underground

One key to this place seems to be the coal-mining culture - or rather, the legacy of its demise. In some ways this reminds me of Cape Breton, but the thing is here the decline was violent and more recent - so I think the effects are more palpable. Or maybe just different.

There is a poverty, a harshness and a terrible pride - mixed with a joie de vivre that's a little hard to fathom at times (and not just because of the accent).