What with Storm Ciara (pronounced keera) threatening proceedings, and suggestions of Storm Dennis barely a week away, the Friends threw caution to the – admittedly light – wind on Saturday 8th February 2020, and ventured down to site for a surprisingly storm-free open day at Hemingfield Colliery.
Continue readingHemingfield
Bright, shiny and new, Saturday 18th January 2020
2020! The first Open Day in the new year and what a beautoful day. Bright blue skies above, clear views all around, and a quickening coldness which suggested frost, but was soon chased away by getting to work as the Friends of Hemingfield Colliery and the regular volunteers returned to the pit for another year of activity, in a new decade of life for the colliery.
Continue readingSeeking shelter, Open Day 26th October 2019
The rainclouds hung heavily overhead during the morning. Ever-optimistic, the Friends arrived on site, opened up the gates, and skipped over the puddles to get on with a list of tasks before the worst of the cold and miserable weather set in.
Going Steady, 12th October 2019
October continued to charm with its up-and-down weather. Saturday looked ok as Site Manager Glen welcomed regular volunteers, John, Paul and Mike to the pit for what would be another good session on repairing the wall.
Wringing out the weather
Saturday 17th August, the Friends of Hemingfield Colliery head down to site, unawares: the forecast fibbed. Early in the day at least, with a downpour catching out many a shorts-clad fun-seeker from Sheffield to Barnsley.
Open Day Sat 6th July 2019
Cloudy with a chance of sunshine?
July noted
It was with a mixed bag of rain and whispers of summertime sunshine that the Friends arrived for a slightly delayed start to another busy Open Day at Hemingfield.
On the right track… Open Day 25th January 2019
The January gloom continued as the Friends and volunteers arrived on site on Saturday 25th January. No snow to contend with, thankfully, but certainly it was a bit nippy when Friends Director and Site Manager Glen opened up the gates to regular volunteers Paul, Keith and Chris.
Days of Future Past: saved a century ago
A hundred years ago today, 31st December 1918, two agreements were signed which effectively saved important parts of our mining heritage in South Yorkshire, and specifically what is now the site of Hemingfield Colliery.
Open Day, Saturday 3rd November 2018
Notching up November
On Saturday morning the Friends of Hemingfield Colliery returned to work on another open day. The approach of winter hardens the ground and turns the air, so working out doors becomes harder and the days slightly shorter as the clocks fell back at the end of October. With the great sleep-in behind us, the Friends and regular volunteers were eager to face the ultimate challenge: shifting the Great Stump.
Open Day, Saturday 6th October 2018
October mild
The Friends of Hemingfield Colliery arrived early on site, swinging the gates wide open and stepping into the pit yard. Expecting rain, but finding mostly dry terrain and pleasant working conditions in the mild autumnal air. Looking over across the valley over to Hemingfield proper, the sky was cloudy but blue, and the farmed fields in the distance contrasted with the dense and beautifully dis-colouring trees nearby. It is a turning point in the year when days shorten, clocks go back and woolly jumpers emerge. American poet Robert Frost put it crisply:
O hushed October morning mild,
Thy leaves have ripened to the fall;
Tomorrow’s wind, if it be wild,
Should waste them all.(From ‘October’, published in A Boy’s Will, 1913)
