Thanks to National Lottery Players

Stepping up, Saturday 14th August 2021

/ The Friends of Hemingfield Colliery (FoHC) / Leave a comment

Staying on the front foot after weeks of catch-up activities, the Friends of Hemingfield Colliery arrived earlier than usual at the pit. Early, if not bright, but in good spirits!

Earlier sunlight at the end of the tree-tunnel, on Wath Road headed to Pit Row

Opening up for a brisk day of tidying, ticking off a series of smaller, but useful, odd jobs; the bits and bobs (or random tasks, depending on your point of view) which really need doing, but aren’t always the first priorities. Variety being the spice of life, it was a fun day and great to see volunteer efforts have real impact during the day itself.

Continue reading →

August company, Saturday 7th August 2021

/ The Friends of Hemingfield Colliery (FoHC) / Leave a comment

Summertime. The Friends and volunteers returned to site for a brief spell as life continues to return to something akin to a norm. Hybridisation is the spice of life; we will grow and adapt.

Sunshine heating, cloud conditioning. View of the main headgear from the roof beams of the old switchgear building

In the event the sun shone early doors, enough to burn outside although patches of light drizzle were an omen of developments after 3pm.

Continue reading →

Pointing the way [out of the pandemic] Saturday 24th July 2021

/ The Friends of Hemingfield Colliery (FoHC) / Leave a comment

Another week of non-abominable weather gave the Friends and volunteers a further chance to push on with site recording and restoration. In a week when the UK Government’s national restrictions were lifted in England, the cloud of a growing third wave of infections hung over the country. Vaccination levels were reassuring and continued to save lives, but the with Delta variant much more transmissable, and disease spreading, things remained a little hazy All change? We travelled in hope.

Continue reading →

Full exposure, Saturday 17th July 2021

/ The Friends of Hemingfield Colliery (FoHC) / 1 Comment
The sun always shines on Hemingfield

If you had told us Hemingfield had somehow been transported to the Caribbean this weekend, no-one would have questioned it. The sandy beaches might have been in short supply, but there was certainly plenty of sun, and even some tourists!

Continue reading →

Mist over the meadow

/ The Friends of Hemingfield Colliery (FoHC) / 1 Comment

Saturday 10th July 2021 was almost a dot day. Not because of the mounting excitement ahead of the Euro 2020 final and the hopes (ultimately dashed) for England men’s football team, but rather because the weather forecast looked wet and miserable. Nevertheless the Friends and regular volunteers braved the elements.

Emerging from the mist, the approach to Hemingfield Colliery, Sat 10th July 2021

In the event, ‘Plan B’ of indoor building recording work, followed by a swift exit proved unnecessary, and it was a very active and incredibly hot-and-humid day to be working outdoors, mostly bringing the growth of green stuff back into order.

Continue reading →

Pathways to the past, Saturday 26th June 2021

/ The Friends of Hemingfield Colliery (FoHC) / Leave a comment
Framed by trees, the pit appears from Wath Road in Elsecar

After a short hiatus, the Friends and volunteers gathered for another socially-distanced outdoor working session on site.

Opening up. Not quite ready for open days more generally, but hopefully not too far away now!

Although decisions around lifting national lockdown restrictions in England were held back for four weeks until 19th July 2021, and there were worrying signs of Covid-19 infections rising with the new ‘Delta variant’, still the protection of an effective vaccination programme and gave the crew confidence in working outdoors, in a small group, albeit behind closed gates for a further push on restoration activities.

Continue reading →

Light and Dark, Saturday 5th June 2021

/ The Friends of Hemingfield Colliery (FoHC) / Leave a comment
More like it: bright and blue skies, and more than a little warmth at last

Scorchio is the unofficial word for it. After some ups and down earlier this year, the sun decided to come out and pay a courtesy visit to the volunteer crew at Hemingfield Colliery. After a dull and damp start to the year, it came as some consolation to have a little warmth on site, albeit the sun starts to tell as the light moves around and across the site during the day, so liquids and shade were both much in demand.

Continue reading →

More days in May

/ The Friends of Hemingfield Colliery (FoHC) / Leave a comment

With the forecast decidedly dodgy, the Friends postponed on site activities for another week. In the event the rain was later than anticipated, but still it allowed time for some additional wanderings and wonderings. Continuing the series of historical reflections as part of our Hemingfield’s Hidden History project, on some more days in May…

Continue reading →

May Days

/ The Friends of Hemingfield Colliery (FoHC) / 1 Comment
Glowering and wet: Hemingfield Colliery 8th May 2021

Wet weekends are nothing new, but they do tend to rankle when they delay planned activities, and especially so when the sun somehow managed to shine late into the dying light of the working week. The Friends can wait another week to get back on site for some more socially-distanced outdoor maintenance work.

Meanwhile, back home sheltering from the downpour, the Friends and volunteers made good use of some extra hours of research and writing for our Heritage Lottery Fund Hemingfield’s Hidden History project, and some went for a wander around Hemingfield and Elsecar…

Thanks to National Lottery players
Continue reading →

Step-Up and Stick to the Plan. Returning to a new normal?

/ The Friends of Hemingfield Colliery (FoHC) / Leave a comment

This is a recuperative post, covering a range of time from March into April 2021, as the UK’s lockdown began to ease, following a 4 step plan: a roadmap enabled by the extensive targeted vaccination programme proceeding since the new year. As the nation recovers normal activities, so hopefully will we!

Continue reading →