A few days, you say.
Not what l'd caII a light traveIIer
are you, pet?
Sorry, it's mainIy work.
l wouIdn't apologise for having work,
flower. Not round here.
What's this then?
It's just a flugeI, a trumpet.
l thought I might get
some practice in.
In here, you mean?
-Well, wherever.
-I wouldn't mind. Don't get me wrong.
There's nowt l'd like better than
to hear you pIaying all night long.
-Oh, no. lt wouldn't ...
-You heard of Grimley Colliery Band?
Yes, I have.
They've their own practice haII.
I should get myseIf down there, pet.
They'd weIcome someone like you
with open arms, knowing them.
Another?
lt's a sad oId day, isn't it Vi?
When it's finaIIy come to this.
-What's that then Ida?
-Jim and Ernie packing in the band.
They're doing it, then?
For definite?
Last practice tonight, Ernie said.
Then resigning after.
No point in carrying on, is there?
Pit goes, band'll go t'same way.
I feeI sorry for oId Danny, mind.
He'lI gave bugger all to do.
-We'lI all have bugger all to do, Vi.
-You get used to it.
-All right, Iove?
-Aye, all right.
Don't forget what you're doing,
you Iads.
Don't be handing over any
kitty money.
-Just resignations.
-Aye, all right, pet.
-WeII, mind you do.
-What do you mean "mind you do"?
-It was our decision, wasn't it love?
-Aye, well...
just mind you do.
Now let's get this right, Ernie.
When he collects for t'kitty,
we say: sorry Danny, but us two...
we've decided,
in t'present cIimate...
to tighten our belts, Iike, and onIy
spend money on essentiaI items.
Sorry. lt's been
good and all that...
but now, we don't regard band as one
of t'aforementioned essentiaI items.
And regretfuIIy, we feel obliged
to tender our resignations forthwith.
-Right?
-Right.
And then we wake
up in CasuaIty.
If he goes barmy, it's not
our fauIt.
-l mean what's t'worst he can do?
-Have a heart attack?
What the hell, if Danny
doesn't like it...
-boIIocks to him.
-All right, Iads?
Oh, all right, Danny mate?
Sixty years between us, you and me,
down t'pit, frightened of nowt.
When it comes to telling Danny-boy
we're packing t'band in...
We're shitting bloody bricks.
and coming up later in the news...
continuing our regular reports on the
Government's pit closure programme.
We visit Grimley CoIIiery...
which despite being one of the oIdest
and Iargest mines in Yorkshire...
has nevertheless become the most
recent candidate for closure.
AIthough the GrimIey miners, and
their wives, seem very determined...
to fight on and keep
their pit open...
a redundancy offer to the workforce
is believed to be imminent.
The miners, united,
will never be defeated.
The miners, united,
will never be defeated.
Offers at neighbouring pits recently,
have been too attractive to ignore.
ln the last few weeks, 7 pay-off
packages have been offered to 7 pits.
All accepted,
leading to 7 cIosures.
TroubIe is, I'm no bIoody happier
when I'm winning.
DoubIe or quits?
No, best not.
lt's kitty night tonight.
Cheer up Andy.
lt might never happen.
Representatives of union
and management...
meet tonight to discuss the
Grimley redundancy offer.
Bloody going
to though, in't it?
-See you.
-See you.
Don't be a
piIIock all your Iife.
Take t'money
while it's stiII on offer.
A lot of foIk out there wouldn't Iike
to hearthe way you're talking, love.
Aye, and they're alI as daft
as you are.
AlI end up with nowt.
Just Iike us.
Philip.
Late for practice.
-We'll taIk about it later, eh?
-Later?
You'lI stiII be saying Iater when
We're out on't bloody street.
There's always Mr Chuckles.
-I can do more of that.
-Phil?
PhiI, PhiI.
You have a wife and 4 bloody kids
here, a house nobody'll bIoody buy...
mortgaged up to the bloody hilt,
loan-sharks on our backs...
no bloody money, no bloody job,
and what are you going to do?
Fucking juggle?
Bit cIumsy with the crockery,
your Sandra.
-All right, Iove?
-All right.
Crap. That's what that was.
A Ioad of bloody crap.
What did Eric Morecombe say?
AlI the right notes...
but not necessarily the right order.
What happened to you, son?
It just fell apart.
Aye, you're not the only one. Andy
Iad, all over the shop, you were.
-What is up with you lot?
-Got our minds on other things, Danny.
-Like what?
-Blimey, you been on holiday or what?
How do you mean?
Well it may've escaped your notice,
Iike, but pit's under threat.
What's that
got to do with us?
Oh, aye, you're
right, not a lot.
Now listen to me, aII of you. These
are worrying times, I know that.
But look what it says here, eh?
Over a hundred years this band's
been going...
two world wars, three disasters,
seven strikes...
one bloody big depression and t'band
played on every flaming time.
Danny, this is t'biggest disaster
of t'lot.
Can't have a coIIiery band without
a bIoody coIliery, can you?
Listen. We've got the NationaI Semi
FinaIs coming up and we're capabIe...
I mean it, well capabIe of going
through to London.
The first time in our history.
The Albert Hall.
Now I know there's a spot
of bother at the pit...
but that's something separate. This
is music, and it's music that matters.
Now, come on,
kitty fort'weekend.
Danny, me and Ernie, we've been
thinking it over, Iike...
I know subs aren't much, but...
-present cIimate and that...
-What are you saying, Jim?
Me and Jim have made
a decision, Iike.
HeIIo, love, can we help?
ls this the Colliery Band rehearsal?
No, love, t'band's on Tuesdays.
Tonight's origami class.
Take no notice, fIower.
Can I help?
I'm staying at the pub. I play
the fIugel.
WeII, sort of dabble.
Mrs Foggan said...
WeIl, she said you might let me
play with you.
Down, boy, down.
l know it may sound Iike we need all
t'help we can get, but sorry love...
l mean, usuaIIy, as a ruIe,
we don't ...
aIlow, you know, outsiders.
Aye, I understand that,
except l'm ...
not strictly an outsider. I were
born in GrimIey.
Is that right, Iove?
What's your name?
Gloria.
-GIoria...?
-Stits.
GIorious tits.
Ernie.
MulIins. GIoria Mullins.
Arthur's GIoria?
-You're Danny, aren't you?
-Aye.
-I didn'tthink you'd still be...
-AIive and kicking?
-Oh aye Iove, just about.
-No, l meant leading the band.
Yes.
Well come in, park your bum,
park yourseIf somewhere.
If you didn't know him, you'd have
heard of him, Arthur Mullins...
this young lady's grandad.
Best bandsman l ever played with.
Bravest miner
I ever worked with.
Closest friend I ever had, till his
lungs packed in in '79.
-Sorry, Iove.
-lt's true.
Good to see you back. Excuse me a
moment, GIoria, I'm just collecting.
Jim, what were you saying?
Something about t'present cIimate?
Oh aye, l was saying, Iike...
despite present cIimate...
you can always rely on our continued
and whole-hearted...
-support for the cause.
-Oh, aye. Solidarity.
Thick and thin, and alI that.
Lend us a fiver.
SoIidarity.
Do you remember me?
-Barry? Barry Andrews?
-Andy Barrow.
Andy Barrow.
-God, you haven't changed a bit.
-You have.
-What are you up to now, then?
-This and that, y'know, keeping busy.
Hey, that's not...is it?
He Ieft it me in his will. Couldn't
let it go to rust, could I?
Clever oId sod. Even when he were
gone he made sure l'd take it up.
WelI I know it won't be t'same, but
it'd be loveIy just to hear it again.
-OK.
-What do you know?
Well, l've been practising...
-Rodrigo's Concerto D'A ranjuez.
-You what?
-Orange juice to you.
-Oh, aye.
-l'm a bit wobbly stiII.
-Don't you fret, pet.
Wobbly'd be too
good for this Iot.
Paul, the music. Bernie, get her
a stand.
OK, everyone.
AlI right?
Are we aIl together?
Andy, Iad, are you with us?
Poor Iad. Still got your mind
on that pit?
All right lads.
Rodrigo's Concerto...
D'Orange Juice.
And she calIs that wobbly.
-Well done, lass.
-Well done, love.
BIoody great.
-You doing anything at the weekend?
-No.
Right lads, listen up.
SaddIeworth tomorrow.
14 villages, love. Contest in each.
AII at the same time. Cash prizes.
So, any road, lads...
big chance to swelI the coffers
tomorrow, so...
we're going for all fourteen.
-Are you on, love?
-lf l'm allowed.
Don't be soft, Iass.
You were born here.
It's a profitable pit, this.
There's hundreds of years of coal
down there...
but it doesn't matterto them
bastards. We're making money for'em...
hand over fist, we are.
And stiII they want to shut us down.
-WelI, teII them bollocks to them.
-That's up to you Iot isn't it, Iad?
WeII, thank Christ
it isn't up to you.
Jesus, we shouIdn't have even Iet the
offer be put on't table.
They're just bIoody puppets, that Iot.
They do whateverthe bastards want.
-Phil, Iad.
-We didn't do what they wanted in '84.
No, we dug
us heels in, didn't we?
Aye, and some of us got bloody
Iocked up for it.
Big bloody deaI.
Hey, suspended I were.
It took that lot a year and a half
to get me reinstated.
That's eighteen month on bloody
strike pay.
-With a wife, bloody kids, mortgage.
-lt's ten years ago, paI.
Aye, ten years.
And l were that bloody broke, l'm
stiII frigging paying for it.
That's how big a fucking deaI
it were.
Hey, where were
you then, eh, pal?
In '84?
I don't remember
seeing you on t'line.
Oh aye, we aII know which way
you'lI be voting.
-Come on then, you bastard.
-Anytime.
Leave it out.
Listen!
That's just what they're bIoody
wanting, you know that, don't you?
AII right, this is what you've got:
ballot next week, right?
You've got two options.
One: you can vote to take pit to
Review Procedure.
Obviously that's one we want, because
we reckon you've got a decent chance.
Or, two...
-You can vote to take pay-off.
-Get stuffed.
Listen, Iisten. They told us
Iast night...
that redundancy offer's gone up
three thousand...
from a twenty grand maximum
to twenty three...
with a five grand sweetener.
This is only a temporary offer.
lf you say no, they're pulling any
future offer down to a fIat fifteen.
Bastards!
-Born bastards, stay bastards.
-That's right.
WeII it's no good shouting now Iads,
do it next week in the ballot.
Say no to bloody bIackmaiI...
-and yes to keeping this pit aIive.
-That's what we want.
The miners united will never
be defeated.
Poor biddies. Don't they know they're
pissing into t'wind like rest of us?
-Can they do that, women?
-What?
-Piss in the wind.
-No, Ernie, that's just the point.
But even on a nice day, y'know, when
there's no wind about, they can't ...
-y'know, get any direction on it.
-Well aIl right, whatever it is...
that Iasses do that's pointIess.
-Bloody hell, so much to choose from.
Fart in a force ten?
My God Phil, you don't half know
some funny women.
Steady, Iads,
my missus does that.
Oh you daft bastards.
"Women against CIosure"?
That is when she's not farting
in a force ten.
-Morning, love.
-See you.
lf I don't have a day away
on my own...
l'm going to go frigging barmy,
honest I am. l'll kill someone.
-WeII, go somewhere tomorrow, eh?
-PhiI...
l'm off today,
or I'm off for good.
Give me some money.
-Oh hey love, l've only got a tenner.
-Atenner'II do.
But it's SaddIeworth, and me dad'll
kiII me if l don't turn up.
And l will if you do.
Isn't life just shit?
On your head, Dad?
Course the offer's attractive. lt's
tantamount to bribery.
They want Grimley closed, for
whatever reason, nobody knows...
-they think by dangIing a carrot...
-This just came for you.
Oh, ta.
Thanks.
They want jobs, a future. They want
an industry, and come the ballot...
-that's what they'll be voting for.
-Yes. That's right.
...the hearing decides the pit has a
sound economic future...
then we shaII abide by that decision
and work towards it.
Naturally, l mean, nobody wants
Grimley to cIose.
Oh I'm bIoody
starving, aren't you?
Let's see whatwe've got.
Dad, who were that?
Just a couple of feIIas.
-Are you in troubIe, Dad?
-Your dad in trouble?
Looked like they were going
to smack you.
Aye, they were lad.
They were from t'council.
Leisure department.
They said that if we don't have
fun today...
-we are in big, big troubIe.
-Dad, I'm eight and a haIf now.
Are you?
Well you can heIp me find t'bastard
tin opener then, can't you?
GIoria Mullins?
What, Melons Mullins? Lived up Donny
Road? Chubby lass?
We used to sing that hymn: Gloria
in XL.
That's her, except she's
far from chubby now, Iike.
Aye, l remember her.
-You had her, behind t'bus station.
-No l never.
You toId us you did.
No. It were top half only.
-Does she remember?
-Does she heII as like.
-Couldn't even remember my name.
-Oh, get away.
Bet that's why she's come back.
To complete unfinished business.
What are you smiling at?
Another?
All right, go on then.
What the bleeding hell
are you two doing?
We fancied a game of golf, Iike.
You daft gawpheads. You never
resigned, did you?
Sat there like a couple of oId
biddies and paid t'money, didn't you?
OId Danny taIked us round, like.
He were very persuasive.
-We had no option, lover, honestIy.
-No bollocks, more like.
I reckon it were sommat to do with
bollocks that got us to stay.
-No bloody gumption, them two.
-Soup for brains, the pair of them.
Excuse me, where's the
Collier's Arms?
Hanging off his shoulders, pet.
-The oId one's are the best, eh?
-lt's the young ones we worry about.
-Off to Saddleworth, are you?
-That's right.
-FoIIow them two daft 'aporths.
-Ta.
-Hey, love?
-Yeah?
-Joined band last night, did you?
-Yeah. How did you know that?
Just something me husband
never said.
Aye, I am.
-What?
-Thinking what you're thinking.
-Eh, up.
-What are you doing?
-Don't sit on that.
-Get off.
-Eh, up, Iads.
-All right?
-Hi Danny,
-Paul.
Oh, teII me you're bloody joking
son, please.
-Sorry. AII of us or none at aII.
-Why for Christ's sake?
lt were them men from t'P leasure
Department, Grandad.
-You what?
-Anyway...
nowt wrong with a bit of vocal
support, eh?
-l hope you feel as good as you look.
-l'm nervous.
Get away with you. Your grandad would
be proud of you. Go on, in you get.
-Eh, up GIoria.
-Hey oggle-eyes, is that the lot?
No, no, no there's ...
There's one more,
as per bIoody usual.
Poor lass.
All she wants is a nice day out and
she gets stuck between them 2 buggers.
Shit.
Oh, sorry Harry.
-Come here, darling
-Thanks a lot, Kylie.
There you go, mate. What
were aII that about?
Here comes Fast bloody Eddie now.
Come on Andy lad. Step on it.
Sorry.
-AII right StanIey, that's the lot.
-What about these two here?
Bloody heII.
Don't look Iike that, Danny lad.
lt's nearest colours we could find.
-What are you doing?
-We'vejust founded t'fan cIub.
Well l don't think we...
Look ladies, l mean, this is
traditionalIy a...
-male onIy excursion. You know that.
-New Iass on board, is she?
Aye. That's different.
I mean, she's very taIented.
Aye, l know, we saw her.
l'll have you know, that girl bIows
flugeI Iike a dream.
Danny Ormondroyd!
At your age!
Come on love, it's not
"What's my Iine?" .
Well, l'm a surveyor.
BIimey. What, you mean like a
quantity surveyor?
-Kind of.
-Want to survey my quantity, Iove?
WelI I do say
"no job too smaII" .
Get away love. Take you a bloody
fortnight, this one.
We had no option,
Iover, honest.
Shift up, duck.
Eh, up PhiI, groupies are on.
Sex, drugs and rock and roll,
eh girls?
Aye, except we can do without
drugs and rock and roII.
Laughing. They were bloody
laughing at us.
Look at them. If they were alive
today, they'd turn in their graves.
And if Arthur MulIins was Iooking
down on us, weII God bIoody heIp us.
l mean,
is this what it's come to?
Bits of trombone flying
alI over t'shop?
Stopping t'march to change
bloody nappies?
Too bIoody bewied to stay on
t'buggering bandstand.
We may as well
aIl bIoody give up.
I reckon we
aIready have, Dan.
That's kind of why itwent
like it did.
Reckon we thought we'd go out
on a high note.
Happen our idea of a high note's a
bit different from yours, like.
Go out? What are you talking about
Ernie, go out?
Danny lad,
you've got to face it.
-lf pit goes, band goes with it.
-When pit goes.
If.
However balIot goes, they'lI
still cIose the bugger.
Not necessariIy.
It depends on the...
On that review thingy.
Surely?
Trouble with you lot is you've
got no pride.
And you know one thing more than owt
eIse here that symbolises pride?
It's this bIoody band,
that's what. Ask anybody.
l mean, if they cIose down the pit,
knock it down...
fiIl it up, Iike they've done with
all t'bloody rest, no trace.
Years to come, there'lI onIy be one
reminder...
Of hundred bIoody years hard graft:
this bloody band.
Oh, they can shut up the unions,
they can shut up the workers...
but I'll teII you one thing for
nothing, they'II never shut us up.
We'll play on. Loud as ever. Starting
with National Semis in HaIifax.
Win them and we can carry
our heads high and march...
on to the Albert bIoody Hall,
aIl right?
-Are we pIaying or are we packing in?
-Playing.
Sorry.
No, don't you worry, flower.
You've nowt to be ashamed of.
No bugger eIse, then?
Danny, l reckon l speak
for everybody.
We'll play on whiIe pit's open...
-Minute they close it, we pack it in.
-Aye, right.
-You can't ask for more than that.
-Hear hear.
No.
Obviously not.
-Hiya.
-Hiya.
Moving words.
-What?
-Back there. Danny.
Aye, daft old codger. lf it weren't
for band, he'd pop his clogs.
I wondered if you fancied some grub?
-Where?
-Don't know. l'll go posh if you want.
-Andy.
All right, Phil.
-Have you seen me dad?
-Aye he's stiII inside, I think.
-WeII?
-All right.
You all right, Dad?
Thank you for
your support, son.
Oh, Iisten, Phil lad.
I've been thinking, right...
Semi-Final's no place for
Better find yourself
a new bit of brass.
I'm not forking out for a new
trombone just for one performance.
One?
What about the Albert HaII?
Now normaIIy l'd say get summat
cheap, but...
but you're a bloody good trombonist
lad, you need a bloody good trombone.
Dad...
l like the band. I love the band,
we aII do.
But there's other things in Iife,
you know, that's more important.
Not in mine, there isn't .
What's that on your hankie?
Oh, nowt.
Chain come off me bike.
Didn't realise we were going this
posh, I'd have got doIIed up.
You know back there, when Danny said
you'd nowt to be ashamed of?
Is that right, then?
You work for bloody management
don't you?
-Andy, I'm just...
-Fuck.
l just compiIe surveys, Andy, just do
viability studies, boring, maybe...
-but hardly summat to be ashamed of.
-No?
-Kept very quiet about it.
-Cause I knew you'd get it aII wrong.
-Oh, aye?
-l'm on the same side as you, Andy.
l want Grimley to stay open too, and
once it gets to review...
-I can help it stay open with my report.
-BoIlocks.
My figures show GrimIey has a future,
it's a profitable pit.
They know that. It'lI never reach
review. The lads'll go for redundancy.
And that's another thing that you
lot know...
just how much to offer
to get a resuIt.
Every miner l've spoken to is
voting to stay put.
Do you think they'd telI you
any different?
Four to one
it'lI go for pay-off.
-You're voting to stay put?
-Course l bloody am.
Then you must
have some hope.
No hope.
Just principles.
It's your first job for them,
isn't it?
Otherwise you'd know that your report
means as much as we do. Bugger aIl.
lt's just a
bIoody PR exercise.
So blind, naive peopIe, peopIe not
unlike yourseIf...
wiII think those good eggs at Head
Office have been very fair...
very reasonable. Done
their best, done their sums...
and, oh dear, they
just don't add up.
They'll have to cIose another pit.
Shame.
They won't even
read the bugger.
They've aIready made their decision,
probably when you were at college.
Oh, don't be ridicuIous.
Anyway, if my job's so bloody
irrelevant...
how come you
hate me so much?
l don't have you, I...
-Who's the haddock?
-She is.
l chose Grimley, you know.
They offered me other pits, but l
chose Grimley for two reasons.
Because if I could help keep one pit
aIive, I wanted it to be this one.
Second...
Hey, isn't that...
where the old bus station was?
-l didn't think you'd remember.
-How could I forget?
I'm sorry. FumbIings of a fourteen
year old.
What did we call it?
Top half onIy.
Can hardly have been worth it
at that age. Just kids.
-l'd get better value now.
-Well that's inflation for you.
l did know your name,
you know.
When l called you
Barry Andrews.
l just didn'twant
you to think...
I don't know.
That it was etched forever
on me brain.
'Cause it hasn't been,
has it?
Do you want to come
up for a coffee?
l don't drink coffee.
I haven't got any.
-Eh up, Phil.
-Jesus Christ.
Did you Iike it so much you want
to go back?
-What?
-WakefieId Prison?
-What are you on about?
-Shall we call it a day, eh?
Evening, love.
Night.
All right, Andy lad. What've you
been up to?
A bit of extra
practice, like.
-You're a genius you, aren't you?
-What?
Well, it takes a speciaI talent that,
practicing...
-without your instrument.
-l must've left it in there, l'll...
-l'll pick it up tomorrow.
-Right.
Gloria on good form,
is she?
-Night, Andy lad.
-Night, Danny.
Mr MacKenzie, could l have a
quick word?
WeII, l'm actually rather busy,
Gloria.
Yes, so am l. l just wanted to make
sure l wasn't busy for no reason.
It's just some of the information
l need...
it's Iike getting bIood out of
a stone.
I feel Iike I'm flogging a dead
horse sometimes and I...
Shall we stop talking in riddIes,
GIoria?
I'm worried that my report
may be sort of...
immateriaI.
Your report is vital...
absoIutely paramount.
lf this pit goes to review,
and we hope it wiII...
we have cruciaI decisions to make and
we can't make them without detaiIed...
accurate reports from highIy
quaIified people such as yourself.
lt's a tricky business, GIoria.
AII we want to do
is get it right.
Okay?
Yeah.
Eh up, Andy. Look, there's your mate,
Miss Glorious Tits.
What's she doing here?
Now then, what's a nice girI like you
doing in a horribIe place like this?
Oh, hiya.
Hi, Andy.
Hiya.
-l came up to meet Andy out of work.
-He's not out of work yet, love.
Come back next week.
l just wondered if you wanted a
quick practice, Andy?
No he can't Iove. He's going
for a pint with us.
-Oh, right, well...
-See you.
That's all right, isn't it Andy?
Nice pint and a chat.
We can taIk about
price of fish...
plight of t'T hird WorId...
pros and cons
of t'sweeper system...
and why your bird's got management
Iogo on her key-ring.
Still, it doesn't make her the
devil incarnate, does it?
What does it make Andy here?
That's what I want to know.
Lay off him, eh, Jim. He said he
didn't know.
With legs like that round
your back...
you don't stop and ask for
a reference, do you?
-lt's a mistake anyone could've made.
-Aye...
and by heII, we aIl wish we'd
made it.
-This isn't funny.
-Nowt wrong with shagging management.
They've been shagging
us long enough.
Oh, don't tell me Andy. Itweren't
shagging...
it were true love.
-Are you pIaying, Andy?
-No. He's had enough fun for one week.
I'm not a kid
anymore, Jim, right?
Oh, aye?
-OId enough to be a scab, then.
-Jim.
lt's right, Andy,
he doesn't mean it.
You don't mess around
with words Iike that.
Aye, l'm sorry, Andy.
Take it back.
You'rejust a stupid fucker.
That's more Iike it.
l'll catch you later, lads.
Where are you off, then?
HeIIo, kids.
My name's Mr ChuckIes.
HeIIo, Mr Chuckles.
-Now, do you like card tricks?
-Yeah.
Will you heIp me with this
card trick?
Come here, come here. Now,
what you have to do...
is pick a card from there.
Don't let me see it.
And show it to aII your friends so
that they can alI see it.
Now put it back
anywhere you Iike.
Tell me when you've
done it. Done it?
Now l'm going to shuffle them aII up.
Did you see what the card was?
Don't tell me.
The card was the Jack of Hearts.
No.
-Queen of Clubs?
-No.
-What were it then?
-Ace of Spades.
Correct!
AlI right now, Scott.
I'm going to put your watch there and
l'm going to foId this over...
Once, twice, three times, four.
Just Iike that. AII right.
And, with this hammer, Scott,
l want you to give that watch...
-a great big smack.
-No.
When l say
the magic words, Scott.
-This isn't your main job, is it?
-l'm a miner.
A miner?
You remember them, Iove,
dinosaurs, dodos...
miners.
-Sorry Sandra, you're a bit short.
-How much?
-One fitty.
-What's up with you?
What's it to be?
-What about them aeroplane things?
-What?
-Them things with wings on?
-No, l need them.
Here you are, Iove, put that back.
We'll use soap.
Sorry, Vera. Me and sums, not what
you'd call the best of friends.
Me and money, total frigging
strangers.
Sorry Iove.
StilI need another sixty.
l tell you what, give it us next
week, all right?
Are you sure?
Don't forget your receipt.
-Come on.
-See you, love.
Get back in
here now with that.
-Who do you think you bIeeding are?
-Get off.
-Hey.
-Bastard.
Come here, you bastards.
What do you think
you're fucking doing?
What do you think you're
fucking pIaying at?
l told you, pal. It's pay day.
Yeah, aII right.
Right.
Just give us a
bit of time, eh?
It's been ten years mate.
Pay day's pay day, pal.
Especially when it's
tweIve grand.
-Twelve?
-Aye, it's that interest, isn't it?
-It's a bugger.
-Well, what about...
-Can you wait till twenty first?
-Twenty first?
Oh, aye.
Coco the scab, eh?
-We'll be back with truck.
-Truck? What for?
Contents.
Until you pay up, like.
lf you touch my kids again,
l'll fucking kill you.
What the frigging hell's this?
lt's a frigging dent, that's
what it is.
Andy Barrow lent it me.
He'lI go frigging barmy.
-Hiya, Danny love. You welI?
-Oh, aye, can't complain, Betty.
-What time do they announce result?
-About five-ish or summat, l think.
-l didn't know you were that bothered.
-Whole town's bothered, Iove.
Can't do without pit.
l thought you were taIking
about Semi-Finals.
Honest, Danny,
a day Iike today...
You think anyone's interested in
some daft football match?
AlI right, love?
That's it. You bugger off and blow
your bloody trumpet.
BIimey, a conversation.
Harry, in a month's time when you're
at home all day and there's ...
nowt but doIe coming in, at Ieast
l can know that I did summat.
It weren't much, but it were best l
could do and at least it were summat.
What are you on about?
Ten years ago before the strike,
you were so fuIl of fight.
Packed fuII of passion,
you were.
Now you just do nowt.
AII you do is blow your bIoody
trumpet.
Aye, but at least...
At least what?
People listen to us.
Go on, sod off.
And it's
a bloody euphonium.
You know, l can't tell a Iie. I were
never one for brass bands before.
But when you hear that sound, when
you're near that sound...
-doesn't haIf grab you, doesn't it?
-Aye, it does that.
But you know, folk like Danny,
it's taken over their Iives.
I'd never Iet that happen.
-Gorgeous.
-Oh, yeah.
AII right, Bernard.
-Jim, Ernie.
-Danny.
-Hi, Danny.
-Hello, Danny.
BIoody helI. Hi, Harry.
Make an effort, Andy.
BIoody helI, son.
What's happened to you?
Sorry, Dad.
-Bit of a domestic, Iike.
-But you know this is a special...
Sandra did that?
To you?
No.
Go on, get on t'bus.
Get it cIeaned up.
Bang goes the Deportment Prize,
any road.
We're going to win this one. Look.
Your Phil's got a new trombone.
We off, then?
AII right, StanIey.
Halifax here we come.
Shift, wiII you? Stop fighting
aII the time.
Votes for redundancy.
Seven hundred and ninety-eight.
The winners, with 194 points,
"The Grimley Colliery Band" .
Harry.
Rita, Iove.
Fourto one against,
it went.
Four to one, Harry.
Still...
see a bit more of
each other now.
Dad?
Oh, Jesus Christ.
Will someone get
an ambuIance, quick!
Hurry, he can't breathe.
-Just back off, wiII you?
-Don't crowd him.
-Come on, breathe for me.
-Someone call for that ambuIance?
Come on,
I've got you. Phil's here.
Come on,
hurry up, wiII you?
How is he, Phil?
I don't know.
He hasn't woke up yet.
They just said there'd be more
news tomorrow.
Right. We're just having
a colIection for him.
You stilI here, love?
I reckon it's got to be ta-ra now,
don't you?
l'm on your side.
l always was.
Andy?
Andy.
Phil, Iad.
Not flowers, all right, Jim.
Not grapes.
Get him summat he wants, eh?
You sure about this, Andy mate?
What about t'finals?
What finaIs?
Andy, l don't
want to faII out, mate.
You're me main
source of income.
Don't worry, Simmo. l've lost more
this week than a bloody trumpet.
Sandra?
They came.
Took bloody lot.
-I warned you, Phil.
-Oh, Sand, no. I...
Look don't ...
Not now.
Seems as good a time as any. What
with there being nowhere to sit.
Dad's coIIapsed.
Aye, I heard.
l'm sorry, PhiI.
Oh, you fuckers.
-Sandra?
-Phil? Harry.
Are you set for one
finaI performance?
What on earth?
Nurse, go down there at once
and get rid of them.
Leave them be.
-Mr Ormondroyd, how are you feeling?
-Death's door.
-The bastards still take the piss.
-Yes, l am sorry about this racket.
-We'll stop it, don't worry.
-Stop this racket?
You'll wake up
in the next ward.
ls it going Iike
shit off a shoveI?
lf by that you mean fast,
yes it is, rather.
lt always does when they pIay
this one.
Message from
Mr Ormondroyd.
-He's awake?
-Yeah.
He says tenor
horn's too soft.
Phil Iad, I reckon it'd be best
coming from you.
About us packing in.
Not going to t'finals.
You shouIdn't have, you know, Iads.
ReaIIy. ShouId've brought me...
flowers or summat.
Grapes. I could murder a
bunch of grapes.
-BIoody hell.
-Right thank you. The concert's over.
lt's past eIeven
and Mr Ormondroyd...
must have some sleep. Thank you.
-See you, Danny.
And I'd prefer any future visits to
be made in visiting hours...
-preferably without trumpets.
-lt's a euphonium.
Hey lads,
sounded good, mind...
Out there. Keep playing Iike that and
we'lI murder them at bloody finals.
TelI him.
You in a bit of trouble, son?
-It's nowt, Dad.
-You seem a bit upset, Iike.
Of course I'm upset.
-Me old man's poorly.
-Aye, well...
we'll both get
over that, won't we?
Nice bit of brass.
Cheap, yeah?
Ta, son, anyway.
It matters, you know,
that trombone.
-To me, any road.
-Aye.
I'd best be off, eh? Let you
get some shut-eye.
Aye.
Say hello to Sandra and kids for me.
-Yeah, they said, getwell.
l were alongside Arthur Mullins every
day of his working life...
-When they cut him open...
-Dad, don't .
They say when they opened up his
Iungs, there were...
nowt in there but coal dust.
SIack. SIack everywhere.
-Took them a week to get t'slab clean.
-Dad...
You'll be all right.
Are you going to tell me lies
all bloody night?
No.
You're right, son.
You're right.
Go on, be off with you. I'll be out
of here in time for t'finaI.
One way or the other.
...different after recent events.
Just thought l'd bring you the
viabiIity study.
Ah, right. Yes.
Put it there. Thank you.
So, Frank, you're going down to
Stainly Tuesday and coming back...
-Will you be reading it?
-It wouId've been very valuabIe...
if the GrimIey miners had decided
to go to a review, but...
as you know, sadly...
You made them an offer they
couIdn't refuse.
None of this is simpIe.
I'lI tell you some facts as I see
them and you tell me if l'm wrong.
-Miss MuIIins.
-One: I write reports...
that no-one will ever read. They
have to be seen to be written...
but they're not written to be
seen. Two..
Grimley is, was a profitabIe
pit, says so in here.
Three: the decision to close it
wasn't made today...
-it was made weeks ago.
-Wrong.
2 years ago.
Coal, is history, Miss MulIins.
l'll catch you later, lads.
Look for years, bloody years, nowt
good's ever happened to me.
Only reason l'd get up was to see if
me Iuck'd changed, but it never has.
lt was just beginning to get worse,
with pit cIosing, losing me job...
and then what happens?
Gloria Mullins...
love of me bloody Iife,
walks into practice hall.
BIoody heII, l thought, maybe
Iife's not so bad.
But is it buggery. She's onIy
fucking management.
And now that's what you've
been doing.
Yeah, well let's just call that
sIeeping with the enemy.
l'm not the enemy.
l'm like you.
UnempIoyed.
l told them to stuff it.
-You off back down south, then?
-WeII, hardly welcome here.
Reckon they aII know now,
you were only trying to heIp.
Thing is if heIp comes to summat then
you're a hero. lf it comes to nowt...
you're just
another meddIer.
And is that what you reckon?
l reckon your heart's in the right
place, but...
you never did owt
to prove it.
l'll say ta-ra, then.
Summat good'lI
happen soon, Andy.
Hope it's at Albert Hall.
Doubt it somehow.
We're not going.
-What?
-They worked it out.
lt'd cost three
grand or summat.
No, the band's dead.
lt died with everything else.
Harry.
-AII right, Ernie.
-Aye.
Jim.
AII right.
-AlI right, PhiI?
-AlI right, Andy Iad?
-Owt in?
-There's a machinist wanted.
-You any good at button stitching?
-l'll take anything.
WeII, thank Christ
l found you. Look.
How's your dad?
How'd he take
it about us packing in?
Phil, come on. You've got to
tell him you know.
-l mean, before t'final.
-l'm going to. I'm going to.
-There's a while yet, isn't there?
-Saturday.
I'm afraid
l've got some bad news.
Sandra and the kids? l heard about
that. Don't fret, they'II be back.
-Dad...
-Just one day. They won't let me out.
For one sodding day.
-Dad, look...
-Might as well give these to Harry.
Wish him good luck.
l was up alI night doing them.
Aye.
Right.
Harvest FestivaI.
To tell you the truth, l don't know
too much about Harvest Festival.
But l do know
a story about God.
So God was creating Man,
aIl right?
And his Iittle assistant came
up to him...
and he said: "hey, we've got all
these bodies Ieft...
but we're right out of brains, we're
right out of hearts...
and we're right
out of vocal chords".
And God said "Fuck it.
Sew 'em up anyway.
Smack smiles on their faces and make
them taIk out their arses" .
-And lo, God created the Tory party.
-Come on.
-May God forgive you.
-God?
Oh, aye. Now
there's a fella...
I mean, what's
he doing, eh?
He can take
John Lennon...
He can take those three young lads
down at Ainsley Pit.
He's even thinking of taking
my old man.
And Margaret bloody
Thatcher Iives?
l mean, what's he
sodding pIaying at?
You've been great.
My name's Coco the Scab.
Goodnight.
Grandad? What's grandad got
to do with it?
Dad said when people are as poorly
as grandad is...
you've got to do speciaI things
for them.
Shane Iove, your dad didn't buy
trombone for your grandad.
He bought it for himself.
He said grandad's gonna die. But at
Ieast Dad getting a trombone...
is gonna make him die happy.
That's what he said.
-Mam?
-What, love?
How the hell
do you die happy?
Oh, we'lI find a way.
l don't Iike seeing
Dad sad, Mam.
But I'd sooner see him sad
than not see him at all.
-HeIp.
-What's that, for fuck's sake?
-HeIp.
-What is it?
Jesus Christ.
Philip?
l mean...
What the bloody heII were you
playing at, lad?
You Iost your marbles?
Maybe.
I've lost everything eIse.
Wife, kids, house...
Job, self-respect...
Hope.
But then, that's
nowt is it, Dad?
Because it's music
that matters.
The band's packed in,
anyway.
Oh, bloody heII, PhiI.
Is this man bothering you?
Course he is,
he's me dad.
-Phil?
-Phil Iad?
-Are you aII right?
-What are you up to?
Feeding the fucking ducks,
what's it look like?
We heard about, er...
We were on our way to hospital
to see you.
Hey, and your dad.
He'd be dead chuffed
with a visit from you lot.
I tell you, if he were up and about,
we'd all be in intensive bloody care.
Oh, right.
You told him.
Maybe we'll visit him
next week then.
You coming for a
pint, mate?
Drink with scabs, do you?
l voted for t'money,
you know that?
Come on PhiI. Stop being a drama
queen. Come and have a wet with us.
Anyway, there's enough bloody
rubbish in this canaI already.
Hejust shook his head.
Can't telI you.
lt were like...
lights just went out.
I mean, there he is
coughing up coal...
and aII we can do is
break his bloody heart.
Poor sod's got nowt left
to Iive for.
-Can I get you a drink?
-No, it's aII right.
l just wanted to show
you summat.
New bank account.
Grimley Brass Band.
There's three
grand in there.
lf nowt else, it'll get you to
Albert HaII.
This your money?
I don't want it.
lt's dirty money.
l'd prefer it to be brass.
Must be awfuI, love...
having that much guiIt you've got
to buy your way out of it.
Jim, l'm just doing what l was
aIways doing.
Meddling. Difference is this
time we've not lost before we start.
And you'd want to pIay
with us, yeah?
l'm not doing
this for me.
l'm doing it for you.
And Danny.
I hope you budgeted for booze.
Danny'd want us
to win, wouIdn't he?
We're not going to win without
a flaming flugel, are we?
Simmo, you haven't fIogged it,
have you?
Right, your horn
plays my twenty.
What?
AII right, bastard, thirty.
Okay.
-Yes. He's missed.
-Come on.
-Come on, Andy.
-Come on Andy son. Go on, go on, son.
Take your time.
Bollock brain.
You jammy git.
WeII done, Andy.
l said no, Mr Ormondroyd,
he's asleep.
Most people are at two
in the morning.
Leave a message. He'll get it the
moment he wakes up, all right?
Least it'll give them more
energy won't it?
Brighouse and Rustrick Band,
you have two minutes.
Brighouse and Rustrick,
two minutes.
Grimley ColIiery, you
have two minutes.
Grimley Colliery,
two minutes.
By heII, I bet she's glad they've
closed the bugger.
Okay, Iads. Let's do it.
For a thousand redundant miners
and one poorly one.
-Let's do it
-Right.
Nurse, quickIy. It's Mr Ormondroyd.
He's gone.
First prize and Champions of
Great Britain...
Grimley Colliery Band.
This band behind me wiII tell you
that trophy means more to me than...
owt eIse in the whole world.
But they'd be wrong. Truth is,
l thought it mattered...
I thought that music mattered...
But does it bolIocks. Not compared
to how people matter.
Us winning this trophy won't mean
bugger aII to most people.
But us refusing it, like what
we're going to do now...
well then it becomes news,
doesn't it?
You see what I mean.
That way l'll not just be taIking
to myself, will l?
Because over the last ten years,
this bloody government...
has systematically destroyed
an entire industry.
Our industry. And not just our
industry.
Our communities, our homes,
our lives.
AII in the name of progress and
for a few lousy bob.
l'll teIl you something else you
might not know. A fortnight ago...
this band's pit were closed.
Another thousand men Iost their jobs.
And that's not all they lost.
Most of them Iost the wiII to win
a whiIe ago.
A few of them even lost
the wiII to fight.
But...
When it comes to Iosing the will
to live, to breathe...
point is...
if this lot were seals or whaIes,
you'd be up in bloody arms.
But they're not. They'rejust
ordinary, common or garden...
honest, decent human beings.
And not one of them...
with an ounce
of bloody hope Ieft.
They can knock out
a bloody good tune.
But what the fuck
does that matter?
Now I'm going to take my boys
out onto the town.
Thank you.
-Are you coming back, Sand?
-I dunno.
l've got a chair now.
l've no frigging house,
but l've got a chair.
Well, sort of a chair.
lt aIl sounds very tempting.
AlI right?
ls that a thankyou?
More than that.
l've never known him gush
Iike that before.
Aye, weII I suppose that's what
Yorkshiremen are famous for.
Not showing their feeIings.
Aye.
l'm not going
to show mine, either.
All right then,
lads and Iassies.
Land of Hope
and bloody Glory, eh?