Launch

The last pits have closed, the redundancy money has been spent and a family is in crisis. 70 year old pigeon man Arthur Elliott is losing his allotment to the local authority’s coastal redevelopment scheme. Working as a trumpeter, teacher, club singer and club act agent, his son, 40 year old ex-miner Joe can just about scrape a living, but his marriage is breaking up. 10 year old Michael is left to grapple with his own realities as coalfield culture begins to disintegrate. Three generations struggle to come to terms with the past and find the ties that still bind them; three worlds unfold against the rich and extraordinary backdrop of East Durham.

A feature drama set in the declining fishing industry in North Shields, the film centres on the upheaval caused in a traditional fishing community by the unexpected arrival of a young woman.

Combines footage of the 100th Durham Miner's Gala held in 1983, with extracts from a miners' weekend school held two months later, to raise the central issues that were of concern to the mineworkers' union during the lead up to the national strike of 1984.