We Work the Black Seam Together

I have a history and destiny with coal it seems.

My grandfather was a farmer in Derbyshire in the Midlands of England. He made money selling ponies that would be used in the coal mines, before switching to cattle. From a field that sloped away on the northeast side of his farm you could see the towers of one coal mine.

"The seam lies underground
Three million years of pressure packed it down
We walk through ancient forest lands
And light a thousand cities with our hands"

I remember visiting during the summers and during one Christmas in the late '60s when coal was still burned in most homes. North Sea natural gas was a few years away. There was a Rayburn stove in the kitchen and a coal hearth in the living room.

Between the house and the attached garage was an alleyway, off which were a toilet (handy for access from the garden (except for the cold seat and the waxed toilet paper - YUCH!)) and a coal scullery to store coke (processed coal) and coal.

I remember seeing the collier coming to deliver coal once. I still remember the haze of coal smoke and that distinctive smell in the air.

The acidity of the coal caused great erosion on the soft sandstone buildings in England. I remember a series of stone walls on my grandfather's farm that had holes in them. The holes became home to swallows.

I saw a great movie a few years ago called Margaret's Museum. Set in Glace Bay, Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, it tells the story of Margaret and the men in her life who are all taken from her by the local coal mine. The Museum contains "relics" from the men taken from her - the lungs of her father, the penis of her young, randy brother and something from her husband. I don't remember what. Margaret's Museum stars the ever quirky Helena Bonham Carter. Needless to say Helena's character was a bit mad by the end of the movie.

"Our conscious lives run deep
You cling onto your mountain while we sleep
This way of life is part of me
There is no price so only let me be

And should the children weep
The turning world will sing their souls to sleep
When you have sunk without a trace
The universe will suck me into place"

I keep seeing news about coal in the investment section of the newspaper. Analysts recommend the Fording Coal Trust as a good investment. One Canadian coal company sold all their production for a year to China. It seems (seams?) that coal is still a big thing, the new oil.

"We work the black seam together."


Originally posted April 2005