Saturday, February 27, 2010

Battle of Orgreave

I suppose I ought to finish up my mining season with some film on the British miner's strike of 84-86 - specially as it's the 25th anniversary. I do find it quite hard watching these clips as they still make me angry and sad...I couldn't believe it could happen but it did and I still grieve over it. In fact I gave up politics in 85 - up til then I'd been an active member of the Labour Party standing in council elections and so forth but this strike and its lack of support among the 'labour movement' proved to me that this country had turned to the dark side and was beyond saving. I got into reenactment instead. Harmless escapism rather than the frustration of 80s Thatcher's Britain. Funny thing was, a few years ago, they were recruiting reenactors to take part (as either side) for a documentary on the Battle of Orgreave - paying money and all that but I felt I was too emotionally involved in the subject for me to go and throw a riot shield about.