I was 15 when I started my first job, as a miner.  Mining got easier and more enjoyable as I got older, and the money got better.  All the same, it was very hard work. The thing I enjoyed most about the job was the camaraderie, the friendship.  Everybody had to rely on each other.  The Opencast is a good thing, for work. There were a lot of people from Rhymney, you would be surprised how many were working up there. We did have dust on our windows, but we used to get £200 a year for the fishing club.  They built us that centre and an artificial rugby field in Dowlais. They did up the entire town hall in Merthyr, so that’s something.  Jobs are so important, because there is nothing here, no work.  It’s a very deprived area.