Produced shortly before the end of the 1984-85 Miners' Strike, Newcastle Polytechnic, now Northumbria University, student Simon McKeown speak with two women from the Easington Free Café at Easington Colliery in County Durham. Over the course of an hour Joan Barnes and her unidentified friend talk about their experience of the strike, its effect on them, their families and the local community. The interview concludes with both women looking to the future and warning what will happen...

Produced shortly before the end of the 1984-85 Miners' Strike, Newcastle Polytechnic, now Northumbria University, student Simon McKeown speak with two women from the Easington Free Café at Easington Colliery in County Durham. Over the course of an hour Joan Barnes and her unidentified friend talk about their experience of the strike, its effect on them, their families and the local community. The interview concludes with both women looking to the future and warning what will happen should the strike be lost, and the pit closed. Sadly, much of the predictions have come true. Joan Barnes and a friend sit around a small table, behind them on the wall several posters relating to the miner’s dispute; one reads ‘No Pit Closures’. Beside them a student from Newcastle Polytechnic who is going to interview them. They all wait for the film to begin looking behind the camera speaking with production personnel. [Colour bars] The young man asked the first question of both women about how their families have survived on the income that was coming in. Both women provide details of job they do with Joan adding that she also gets Family Allowance for a son who under 16-years-of-age. They’ve learned to live without with Joan and her husband get a daily meal at the Free Café. They are asked about how others in the community are coping. Many get support from family members; single miners are supported by the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM). They both talk about a family of four having to survive on £14-a-week as both the husband and wife are on strike. The women are asked about problems from family members because of the strike. Joan talks about her son who is very understanding of the situation and what they did for him at Christmas. She talks about losing their video player and television and using the money that paid for a TV licence to pay two months of electricity which is more important. As Joan run’s the Free Café in Easington she talks about the support received by the local Chamber of Trade which as well as money also includes in kind help donating goods or services. They also support local traders by using donations to buy food for the café and food parcels from Easington. Both Joan and her friend state they have been at the Free Café since it opened on the 19th April the previous year, Joan provides details of how it started and the initial work that was done in setting it up. The café is based inside the local working men’s club, Joan explains how they are able cook with only one cooker and about miners from other pits like to come and eat at the café. Joan’s friend provides more details about how they are able to cook as many as 300 meals a day. Joan recognises that her team of nineteen have become more professional the longer the strike has gone on. She talks about the summer holidays and being able to use the local school better equipped kitchen. Joan is asked about the women who work in the Café, not all of whom are miner’s wives. Initially it was only six of them. They knew each other before the strike and have learned how to work with each other, only at Christmas did they need to ask for more help. Further details are provided. They are asked about what Christmas was like, Joan remembers the men being offered money to return to work with only as few accepting. They still had a good time with everyone enjoying a Christmas dinner. Joan believes the children of Easington was very lucky as it was decided to buy each of them one new toy, she talks about how the toys arrived as donations from around the country as well as from local traders. They also checked over each toy for safety, they didn’t want to give a toy to a child they wouldn’t give to their own children. They also had a Toy Fund to buy new toys and how the toys were distributed and were given to the parents rather than the child so parents could put them out Christmas morning as normal. Joan talks about a local newsagent who dressed up as Santa Claus for the local children. Joan and her friend are asked if they are all still friends, they both say yes with a smile. They are asked if they have any funny stories, both women smile and say yes and recount some of these to the interviewer. Joan says that as a group they are all still friends as they want to see the dispute through to the end, to finish what they’ve started. They have also decided that as a women’s support group they are going to continue working together once the strike is over as there are stills lots of things to fight for. The women as asked how their social life has changed. Joan’s friend believes that she and her husband of 25-years have become closer, he does things around the house now he’s never done before. Joan believes that doing similar thing as part of the strike means they have more to talk about with each other. They are next asked about how the strike has affected women, Joan tells the interviewer of one girl in the village who today stands on the picket lines and goes out collecting donation through the support group, but before the strike was very timid. Joan goes onto say how she doesn’t understand why some women don’t get involved. They provide details of attending the Women’s National Rally in London, Joan’s friend feels the day was a disappointment as the rally was not mentioned in the media. The women talk about attending other marches around the region, Joan talks about another national rally which is to take place in Chesterfield. The women are asked what they will do once the strike is over, both talk about returning to some housework routine. However, neither woman thinks they will go back to being ordinary housewives, Joan doesn’t think the women will be able to settle down again, many have made close friends and as well as attended meeting have also had a good time. They remember the Christmas party as being special, they explain why. They are then asked what it was like when Paul Wilkinson, the first scab, went back to work. Neither of them can understand why he did it. Joan also can’t understand why he got so much police protection when only a few weeks earlier he was throwing stones at them. The effect on the community has been bad, Joan talks about the day he went back to work and how the official picket wasn’t allowed to speak with him as he been slipped in via a side door into the colliery. Joan also talks about the massive police presence in the town, it was a shock. The interviewer says having visited other picket lines Easington has one of the worst police presences, he asks what their attitude to them has changed since the start of the strike. Joan doesn’t know what will happen when the strike is over for the bobby-in-the-street. Her friend doesn’t believe it will be the same again. She did have a little respect for the police, but she doesn’t now especially after her son, who isn’t a miner, was arrested and charged with a crime he didn’t commit. They both agree that this attitude is prevalent amongst most of Easington. Joan doesn’t believe all the police are the same, she tells the story of one policeman who was helpful to a striking wife. They are asked about the Scab workers; they believe them foolish for going back and should have waited until everyone goes back. They are asked about a proposal that the men all go back without a negotiated settlement, Joan believes it’s a question for the men, but thinks many would believe it foolish to go back after such a long-time with nothing with many still willing to stick it out. They are asked about the courts and how the government is using antiquated laws to prosecute striking miners. On being asked about the support from other unions Joan states that many people aren’t willing to lose £100 of wages to go on strike in support of the miners for just one week. Joan’s friend believes they could have done more considering how much the miners have lost. They are both grateful for the international support they’ve received as well as other support groups around the country. According to Joan Easington is now twinned with a support group in Greenwich, and they are very thankful of all the donations that have been sent. They hope to remain in contact after the strike. They talk about other donations have come in that include vacations to Russia and France and large cheques from businessmen in London. The women are asked what is the best thing to come out of the strike, Joan believes it is people helping each other while for her friend it is all the new friends she’s made including people before the strike she didn’t know. They both agree it has brought the community together and the concern for other people. They are asked about the media portrayal of the miners and the women. Joan believes that for many when they read the newspaper or watches the news then they believe it is the truth. Unless their concerned enough to find out or see it first-hand they don’t really understand. On being asked how they handle the media being against them, the women mention the stories in the press about one man at Orgreave throwing acid in his own face backfiring when it was discovered the report wasn’t true. They are asked about the cultural effect of the strike with the likes the photographs of Keith Pattison which Joan has seen at the Side Gallery in Newcastle. She is surprised how many people are interested and want to know what’s going on. To them it’s part of their lives. Joan talks about Keith and getting use to him taking photographs around the village, he’s one of them now. They are enthusiast about a play that’s been written about them and of the writer Margaret Pine with many women in the village wanting to take part. Joan and the interviewer talk about another theatre production ‘Big Mans Benefit’ which took place at the Civic Centre which they both saw and Joan thought was marvellous as it captured what it was like working in a kitchen. They are asked how they would like to look back in twenty years, Joan believes they are making history and to be able to look back and say they were involved and what was going on. They are asked what is most memorable, they both say the Women’s National Rally in London and explain why. They are asked if they have any special message for the government or Margaret Thatcher, Joan’s concern is if she breaks the NUM all the other unions will be a walk-over. There will be no more unions, and everything will be privatised. They are asked what it would be like when the pit closes, Joan’s friend who is from Wingate remembers when that pit closed how it became a ghost town. Again, both women can’t understand why some of the younger men from other pits have gone back to work, but many are still out in Easington. They do realise what the strike is about and that they are fighting for their jobs. Joan says that if the pit closes there would be nothing left for them and would be condemned to a life on the dole. Finally, they are asked their opinion on the strikers who have gone further that picketing and committing sabotage. Joan doesn’t condone any of these actions, violence just begets violence. With no more questions to ask the interview ends.