5. Women against Pit Closures

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“'Oh, are you a feminist now?' No, I'm an ordinary housewife with a brain.” Mark talks to his mum about life for them as the family of a striking miner during the strike of 1984-5, when he was an 11-year-old kid. He hears about the solidarity campaigns and support groups that provided them daily dinners and weekly food parcels - from as far away as Russia. Travelling to another pit village in the north-east, Mark meets a miner’s wife who went from, in her words, “an ordinary housewife” to running a women’s support group, helping striking miners and their families, and speaking at rallies. Archive: BBC. Presenter: Mark Watson Series Producer: Simon Maybin Editor: Clare Fordham Sound mix: James Beard Production Co-ordinator: Ellie Dover Commissioning Executive: Tracy Williams Commissioning Editor: Dan Clarke