It's not hard to seperate out the personal stories of the strike; the decline of an ancient industry, the devastation inflicted upon communities, the loss of self respect for many people and towns, many of which wouldn't exist without pits etc and the economics and politics behind it, which were very complex and included, off the top of my head, geopolitical issues, the development of the EEC, growing environmental issues, a stubborn PM and a stubborn union leadership, lack of diversity in the S.Wales economy, technological changes, shipping advances etc.

I really don't subscribe to this evil Thatcher idea, as there's always winners and losers but what always struck me as heartbreaking is that while the industry was clearly in decline and we couldn't produce it as cheaply as other places it was artificially shut down at a greater pace. Tower Colliery shows that. Even that didn't last but if a dozen or so more pits had lasted a dozen or so more years it may have made the 80s and 90s an easier time for many.