When Yesterday was Young was another great opportunity Enter provided. It was a great way to learn about our local histories past. I really enjoyed the “field trips”/adventures some of us went on; it helped us open our minds find out what life was really like in the mining era. Personally, I loved going down ‘The National Coal Mining Museum’ mine. Seeing how awful the conditions were really hit home and brought it all to my heart.
Rich Tea was the miner who took us down the mine. I expected him to be really thin and quite small but he was the opposite. He told us lots of stories about his marras down the pit and to see him almost in tears showed how passionate he was about being a miner.
When we went to Beamish we found out more about the woman’s role in the them times. The tiny terraces houses, compacted spaces for big families would be a proper struggle. Learning an old folk son was odd for me because the lyrics were deep and for us to be singing something that all them miners sung connected us more.
Once we walked into the Enter Centre after the build week, I was lost for words. The set was amazing! It really looked like coal and the bit where we had to duck was a snippet of how bad miners backs would be.