"Interesting jobs" drabbles by Richard Hunt

Working in a coal mine - 18

Interesting jobs #3

So we all sat and talked in the unusual silence, with everything stopped.

They told me how they had met up in the church - a lovely church, ‘You should see it.’ - and one Christmas they had joined together in the Church’s annual ‘Christmas festival’ and started singing for it. They had become so popular that they got numerous requests to sing at other local events after that.

I talked about my seven years as a chorister in Norwich Cathedral choir, and how that had cemented several friendships. I talked about climbing the spire, 310 feet tall.

And we all waited.

Working in a coal mine - 17

Interesting jobs #17

They could not work with the power down, and so we sat and chatted.

I explained that my boss had brought me down from Manchester in his car and that he had gone off to important meetings.

“So he said”, one of them remarked, “more likely a glorified booze-up.”

I couldn’t help agreeing, but said I was there for the rest of the afternoon, so perhaps they could show me the coal-cutter and how it all worked.

It was, as I told you, a great big disk with cutters on it, which was cutting into the coal seam.

Working in a coal mine - 16

Interesting jobs #20

So the transformer was fixed as far as I was concerned, but I needed to wait, to give it time to fail and to wait for Fred, my boss, to come back with the car in which he had brought me down. He had gone off to some ‘important meetings’ nearby.

So I just sat in the chair they had provided and watched them.

A well co-ordinated team, as they sang … “When the swallows come back to Capistrano.” Then more and more.

“Right, we’re going to turn it off now. It always fails on restart.” The boss said.

Working in a coal mine - 15

Interesting jobs #19

“It’s buried under the snow”, they sang. As usual I thought ‘subnivean’. That’s the way my brain works. But it was great sitting and listening to them as the cutter turned and the coal started along the conveyor belt.

They came to the end of the song and asked “what next.”

‘I don’t want to set the world on fire’ I suggested.

“Ok, we have our own version of that, we do, after all, work in a coal mine.” Then they sang.

“I don’t … I just want to make a flame in your hearth.”

“Well we do cut coal.”

Working in a coal mine - 14

Interesting jobs #18

There were chairs there, so I sat down. There was a steady hum as the conveyor belt started up, then a grinding noise as that great big wheel-cutter started moving.

“Got to get to work now.” Bob said. “We normally sing as we work, anything you’d like in particular?”

“Ink Spots, I like their voices and repertoire. Especially Whispering Grass … they recorded it the year I was born. Can you sing that?”

“Of course, ‘Whispering, then Ink Spots.” He called to the other three.

The cutter started to move and coal fell from it as they started singing.

Working in a coal mine - 13

Interesting jobs #17

I had known I would have to wait, so I had my lunchtime sandwiches with me.

“Right, I’ll leave you then,” Phill, my guide said.

“I’m Bob.” The foreman said, shaking hands. “So when do you think we can get them to turn everything on?”

“Now.” I said. I, too, was curious to find out if this cure I had devised and installed would work.

“You’ve got it.” The foreman said, picking up a phone.

There was a hum, a clunking and a whine and things started moving again.

“It’ll be a couple of hours before we know.” Bob said.

Working in a coal mine - 12

Interesting jobs #16

I looked around for the supports inside the outer steel container that I had been told were there. And they were! So I delved into my backpack and pulled out the profiled dishes which I had had made.

It was hot and it was very humid. Inside the box - steel container - it was even worse, but then the transformer had been working until a short while ago.

I put my containers in place, then I tipped in measured amounts of blue silica gell.

As quickly as possible I bolted the top back down.

“Now we have to wait.” I said.

Working in a coal mine - 11

Interesting jobs #15

“I’ll look out for the church when I go back to Manchester.” I said. “I sang in a Cathedral choir as a boy chorister for seven years.” I continued. “So now, is it safe to open this box?”

“Yes, it is. Have you got the tools that you need?”

“Of course.”

“I’ll leave you to get on with it then… tell you what, we’ll sing a hymn for you as you work.”

“If you would. ‘Guide me, oh Thou great Jehovah’ would be appropriate.”

So they did.

I undid 8 bolts, lifted the heavy top off. There is the transformer.

Working in a coal mine - 9

Interesting jobs #14

The foreman came over.

“All safe now.” He said as all the machinery came to a stop.

“Loved your singing,” I said.

“Great. Love you to fix this damned transformer.” He said in a deep bass voice.

“I will.” I said, with a confidence I did not feel. “How did you four meet?” I asked, just to hear that voice again.

“In the local church choir, we sing there … normal hymns, anthems and so on. It’s just over the road there from the coal mine, you might have seen it as you came in.”

“No, I didn’t.” I confessed.

Working in a coal mine - 8

Interesting jobs #13

We have arrived at the coal face, with the coal cutting disc ahead and on our left, slowly turning. Coal falls on to the conveyor belt, two guys are sorting it.

Singing has stopped as we arrive.

“They don’t want to distract you.” Phill said after talking to a guy who seemed to be in charge. “They want this damned transformer fixed, reliably. It stops at the most inconvenient times. Ruins their productivity.”

He was pointing at a green box about 1metre high, 1 metre wide and 1 metre thick.

I recognised it.

I knew what I had to do.

Working in a coal mine - 7

Interesting jobs #12

“Shhh” Phill said, turning. “they will be rehearsing for a performance. Just enjoy the singing.”

We continued walking along the passage coal going the opposite way on our left, on the belt, ducking now and then to avoid a beam, the singing getting louder.

Suddenly we came to a widening of the tunnel. Ahead a massive circular copper disk, at least 8 metres across, with steel inserts. It was turning slowly and coal was falling from it.

In the widened tunnel four workers, working and singing.

Singing stopped.

“Tell them not to stop singing for me… for us” I said.

Working in a coal mine - 6

Interesting jobs #11

Up into the tunnel on our left.

“Follow me” Phill said.

The tunnel was about 3 metres wide and led off into the distance, the conveyor belt with coal on it running up the middle. Every 5 metres or so there were supports, holding the roof up. Some were loose and I had to duck under them.

It was hot and humid.

As we went I could hear singing from up ahead. Barber’s shop singing.

‘Bless you, for being an angel, just …’

I like music and I like Barber’s shop quartets.

I wanted to join in and started humming.

Working in a coal mine - 5

Interesting jobs #10

Forward and down again, Phill and I now the only ones on the train. We reach the next station stop. The line itself goes on ahead and down again.

“This is us.” Phill says.

We climb out. Ahead there is a tunnel and at the far side a conveyor belt. I can see coal on it as it moves from my left to right.

“They are a happy bunch on this level. Just four of them. They have formed a Barber’s Shop Quartet. You’ll probably hear them.” Phill says as we walk over, down a little slope under the conveyor.

Working in a coal mine - 4

Interesting jobs #9

We had to wait in this heat and humidity until the next lift-load arrived, but then … off we went - forwards at first but then down … steeply down.

The roof closed in over us but there were lights, so I could see the rock passing by on all sides.

Suddenly lights again and we levelled off.

“We have to go down another level.” Phill said as we pulled into a little station. On my right was a tunnel. “That goes to another seam. We need the bottom one, the next one down.”

Miners got out, we stayed in.

Working in a coal mine - 3

Interesting jobs #8

So down we went until the lift stopped at the bottom of the shaft. Out into the gloomy light of the mine.

“Round to our left” my companion said. “We have to go down another couple of levels, in that train. Incidentally my name is Phill.”

I turned left, saying “I’m Richard.”

The train was a bit like one of those you see on a fairground as a roller coaster. But this train had only one way to go … down.

So we climbed into two empty seats.

Ahead, the line went down.

How far down?

I had no idea.

Working in a coal mine - 2

Interesting jobs #7

So I and my ‘minder’ got into the lift cage with about another dozen miners. The doors closed and one of the others pushed a button.

Down we went.

“This the first time you’ve been down” one of them asked.

“Yes.”

“Sh*t,” he said. “If I’d known I would have got him to drop us under gravity, to initiate you.”

Down, down, the mine begins 2km below the surface.

And it got warmer, and warmer as we went down.

“Heat from the planet’s core.” My minder said. “It will get a lot warmer yet.”

And down and down we went.

Working in a coal mine - 1

Interesting jobs #6

Staffordshire: I arrived early in the morning, in time for the first shift. Reported to the manager and taken to a supervisor to show me where to go.

First, of course, the safety check … of me, but I was fully kitted out with helmet white suit boots and so on.

“Over here for the lift.” He took me … well you know what they look like from above ground, just a wire running over a pulley, then straight down to the lift which would be at the top of the lift shaft.

I went, taking my bag of tools.

A very happy workforce 2

Interesting jobs #5

I took a glass sample tube which I had evacuated before I came, from my bag. Opened the valve and what had been a vacuum was now a sample of the air in the paint shop.

“What are you going to do?” The manager asked.

“Analyse it.” I said, simply.

He was NOT so happy, nor were the workers.

Back in the lab I analysed the sample.

There were dangerous amounts of ethanol (alcohol).

I reported it to the Safety Officer. The department was immediately closed and the workers redeployed. I did not go near the area for some while!

A very happy workforce - 1

Interesting jobs #4

“Richard, we’re not sure what’s going on, but can you investigate it?”

It was a problem in one of the paint shops in the factory where I worked, in Manchester.

So off I went into the factory … an interesting place. Over to the paint shop, where the manager was waiting to see me. Waiting, but very happy.

“Hi!” He grinned.

“So what’s the problem.” I asked.

“They are a really happy bunch, but work tails off in the afternoon.”

I went in with him and was immediately assailed by the smell of the paint solvents.

Workers turned and grinned.

So simple yet so devastating

Interesting jobs #3

I worked for a company who built power stations, not little things, massive ones powering the National Grid.

“Richard, we have a problem in Warwickshire. One of the generators keeps cutting out. Every morning. 850 Megawatts. Go and find out what’s happening.”

So there I was early next morning.

I sat and watched. No problem.

Day two. I watched as a cleaner went along dusting the gauges.

‘Bang’. Sirens going, red lights flashing. The generator stopped. 850 megawatts down.

So simple! One of the gauges had a cutout on it.

Static from the cleaner’s cloth had activated it.

Job solved.