Lest We Forget ...

Hands up who knew there was a coal mine still working in Swansea?

Not many of us I suspect!

Why does it take a tragedy for us to suddenly notice the risks people take, just so that you and I can heat our house, light our garden, play on our X Boxes, or even do our Blips!

The terrible events in Pontadawe over the past forty eight hours or so remind us of our never ending need for energy supplies.

When you next drive past a coal fired power station , such as the one at Radcliffe on Soar, stop and think on how that coal reached there. Despite leaps forward in technology, that coal still has to mined by people. It is not dug out by some computer controlled robot, the operator miles from any danger, it dug out by ordinary blokes with drills, covered in coal dust, sweat and muck. I have learnt today, that there are still over 500 miners employed in the South Wales Valleys.

Mining accidents seem like a throw back to some bygone age. The Chilean mining disaster had the world watching and praying for salvation, sadly the outcome today is the norm, the Chilean one the miracle.

I felt I had to do a tribute to those who not only lost their lives today, my thoughts and prayers go out to all affected in Pontadawe, but it is also a tribute to all those incredible people who have worked underground, and given their lives in one of the most dangerous places on our planet.

This is the old winding wheel of the Lewis Merthyr Colliery, not far from here in Trehafod. It is part of the museum there now at the Rhondda Heritage Park, and if you have never been there, you really should. It is one of the most informative and fun places in South Wales. You will learn about the time when the Rhondda used to power the Empire with it's steam coals, and how the world looked at Tonypandy in 1911 as the miners fought for a fair wage and better working conditions.

The Rhondda is littered with statues and tributes to those people. I just wanted to add my own in my own little way here.

To the four in Pontadawe and the countless others, we will never forget!