16:23,640
Pride marches, really, were
the single most important event,
263
00:16:23,680 --> 00:16:25,640
without a doubt.
264
00:16:25,680 --> 00:16:29,800
And it was a really exhilarating,
thrilling experience just walking
265
00:16:29,840 --> 00:16:35,520
down the street with hundreds,
thousands of other LGBT people.
266
00:16:35,560 --> 00:16:39,080
It was joyous to say,
"We're here, we're queer,
267
00:16:39,120 --> 00:16:41,160
and we're not going away.'
268
00:16:41,200 --> 00:16:43,840
The people who tended to go on
the Pride march in those days
269
00:16:43,880 --> 00:16:48,440
were-were the more political
elements of the LGBT community.
270
00:16:48,480 --> 00:16:50,520
# THE CURE: Boys Don't Cry #
271
00:17:00,600 --> 00:17:04,480
I bumped into Mark Ashton
just before the Gay Pride march,
272
00:17:04,520 --> 00:17:06,200
er, was about to take place.
273
00:17:06,240 --> 00:17:10,839
Mark grew up in a working-class
seaside town in Northern Ireland.
274
00:17:10,880 --> 00:17:14,240
It was definitely in his early 20s
when he became politicised.
275
00:17:14,280 --> 00:17:17,480
He joined the Communist Party.
276
00:17:17,520 --> 00:17:20,560
We were comrades, we were friends.
277
00:17:20,599 --> 00:17:24,400
Mark said, "How about taking
a couple of buckets to collect
278
00:17:24,440 --> 00:17:26,720
for the striking miners
on the Pride march?'
279
00:17:26,760 --> 00:17:28,480
I said, "Ooh, that's a great idea.'
280
00:17:28,520 --> 00:17:31,760
The miners' strike
has been described
281
00:17:31,800 --> 00:17:34,160
as a Civil War without guns.
282
00:17:34,200 --> 00:17:36,480
And that's exactly what it was.
283
00:17:36,520 --> 00:17:39,120
It completely split the country.
284
00:17:39,160 --> 00:17:42,120
You were either for the miners
or against the miners.
285
00:17:42,160 --> 00:17:44,040
MAN: Support the miners!
286
00:17:44,080 --> 00:17:48,520
Mark and I were really
pleasantly surprised
287
00:17:48,560 --> 00:17:51,920
quite how much support we got from
the other people marching with us.
288
00:17:51,960 --> 00:17:53,760
"I hate Thatcher.'
289
00:17:53,800 --> 00:17:57,680
You know, gleefully putting
some money in the bucket.
290
00:17:57,720 --> 00:18:00,160
They'd also be saying,
"My dad's a miner.'
291
00:18:00,200 --> 00:18:02,880
"My uncle's a miner.'
"My grandad was a miner.'
292
00:18:05,240 --> 00:18:08,240
And that really was the beginning
of lesbians and gays
293
00:18:08,280 --> 00:18:12,000
supporting the miners.
We gave birth that day. (LAUGHS)
294
00:18:12,720 --> 00:18:14,520
I already knew Mark.
295
00:18:14,560 --> 00:18:18,000
He spoke in such a vivid way
296
00:18:18,040 --> 00:18:20,680
that it educated you
just to listen to him.
297
00:18:20,720 --> 00:18:23,160
But he was also giggly,
298
00:18:23,200 --> 00:18:27,200
and witty, and lovable.
299
00:18:27,240 --> 00:18:29,600
MARK: Like, there are three
and a half million people
300
00:18:29,640 --> 00:18:32,040
unemployed in this country.
Where the hell are these jobs
301
00:18:32,080 --> 00:18:34,240
coming from that these miners
are all going to go into?
302
00:18:34,280 --> 00:18:36,200
But the point is, we're going to win.
303
00:18:36,240 --> 00:18:38,840
We're going to beat these bastards,
and we're going to beat them
304
00:18:38,880 --> 00:18:41,640
so far back, that they'll
never come back again.
305
00:18:41,680 --> 00:18:45,240
We decided the most natural place
to collect funds
306
00:18:45,280 --> 00:18:48,120
was outside lesbian and gay venues.
So, that's what we did.
307
00:18:48,920 --> 00:18:50,520
You had a big bucket...
308
00:18:51,800 --> 00:18:54,360
..and it had,
'Support the Miners,' round it.
309
00:18:54,400 --> 00:18:56,200
And you shook it.
310
00:18:58,400 --> 00:19:02,440
Support the miners.
Support the miners.
311
00:19:02,480 --> 00:19:04,720
"Lesbian & Gays
Support the Miners!
312
00:19:04,760 --> 00:19:06,640
Spare some change.
313
00:19:06,680 --> 00:19:10,680
Lesbian & Gays Support
the Miners. Spare some...' (LAUGHS)
314
00:19:10,720 --> 00:19:13,760
We'd have great fun
when we were doing collecting.
315
00:19:13,800 --> 00:19:15,880
I mean, The Bell was always
the favourite place
316
00:19:15,920 --> 00:19:17,320
for people to collect.
317
00:19:18,360 --> 00:19:21,680
And it did get a bit silly sometimes
because we'd have, like,
318
00:19:21,720 --> 00:19:25,600
eight LGSM people
shaking buckets on the door,
319
00:19:25,640 --> 00:19:28,920
um, because we were not only
collecting for the miners,
320
00:19:28,960 --> 00:19:32,760
We were also trying to pick
people up at the same time. (LAUGHS)
321
00:19:34,000 --> 00:19:36,400
'Lesbians & Gays Support
the Miners', you know,
322
00:19:36,440 --> 00:19:39,400
it was a wonderful,
kind of, community atmosphere.
323
00:19:39,440 --> 00:19:43,920
I was a very insecure person,
so it was just seeking
324
00:19:43,960 --> 00:19:46,880
a kind of possibility
of just being myself.
325
00:19:47,800 --> 00:19:51,240
There were a lot of people
who were angry
326
00:19:51,280 --> 00:19:56,400
that we were collecting
for this group of people.
327
00:19:56,440 --> 00:19:58,800
You know,
"What have they got to do with us?
328
00:19:58,840 --> 00:20:00,280
What were they giving us?
329
00:20:00,320 --> 00:20:02,880
What about all the people
who were sort of, you know,
330
00:20:02,920 --> 00:20:05,440
living and dying from HIV Aids?'
331
00:20:05,480 --> 00:20:07,400
INTERVIEWER: A lot of people
will say, you know,
332
00:20:07,440 --> 00:20:11,280
if you're collecting, that,
"Why should we support the miners
cos the miners don't support us?'
333
00:20:11,320 --> 00:20:14,760
What do you tell people who say
that to you?Well, I mean,
what do you mean when they say,
334
00:20:14,800 --> 00:20:17,160
"The miners don't support us?'
The miners dig coal,
335
00:20:17,200 --> 00:20:20,840
which creates fuel,
which actually, makes electricity.
336
00:20:20,880 --> 00:20:22,760
I mean, would you go
down a mine and work?
337
00:20:22,800 --> 00:20:24,600
I wouldn't like to go down
a mine and work.
338
00:20:24,640 --> 00:20:27,040
One of the reasons I support miners
is because they go down
339
00:20:27,080 --> 00:20:28,240
and do it. I wouldn't do it.
340
00:20:30,520 --> 00:20:33,680
JOHNNY PALMER: Took some degree
of courage to stand there.
341
00:20:33,720 --> 00:20:37,520
There was something deeply political
342
00:20:37,560 --> 00:20:40,120
just about being yourself.
343
00:20:40,160 --> 00:20:45,480
In the high street, it meant,
"Hello, everybody, I'm gay.
344
00:20:45,520 --> 00:20:48,560
Hello, everybody, I'm gay.
Hello, everybody, I'm gay.'
345
00:20:48,600 --> 00:20:54,600
Once, a guy, um, came up to me
at The Bell and said, um,
346
00:20:54,640 --> 00:20:58,240
"Why should I?'
And as I opened my mouth
347
00:20:58,280 --> 00:21:01,800
to try to explain,
he actually head-butted me.
348
00:21:05,160 --> 00:21:10,040
Of course,
society was deeply homophobic.
349
00:21:10,080 --> 00:21:13,720
The laws reflected that,
the opinions reflected that.
350
00:21:15,360 --> 00:21:19,200
"Poof, bender, queer,
gay boy, bum boy.'
351
00:21:19,240 --> 00:21:20,720
You know, the list is endless.
352
00:21:20,760 --> 00:21:24,320
It was so part of
353
00:21:24,360 --> 00:21:28,200
the atmosphere of the landscape.
It just was.
354
00:21:28,240 --> 00:21:30,320
INTERVIEWER: What would you do
if you found out
355
00:21:30,360 --> 00:21:32,840
your sister was a lesbian?
Um, kill her.
356
00:21:32,880 --> 00:21:35,280
Why are you concerned about lesbian?
357
00:21:35,320 --> 00:21:37,160
By any chance,
is there a lesbian around?
358
00:21:37,200 --> 00:21:40,240
Yeah, me.
Me too.(LAUGHS)
359
00:21:40,280 --> 00:21:43,280
Do you know, there were still,
um, queer youth on the street
360
00:21:43,320 --> 00:21:46,640
being thrown out at 15 and 16,
because they'd come out.
361
00:21:46,680 --> 00:21:49,200
And their father
wouldn't tolerate it.
362
00:21:50,920 --> 00:21:53,800
MAN: I know my reaction,
I couldn't believe it.
363
00:21:53,840 --> 00:21:56,400
I mean, I was a macho man.
364
00:21:56,440 --> 00:21:58,680
I'd come from the North. I was a...
365
00:21:58,720 --> 00:22:02,560
You know, we didn't have homosexuals
in working-class families.
366
00:22:02,600 --> 00:22:04,760
It was only...
There were poofs, weren't there?
367
00:22:04,800 --> 00:22:06,520
Oh, well, you know. We didn't...
368
00:22:06,560 --> 00:22:08,120
We didn't father poofs.
369
00:22:08,160 --> 00:22:12,640
The people who fathered poofs were
rich people or upper-class people.
370
00:22:12,680 --> 00:22:15,640
And to be honest, I thought
he was a little bastard.
371
00:22:15,680 --> 00:22:18,440
And if I'd had got my hands on him
then, I would have killed him.
372
00:22:18,480 --> 00:22:23,000
Just being openly yourself
in the street...
373
00:22:23,760 --> 00:22:26,800
..was an offence
against public decency.
374
00:22:26,840 --> 00:22:30,560
You were to be stamped on.
You were to be wiped out.
375
00:22:30,600 --> 00:22:32,920
You were to be kept hidden.
376
00:22:32,960 --> 00:22:37,600
You could choose to sort of remain,
um, camouflaged,
377
00:22:37,640 --> 00:22:39,920
or you could choose
to try and live your life
378
00:22:39,960 --> 00:22:42,240
as you wished to and take the risks.
379
00:22:45,480 --> 00:22:49,400
I grew up on an island in Scotland,
rural community.
380
00:22:49,440 --> 00:22:53,120
On my 18th birthday, I had, kind of,
taken a boat to the mainland.
381
00:22:53,160 --> 00:22:55,440
I'd been at school for
my final exam, got on the boat,
382
00:22:55,480 --> 00:22:57,520
took off my school uniform,
and threw it in the sea.
383
00:22:57,560 --> 00:22:59,880
And I came down to London.
384
00:22:59,920 --> 00:23:01,800
You know,
I was kind of living it large,
385
00:23:01,840 --> 00:23:03,720
as you do when you're in your 20s.
386
00:23:03,760 --> 00:23:07,000
I was a punk.
Whatever that means, you know.
387
00:23:07,040 --> 00:23:08,760
I had a funny hairstyle.
388
00:23:10,000 --> 00:23:12,840
I remember, I went shoplifting,
don't quote me on this.
389
00:23:12,880 --> 00:23:16,760
I went shoplifting in Woolworths
in Brixton in a fur coat,
390
00:23:16,800 --> 00:23:19,560
red leather miniskirt,
face full of make-up and my...
391
00:23:19,600 --> 00:23:22,200
I think it was blonde Mohican
at that stage.
392
00:23:22,920 --> 00:23:26,400
And it was interesting because,
you know, people were a bit like...
393
00:23:27,200 --> 00:23:29,040
"Ooh, OK.' (LAUGHS)
394
00:23:30,080 --> 00:23:32,640
And I was part of a wee gang,
and my gays...
395
00:23:32,680 --> 00:23:35,400
We didn't fit in,
but we got through, you know?
396
00:23:35,440 --> 00:23:38,520
We lived a life. There's something
about being under pressure
397
00:23:38,560 --> 00:23:40,080
that brings people together.
398
00:23:40,120 --> 00:23:42,680
And I think because of that,
people, you know,
399
00:23:42,720 --> 00:23:45,086
um, were able to-to pull together.
400
00:23:50,280 --> 00:23:51,880
(TAYCE READING ALOUD)
401
00:23:55,320 --> 00:23:59,040
Almost all of the striking miners
in South Wales were holding firm,
402
00:23:59,080 --> 00:24:01,640
but elsewhere in the country,
that wasn't the case.
403
00:24:06,240 --> 00:24:08,400
REPORTER: In recent weeks,
the tribal beating
404
00:24:08,440 --> 00:24:10,960
of police riot shields
with truncheons has become
405
00:24:11,000 --> 00:24:13,720
a familiar sound on
the Yorkshire picket lines.
406
00:24:13,760 --> 00:24:17,560
The South Wales miners needed
to do everything they could
407
00:24:17,600 --> 00:24:19,280
to keep the strike strong.
408
00:24:19,320 --> 00:24:22,280
Miners travelled all over
the country and joined
409
00:24:22,320 --> 00:24:25,080
what were called picket lines,
outside working mines.
410
00:24:25,120 --> 00:24:28,840
Sometimes, picket lines
could be scary places.
411
00:24:28,880 --> 00:24:32,000
REPORTER: The miners were attempting
to block the access road
412
00:24:32,040 --> 00:24:34,240
to the pit, and they succeeded.
413
00:24:34,280 --> 00:24:36,560
(MINERS CHANTING INDISTINCTLY)
414
00:24:36,600 --> 00:24:39,080
SIAN: Picketing,
at that time, was very much seen
415
00:24:39,120 --> 00:24:40,720
as what the men did.
416
00:24:41,440 --> 00:24:43,560
The stories were horrendous.
417
00:24:43,600 --> 00:24:46,000
Can't believe that we were
being treated like that
418
00:24:46,040 --> 00:24:49,080
by the police,
and the viciousness of the police.
419
00:24:49,120 --> 00:24:51,680
DAVID:
If you were just a few people,
420
00:24:51,720 --> 00:24:55,640
and they were outnumbering you,
they were quite calm about it.
421
00:24:55,680 --> 00:24:58,640
But then when a mob, as they put it,
422
00:24:58,680 --> 00:25:02,440
would turn up,
their attitude would change.
423
00:25:02,480 --> 00:25:04,960
It was dog eat dog then, wasn't it?
424
00:25:05,760 --> 00:25:07,360
(INDISTINCT CHANTING)
425
00:25:08,840 --> 00:25:11,840
I had grown up in
a trade union family, you know.
426
00:25:11,880 --> 00:25:14,040
We knew what a picket line meant.
427
00:25:14,080 --> 00:25:16,400
That was sacrosanct. It was there.
428
00:25:16,440 --> 00:25:19,280
It was there for a purpose,
and that everybody had to recognise
429
00:25:19,320 --> 00:25:23,600
that picket line,
and stand firmly behind it.
430
00:25:23,640 --> 00:25:26,720
MAN: They're determined to break
this strike, by any means
431
00:25:26,760 --> 00:25:28,600
that they can, but...
that they can use.
432
00:25:28,640 --> 00:25:31,000
All you've got to do is look
around you and just have a look at
433
00:25:31,040 --> 00:25:33,440
all the police here, and half of
these are soldiers anyway.
434
00:25:33,480 --> 00:25:35,080
They are just determined
to break us,
435
00:25:35,120 --> 00:25:36,560
but no way are they going to though.
436
00:25:36,600 --> 00:25:38,760
You know, they...
they're trying to starve us out,
437
00:25:38,800 --> 00:25:41,400
but we've counteracted that with
our women support groups,
438
00:25:41,440 --> 00:25:43,080
and the women have been great to us.
439
00:25:43,120 --> 00:25:47,880
The quickest way for an individual
to feel they have to go
440
00:25:47,920 --> 00:25:51,880
back to work is that they can't put
food on the table for themselves,
441
00:25:51,920 --> 00:25:53,880
but more importantly,
for their children.
442
00:25:53,920 --> 00:25:55,520
(COINS RATTLING)
443
00:25:57,960 --> 00:26:01,520
We couldn't raise enough money
in our communities
444
00:26:01,560 --> 00:26:05,920
to buy enough food for the families
that were out on strike.
445
00:26:05,960 --> 00:26:10,760
Many people in London, at that time,
couldn't have gone to a tube station
446
00:26:10,800 --> 00:26:14,880
without seeing miners with buckets
asking for support of people
447
00:26:14,920 --> 00:26:16,960
in London,
and that was very important.
448
00:26:17,000 --> 00:26:21,320
We developed a plan where
we would twin
449
00:26:21,360 --> 00:26:23,080
with an organisation
450
00:26:23,120 --> 00:26:26,200
that wanted to lend
their support for the strike.
451
00:26:27,400 --> 00:26:31,880
The miners throughout Britain
were desperate for money.
452
00:26:31,920 --> 00:26:34,640
London, the capital, was a honeypot.
453
00:26:35,400 --> 00:26:40,040
Oh yeah, right.
The full total then is ยฃ345.85.
454
00:26:40,720 --> 00:26:45,280
After weeks of collecting, the gays
and lesbians were raking it in.
455
00:26:45,320 --> 00:26:49,720
ยฃ95 outside The Bell,
ยฃ300 outside the gay bookshop.
456
00:26:49,760 --> 00:26:53,640
Before they knew it,
they had a pot of 500 quid.
457
00:26:53,680 --> 00:26:55,600
A lot of money back then.
458
00:26:55,640 --> 00:26:57,960
But they had no idea
what to do with it.
459
00:26:58,000 --> 00:26:59,720
Who would they actually send it to?
460
00:26:59,760 --> 00:27:01,800
Any other suggestions?
461
00:27:01,840 --> 00:27:05,240
So, one member of the group
had the idea of sending it to miners
462
00:27:05,280 --> 00:27:08,400
in South Wales.
He came from that area.
463
00:27:08,440 --> 00:27:12,840
You couldn't think of a more remote
and isolated mining community
464
00:27:12,880 --> 00:27:14,680
than one that we chose.
465
00:27:14,720 --> 00:27:18,880
Around there,
nearly every miner was on strike.
466
00:27:18,920 --> 00:27:21,720
So, we knew that
they were desperately in need of...
467
00:27:21,760 --> 00:27:23,800
of funds to keep going.
468
00:27:23,840 --> 00:27:27,640
And I wrote a letter to say,
you know, "Hello, we're, er,
469
00:27:27,680 --> 00:27:30,360
a group called Lesbians & Gays
Support the Miners.'
470
00:27:30,400 --> 00:27:35,400
I remember vividly posting
that letter and thinking,
471
00:27:35,440 --> 00:27:38,880
"God, I'd love to be a fly on"
472
00:27:51,880 --> 00:27:55,160
CHRISTINE: We basically
had a meeting every Sunday evening.
473
00:27:55,200 --> 00:27:57,640
We're all in the hall,
sitting around the table.
474
00:27:57,680 --> 00:28:00,080
The tables would be laid out
for a meeting.
475
00:28:02,360 --> 00:28:05,840
Dai Donovan got up and he said,
"Oh, we've got
476
00:28:05,880 --> 00:28:07,720
a new support group from London.'
477
00:28:07,760 --> 00:28:11,920
And he said, "The group is
Lesbians & Gays Support the Miners.'
478
00:28:13,880 --> 00:28:16,000
Deathly silence.
479
00:28:17,400 --> 00:28:19,000
I looked up...
480
00:28:19,800 --> 00:28:22,120
Lesbians and gays?
481
00:28:22,160 --> 00:28:26,240
Jaw dropped and then... (LAUGHS)
482
00:28:27,960 --> 00:28:31,400
Dai got a bit, um,
defensive, you know.
483
00:28:31,440 --> 00:28:33,840
And he said, "Hang about now.
These-These boys have been
484
00:28:33,880 --> 00:28:36,040
rattling buckets and done
this, that and the other.'
485
00:28:36,080 --> 00:28:40,960
I think people's attitude
to gay people in Wales, right, was,
486
00:28:41,000 --> 00:28:45,040
it was... it was never really
spoken about, you know?
487
00:28:45,080 --> 00:28:49,760
I have no doubt whatsoever that
there was homophobia in the valley.
488
00:28:51,480 --> 00:28:52,720
Bound to be.
489
00:28:52,760 --> 00:28:57,560
Well, poofs, weren't they?
Poofters and uphill gardeners.
490
00:28:57,600 --> 00:29:00,680
Arse bandits and then, you know...
491
00:29:00,720 --> 00:29:03,240
INTERVIEWER: Would you have
used those words, do you think?
492
00:29:03,280 --> 00:29:05,360
Yes.
(CROSS TALK)
493
00:29:05,400 --> 00:29:09,400
Yes, I would have,
more than likely. Yeah.
494
00:29:09,440 --> 00:29:11,840
It's to fit in, isn't it?
Yeah.
495
00:29:15,920 --> 00:29:17,760
MIKE: I got a reply within a week.
496
00:29:18,480 --> 00:29:20,760
They were sending somebody
to meet us.
497
00:29:20,800 --> 00:29:22,760
Er, that we didn't expect.
498
00:29:27,600 --> 00:29:31,400
DAI: I do remember coming out
of Paddington Station.
499
00:29:31,440 --> 00:29:34,040
There's a ramp that comes up
out of the station
500
00:29:34,080 --> 00:29:36,000
and I remember walking up there.
501
00:29:36,040 --> 00:29:38,880
You had to turn right, and on
the opposite side of the road,
502
00:29:38,920 --> 00:29:41,800
there was a Wimpy Bar,
and we'd arranged to meet there.
503
00:29:42,560 --> 00:29:46,240
I am not sure
what they felt about meeting
504
00:29:46,280 --> 00:29:48,480
a so-called miner
for the first time.
505
00:29:56,120 --> 00:29:59,920
We expected some discomfort
on both sides.
506
00:29:59,960 --> 00:30:02,400
And there wasn't any.
507
00:30:02,440 --> 00:30:06,040
He seemed completely
unfazed about our sexuality.
508
00:30:07,320 --> 00:30:09,720
At a very young age, I
joined the Air Force,
509
00:30:09,760 --> 00:30:11,920
and I was stationed overseas.
510
00:30:11,960 --> 00:30:15,400
And there was outrage one day,
because a young lad...
511
00:30:16,200 --> 00:30:20,000
,,had been, uh,
found out to be a homosexual.
512
00:30:20,040 --> 00:30:23,600
At that time, and until
very recently in the military,
513
00:30:23,640 --> 00:30:26,920
if you were gay, you know,
it was a court martial offence.
514
00:30:26,960 --> 00:30:32,080
And I remember listening then
to the talk amongst all my mates,
515
00:30:32,120 --> 00:30:35,720
then, isn't it?
How, well, how awful this was.
516
00:30:35,760 --> 00:30:40,920
Not his treatment, but that he was
a blooming gay bloke, you know?
517
00:30:40,960 --> 00:30:44,440
Maybe that's why I wasn't
ideally suited in the Air Force.
518
00:30:44,480 --> 00:30:47,800
I didn't subscribe to the view
that his sexuality should be
519
00:30:47,840 --> 00:30:50,760
something that would threaten
us as individuals.
520
00:30:52,880 --> 00:30:57,440
Then we arranged for him to come
to The Bell, later that evening,
521
00:30:57,480 --> 00:31:00,360
to collect the money
from us formally.
522
00:31:00,400 --> 00:31:04,680
It was quite brave,
a group of 200 LGBT people.
523
00:31:04,720 --> 00:31:07,240
He'd never been in a situation
like that before,
524
00:31:07,280 --> 00:31:10,080
and there he is on stage,
facing them.
525
00:31:10,120 --> 00:31:11,720
DAI:
526
00:31:37,600 --> 00:31:39,200
(APPLAUSE)
527
00:31:41,200 --> 00:31:45,640
He got lots of applause and cheers,
and we were beside ourselves.
528
00:31:46,440 --> 00:31:52,160
We never expected this positivity
and-and this warmth.
529
00:31:52,200 --> 00:31:56,120
For the first time, the miners
were finding out what it was like
530
00:31:56,160 --> 00:31:58,000
when the state comes for you.
531
00:32:00,240 --> 00:32:02,280
These people had been
living with this.
532
00:32:03,320 --> 00:32:07,600
They took that opportunity
to help us at that time,
533
00:32:07,640 --> 00:32:10,640
despite everything they had
been attacked by,
534
00:32:10,680 --> 00:32:12,800
despite everything
they were living through.
535
00:32:12,840 --> 00:32:15,160
They were wearing the t-shirt.
536
00:32:15,200 --> 00:32:17,240
And yet, do you know what they did?
537
00:32:17,280 --> 00:32:19,760
They said,
"These people need our help.'
538
00:32:24,240 --> 00:32:27,600
Few weeks later, Dai stood up
and said that they'd like
539
00:32:27,640 --> 00:32:30,000
to come down and meet us.
540
00:32:30,040 --> 00:32:34,160
One minute, you're talking about
the food parcels for the next week,
541
00:32:34,200 --> 00:32:37,440
and then Dai says,
"There's a bunch of gay people
542
00:32:37,480 --> 00:32:39,440
want to come down and stay with us.'
543
00:32:40,360 --> 00:32:44,160
Somebody said, "Will this mean,
that we will have to watch men,
544
00:32:44,200 --> 00:32:46,080
dancing with each other?'
545
00:32:46,120 --> 00:32:49,000
A member in the support group
got up and said, "Hey, hold on
546
00:32:49,040 --> 00:32:51,440
a minute now, boys,
what the hell's going on here?'
547
00:32:52,160 --> 00:32:55,400
I made it quite clear where
our loyalties should lay and that
548
00:32:55,440 --> 00:32:58,600
we should be supporting people
that were prepared to support us.
549
00:32:58,640 --> 00:33:01,400
We did have reservations
before they came down.
550
00:33:01,440 --> 00:33:06,200
Um, to be quite honest with you,
we flipped a coin to see whether
551
00:33:06,240 --> 00:33:09,520
we would have lesbians or gays.
You know, it sounds an awful thing
552
00:33:09,560 --> 00:33:11,480
to say, but we didn't know
what to expect.
553
00:33:11,520 --> 00:33:15,280
I just went home and said,
"Stuart, you know that gay lot
554
00:33:15,320 --> 00:33:17,080
that's been supporting us?'
"Yes.'
555
00:33:17,120 --> 00:33:19,240
"Well, they're coming down
to visit us,' and I said,
556
00:33:19,280 --> 00:33:21,720
"We'll put some people up.'
I didn't ask him,
557
00:33:21,760 --> 00:33:24,920
"Do you think... Do you mind?'
whatever, I just told him.
558
00:33:41,200 --> 00:33:45,880
I remember one of my neighbours
complaining
559
00:33:45,920 --> 00:33:49,720
that she might get AIDS
from using the telephone box.
560
00:33:49,760 --> 00:33:51,800
You know, they were very ignorant.
561
00:33:51,840 --> 00:33:55,280
The only thing they knew
about gay people and the only thing
562
00:33:55,320 --> 00:33:58,680
they knew about AIDS, as we
called it then, was what they were
563
00:33:58,720 --> 00:34:00,960
reading in the tabloid press.
564
00:34:01,000 --> 00:34:06,160
JOHNATHAN: This notion that somehow
you are dirty, you are diseased,
565
00:34:06,200 --> 00:34:11,080
eventually that kind of does
get to you and it makes me cross.
566
00:34:12,000 --> 00:34:15,719
I was diagnosed in October 1982.
567
00:34:15,760 --> 00:34:21,000
It was an incredibly lonely,
isolating time.
568
00:34:21,040 --> 00:34:26,000
One felt like a modern-day
leper, you know?
569
00:34:27,199 --> 00:34:31,840
I think one hoped to be accepted.
570
00:34:31,880 --> 00:34:37,080
But maybe this has been some
huge mistake and that, actually,
571
00:34:37,120 --> 00:34:42,480
people are not going to want us,
not going to accept us.
572
00:34:49,480 --> 00:34:54,639
NICOLA: I didn't go down to Wales
during the strike.
573
00:34:54,679 --> 00:34:58,760
I really had had, um,
very bad experiences
574
00:34:58,800 --> 00:35:01,280
of rejection from my family.
575
00:35:02,360 --> 00:35:05,240
My mum had said to me
she wasn't sure she wanted to be
576
00:35:05,280 --> 00:35:07,080
my mother anymore.
577
00:35:07,120 --> 00:35:11,840
Um, my father said that nobody
in the wider family should know
578
00:35:11,880 --> 00:35:13,520
and it should be kept a secret.
579
00:35:13,560 --> 00:35:17,800
It was my normal to feel
like I was a monster.
580
00:35:17,840 --> 00:35:19,800
I revolted people.
581
00:35:21,040 --> 00:35:23,320
Shame eats the soul...
582
00:35:24,200 --> 00:35:27,000
..and I wish actually
that I just said,
583
00:35:27,040 --> 00:35:30,480
"I'll tell you what. I'm going
to go and live my own life.
584
00:35:30,520 --> 00:35:34,160
Give us a ring if you change
your mind. But I'm off.'
585
00:35:36,000 --> 00:35:38,240
I wish I had done that.
586
00:35:39,120 --> 00:35:42,120
It's sad, isn't it? It's a common
thing. It happens all the time.
587
00:35:42,160 --> 00:35:45,760
Like, you know, I even have friends,
literally their parents don't
588
00:35:45,800 --> 00:35:49,240
speak to them. Their parents kicked
them out and they from, like,
589
00:35:49,280 --> 00:35:51,080
a young age, from, like, 13/14.
590
00:35:51,120 --> 00:35:55,800
So, why would, like,
her parents just kick her out?
591
00:35:55,840 --> 00:36:01,040
Um, well, that's the craziest thing,
like, what I've seen today.
592
00:36:01,080 --> 00:36:04,840
I think that's very sad,
because no mother, no father should
593
00:36:04,880 --> 00:36:07,880
disown their child
because they are different.
594
00:36:07,920 --> 00:36:11,920
And they should follow
their own path because
595
00:36:11,960 --> 00:36:14,920
it's their job to take care of them.
596
00:36:14,960 --> 00:36:18,440
It's not their job to tell them
what's right and what's not right.
597
00:36:18,480 --> 00:36:20,081
Yes.
598
00:36:27,200 --> 00:36:29,560
MIKE: Sure the miners
had never done anything for us.
599
00:36:29,600 --> 00:36:34,120
And we ourselves were aware
that we might get rejected.
600
00:36:34,160 --> 00:36:36,760
We... You know, we weren't naive.
601
00:36:38,560 --> 00:36:42,760
Where I grew up,
it was classic northern,
602
00:36:42,800 --> 00:36:45,040
industrial, working class.
603
00:36:45,880 --> 00:36:50,400
Although I am proud of that kind of
working-class heritage
604
00:36:50,440 --> 00:36:55,600
and the values that I was taught,
er, the bit that I'm not proud of
605
00:36:55,640 --> 00:36:57,800
is the widespread homophobia.
606
00:36:58,720 --> 00:37:01,880
Because I came from that kind of
background, I mean, there was
607
00:37:01,920 --> 00:37:05,800
a coal mine in the town
I grew up in when I was a young lad,
608
00:37:05,840 --> 00:37:07,880
when I was in my late teens I'd go
609
00:37:07,920 --> 00:37:10,200
to working men's clubs
with my family.
610
00:37:10,240 --> 00:37:13,040
So, I knew what to expect
that weekend.
611
00:37:13,080 --> 00:37:15,880
We were going to the Miners'
Welfare Hall, which is essentially
612
00:37:15,920 --> 00:37:17,040
a working men's club.
613
00:37:17,080 --> 00:37:19,080
What was utterly new...
614
00:37:20,000 --> 00:37:24,360
..is it would be the first time
I'd walk into one of those places
615
00:37:24,400 --> 00:37:27,160
proudly out as a gay man.
616
00:37:27,200 --> 00:37:29,480
That was a new experience for me.
617
00:37:33,040 --> 00:37:37,440
We were preparing to walk
into the lion's mouth.
618
00:37:37,480 --> 00:37:39,600
# DOLLY PARTON:
Islands in the Stream #
619
00:37:43,640 --> 00:37:47,680
When we walked into the Miners'
Welfare Hall, the place was packed.
620
00:37:51,320 --> 00:37:56,080
27 of us, young,
charity shop chic...
621
00:37:56,920 --> 00:37:59,040
..we walk in single file.
622
00:38:01,440 --> 00:38:03,760
Suddenly, this was where...
623
00:38:03,800 --> 00:38:05,720
"What the fuck are we doing here?
624
00:38:05,760 --> 00:38:07,840
This is just crazy.'
625
00:38:08,640 --> 00:38:10,600
That's pretty terrifying.
626
00:38:12,120 --> 00:38:15,680
There was absolute silence.
627
00:38:18,560 --> 00:38:20,120
"What the fuck?'
628
00:38:20,840 --> 00:38:23,520
And then, somebody started clapping.
629
00:38:24,920 --> 00:38:28,960
And suddenly the whole room
just erupted in applause,
630
00:38:29,000 --> 00:38:31,720
and you thought,
"It's alright, we're home.'
631
00:38:32,600 --> 00:38:35,560
And we're looking round
at each other, going,
632
00:38:35,600 --> 00:38:38,240
"God, fuck. What's this?
633
00:38:39,120 --> 00:38:42,000
My God, didn't expect this.'
634
00:38:42,040 --> 00:38:43,480
It's just overwhelming really.
635
00:38:43,520 --> 00:38:47,400
# Are you ready for
the time of your life?
636
00:38:47,440 --> 00:38:49,920
# Time to stand up and fight
637
00:38:49,960 --> 00:38:52,800
# It's alright, it's alright...
638
00:38:53,600 --> 00:38:57,640
And the hair was standing up
on my body,
639
00:38:57,680 --> 00:38:59,840
and you couldn't stop us after that.
640
00:38:59,880 --> 00:39:03,840
We were just like, "Yeah.'
(LAUGHS) "Fantastic.'
641
00:39:03,880 --> 00:39:06,920
# Every woman, every man
642
00:39:06,960 --> 00:39:10,520
# Join the caravan of love
643
00:39:10,560 --> 00:39:13,040
# Stand up, stand up
644
00:39:13,080 --> 00:39:14,440
# Stand up
645
00:39:14,480 --> 00:39:17,320
# Everybody take a stand
646
00:39:17,360 --> 00:39:20,680
# Join the caravan of love
647
00:39:20,720 --> 00:39:23,160
# Stand up, stand up
648
00:39:23,200 --> 00:39:24,800
# Stand up...
649
00:39:25,960 --> 00:39:29,120
We'd all fled to London
because of the widespread homophobia
650
00:39:29,160 --> 00:39:31,560
that there was in our communities,
and we didn't expect
651
00:39:31,600 --> 00:39:33,920
a Welsh mining community
to be any different.
652
00:39:35,040 --> 00:39:39,280
All I wanted was to be accepted.
That's all we ever wanted.
653
00:39:41,040 --> 00:39:44,160
In those few seconds
in a miners' hall in Wales,
654
00:39:44,200 --> 00:39:47,280
I was just given
that absolute acceptance.
655
00:39:48,000 --> 00:39:49,880
# Are you ready? Don't worry
656
00:39:49,920 --> 00:39:52,440
# You better get ready
# Don't worry
657
00:39:52,480 --> 00:39:56,320
# You better get ready
for the caravan
658
00:39:56,360 --> 00:39:59,640
# Ah...
659
00:40:00,880 --> 00:40:03,320
# Ah... #
660
00:40:03,360 --> 00:40:08,000
The few steps from that door
to here, my life changed.
661
00:40:08,040 --> 00:40:09,640
# NEW ORDER: Blue Monday #
662
00:40:12,800 --> 00:40:15,000
You know, the local kids,
they're cheeky.
663
00:40:15,040 --> 00:40:18,200
One of them went and said,
"Are you a poof, mister?'
664
00:40:18,240 --> 00:40:20,920
And I, sort of, said, "Yes,
I'm a poof, and all your visitors
665
00:40:20,960 --> 00:40:22,120
this weekend are poofs too.'
666
00:40:22,160 --> 00:40:24,080
And he, kind of, laughed,
he said, "Oh!'
667
00:40:24,120 --> 00:40:27,080
When I had that sort of honesty,
it made me, sort of, think,
668
00:40:27,120 --> 00:40:28,560
"This is gonna go alright.'
669
00:40:28,600 --> 00:40:31,480
Well, I think we were more curious.
670
00:40:31,520 --> 00:40:33,320
Do they have two heads?
671
00:40:33,360 --> 00:40:35,800
Have they got green noses?
You know, I mean...
672
00:40:35,840 --> 00:40:38,480
It's Saturday night, you know,
let's have a party,
673
00:40:38,520 --> 00:40:40,680
let's have a drink,
and just relax and have fun.
674
00:40:40,720 --> 00:40:45,040
You were having conversations
with people that you would never
675
00:40:45,080 --> 00:40:47,120
have had with people
in your own community.
676
00:40:47,160 --> 00:40:49,280
"What's poppers then?'
"Oh.'
677
00:40:49,320 --> 00:40:51,600
"What's a cock ring?'
"Oh!'
678
00:40:51,640 --> 00:40:53,800
"You ought to try that.'
"Ooh!'
679
00:40:54,680 --> 00:40:57,520
I got in conversation with a miner
at the bar, and he went,
680
00:40:57,560 --> 00:40:59,440
"Have you got anywhere to stay?'
"Yes, I have.'
681
00:40:59,480 --> 00:41:02,200
He said, "Oh, that's a shame, you
could've come and stayed with me.'
682
00:41:02,240 --> 00:41:05,160
I must admit, my little heart
went ooh, ooh. (LAUGHS)
683
00:41:07,080 --> 00:41:09,960
One of the boys said,
"We're vegetarians.'
684
00:41:10,720 --> 00:41:11,800
"Oh.'
685
00:41:11,840 --> 00:41:14,080
I could feed gay people,
but I didn't know what
686
00:41:14,120 --> 00:41:15,800
to do with vegetarians. (LAUGHS)
687
00:41:15,840 --> 00:41:21,240
Egg and chips, egg, beans and chips,
egg and beans, beans and chips.
688
00:41:22,080 --> 00:41:24,240
Combinations thereof.
689
00:41:24,280 --> 00:41:27,440
I was too busy trying to pick up
a miner to be...
690
00:41:27,480 --> 00:41:29,080
(LAUGHS) I joke.
691
00:41:30,240 --> 00:41:32,680
MARTIN: They were nice people, like.
DAVID: Yeah.
692
00:41:32,720 --> 00:41:35,040
Breath of fresh air in
the strike, wasn't they?
693
00:41:35,080 --> 00:41:36,560
Yeah, they were, yeah.
694
00:41:36,600 --> 00:41:38,080
Yeah, genuine people.
695
00:41:39,720 --> 00:41:43,200
When the lesbians and gays
came down, my brain was just
696
00:41:43,240 --> 00:41:47,880
absolutely whirring.
I had no idea what was gonna come.
697
00:41:47,920 --> 00:41:52,360
I actually had no idea
what that impact would be, yeah.
698
00:41:52,400 --> 00:41:54,000
I get emotional.
699
00:41:56,320 --> 00:42:01,600
I'd just turned 16, I was a bit
of an outcast, to be fair.
700
00:42:01,640 --> 00:42:05,480
I didn't like living in the village,
I had some girls
701
00:42:05,520 --> 00:42:07,560
who used to pick on me.
702
00:42:07,600 --> 00:42:10,320
They called me Patch, cos I had....
like, I've got the birthmark
703
00:42:10,360 --> 00:42:13,840
here on my face.
"Patch, you're a lesbian.'
704
00:42:16,760 --> 00:42:20,920
There were this group
of young people, they were very
705
00:42:20,960 --> 00:42:25,600
tactile and huggy, so that wasn't
something that we were used to.
706
00:42:25,640 --> 00:42:29,480
Nobody hugged you, nobody had
that, you know, that... They...
707
00:42:29,520 --> 00:42:31,520
nobody showed that outward
affection.
708
00:42:31,560 --> 00:42:34,400
"I'll let you do that, because
I feel safe enough for you to
709
00:42:34,440 --> 00:42:35,640
do that with me.'
710
00:42:35,680 --> 00:42:37,880
So, I felt embraced by them.
711
00:42:37,920 --> 00:42:39,720
I felt safe with them.
712
00:42:41,720 --> 00:42:46,040
JOHNATHAN: That photograph of me
clapping my hands with joy,
713
00:42:46,080 --> 00:42:47,760
I mean, it's lovely.
714
00:42:47,800 --> 00:42:49,760
Just so full of life.
715
00:42:50,840 --> 00:42:54,640
And if you notice, Cliff,
he's the only other man
716
00:42:54,680 --> 00:42:57,960
that's dancing,
apart from all we gay men.
717
00:42:59,160 --> 00:43:01,680
You know, he's up
there having a ball.
718
00:43:01,720 --> 00:43:04,240
Cliff was just a darling.
719
00:43:04,280 --> 00:43:08,280
He was really, sort of, gentle,
very naughty...
720
00:43:09,160 --> 00:43:14,240
..and so happy to, kind of, sort of,
to have us boys there.
721
00:43:16,400 --> 00:43:20,520
The lesbian and gays
has been super-duper.
722
00:43:21,280 --> 00:43:23,640
And I mean that sincerely.
723
00:43:25,720 --> 00:43:27,600
There's no other words
that can explain it.
724
00:43:27,640 --> 00:43:31,000
Jonathan said,
"We've found the gay one.'
725
00:43:31,040 --> 00:43:32,600
(LAUGHS)
726
00:43:32,640 --> 00:43:34,960
And we all went, "No!'
727
00:43:35,000 --> 00:43:38,360
He came out to us,
and he didn't hold back.
728
00:43:38,400 --> 00:43:39,760
He told us everything.
729
00:43:39,800 --> 00:43:42,520
He told about... told us about
the sex he had in the pits.
730
00:43:42,560 --> 00:43:46,720
And Cliff had many an enjoyable time
731
00:43:46,760 --> 00:43:49,280
down these pits with these men.
732
00:43:50,320 --> 00:43:54,160
# If I
733
00:43:54,200 --> 00:43:56,560
# Should stay
734
00:43:57,600 --> 00:44:00,200
# I would only be... #
735
00:44:00,240 --> 00:44:02,360
At the end of the night,
you have slow dances, right,
736
00:44:02,400 --> 00:44:04,680
and people get...
You know, it's like slushy dance,
737
00:44:04,720 --> 00:44:06,960
and two of the men,
two of the gay men, got together
738
00:44:07,000 --> 00:44:08,560
and did a slow dance together.
739
00:44:08,600 --> 00:44:10,840
And I just... it just made me
think, "Oh god, they feel
740
00:44:10,880 --> 00:44:13,960
comfortable enough, not just to be,
'Hello, I'm a gay, political gay,'
741
00:44:14,000 --> 00:44:16,280
it's like, you,'
and they just had that moment,
742
00:44:16,320 --> 00:44:19,320
that private moment, where they just
wanted to be smoochy, you know?
743
00:44:26,640 --> 00:44:29,360
For a lot of the gay men, I got
the sense that, that was really
744
00:44:29,400 --> 00:44:34,520
the first time they had been out
and proud in a community similar
745
00:44:34,560 --> 00:44:38,360
to the ones they'd grown up in,
where that didn't feel possible.
746
00:44:42,320 --> 00:44:45,400
INTERVIEWER: Did you manage
to pull a miner that night?
747
00:44:45,440 --> 00:44:47,920
What a thing to be asking
somebody! (LAUGHS)
748
00:44:49,840 --> 00:44:51,560
Yeah.
749
00:44:51,600 --> 00:44:57,000
I don't wanna come across as cheap,
but we shared a bed,
750
00:44:57,040 --> 00:45:00,600
and we shared more than that,
we shared sexual intimacy.
751
00:45:00,640 --> 00:45:03,160
You know, we did, that night.
752
00:45:04,760 --> 00:45:07,400
And can I just sort of say,
it wasn't about pulling a miner,
753
00:45:07,440 --> 00:45:09,640
let's be really clear
about that, yeah?
754
00:45:15,080 --> 00:45:18,720
If Lesbian & Gays Support
the Miners was important
755
00:45:18,760 --> 00:45:23,640
in our community, particularly for
working-class people,
756
00:45:23,680 --> 00:45:27,760
Lesbian & Gays Support the Miners
in a working class community,
757
00:45:27,800 --> 00:45:31,680
was hugely important
for queer people, like Cliff.
758
00:45:31,720 --> 00:45:35,920
I moved 500 miles to express
my sexuality, you know,
759
00:45:35,960 --> 00:45:38,160
and that meant giving up
an awful lot.
760
00:45:38,200 --> 00:45:39,840
Um, he hadn't done that.
761
00:45:39,880 --> 00:45:42,840
He was trying to live that life
there and that was to be admired,
762
00:45:42,880 --> 00:45:44,440
as far as I was concerned.
763
00:45:45,440 --> 00:45:47,680
DAVID: You never realised, did you?
764
00:45:47,720 --> 00:45:49,400
Miners could have been gay.
765
00:45:49,440 --> 00:45:51,400
You could be working with a bloke.
766
00:45:51,440 --> 00:45:53,480
He wasn't going
to tell you though, was he?
767
00:45:53,520 --> 00:45:55,840
He'd be too frightened wouldn't he?
'By the way, I'm gay.'
768
00:45:55,880 --> 00:45:57,560
You know, not going
to tell you that, is he?
769
00:45:57,600 --> 00:46:02,920
He was opening himself up for
a real ribbing, ribbing.
770
00:46:02,960 --> 00:46:04,560
So, no.
771
00:46:05,240 --> 00:46:10,120
JAYNE: I don't know if
I knew if Cliff was gay.
772
00:46:10,160 --> 00:46:12,600
I don't think I remember
if I knew that.
773
00:46:12,640 --> 00:46:15,200
I just knew that there was
a difference in him,
774
00:46:15,240 --> 00:46:16,600
after they'd been.
775
00:46:16,640 --> 00:46:19,840
It sounds like the visit from
the lesbians and gays
776
00:46:19,880 --> 00:46:21,760
was pretty important to Cliff.
777
00:46:21,800 --> 00:46:24,640
Isn't it nice he was finally
able to be himself?
778
00:46:24,680 --> 00:46:29,000
Like basically, he probably felt
desolate and like, he, like,
779
00:46:29,040 --> 00:46:31,520
really isolated
that he couldn't tell anyone.
780
00:46:31,560 --> 00:46:35,360
But once he told... Once he probably
told people, he probably felt free.
781
00:46:35,400 --> 00:46:37,240
Like, he escaped from...
And the relief.
782
00:46:37,280 --> 00:46:41,920
You know that deep down inside,
you need to let it go at some point.
783
00:46:41,960 --> 00:46:45,760
Otherwise, you will explode
and like, you just want to let
784
00:46:45,800 --> 00:46:50,280
your emotions out and do
what you want to do.
Yes.
785
00:46:50,320 --> 00:46:53,960
It was a life changing trip
for the gays and lesbians.
786
00:46:54,000 --> 00:46:57,760
They'd made incredible friendships
and now, they really understood
787
00:46:57,800 --> 00:47:00,480
what mining meant
to these communities.
788
00:47:01,880 --> 00:47:04,280
But for Nicola, it was bitter sweet.
789
00:47:06,000 --> 00:47:08,880
I used to feel ashamed that I hadn't
gone and everybody would say,
790
00:47:08,920 --> 00:47:12,000
'What was it like going to the
miners' welfare and you were
791
00:47:12,040 --> 00:47:15,040
all dancing together?'
and I didn't go.
792
00:47:15,080 --> 00:47:16,880
Wasn't all wonderful.
793
00:47:16,920 --> 00:47:21,760
(LAUGHS) I mean I think it was very
difficult for women who came along,
794
00:47:21,800 --> 00:47:24,120
you know, Lesbian & Gays
Support the Miners.
795
00:47:24,160 --> 00:47:25,600
Well, where are the lesbians?
796
00:47:25,640 --> 00:47:31,360
I bet I wasn't the only one who,
sort of, was part of it
797
00:47:31,400 --> 00:47:33,240
but kind of...
798
00:47:33,280 --> 00:47:35,080
not quite in the centre of it.
799
00:47:36,080 --> 00:47:41,800
Some of the women felt that
the men were sexist.
800
00:47:41,840 --> 00:47:47,040
Women, lesbians, um,
didn't get much of a look-in.
801
00:47:47,080 --> 00:47:49,840
Well, I mean within the group itself
it's been really shit because
802
00:47:49,880 --> 00:47:54,600
like we have... and when I say 'we',
I mean the men, right,
803
00:47:54,640 --> 00:47:57,720
get that really guilty look on
their face, have totally monopolised
804
00:47:57,760 --> 00:48:00,400
this group and women
have been excluded, and it's a fact.
805
00:48:00,440 --> 00:48:03,840
(WOMEN SINGING ON LESBIANS
AGAINST PIT CLOSURES MARCH)
806
00:48:07,200 --> 00:48:10,880
So what some of the women in
the group and I did was formed
807
00:48:10,920 --> 00:48:13,480
a lesbian group called
Lesbians Against Pit Closures.
808
00:48:13,520 --> 00:48:17,560
You know, I was led
by the heart, I suppose.
809
00:48:17,600 --> 00:48:20,720
I kind of felt more comfortable
in the women-only group.
810
00:48:22,480 --> 00:48:28,040
That young person was a very, very
lonely and frightened young person
811
00:48:28,080 --> 00:48:32,640
who was desperately looking
for community and belonging.
812
00:48:32,680 --> 00:48:36,520
The good thing about Lesbians
Against Pit Closures and they...
813
00:48:36,560 --> 00:48:38,440
they raised money as well.
814
00:48:39,480 --> 00:48:42,760
Isn't it great that Nicola finally
found her voice, and a group
815
00:48:42,800 --> 00:48:44,440
she could raise money with?
816
00:48:44,480 --> 00:48:46,080
It was needed more than ever.
817
00:48:47,160 --> 00:48:49,600
For the South Wales miners
and the gays in London,
818
00:48:49,640 --> 00:48:52,000
it really felt like everyone
was against them.
819
00:48:52,040 --> 00:48:53,920
There were some rough times ahead.
820
00:48:57,200 --> 00:48:59,840
REPORTER: Dawn at the Point of Ayr
Colliery in North Wales,
821
00:48:59,880 --> 00:49:02,720
the start of another week
in the miners' dispute,
822
00:49:02,760 --> 00:49:05,120
and for the first time in
the union's history,
823
00:49:05,160 --> 00:49:09,840
miners decided to cross picket lines
manned by fellow miners.
824
00:49:09,880 --> 00:49:12,200
What about the NUM men
who are going into work?
825
00:49:12,240 --> 00:49:15,960
What's your view there?
My view? I think they're scabs.
826
00:49:16,000 --> 00:49:20,400
You know, they're...
(CROSSTALK)
827
00:49:20,440 --> 00:49:24,040
A trickle of people
start to return to work.
828
00:49:24,080 --> 00:49:25,720
INTERVIEWER: In South Wales?
Yeah.
829
00:49:25,760 --> 00:49:28,200
So we'd had to picket locally.
830
00:49:28,240 --> 00:49:32,160
# Oh, I'd rather be
a picket than a scab
831
00:49:32,200 --> 00:49:34,480
# Oh, I'd rather be a picket
832
00:49:34,520 --> 00:49:36,080
# Rather be a picket
833
00:49:36,120 --> 00:49:39,160
# Rather be a picket than a scab. #
834
00:49:40,000 --> 00:49:45,200
At different points in the strike,
women started to become more
835
00:49:45,240 --> 00:49:49,880
confident about what they could do
and what they wanted to do,
836
00:49:49,920 --> 00:49:52,920
and that led to the women
deciding that they were gonna
837
00:49:52,960 --> 00:49:54,520
take part in the picket lines.
838
00:49:54,560 --> 00:49:58,120
It's made a lot of women aware
that they're capable of doing things
839
00:49:58,160 --> 00:50:01,360
that they didn't realise they
were capable of doing before.
840
00:50:01,400 --> 00:50:04,160
There's a changed sort of
attitude in the home, you know,
841
00:50:04,200 --> 00:50:06,400
they've got... they're out
at meetings and they're...
842
00:50:06,440 --> 00:50:07,880
and they're out on the picket line.
843
00:50:07,920 --> 00:50:11,360
We were starting to step up
to the plate a little bit more.
844
00:50:11,400 --> 00:50:14,400
We were stepping out of our
traditional role of
845
00:50:14,440 --> 00:50:16,680
fund raising, nurturing.
846
00:50:16,720 --> 00:50:18,640
There was a growing awareness,
847
00:50:18,680 --> 00:50:22,480
the backbone of the strike
were the women.
848
00:50:24,960 --> 00:50:29,480
The first time we had to picket
our colliery, Abernant Colliery,
849
00:50:29,520 --> 00:50:32,680
there was one person we would've
all put money on him going back in.
850
00:50:32,720 --> 00:50:34,840
(LAUGHS) But...
Who was it?
851
00:50:34,880 --> 00:50:37,560
Oh, I'm not gonna name him,
because his family are terribly,
852
00:50:37,600 --> 00:50:39,080
terribly ashamed of him.
853
00:50:41,400 --> 00:50:43,920
We were so angry, we went up
to picket the colliery,
854
00:50:43,960 --> 00:50:45,560
to try and stop him going in...
855
00:50:49,360 --> 00:50:53,520
..and then the bus trundles up,
and the door opened,
856
00:50:53,560 --> 00:50:56,240
and you could hear the driver
saying, 'Right...
857
00:50:57,640 --> 00:50:59,240
..eff off out.'
858
00:50:59,920 --> 00:51:03,440
'Nah, he's never gonna come out
of that bus, the coward.
859
00:51:03,480 --> 00:51:05,440
He's never gonna come out that bus.'
860
00:51:05,480 --> 00:51:08,160
And he got out of the bus.
Everybody went nuts.
861
00:51:09,360 --> 00:51:11,560
And that's when
all hell broke loose.
862
00:51:11,600 --> 00:51:14,120
And I could hear this shouting,
I can hear it now.
863
00:51:14,160 --> 00:51:16,000
'Troi nol' 'Turn back,'
864
00:51:16,040 --> 00:51:18,400
appealing to him as a neighbour.
865
00:51:18,440 --> 00:51:21,360
The police had to snatch him
in through the gates
866
00:51:21,400 --> 00:51:25,240
and they started bonking people
on heads
867
00:51:25,280 --> 00:51:27,440
and dragging people away.
868
00:51:28,720 --> 00:51:30,200
It was unbelievable.
869
00:51:30,240 --> 00:51:33,120
I suppose it's an emotional thing.
870
00:51:33,160 --> 00:51:34,760
It's anger, I suppose.
871
00:51:35,840 --> 00:51:37,240
What were you angry about?
872
00:51:37,280 --> 00:51:38,880
Being undermined.
873
00:51:39,560 --> 00:51:43,080
Well, they're people that should've
been fighting alongside us.
874
00:51:43,120 --> 00:51:47,800
We wanted them to know that we were
ostracising them for a reason.
875
00:51:47,840 --> 00:51:52,120
"Despise" is a strong word, but,
you know, but we had forsaken them.
876
00:51:52,160 --> 00:51:56,040
They weren't any longer
part of our community.
877
00:51:56,080 --> 00:51:57,680
(CROWD SHOUTS)
878
00:52:10,480 --> 00:52:13,520
REPORTER: This afternoon, Joy Watson
was driving her husband into work.
879
00:52:13,560 --> 00:52:17,240
The women were waiting. Paint and
oil were thrown over the windscreen.
880
00:52:17,280 --> 00:52:20,800
Inside the plant,
Paul Watson cleared the windscreen,
881
00:52:20,840 --> 00:52:24,120
before leaving his wife
to run the gauntlet again.
882
00:52:24,840 --> 00:52:26,200
All the best, then.
Here goes.
883
00:52:26,240 --> 00:52:29,000
This time, the reception
was even more violent.
884
00:52:31,320 --> 00:52:35,160
A stone smashed through
the window, hitting the driver.
885
00:52:35,200 --> 00:52:37,280
(PROTESTORS CHEER)
(ENGINE REVS)
886
00:52:38,880 --> 00:52:43,520
The traffic forced the car to stop.
The women took advantage.
887
00:52:47,960 --> 00:52:50,040
Woo! Fuck off!
888
00:52:50,880 --> 00:52:53,280
It's unbelievable, it really is.
889
00:52:54,880 --> 00:52:56,840
I dunno, I just think
they want blood.
890
00:52:56,880 --> 00:52:58,920
They want blood
before they're finished.
891
00:52:58,960 --> 00:53:03,240
I say to Mrs Watson
and any other potential scab
892
00:53:03,280 --> 00:53:07,760
in that community or in
any other part of South Wales...
893
00:53:07,800 --> 00:53:09,480
you go back to work.
894
00:53:09,520 --> 00:53:12,880
You break the solidarity in that
community and I will tell you
895
00:53:12,920 --> 00:53:15,200
something,
and this isn't an idle threat.
896
00:53:15,240 --> 00:53:20,640
There is no place for you in that
community now or in the future.
897
00:53:20,680 --> 00:53:24,800
You know, in one respect,
violence cannot be condoned.
898
00:53:24,840 --> 00:53:29,160
But you're fighting for your way of
life and you're fighting for your
899
00:53:29,200 --> 00:53:35,080
families, and you're fighting to put
food on the table for your kids.
900
00:53:35,120 --> 00:53:36,400
'Ah, but you're on strike.
901
00:53:36,440 --> 00:53:39,760
If you went back to work, you'd have
had money.' Yeah, but for how long?
902
00:53:43,760 --> 00:53:46,800
This was the sort of tragedy that
police, the Coal Board and
903
00:53:46,840 --> 00:53:49,520
miners' leaders had
forecast and feared.
904
00:53:49,560 --> 00:53:52,640
Early this morning, 35-year-old
David Wilkie was driving to
905
00:53:52,680 --> 00:53:55,520
Merthyr Vale Colliery in
the village of Aberfan.
906
00:53:55,560 --> 00:53:58,520
In the cab with him was
Dai Williams, one of two working
907
00:53:58,560 --> 00:54:00,120
miners at the pit.
908
00:54:00,160 --> 00:54:03,680
But at this point, a three foot
concrete post dropped from
909
00:54:03,720 --> 00:54:05,800
the bridge, smashed through
the windscreen of the
910
00:54:06,400 --> 00:54:09,720
Cortina Estate car, killing
Mr Wilkie instantly.
911
00:54:09,760 --> 00:54:12,880
No, I'm not gonna talk about that.
Didn't happen in our area.
912
00:54:12,920 --> 00:54:17,760
It's dreadful, it should never have
happened. No, no, sorry, no.
913
00:54:17,800 --> 00:54:19,800
Nah, we don't know...
Nothing to do with us.
914
00:54:19,840 --> 00:54:21,280
Nothing to do with us.
915
00:54:21,320 --> 00:54:23,240
It's a different area.
916
00:54:23,880 --> 00:54:26,160
It's a different area, and it's
nothing to do with us.
917
00:54:26,200 --> 00:54:29,520
Mr Wilkie was a volunteer, as are
all the city centre cab men
918
00:54:29,560 --> 00:54:32,360
who've driven working miners
through picket lines.
919
00:54:32,400 --> 00:54:35,000
Earlier this week, a concrete block
was dropped on to the bonnet
920
00:54:35,040 --> 00:54:37,000
of one taxi.
921
00:54:37,040 --> 00:54:39,720
This isn't industrial action,
922
00:54:39,760 --> 00:54:43,280
this isn't picketing. This is murder.
923
00:54:43,320 --> 00:54:48,080
This terrible thing had happened,
which was unforgiveable, but
924
00:54:48,120 --> 00:54:49,640
we still had a job to do.
925
00:54:49,680 --> 00:54:51,000
We had to get on.
926
00:54:51,040 --> 00:54:55,560
Passions run high and people
do things
927
00:54:55,600 --> 00:54:58,640
and, you know,
they do the wrong thing,
928
00:54:58,680 --> 00:55:02,280
and that's what happened
in that case of the...
929
00:55:02,320 --> 00:55:04,200
taxi driver.
930
00:55:04,240 --> 00:55:09,440
It was awful, and a few days
later there's Lesbians &
931
00:55:09,480 --> 00:55:13,360
Gays Support the Miners in London,
collecting for the miners, and
932
00:55:13,400 --> 00:55:16,000
a member of the public
just walks past
933
00:55:16,040 --> 00:55:20,160
and shouts, at us, 'Murderers!'
934
00:55:23,240 --> 00:55:26,640
The strike had been
dragging on and on and on.
935
00:55:26,680 --> 00:55:30,840
Christmas was looming,
winter was closing in, means that
936
00:55:30,880 --> 00:55:33,840
picketing would be cold
and difficult.
937
00:55:33,880 --> 00:55:37,000
It's the last thing
we needed really, yeah.
938
00:55:37,040 --> 00:55:40,680
Obviously any acts of violence
against people, no matter how much
939
00:55:40,720 --> 00:55:43,560
they're in opposition
to you, is not acceptable.
940
00:55:43,600 --> 00:55:49,040
But the violence I was witnessing
was where police
941
00:55:49,080 --> 00:55:52,960
were cracking skulls,
police horses were trampling.
942
00:55:53,000 --> 00:55:54,680
Um...
943
00:55:56,160 --> 00:56:00,240
It was the bloody face
of miners that had been...
944
00:56:05,200 --> 00:56:08,040
I find it really triggering
to talk about violence.
945
00:56:13,160 --> 00:56:15,520
Because of course it's my life too.
946
00:56:16,600 --> 00:56:19,640
I've been in receipt of violence
through my life, and...
947
00:56:23,040 --> 00:56:26,920
I'm aware of its consequence
and how much
948
00:56:26,960 --> 00:56:30,560
it's pushed me in different places.
949
00:56:30,600 --> 00:56:33,280
We knew what the state could do.
950
00:56:33,320 --> 00:56:38,880
We were forever being harassed,
hassled. It was grim.
951
00:56:38,920 --> 00:56:41,680
It was really, really awful.
952
00:56:50,000 --> 00:56:54,400
# The British police are
the best in the world
953
00:56:54,440 --> 00:56:58,360
# I don't believe one of
these stories I've heard
954
00:56:58,400 --> 00:57:02,600
# About them raiding our pubs
for no reason at all
955
00:57:02,640 --> 00:57:06,960
# Lining the customers
up by the wall
956
00:57:07,000 --> 00:57:11,120
# I had a friend
who was gentle and short
957
00:57:11,160 --> 00:57:15,000
# He was lonely one evening,
he went for a walk
958
00:57:15,040 --> 00:57:19,360
# Queer bashers caught him,
kicked in his teeth
959
00:57:19,400 --> 00:57:25,000
# He was only
hospitalised for a week
960
00:57:25,040 --> 00:57:27,760
# And he still bears the scars
961
00:57:27,800 --> 00:57:35,960
# Sing if you're glad to be gay,
sing if you're happy that way, hey,
962
00:57:36,000 --> 00:57:43,240
# Sing if you're glad to be gay,
sing if you're happy that way...
963
00:57:46,760 --> 00:57:52,040
Violence is a mechanism of state
control and has been used against
964
00:57:52,080 --> 00:57:56,320
anyone that seemed to be stepping
outside of the mainstream position.
965
00:57:56,360 --> 00:58:00,320
Be that through class, be it
through sexuality, gender.
966
00:58:00,360 --> 00:58:01,560
Whatever way it is.
967
00:58:01,600 --> 00:58:06,320
Violence, condoned and organised
by the state, has always
968
00:58:06,360 --> 00:58:07,840
impacted on gay people.
969
00:58:07,880 --> 00:58:15,560
# Sing if you're glad to be gay,
sing if you're happy that way, hey
970
00:58:15,600 --> 00:58:22,760
# Sing if you're glad to be gay
971
00:58:22,800 --> 00:58:29,480
# Sing if you're happy this way. #
972
00:58:39,280 --> 00:58:43,760
As Christmas was approaching, the
strike was entering a new phase.
973
00:58:43,800 --> 00:58:47,280
Miners were being offered a lot of
money to come back to work
974
00:58:47,320 --> 00:58:48,800
before Christmas.
975
00:58:48,840 --> 00:58:53,480
After months of living without pay,
for some, it was just all too much.
976
00:58:57,720 --> 00:59:01,040
Eight heavily protected buses,
each carrying 40 or so working
977
00:59:01,080 --> 00:59:04,680
miners, rumbled past the
pickets at Shirebrook.
978
00:59:04,720 --> 00:59:08,280
74 men abandoned the strike and came
to work here for the first
979
00:59:08,320 --> 00:59:10,720
time today.
980
00:59:10,760 --> 00:59:14,160
In debt. Mortgage was running up.
981
00:59:14,200 --> 00:59:16,040
Had to come back to work.
982
00:59:16,080 --> 00:59:20,160
Do you think that you at this pit
now are showing the way back?
983
00:59:20,200 --> 00:59:23,000
Yes, definite.
984
00:59:23,040 --> 00:59:26,640
It's to be hoped
so. The men suffered enough.
985
00:59:26,680 --> 00:59:29,240
How much more can they suffer?
How much more can they suffer?
986
00:59:29,280 --> 00:59:31,640
How much more can their
families take?
987
00:59:31,680 --> 00:59:35,200
We were in there for the duration
and, you know, when that
988
00:59:35,240 --> 00:59:39,240
change came, that hardening in the
attitude of the government,
989
00:59:39,280 --> 00:59:43,120
the police, people were tired of
the story, you know, on their
990
00:59:43,160 --> 00:59:47,600
TV's all the time, er, you had
to step up and do more.
991
00:59:49,920 --> 00:59:54,680
When it was December and Christmas
was looming, so I was looking
992
00:59:54,720 --> 00:59:58,760
at, 'What are we now gonna do to be
able to put food on the table
993
00:59:58,800 --> 01:00:01,640
on Christmas Day for every
single mining family?
994
01:00:01,680 --> 01:00:05,840
Put a present in a stocking for
every single miner's child'.
995
01:00:05,880 --> 01:00:08,080
The lesbians and gays were
determined not to let their
996
01:00:08,120 --> 01:00:11,000
friends down when they
needed help the most.
997
01:00:11,040 --> 01:00:14,560
But collecting money on the street
wasn't going to be enough.
998
01:00:14,600 --> 01:00:17,920
They had to come up with
something massive.
999
01:00:17,960 --> 01:00:22,000
Mark Ashton was a personal friend of
Jimmy Somerville who is the
1000
01:00:22,040 --> 01:00:26,600
singer with Bronski Beat, someone
had an idea, we were good at
1001
01:00:26,640 --> 01:00:30,080
partying, why not just have a
massive party and sell
1002
01:00:30,120 --> 01:00:34,280
tickets and raise money that
way, and that was it.
1003
01:00:34,320 --> 01:00:36,800
The Pits and Perverts Ball.
1004
01:00:42,720 --> 01:00:47,520
It was an invitation to attend the
event if you wanted to.
1005
01:00:47,560 --> 01:00:51,880
It was a-a great group of
people who travelled in hope.
1006
01:00:51,920 --> 01:00:56,320
(WOMEN ON BUS SINGING)
1007
01:01:08,680 --> 01:01:11,720
We took them to the Tower of London.
1008
01:01:11,760 --> 01:01:16,440
Dai Donovan's son, Owain,
was with us.
1009
01:01:16,480 --> 01:01:21,440
He put his hands on his hips, as a
four-year-old, and walked up
1010
01:01:21,480 --> 01:01:27,080
to this beefeater, and just said,
'You're a scabby piggy, you are.
1011
01:01:27,120 --> 01:01:29,840
You're a scabby piggy, you
wanna lock my daddy up.
1012
01:01:29,880 --> 01:01:32,920
Scabby piggy, scabby
piggy.' (LAUGHS)
1013
01:01:36,200 --> 01:01:40,280
I do not believe that it was
restricted to gay people.
1014
01:01:40,320 --> 01:01:42,480
But there were an awful lot
of gay people there.
1015
01:01:42,520 --> 01:01:45,000
Very avant-garde in the
way they dressed.
1016
01:01:45,040 --> 01:01:48,560
It wasn't like a local club in
South Wales, you know.
1017
01:01:48,600 --> 01:01:52,200
I think Jimmy Somerville bought
me a pint. I remember that.
1018
01:01:52,240 --> 01:01:55,360
Fantastic night. Really good night.
1019
01:01:55,400 --> 01:01:59,400
It was a joyful moment, and we
raised lots of money, and
1020
01:01:59,440 --> 01:02:02,320
that was great, and that
was the purpose.
1021
01:02:02,360 --> 01:02:06,720
All I'd like to say in conclusion
is victory to the miners,
1022
01:02:06,760 --> 01:02:11,160
victory to the lesbians and gays,
victory to the old, victory
1023
01:02:11,200 --> 01:02:15,880
to the young, victory to the sick,
and victory to the working class.
1024
01:02:15,920 --> 01:02:20,000
Thank you.I gave a speech at Pits
and Perverts, for that exciting
1025
01:02:20,040 --> 01:02:25,800
night where I said, 'You have worn
our badge, now we will wear yours'.
1026
01:02:25,840 --> 01:02:29,160
First event that I'd ever been to,
first night club, first
1027
01:02:29,200 --> 01:02:31,800
concert like that that
I'd ever been to.
1028
01:02:31,840 --> 01:02:37,000
A lot of firsts happened in '84/'85
for me, absolutely, yeah.
1029
01:02:37,040 --> 01:02:38,760
I'd known Mark from day one.
1030
01:02:38,800 --> 01:02:40,160
He kind of took me under his wing.
1031
01:02:40,200 --> 01:02:43,520
So, you know, that's why he said,
'Come on, come on up, stay with us.
1032
01:02:43,560 --> 01:02:45,040
And they took me to Heaven.
1033
01:02:47,840 --> 01:02:53,360
So here I am, 17 years old now,
walking into a gay nightclub
1034
01:02:53,400 --> 01:02:56,200
that I'd never, ever been
to in London.
1035
01:02:56,240 --> 01:03:00,840
Didn't expect what I saw. Er,
absolutely blew my head off.
1036
01:03:00,880 --> 01:03:03,240
Sex everywhere. Just openly.
1037
01:03:03,280 --> 01:03:08,520
It was just, yeah, I kind of had my
eyes opened to all sorts of things.
1038
01:03:08,560 --> 01:03:10,960
I wanted to be part of it
but I didn't know how.
1039
01:03:11,000 --> 01:03:14,520
"This is a different life
completely.'
1040
01:03:19,360 --> 01:03:23,120
The Pits and Perverts Ball raised
5,500
1041
01:03:23,160 --> 01:03:26,240
that night, which was a quarter of
what we'd raised the entire
1042
01:03:26,280 --> 01:03:32,240
year elsewhere on street corners so
it was a-a very successful event.
1043
01:03:32,280 --> 01:03:34,760
We were determined every family
would have a turkey and every
1044
01:03:34,800 --> 01:03:37,640
kid would have a Christmas
present and we did it.
1045
01:03:37,680 --> 01:03:39,480
It's quite simple really.
1046
01:03:39,520 --> 01:03:44,600
If we hadn't had support over that
period of time, we wouldn't
1047
01:03:44,640 --> 01:03:48,000
have been able to sustain
the strike.
1048
01:03:48,040 --> 01:03:51,600
In total, I would say, that LGSM
1049
01:03:51,640 --> 01:03:54,640
raised in excess of ยฃ20,000.
1050
01:03:54,680 --> 01:03:58,640
They came in and supported us, when
we were starting to run out
1051
01:03:58,680 --> 01:04:00,320
of options.
1052
01:04:06,040 --> 01:04:08,920
We've still got to stress
to all the members.
1053
01:04:08,960 --> 01:04:11,400
You may not be a dirty scab but
you're still a scab if you go back
1054
01:04:11,440 --> 01:04:14,320
after ten months now. Boys, we've
still got to stick it out.
1055
01:04:14,360 --> 01:04:16,240
(ATTENDEES MURMUR IN AGREEMENT)
(APPLAUSE)
1056
01:04:16,280 --> 01:04:19,680
With division and hardship
intensifying, the South Wales
1057
01:04:19,720 --> 01:04:21,840
miners were struggling
to keep going.
1058
01:04:21,880 --> 01:04:24,560
Times were so desperate.
1059
01:04:24,600 --> 01:04:27,080
I even heard about one family who
cooked and ate their pet
1060
01:04:27,120 --> 01:04:29,840
rabbit, because there was
literally nothing else to eat.
1061
01:04:32,720 --> 01:04:38,560
The breaking point of individuals is
different, and when you think
1062
01:04:38,600 --> 01:04:42,720
that men have been out for 11 months
and up to their neck in debt,
1063
01:04:42,760 --> 01:04:46,960
lots of men, throughout the British
coalfield, are on breaking
1064
01:04:47,000 --> 01:04:49,960
point and you've got
to recognise it.
1065
01:04:52,040 --> 01:04:56,720
I just broke down in tears one day
after work because obviously
1066
01:04:56,760 --> 01:05:02,720
the stress had upset my
system, and I cried then.
1067
01:05:02,760 --> 01:05:08,080
But I, I suppose you roll your
sleeves up and you get on with it.
1068
01:05:10,400 --> 01:05:14,600
Somebody once asked me, what would
happen if my husband said he
1069
01:05:14,640 --> 01:05:16,920
was going back to work?
1070
01:05:16,960 --> 01:05:18,800
And I said, 'I'd shoot
him in the back.'
1071
01:05:18,840 --> 01:05:21,880
I haven't come through 11 months
1072
01:05:21,920 --> 01:05:25,280
of this strike to give up now.
1073
01:05:29,000 --> 01:05:32,120
Now, will you not negotiate
with them, ever?
1074
01:05:32,160 --> 01:05:37,440
I will never negotiate with people
who use coercion and violence
1075
01:05:37,480 --> 01:05:39,320
to achieve their objective.
1076
01:05:39,360 --> 01:05:42,920
They are the enemies of democracy,
they are not interested in
1077
01:05:42,960 --> 01:05:46,080
the future of democracy, they are
trying to kill democracy for
1078
01:05:46,120 --> 01:05:47,568
their own purposes.
1079
01:05:49,568 --> 01:05:50,000
their own purposes.
1080
01:05:57,280 --> 01:06:00,600
The conference recommends that the
nationally organised return to
1081
01:06:00,640 --> 01:06:05,920
work should take place on Tuesday
March 5th without an agreement.
1082
01:06:05,960 --> 01:06:09,240
Britain's longest running
national strike is over.
1083
01:06:09,280 --> 01:06:13,040
Amongst scenes of bitterness and
anger, NUM delegates voted
1084
01:06:13,080 --> 01:06:16,320
narrowly for an organised
return to work on Tuesday.
1085
01:06:16,360 --> 01:06:20,360
You were fighting tooth and nail for
something you believe in, and
1086
01:06:20,400 --> 01:06:23,240
that's hard to deal with.
1087
01:06:23,280 --> 01:06:27,280
It really...
it really is hard to deal with.
1088
01:06:29,360 --> 01:06:34,000
Anger is the best-best word to use.
1089
01:06:34,040 --> 01:06:37,800
It was the feeling that we'd lost.
1090
01:06:37,840 --> 01:06:42,680
That's the thing, that we'd lost
the strike. It felt awful.
1091
01:06:42,720 --> 01:06:45,880
She took our livelihoods
from us, eventually.
1092
01:06:45,920 --> 01:06:50,520
As soon as '84 strike was over,
the writing was on the wall for us.
1093
01:06:51,400 --> 01:06:55,720
She had it in her head that she was
going to defeat us
1094
01:06:55,760 --> 01:06:59,560
and she defeated us, in the end.
1095
01:07:00,960 --> 01:07:06,040
Not a nice feeling.
It was a sad day. But there you are.
1096
01:07:06,080 --> 01:07:10,200
You've just got to take it on
the chin and fight another day.
1097
01:07:13,520 --> 01:07:15,240
Yeah.
1098
01:07:22,000 --> 01:07:26,440
We were there in South Wales
when that was announced.
1099
01:07:26,480 --> 01:07:29,160
So, we were all heartbroken.
1100
01:07:29,200 --> 01:07:33,000
All that sacrifice had come to
nothing and there's nothing
1101
01:07:33,040 --> 01:07:34,920
you can say.
1102
01:07:34,960 --> 01:07:39,280
I mean, we tried our best,
er, and we hadn't won.
1103
01:07:39,320 --> 01:07:41,640
It's as simple as that.
1104
01:07:41,680 --> 01:07:45,840
Fair play to 'em, they tried
to back us up, you know, and it's
1105
01:07:45,880 --> 01:07:50,160
alright, like, it'll be alright,
and all this, but, we knew that
1106
01:07:50,200 --> 01:07:52,960
er, it wouldn't be alright.
1107
01:07:56,880 --> 01:07:58,360
(MALE VOICE CHOIR VOCALISING)
1108
01:08:16,000 --> 01:08:19,640
I think every man that was here
this morning felt exactly the same.
1109
01:08:19,680 --> 01:08:22,880
They had a lump in their stomach,
going in through these gates.
1110
01:08:22,920 --> 01:08:25,279
We want a livelihood.
1111
01:08:25,319 --> 01:08:29,319
We want to earn our own livelihood
and we want to look after our
1112
01:08:29,359 --> 01:08:33,319
families and bring up our families
the way we've been brought up
1113
01:08:33,359 --> 01:08:35,680
ourselves, with dignity.
1114
01:08:35,720 --> 01:08:37,760
And we want to go to work
every morning.
1115
01:08:37,800 --> 01:08:40,439
Even though it's down that pit there
and it's a stinking, horrible
1116
01:08:40,479 --> 01:08:41,479
place to work.
1117
01:08:41,520 --> 01:08:44,439
We want to go there with dignity.
1118
01:08:49,279 --> 01:08:54,960
You know, it broke my heart,
every step that he took was like
1119
01:08:55,000 --> 01:08:56,720
a knife in his heart.
1120
01:08:56,760 --> 01:08:59,720
(MALE VOICE CHOIR SINGING
FOR A FRIEND - THE COMMUNARDS)
1121
01:09:06,160 --> 01:09:10,319
It will be the last struggle
of the working class.
1122
01:09:10,359 --> 01:09:14,279
The fight between the things that
we'd known and loved all of
1123
01:09:14,319 --> 01:09:18,359
our lives and the things that were
ahead of us that were unknown
1124
01:09:18,399 --> 01:09:21,720
and very frightening.
1125
01:09:21,760 --> 01:09:24,479
Mark Ashton. Phenomenal man.
1126
01:09:24,520 --> 01:09:26,120
Yeah, he would have...
1127
01:09:26,880 --> 01:09:29,840
(MALE VOICE CHOIR SINGING)
1128
01:09:36,080 --> 01:09:38,600
..changed the world...
1129
01:09:38,640 --> 01:09:40,240
if he'd survived.
1130
01:09:44,479 --> 01:09:46,080
Oh God.
1131
01:09:47,680 --> 01:09:52,840
Yeah, many of my contemporaries
didn't survive because of
1132
01:09:52,880 --> 01:09:57,160
AIDS and the world was deprived.
1133
01:09:58,760 --> 01:10:02,520
And it's my view Mark was a...
a fine example of that.
1134
01:10:02,560 --> 01:10:05,600
(MALE VOICE CHOIR SINGING)
1135
01:10:14,360 --> 01:10:17,360
We lost quite a few people within
Lesbians & Gays Support the
1136
01:10:17,400 --> 01:10:19,880
Miners to AIDS, yeah.
1137
01:10:19,920 --> 01:10:24,680
And fortunately, we didn't lose
Jonathan, who miraculously
1138
01:10:24,720 --> 01:10:25,760
lived through it.
1139
01:10:25,800 --> 01:10:31,280
And so glad because Jonathan's
still here and he's still dancing.
1140
01:10:33,360 --> 01:10:35,280
And I'm one of the lucky ones.
1141
01:10:35,320 --> 01:10:39,120
Joining Lesbian & Gay Men Support
the Miners, it was brilliant
1142
01:10:39,160 --> 01:10:41,320
displacement activity.
1143
01:10:41,360 --> 01:10:43,960
(MALE VOICE CHOIR SINGING)
1144
01:10:45,080 --> 01:10:49,040
I was quite close to Mark.
It was just devastating.
1145
01:10:50,520 --> 01:10:53,360
For such a powerful guy like him.
1146
01:10:55,040 --> 01:10:58,840
I never let this story stop
and I never let this story die,
1147
01:10:58,880 --> 01:11:04,440
and I told this story,
I've told this story forever.
1148
01:11:15,360 --> 01:11:19,480
The Gay Pride march in 1985 was a
very, very special one.
1149
01:11:19,520 --> 01:11:22,120
The lesbians and gays had invited
their new friends from
1150
01:11:22,760 --> 01:11:24,440
South Wales to come to
march with them.
1151
01:11:24,480 --> 01:11:26,880
But they weren't sure anyone
would actually come.
1152
01:11:26,920 --> 01:11:30,960
By now, we've got very deep,
personal friendships with the
1153
01:11:31,000 --> 01:11:32,800
mining community in Wales.
1154
01:11:32,840 --> 01:11:36,440
They had been up to visit us in
London twice at least during
1155
01:11:36,480 --> 01:11:40,400
the strike. So, there was no doubt,
that we would invite them to come on
1156
01:11:40,440 --> 01:11:43,160
the Pride march in 1985.
1157
01:11:43,200 --> 01:11:46,720
I think one hoped that
they would come,
1158
01:11:46,760 --> 01:11:49,440
because we were a community.
1159
01:11:49,480 --> 01:11:52,480
As they were waiting for the march
to start, the miners started
1160
01:11:52,520 --> 01:11:54,440
to arrive in huge numbers.
1161
01:11:54,480 --> 01:11:57,800
Normally, you wouldn't even get any
straight people at Pride,
1162
01:11:57,840 --> 01:12:00,200
never mind hundreds of miners.
1163
01:12:04,080 --> 01:12:07,680
The crowd grew and grew and grew.
1164
01:12:07,720 --> 01:12:10,960
Until one of the Pride organisers
came up to us and said,
1165
01:12:11,000 --> 01:12:14,280
'You're going to have to be the ones
who take us out the park.'
1166
01:12:14,320 --> 01:12:19,200
There were thousands of people
walking behind Lesbians &
1167
01:12:19,240 --> 01:12:21,080
Gays Support the Miners banner.
1168
01:12:21,120 --> 01:12:23,920
It was history being made.
It was fantastic.
1169
01:12:23,960 --> 01:12:26,400
Amazing.
1170
01:12:26,440 --> 01:12:30,400
There was all sorts of people there.
A real carnival atmosphere then.
1171
01:12:30,440 --> 01:12:35,040
Well, it was a, sort of, a thank
you to the gay community.
1172
01:12:35,080 --> 01:12:38,400
What they done for us
is still with us.
1173
01:12:38,440 --> 01:12:41,400
Even 40 years on it's still with us.
1174
01:12:41,440 --> 01:12:45,680
I'm very proud that my friends that
I made are still my friends.
1175
01:12:45,720 --> 01:12:47,960
You don't often get that in life.
1176
01:12:48,000 --> 01:12:51,440
You know, it's not about two
people who fell in love.
1177
01:12:51,480 --> 01:12:53,960
It's about two communities
that fell in love.
1178
01:12:54,000 --> 01:12:58,080
(MALE VOICE CHOIR SINGING
SOLIDARITY FOREVER)
1179
01:13:12,880 --> 01:13:16,000
You know, the women that came from
the mining valleys who were
1180
01:13:16,040 --> 01:13:18,560
marching had had their
lives transformed.
1181
01:13:18,600 --> 01:13:21,840
You know, their lives were
never the same again.
1182
01:13:21,880 --> 01:13:24,040
I spoke to a lot of women.
1183
01:13:24,080 --> 01:13:26,080
We're not going to be little
housewives anymore.
1184
01:13:26,120 --> 01:13:27,560
Oh no. Oh no, no way.
1185
01:13:27,600 --> 01:13:30,360
I mean, we have decided that
after this, we will join in
1186
01:13:30,400 --> 01:13:31,760
everything that's going.
1187
01:13:31,800 --> 01:13:34,040
I mean and I never went
outside my front door.
1188
01:13:34,080 --> 01:13:37,760
I was very afraid that I would be
pushed back in to that
1189
01:13:37,800 --> 01:13:42,640
traditional original role that I
had been quite happy with.
1190
01:13:42,680 --> 01:13:46,800
Fortunately, I discovered a route
through further education and
1191
01:13:46,840 --> 01:13:50,880
going to university fulfilled all
those hopes and desires that
1192
01:13:50,920 --> 01:13:53,120
I had developed during the strike.
1193
01:14:01,400 --> 01:14:05,360
I got to a point in my life where I
thought 'This is enough now',
1194
01:14:05,400 --> 01:14:11,360
and I'd already met my now wife,
Emily, and it wasn't until
1195
01:14:11,400 --> 01:14:15,600
after she declared that she loved me
โ here I am, getting
1196
01:14:15,640 --> 01:14:20,240
upset again,
it's taken me a long time
1197
01:14:20,280 --> 01:14:23,880
but I can only thank the lesbians
and gays of London
1198
01:14:23,920 --> 01:14:26,400
for allowing me to realise that
1199
01:14:26,440 --> 01:14:30,280
I can do that. Albeit 30 years
later, I can still do that.
1200
01:14:30,960 --> 01:14:36,000
If I met 16-year-old Jayne now, I
would say, 'You should just
1201
01:14:36,040 --> 01:14:41,680
be you and just one day, you know,
you will be you,' yeah.
1202
01:14:44,040 --> 01:14:47,520
Just about Christmas time, I was
walking down the street in,
1203
01:14:47,560 --> 01:14:51,960
in Cardiff and coming towards me
were two young women and they
1204
01:14:52,000 --> 01:14:54,320
were hand in hand,
walking towards me.
1205
01:14:54,360 --> 01:14:59,040
In my mind, that... (LAUGHS)
1206
01:14:59,080 --> 01:15:03,440
(VOICE BREAKING): In my mind, that's
what I thought we should have.
1207
01:15:03,480 --> 01:15:05,800
(MALE CHOIR SINGING)
1208
01:15:23,000 --> 01:15:25,520
The support the miners went on to
show the gay community, was
1209
01:15:25,560 --> 01:15:27,400
so important.
1210
01:15:27,440 --> 01:15:30,000
The rights queer people enjoy
today were kick-started by this
1211
01:15:30,040 --> 01:15:31,640
amazing act of solidarity.
1212
01:15:31,680 --> 01:15:34,320
So, what's the lesson of the story?
1213
01:15:34,360 --> 01:15:37,160
If you think something isn't right,
go out there and do something
1214
01:15:37,200 --> 01:15:38,640
about it.
1215
01:15:38,680 --> 01:15:42,360
Be loud. Be noisy. Be active.
1216
01:15:42,400 --> 01:15:44,960
Stand in solidarity
with others who need help
1217
01:15:45,000 --> 01:15:47,480
and you can really make a difference.
1218
01:15:47,520 --> 01:15:49,840
(SCHOOL CHILDREN CHEER AND CLAP)
1219
01:15:49,880 --> 01:15:53,880
(MALE CHOIR SINGING)
1220
01:16:01,120 --> 01:16:05,600
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