Welsh Mining Tragedy

What happened at the Gleision Colliery in the south of Wales is a stark reminder of how horribly unpredictable the world can be. A large death toll isn’t necessary to shock the nation; one fatality is always too many. It certainly isn’t necessary to shock and distress the families of those lost beyond belief. What they’re going through must be utterly unbearable, and my thoughts and prayers are with them. I feel almost guilty for commenting on this and seemingly ignoring so many incidents that have occurred all around the world since I started writing this blog, but the truth is that I don’t particularly want to find myself writing about such depressing stories; be it close to home or thousands of miles away. It just so happens though that this time, it’s very close to an old home of mine – with my father himself being from the Swansea area of Wales, near where this tragic incident took place. I’ve only lived in Wales for a couple of years of my life after being born there, but since then I’ve travelled down on numerous (countless) occasions over the years with my parents and my older brother to visit friends and family. What I’m trying to say is that when an event of this nature happens in or around a place you’re familiar with, you can’t help but think about it for longer and harder than you may have done otherwise. It nearly literally hits home. So please, don’t give me a good telling off for isolating one tragedy among many to care about, because that’s not really the case. Mining is of course deep rooted in the history of the nation and it goes without saying that this kind of accident just shouldn’t be happening. I won’t explain any details of exactly what happened in South Wales to lead to the loss of 4 healthy lives, because there’s nothing I can say that respectable news publications and corporations haven’t already said. If you’re interested, check out the article link at the end of this post. At the Ospreys and Llanelli Scarlets rugby matches this afternoon, respects will be paid in the form of armbands, and a minute’s silence will be held at the Liberty Stadium for Swansea City’s game against West Brom in the Premier League. Tributes in memory of the 4 miners who so tragically lost their lives can surely be found scattered all around Wales and the rest of the United Kingdom. I’m aware of the fact that I’ve described this as tragic so many times, but…that’s exactly what it is. Rest assured, these men won’t be forgotten, and we won’t let it happen again.

Charles Breslin, David Powell, Garry Jenkins and Phillip Hill

RIP

BBC News Article

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