Durham Big Meeting Squeee
Jul. 15th, 2007 05:29 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
mistletoeWell, there it is for another year. The 123rd Durham Miners Gala is over. About 50,000 attended including me and my mam and it remained bright and sunny all day. Hurrah! More for those interested behind
And the Reg Vardy band trumpet section playing and dancing.
Brass comes in all shapes and sizes and you don't have to be able to march.
Finally some famous people
Dennis Skinner MP with the dark red shirt on to the right of the lady in the red jacket. His picture is on the banner.
Tony Benn MP in the middle, Ricky Tomlinson on the far left in the checked shirt.
And here's a band or part of one anyway.
My legs are still OK today and only one more week of work to go. 4 days in fact and it's teeshirt painting all the way.
Up at 7.00 and off to Durham at 8 o'clock. It was very quiet on the roads and I soon made it to the Park and Ride that was already quite busy. There were two men on the ticket machine to speed the process and two buses at a time were lined up. I got on the bus followed by a man from Westoe band carrying a trombone. Fortunately he sat at the front.
Into Durham and onto the bridge observing three buses disgorging a crowd from the Stanley area. Mam was waiting and we made our way through a band to post a birthday card. Then on to take up our station outside the Royal County Hotel. Our friend from Chopwell was already there. We had just made it down the hill before a band who I am pleased to say were playing The Ballerina. This augured well for proceedings as did the sunny weather though it was a bit windy.
At 8.50 the first band came round the corner and the day was off. Because of delays last year, each band was restricted to 5 minutes only. This meant they did not have time to play two tunes, normally a hymn such as Gresford, the miners hymn, and then something more up tempo. The majority went for the up tempo number and everyone was great.
Stand outs were as usual Fishburn who played Riverdance this year, and Reg Vardy who added a touch of cabaret with a dancing trumpet line. Special guests were Tony Benn who always comes, Dennis Skinner who is slowly recovering from his heart bypass and Ricky Tomlinson who was special guest of a terminally ill cancer suffering ex-miner. He spent most of the morning on the balcony but marched in with the new Houghton and Lambton banners and happily posed for pictures with the crowd. Before he became an actor Ricky was a strong union man in the building trade and went to prison for his stand against cuts. He made a documentary last year called When coal was king and appeared very impressed and moved by the bands and crowds. He definitely enjoyed himself.
The last band made it at 1.20 so we had been royally entertained for 4 hours.
My legs stood up pretty well and we managed back up the hill quite easily. Durham was full of crowds so our first attempt at lunch was a miserable failure as Vennels was heaving. We went without much hope to the Coach and 8 to find plenty of room. I had a very pleasing goats cheese tart. We couldn't look at the pictures I had taken as the batteries had packed in half way through the morning. Still I managed 57 pics of varying success.
Out and back up to the Market square but there was no sign of any bands coming back off the field, so we walked up to the cathedral One band was waiting to go in so we watched them march into the cathedral with their banner. No one else appeared so we walked back down to Costa and had a cup of coffee and a muffin.
When we came out the bands were beginning to appear again so we stood outside Greggs bakers and watched and listened. Durham is a very hilly city and we are always amazed how they can march up the steep cobbled hill to the market while playing. Every band was great and as we made our way to the bus The Ballerina echoed behind us.
Kirby Moorside band were at the other end of the Prince Bishops way and my mam greeted one of their number whose children went to the school where she was head. Itr was great to see her again. They played Gresford and The Woodchopper's Ball.
We arrived at the bus stop along with 2 bands but managed to get on the Park and Ride bus without difficulty. Got to the car at 4.30 after a great day.
Here's some pics (not that many. Others are in my scrapbook gallery)
Into Durham and onto the bridge observing three buses disgorging a crowd from the Stanley area. Mam was waiting and we made our way through a band to post a birthday card. Then on to take up our station outside the Royal County Hotel. Our friend from Chopwell was already there. We had just made it down the hill before a band who I am pleased to say were playing The Ballerina. This augured well for proceedings as did the sunny weather though it was a bit windy.
At 8.50 the first band came round the corner and the day was off. Because of delays last year, each band was restricted to 5 minutes only. This meant they did not have time to play two tunes, normally a hymn such as Gresford, the miners hymn, and then something more up tempo. The majority went for the up tempo number and everyone was great.
Stand outs were as usual Fishburn who played Riverdance this year, and Reg Vardy who added a touch of cabaret with a dancing trumpet line. Special guests were Tony Benn who always comes, Dennis Skinner who is slowly recovering from his heart bypass and Ricky Tomlinson who was special guest of a terminally ill cancer suffering ex-miner. He spent most of the morning on the balcony but marched in with the new Houghton and Lambton banners and happily posed for pictures with the crowd. Before he became an actor Ricky was a strong union man in the building trade and went to prison for his stand against cuts. He made a documentary last year called When coal was king and appeared very impressed and moved by the bands and crowds. He definitely enjoyed himself.
The last band made it at 1.20 so we had been royally entertained for 4 hours.
My legs stood up pretty well and we managed back up the hill quite easily. Durham was full of crowds so our first attempt at lunch was a miserable failure as Vennels was heaving. We went without much hope to the Coach and 8 to find plenty of room. I had a very pleasing goats cheese tart. We couldn't look at the pictures I had taken as the batteries had packed in half way through the morning. Still I managed 57 pics of varying success.
Out and back up to the Market square but there was no sign of any bands coming back off the field, so we walked up to the cathedral One band was waiting to go in so we watched them march into the cathedral with their banner. No one else appeared so we walked back down to Costa and had a cup of coffee and a muffin.
When we came out the bands were beginning to appear again so we stood outside Greggs bakers and watched and listened. Durham is a very hilly city and we are always amazed how they can march up the steep cobbled hill to the market while playing. Every band was great and as we made our way to the bus The Ballerina echoed behind us.
Kirby Moorside band were at the other end of the Prince Bishops way and my mam greeted one of their number whose children went to the school where she was head. Itr was great to see her again. They played Gresford and The Woodchopper's Ball.
We arrived at the bus stop along with 2 bands but managed to get on the Park and Ride bus without difficulty. Got to the car at 4.30 after a great day.
Here's some pics (not that many. Others are in my scrapbook gallery)
This is a new banner belonging to Washington F Pit. Many banners were lost to time and to keep the tradition going new ones are commissioned. They cost about £30,000 as they are hand painted silk. The money is raised by the community through events and there is some funding from the Union and Lottery money. New banners are marched to the Cathedral for a dedication service. We didn't go this year but it is a very moving event that makes the hair stand up on the back of your neck. Each banner is marched in to a slow march and the service is conducted by a Dean of the Cathedral but the Bishop attends. Then the banners are marched out to a quick tempo march with the congregation clapping along (this actually made me cry just typing it) and they make their way back down to the city centre.
Here's a close up of a couple of banners:
Lawyers are helping miners fight for compensation for industrially related diseases such as pneumoconiosis and white finger. My grandad died of congestive lung disease in 1959. My mam made a claim a few years ago. We got £48.
Mr Roberts here was fighting in the 19th century to get rid of the Yearly Bond. Miners had to pay a bond annually so that the colliery owner would give them their job for another year. If you couldn't pay you lost your job.
Here's a close up of a couple of banners:
Lawyers are helping miners fight for compensation for industrially related diseases such as pneumoconiosis and white finger. My grandad died of congestive lung disease in 1959. My mam made a claim a few years ago. We got £48.
Mr Roberts here was fighting in the 19th century to get rid of the Yearly Bond. Miners had to pay a bond annually so that the colliery owner would give them their job for another year. If you couldn't pay you lost your job.
The banners often feature pictures illustrating parables such as the Good Samaritan. This one from West Stanley however follows a more political line with blindfolded Justice presiding over a confrontation of miners and owners.
Bands don't just play, they entertain. Here's a little boy with his dad.
Bands don't just play, they entertain. Here's a little boy with his dad.
And the Reg Vardy band trumpet section playing and dancing.
Brass comes in all shapes and sizes and you don't have to be able to march.
Finally some famous people
Dennis Skinner MP with the dark red shirt on to the right of the lady in the red jacket. His picture is on the banner.
Tony Benn MP in the middle, Ricky Tomlinson on the far left in the checked shirt.
And here's a band or part of one anyway.
