©Karen Thompson BA Hons, MA January 2010 WCLIP Cumbria Childrens’ Services SIT West

PRECIS & PROJECT INTRODUCTION

This project aims to continue and build upon the work already completed in school on the „Living Literally‟, Djembe Drumming and South African /Cumbrian Textiles and Culture Projects (2006 – 2009), so that cultural work can be further enhanced and improved across the curriculum throughout the school. The work will create opportunities to cater for range of learning styles among pupils, and provide interesting and exciting opportunities for music and dance which will increase the knowledge, skill and ability of not only the Gifted and Talented pupils but all involved in the wider life of the school.

Based around coal mining, miners and their families and the associated activities of music, dance, crafts and rituals on both continents, and how these activities (despite the difference in culture) have profound similarities, the project will enable children, staff, parents and the wider community to experience various styles of music, learn and practice djembe drumming, learn about and participate in South African singing and Gumboot dancing, & Cumbrian Brass Band music and clog dancing, dialect and language use, and explore indigenous materials and culture and what this means to the people who use them. In addition, pupils will be able to tell the story of mining on both continents and how the music and dance styles evolved, how certain people in the community were exploited, and how barriers can be created and communities broken through bias and bigotry and how this can be overcome.

The project will involve staff from various classes, and practitioners and organisations teaching and specialising in different subject areas: Artists in Residence: Gumboot dancing and South African singing and dancing specialists The Black Umfolosi 5 the local Museums and Archive Services, (The Beacon, Whitehaven Archives, Haig Pit Musuem); Soundwave music practitioners; the Theatre by the Lake, Keswick; the County Library Service.

Resources required will include a wide range of books and resources from WCLIP, including Cumbrian literature and books on dialect, South African artefacts and information, books on religious books and information, art and 3D materials and media, use of IT equipment, musical instruments, lyrics to songs and poetry and literature from various writers from both continents.

The project will begin with introductions to the work to the classes involved by Karen Thompson, WCLIP Cultural Coordinator with SIT West, and continue with other practitioners and groups throughout the summer term, culminating in a performance of the story of mining in Cumbria and South Africa by the pupils for their peers and local community. The project will be funded through the West Cumbria Learning Innovation Programmes and led by Karen Thompson, Cultural Coordinator, SIT West with assistance from schools‘ head teachers and creative practitioners and artists involved. INSET opportunities will also be created. The work will be evaluated according to the criteria as contained in WCEC Best Practice document; monitoring and evaluation will be based on the aims and objectives and final outcomes of the work.

©Karen Thompson BA Hons, MA January 2010 WCLIP Cumbria Childrens’ Services SIT West

Aims and Objectives

. To create storytelling and performance opportunities which explore and examine the mining cultures of West Cumbria and South Africa and the associated music & dance, and activities accompanying both. . To promote knowledge of other cultures among pupils, staff and parents in school. . To provide cultural information on mining and indigenous materials, dance and music which cross- reference with other sections of the curriculum and previous projects completed . To compare the local culture and how this is perceived, with that of other places in the world. . To provide a range of activities for all the pupils, with which staff, governors and parents can also become involved. . To provide information and source material on African and Cumbrian music, dance, art and culture. . To use cultural resources currently built up by WCLIP, and assess how these have supported the project. . To have music and dance workshops during a dedicated week so that pupils, staff, governors and parents can see the work being prepared and realised. . To provide a basis for future work within the school which can be developed by staff and pupils, WCLIP and the School Improvement Plan . To create INSET opportunities for all the staff who work in the school . Provide information to increase the knowledge and understanding of the pupils as to why we should remember the past and how we can learn from it through visits and involvement by, to and with the MLA service – (Haig Pit, The Beacon etc) . To enhance provision for Gifted and Talented Pupils . To provide opportunities for creative thinking and learning both in and out of school

The following processes and methods can be used:

. An opportunity for pupils to work with The Black Umfolozi5 from Zimbabwe. This will involve Artists-in-Residence working with staff and pupils to produce ideas for a final performance, and working on this in terms of subject, objective or theme. . Planning sessions and project introductions for pupils at a suitable time before the dancing/singing workshops, to introduce concepts to the pupils and staff and form a basis for the work. Pupils can thus research and write about mining, local culture and music/dance in classroom sessions. This will be teacher led and depend on resources and time available, and what the class is doing at the time in terms of subject, topic or theme. Information from local museums, archives, nationally available information on the internet, and from other local agencies can be used in lessons, to introduce children to the local area and language and culture in Cumbria, and then comparisons made with that in South Africa. This can be used to demonstrate cultural similarities and differences and bring in social, economic and religious aspects of the project in to class work . A visit to the Theatre by the Lake to see the Black Umfolozi 5 perform on Saturday 1st May is also being planned. . The information collected plus previous work done (drawings, 3D work, written work and research) by the children can be used to put together a set of resources which can be used as a basis to continue this type of project and work in future.

©Karen Thompson BA Hons, MA January 2010 WCLIP Cumbria Childrens’ Services SIT West

. Production of a final performance and pieces of work by the pupils which sum up the work done, and provide an inspirational as well as aesthetic display in the school.

Outcomes

 Arts and Culture Education sessions for all involved: performances, theatre visits, museum visits and involvement of pupils and schools‘ local community in experiencing another culture with connections to their own.  Focus on/attention drawn to/promotion of local dialects and indigenous customs, music and dance styles and what this means in context of small communities on two continents  Cross curricular links made and used  Information gathered for future use – performance and dance/music techniques, materials, resources  G&T National Standards and Cultural Targets and Outcomes met  Local and national museums, services and archives information sourced and stored for future use  Cultural promotion – through comparing how music and dance inspires, relaxes and helps people involved in tough physical work  Children have opportunity to get to know more about culture generally and work with professional artists.  Speaking and listening skills improved  Diversity and similarity of culture and language celebrated

Requirements and Actions – Karen Thompson with head teachers

o Services of Professional artists procured and rates set – Soundwave, Black Umfolozi 5 o Involvement of other schools to share in project confirmed – Monkwray, Valley and St Marys Kells. o Procurement of all necessary items such as books, reference sources etc., especially dialect, poetry (local and national, international), literature and different types of writing and notation o 1 x Staff session to work through requirements and project/subject/topic links o Sessions with pupils to be involved in project work carried out with Karen Thompson(preferably those who have been involved in previous project work to be included where possible if they have not moved to secondary school) o Involvement of Cleator Moor Silver Band confirmed o Visit to Theatre by the Lake costed, booked and confirmed o Visits to school by Haig Pit staff to be arranged o Local museums and archives information sourced o Costing for production of final performance – source other funding o Organisation of rooms and class participation in full day of activities o Parents, governors and staff informed about project in advance o WCLIP/SIT staff (G&T, BIP etc ) informed of events and kept informed of progress.

©Karen Thompson BA Hons, MA January 2010 WCLIP Cumbria Childrens’ Services SIT West

Links with Other Projects This work will also build on two other projects carried out by West Cumbria Excellence Cluster 2006 to 2008. These are the djembe drumming programme with Soundwave (YMAZ) and the visit by Karen Thompson to Cape Town, South Africa (supported by the University for Cumbria) in order to forge the links between the two areas to promote cultural links with Southern Africa. Project information as follows:

Living Literally Project Extract from Project Evaluation 2007 The children learned about the following New skills and techniques: Batik work, dialect work, computer work (Textease programme) cooperation and team work, thinking skills, creative writing, descriptive writing, connections between literature and science.

. their local culture . international culture . local facilities they can visit again . each other (group working, patience with others etc) . Batik . design . how artists work . literacy . numeracy

With reference to the above, what do you think were the most useful techniques/methods/practices/skills the children learned? Children and staff alike have learnt a new skill in that they now know the artist technique of batik making…they have also learnt new related vocabulary. Children and staff also learned new vocabulary when working in local dialect, earned about Cumbrian landscapes and how we should appreciate our local area and countryside, dialect and skills. The children were very enthusiastic about working with outside artist and are eager for them to come back in the future. They are always enthusiastic about hands on work and having something wonderful to see as an outcome. They also get enthusiastic about learning new skills and learning something about their local community and locality

Do you want to be involved in a similar project/visit in the future? Yes The work can now be used across the school as the book will be available to all staff to use as a resource. The dialect work and further wok on the Cumbrian landscape can now form the basis of other projects for other year groups. The book will also be used to demonstrate the capability of the school to undertake Cultural Projects which are outside the usual curriculum but which can be integrated into it , thus creating sustainable work for the future and catering for children’s needs, being inclusive as well as providing for Gifted and Talented pupils. We would also like to build upon the work and include parents in future projects in a more hands on way so that they become more involved with their child’s education and we can use this through the Early Years Intervention. The children involved in the project were also very

©Karen Thompson BA Hons, MA January 2010 WCLIP Cumbria Childrens’ Services SIT West well behaved, so we can also look at using art and creative activities as a way of encouraging and rewarding good behaviour as well as improving behaviour and getting children to cooperate and work together. Also, David Roberts from Soundwave will be coming to school soon to record the children reading their poems and dialect work, and we would like to make a DVD with images of Cumbria as a backdrop to the children reading their work. This will be organised by the Excellence Cluster, as David Roberts is working in school teaching djembe drumming and is available to do the recording work.

What were the final outcomes of this project (tangible work, photos, video etc)- For the school – Learning a wide range of new skills, both creative and co-operational which results in the production of work of a very high standard of which they can be proud. Production of some beautiful batiks and a book which can be used in future as a teaching and learning resource. The pupils also went to Brockhole at Ambleside and won an award for their work as this was based on working with plants and local indigenous varieties.

Are there any comments you wish to make about this project/visit in terms of educational content and suitability? The children were very enthusiastic about working with outside artist and are eager for them to come back in the future. They are always enthusiastic about hands on work and having something wonderful to see as an outcome. They also get enthusiastic about learning new skills and learning something about their local community and locality.

------The project was subsequently built upon during the next project with the two artists from South Africa, and this work led to the production of the large hanging banners, where the common themes of mining, farming and weather were used to depict the similarities and differences between the two areas, as well as weaving and textiles work using styles and techniques from both areas (and indigenous materials) to decorate the borders of the hangings .

The brief for Lonwabo Kilani and Ndikhumbule Ngqinambi, working with mentor Diane Cannon, was as follows: Montreal C of E primary School, Cleator Moor. Mon 23rd and Tues 24th April 2007 Work on ideas for a large scale textile work which will be hung in the main school hall on completion. The work is to compliment and create additionality for the work already being done in multi-cultural subject areas, including djembe drumming and African recipe cooking. The school would like to produce a series of textiles hangings for the hall, on different cultural themes, including African culture, Indian Culture, South East Asian and Indonesian Culture and Cumbrian Culture. Artists task – To produce a series of drawings and patterns which will be suitable for use on a large textiles piece. Use a variety of media, including drawings, paintings, collage and to produce pattern work and also abstract images, based on items and pattern work traditionally used in specific areas of the continent of Africa. This can include traditional patterns and items from specific festivals and events which are used in a traditional manner as source material. African Resource Box will be available in school.

©Karen Thompson BA Hons, MA January 2010 WCLIP Cumbria Childrens’ Services SIT West

Diane Cannon and then continued to work on the banners and completed these in 2008 with grousp of pupils in school. They were displayed at the Whitehaven Heritage Festival in 2009.

Djembe Drumming: Project Outline

Having worked together on a pilot project which involved support from the Children’s Fund and a workshop provided by Zoso African Drummers in 2006, four of the Excellence Cluster schools in the Whitehaven area expressed the wish to take the project further. The schools taking part in the djembe programme increased and we now have ten schools in total taking part. This project and its development . Involved pupils in celebratory performances at public events . covered early Years Intervention . targeted disaffected and underachieving pupils, . provide opportunities for parents to become involved with music as well as their child’s development and education . enable the schools involved to meet and discuss music provision, and work together to provide opportunities for staff to learn a new skill in order to teach others and make the project sustainable, having the option for consultation in expert guidance through Soundwave . identified Talented pupils through participation in an ‘outside the usual curriculum’ project, - provision is thus created for G&T work . Promoted knowledge of other cultures using African percussive music and drumming, & associated culture which cross references with other sections of the curriculum eg, food and art, among pupils, staff and parents in school. . Developed cultural resources for use across the schools as a result of project participation . Provided a basis for future music work within the schools which can be developed by staff and pupils, the Excellence Cluster and the School Improvement Plan . Provided opportunities for creative thinking and learning team work both in and out of school . Developed music apprentices work through Soundwave and extended the repertoire of the practitioners through their need to do further training and create ideas to further enhance the curriculum. . Addressed the outcomes of the every Child Matters Framework.

We have retained and produced:

o Services of Professional musicians, artists and creative practitioners, & chef procured and rates set – materials, ingredients etc. o Procurement of all necessary items such as drums books, reference sources etc. to continue with drumming sessions in 2010 o Displays and books about Southern and West Africa and associated traditions (countries, drums, food, artwork) sourced in school from current resources and new ones acquired

©Karen Thompson BA Hons, MA January 2010 WCLIP Cumbria Childrens’ Services SIT West

South Africa Visit, February and March 2008, Karen Thompson and Maddi Nicholson (Artgene)

Original South Africa Project Aims Further WCEC Outcomes for schools 2007 Involvement since February 2008 . Aim 1. Further the Project Links WCEC schools now Full Djembe drumming with ‘Legacy’ and work done in involved in work: Programme (West African and WCEC schools in April 07 : Montreal Primary, South African rhythms). development of the work done Cleator Moor; Grasslot Banners made depicting Cape with 3 WCEC schools on the Infant, Maryport; and Cumbrian agriculture and subjects of mining and farming, Maryport Infant; mining at Montreal school. textiles work and traditional Beckstone Primary, Further work planned at Community music. Slaves worked Harrington; Westfield Montreal. in agricultural and mining Primary, Workington; Home Sweet Home Project industries, wore certain textiles Kells Infant, Whitehaven Completed and exhibited at and styles of clothing and played plus all other schools Beacon Jan – March 2008 specific types of music. These can involved in Djembe be highlighted through this drumming Programme project, to break down barriers, with Soundwave inform and educate. . Aim 2. Develop and Create an Launch of ‘Fish Tales’ – understanding and promotion of recipe book created with youth culture in a positive manner: South African and Cumbrian bringing young people together, artists at The Wave in especially those involved in the Maryport in April 2009. As Creative Industries, to show others above : Home Sweet Home what can be achieved through Project Completed and collaboration, cooperation and exhibited at Beacon Jan – sharing of ideas. March 2008. Further work on this TBC . Aim 3. Promotion of craft work for Links established with Mfala all participants (Links to UoC Textiles and Montebello Studios. Dept Projects) . Aim 4. Creating a permanent base/links for development of artists Assistance required from who work in a social context through University of Cumbria. liaison/meetings with Universities in all countries involved. Use of internet and web sites. . Aim 5. Investigate creation Work needs to be done international exhibitions of work by before this can take place all participants. . Aim 6. Create potential for provision Resources built up and Boxes being used in schools and of resources for use in educational Cultural Boxes Created for contacts beginning to be establishments – schools, colleges and use in all 15 Excellence established.Project work universities, not only about The Arts Cluster schools about South continuing. Projects completed but about traditional practices and the Africa. Story books, objects at Beckstone, Montreal and history of culture. information and contacts of Distington schools schools in The Cape area.

©Karen Thompson BA Hons, MA January 2010 WCLIP Cumbria Childrens’ Services SIT West

Original Project Aims 2007 Further WCEC Outcomes for schools Involvement since February 2008 . Aim 7. Investigate provision of Schools and organisations Work sent from Grasslot teaching and mentoring to improve contacted in South Africa and and Beckstone schools to skills, knowledge, awareness and contacts awaiting further Llandudno Primary, understanding of other cultures and confirmation for continuation Western Cape arts and crafts techniques. Staff of project. exchanges. . Aim 8. Provide an international forum Needs to be developed with for discussion to implement good artists and practitioners, practice and link with other UK schools and organisations organisations in order to maintain involved. projects and substantiate and validate their future sustainability.

. Aim 9. Provide links with South Links in Beckstone with Landdudno school wanted to African schools to Cumbrian schools Angela Mihal in have an exchange visit with in order to develop multi-cultural and Landdudno, near Hout Cumbria. Contact made but global education which is conducted Bay on the Cape. Further Llandudno school not been on a personal level, where participants links being established back in touch. are known to each other and their with schools need and requirements are met in order to be mutually beneficial.

©Karen Thompson BA Hons, MA January 2010 WCLIP Cumbria Childrens’ Services SIT West

Previous work with schools involved:

Montreal School – Batiks, Poetry and Banners

Living Literally Project - Batik work 2006

‗Mining and Farming‘ Banners at Heritage Day display, Whitehaven, September 2009

Pupils‘ Poem – Dry Styan Waw – (Dry Stone Wall) – Living Literally Project My dry styan waw is big, Wid styans and moss aroond it, It ‗es a hard and cowld top, Wid tups and yows beyhind it.

It has a lonnin in front, wid a yat beside, it ‗es a crag nearby, wid a scrow aw around.

©Karen Thompson BA Hons, MA January 2010 WCLIP Cumbria Childrens’ Services SIT West

Monkwray School – Africa week work, November 2009

©Karen Thompson BA Hons, MA January 2010 WCLIP Cumbria Childrens’ Services SIT West

Valley Primary : Musical Instruments and African style buildings – Beacon Gallery WCEC Cultural Exhibition 2008

St Marys Kells – Egyptian style foil work

©Karen Thompson BA Hons, MA January 2010 WCLIP Cumbria Childrens’ Services SIT West

Djembe performances in Whitehaven

Winter Lights Festival

Maritime Festival 2007

©Karen Thompson BA Hons, MA January 2010 WCLIP Cumbria Childrens’ Services SIT West

Background Information for the project:

Cleator Moor

Cleator Moor is a small town in Cumbria, (northern England on the border with Scotland) near Whitehaven not far from the coast and within the boundaries of the old county of Cumberland. Located on the 190 mile Coast to Coast Walk that spans the North of England, the town's skyline is dominated by Dent Fell, one of the smaller mountains in the area

The town developed rapidly in the 19th Century, as the industrial revolution demanded more coal, limestone and high grade iron ore. The best quality iron ore to be found anywhere in the world is called hæmatite and it is this rich mineral which is can be found in the limestone layers of West Cumbria. The rich hæmatite deposits are found in a variety of different forms penetrating faults in the Carboniferous limestone strata of West Cumbria.

Florence Mine, the only remaining iron ore mine in Europe, is located a few miles south of Cleator Moor. It was known in earlier times that West Cumbria was rich in iron ore, but this valuable mineral was it was not mined here until the 1830's on a significant scale.

Coal mining in West Cumbria dates back to the 13th Century when the monks from St Bees Abbey supervised the opening of coal mines at Arrowthwaite. Over 1200 men, women, and children have been killed in the Whitehaven pits while winning coal in workings up to four miles out beneath the Solway Firth, including those who died in the William Pit disaster in 1910. In March 1986, Haig Pit, Cumbria's last deep coal mine, finally closed and ended the long history of coal mining in the area; the pit was brought by ex-miners and turned into a museum.

Cleator Moor and all the villages around it, all simply moorland until around 1780 - Frizington, Rowrah, Keekle and Bigrigg – suddenly became a maze of railways and mines which produced the materials for iron works in Cleator Moor and Workington. The influx of workers from Ireland, via the Irish trade port of Whitehaven, that even to this day the area has a high proportion of Roman Catholics and the nickname of Little Ireland. The mines grew and grew and in 1870 the ‗Crowgarth‘ mines were raising 42,000 tonnes. The ‗Montreal‘ mine had coal and iron coming up the same pit shaft. The deposits of limestone in the area meant that the building of iron works followed, as both lime and ore were used on the process.

Cleator Moor‟s iron works with its furnaces. This picture is dated 1934- the works standing idle awaiting demolition.

©Karen Thompson BA Hons, MA January 2010 WCLIP Cumbria Childrens’ Services SIT West

Cleator Moor developed its rows of terraced houses for the growing population of miners, but the sheets of ore were followed by the miners and digging got closer and closer to the surface. Eventually homes started cracking up from subsidence and miners underground could hear the town clock chime as they worked underground! Crossfield, Jacktrees and Todholes mines were other highly profitable pits that shared in the booming industry. The iron ore deposits were chased south into Dalzell‘s Moor Row district where mines such as Montreal 8,10 and 11 pits used the influx of Cornish tin miners to carry out the work. But deposits were thinning and after a last minute surge in demand for the First World War the iron mining industry was set on a relentless decline through the 1920s and 30s.

Some of the materials mined in the area were exported from the port at Whitehaven, which enjoyed a booming trade for well over 200 years from around 1700 to 1970.Early in the 20th Century supplies began to decline, and by the end of the century the industries had almost all been closed – steelmaking, mining and ore-smelting. The railway lines, all now disused have been turned into cycle paths and bridleways. The port of Whitehaven is now a marina with expensive waterside apartments, street cafes and many boats and yachts.

An interesting story......

“Cleator Moor also suffered from a sectarian divide arising from the influx of Irish workers..matters reached a low point in the so called Murphy riots. The notorious anti-Catholic William Murphy was attacked by 300 Cleator Moor iron-ore miners at Whitehaven in 1871 At the time of the Irish Potato Famine Jobs were plentiful and all of the West Cumbrian towns such as Whitehaven and Workington as well as large villages like Cleator Moor developed sizeable Irish populations with the mix of Catholics and Protestants providing potential for sectarian quarrels.

Murphy, a notorious anti-Catholic came to Whitehaven in April 1871 the Magistrates decided to allow him to speak in the Oddfellows Hall only for him to be attacked by 300 well-drilled iron-ore miners from Cleator Moor. The police, caught unawares and hopelessly outnumbered, could do little for him and before a rescue could be effected Murphy was horribly beaten. It was some weeks before he recovered sufficiently to face his attackers in court. As consequence five men were given 12 months with hard labour and two got three months.

Murphy came back to the town in December, despite the entreaties of the local magistrates, but events passed off relatively smoothly. In March 1872 he died, Birmingham surgeons claimed, because of the lingering effects of the savage assault dished out by those Cleator Moor miners.

The Press was horrified that a man could die for his views and there followed an Orange revival in Cumbria. Until recently Orange parades were a regular feature in Whitehaven and Workington.”

Sectarianism now no longer features in Cleator Moor and everyone gets on well in the community. But this story shows how people in one community can become divided by bigotry and intolerance of others, all because of their religion, which has nothing to do with their real character.

This forms one of our links with South Africa, and how peoples‘ views were split under Apartheid – similar in many ways to Sectarinaism.This is the story of Walter Sisulu, a South African miner :

©Karen Thompson BA Hons, MA January 2010 WCLIP Cumbria Childrens’ Services SIT West

Walter Max Ulyate Sisulu (1912 - 2003) was Sisulu was most impressed born in Engcobo in the Transkei. His mother with what he saw in the Alice Sisulu was a domestic worker and his socialist countries, the highlight father, Victor Dickenson, was the son of a white of which was his visit to the foreman who came to his village to supervise Soviet Union. Being of working black road workers. class origin and a member of the most oppressed nationality, the Soviet visit was an unforgettable experience. He was invited to speak over Radio Moscow. On his way back Sisulu stopped over in London where he immediately set about meeting political leaders, both British and from other parts of Africa. He addressed a rally on South Africa in the Holborn Town Sisulu and his elder sister Rosabella were Hall. On his return to South brought up in Xhosa society in Ngcobo, Africa Sisulu was Transkei, by his mother, his uncle Dyantyi enthusiastically received by a Hlakula (who was the headman of the village) series of receptions and report- and his grandparents. back meetings called by the At 14 Sisulu left mission school to work. South African Society for Peace Between 1928 and 1940 he worked in a range of and Friendship with the Soviet jobs: as a delivery man for a dairy; in the Union. Heavily armed police masonry and carpentry department, then as a raided these meetings and miner, of the Rose Deep Mine in Germiston, made arrests. Johannesburg; as a domestic; as a baker for He published a book on African Premier Biscuits; as a paint mixer for Herbert nationalism commissioned by Evans in Johannesburg; as a packer for a the government of India in tobacconist; as a part-time teller at the Union 1954. In the 1950s and early Bank of South Africa, and after 1938 as an 1960s he also wrote numerous advertising salesperson and real estate agent. articles for New Age, the Sisulu joined the ANC in 1940, the same year Guardian and Liberation. that A.B. Xuma, also from Engcobo, assumed the Sisulu was one of the accused in position of President General of the African the Treason Trial in 1956. In national Congress (ANC). 1960, during the State of In 1944, together with Oliver Tambo and Nelson Emergency, he was detained Mandela, Sisulu founded the ANC Youth League without trial. The next year he (ANCYL) and became its first national secretary. faced prosecution twice. Sisulu was arrested six times in 1962 As the ANC grew after the great African miners, and placed under 13-hour strike of 1946, Sisulu grew too. In 1949 he was house arrest on 26 October elected the first full-time Secretary-General of 1962 and under 24-hour house

©Karen Thompson BA Hons, MA January 2010 WCLIP Cumbria Childrens’ Services SIT West the ANC. arrest on 3 April 1963.

Sisulu began to study and write, to plan mass At the Rivonia Trial, Sisulu was campaigns and to formulate strategies. He was a the main defence witness and leader of the Defiance Campaign in 1952 and was subjected to fierce attack together with Nanabhai (Nana Sita), President of from the prosecutor, Percy the Transvaal Indian Congress, led the first Yutar. Sisulu told him: "I wish batch of African, Coloured and Indian defiers in you were an African. Then you breaking the law by entering Boksburg Location would know." without a permit.

In 1953, Sisulu was the guest of the World Federation of Democratic Youth to its third World Youth Festival in Bucharest, Rumania.

Sisulu was charged with

sabotage and other offences in the Rivonia Trial and on 14 June 1964 was sentenced, along with Ahmed Kathrada, Nelson Mandela, Govan Mbeki, Raymond Mhlaba, Andrew Mlangeni and Elias Motsoaledi, to life imprisonment on Robben Island. Dennis Goldberg was the only white person found guilty and was sentenced to life imprisonment in a white prison in Pretoria.

Sisulu was released from prison on 25 years later, on 15 October 1989. He was ANC elected Deputy President in 1991. Sisulu's and his wife Albertina have five natural children and four adopted children.

Sisulu died at his home in Linden, Johannesburg on 5 May 2003. The government accorded Sisulu a Special Official Funeral which was held on 17 May.

Source - http://www.southafricaholiday.org.uk/history/le_walter_sisulu.htm

©Karen Thompson BA Hons, MA January 2010 WCLIP Cumbria Childrens’ Services SIT West

Mining Disasters

South Africa

CARLETONVILLE, South Africa — The last of 3,200 miners trapped for more than 24 hours in a deep mine shaft were brought to safety late Thursday, ending one of South Africa's biggest ever rescue operations, officials said.

The final workers emerged just after 9 p.m. local time, according to officials for the mine owner, Harmony Gold Mining Co.

Rescuers had worked during the day to bring up the remaining 500 South African gold miners trapped for more than a day deep in a shaft after an accident damaged an elevator.

There were joyful reunions on the surface Thursday and — although none of the 3,200 trapped in all was injured or killed — also anger, fear and renewed concern about safety standards in a country that is the world's largest gold producer.

A pressurized air pipe snapped at the mine near Johannesburg and tumbled down a shaft Wednesday, extensively damaging an elevator. Some of those stranding more than a mile underground had gone down Tuesday for the night shift.

The trapped workers were being brought to the surface in a second, smaller cage in another shaft that can hold about 75 miners at a time, about half the normal passenger capacity. Most of the miners who emerged into the blinding sunlight looked dazed and exhausted.

"We nearly died down there," one man yelled as he walked past reporters. "I'd rather leave (the job) than die in the mine."

One large group emerged from the shaft singing traditional songs and stamping their feet with joy despite their exhaustion. They were greeted by a crowd of ululating female miners.

The mine owner, Harmony Gold Mining Co., and South Africa's minerals and energy minister vowed to improve safety in one of the country's most important industries after the accident prompted allegations the industry cut safety corners and didn't properly maintain the mine.

The union threatened unspecified "industrial action" if its safety demands were not met. In a message to mining bosses, it said it would "hit their pockets big time in the near future."

Amelia Soares, spokeswoman for Harmony, said the mine had won a number of safety awards and had never seen any fatal accidents. She said the company was likely to suffer considerable losses in output during the closure caused by the accident. Minerals and Energy Minister Buyelwa Sonjica said Thursday that Elandsrand, a top- producing gold mine in South Africa, would be closed for at least six weeks following the accident.

Harmony chairman Patrice Motsepe said, according to the South African Press Association: "We have to recommit ourselves to refocus on safety in this country; our safety record both as a company and an industry leave much to be desired."

Harmony's Elandsrand mine is the third largest producing gold mine in South Africa. The company said it produces an average of about 1,300 pounds of gold every month.

Last year, 199 mineworkers died in accidents, mostly rock falls, the government reported in September. One worker was killed last week in a mine adjacent to Elandsrand.

Thabo Gazi, chairman of the Mine Health and Safety Council, a group of government, labor and employer representatives that advises the government and that will investigate the Elandsrand accident, said he had raised concerns with the government that in the effort to ensure maximum profits for minimum costs, safety standards were being compromised.

But Terence Creamer, editor of Engineering News and contributing editor for Mining Weekly, a leading engineering and mining publication, said the mining activity spurred by high prices did not mean safety would be compromised. He said because of the costs associated with accidents and production stoppages, owners of mines that did not have very high yields could not take the risk of bad safety records.

th Source – October 4 2007 http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,299459,00.html?sPage=fnc/world/africa

Cumbria William Pit Disaster 1910

Whitehaven Pits and Tragic Mining Disasters For such a small town Whitehaven has a long-suffering history. The mines in and around Whitehaven were notorious for their high levels of methane in their deep workings. William Pit particularly was known as the most dangerous pit in the country. Within a two mile radius of the town more than 1200 men, women and children are known to have died in the pits, and this is only recorded deaths. Most died as the result of explosions. New health and safety measures pushed forward slowly, usually on the backs of horrendous disasters. Take the worst pit disaster in Cumbria at Wellington Pit on May 11th 1910, where an explosion followed by a fire resulted in the death of 136 miners. The explosion was the result of only one intake airway into the workings existing. The rules changed after the accident and regulation demanded pits have two air intakes. Nationalisation in 1947 was the real turning point for health and safety improvement, as the premise for ruthless competition which facilitated cost cutting by colliery owners was removed. Source- http://www.iknow-lakedistrict.co.uk/tourist_information/cumbria_coast/whitehaven/coal_mining_history.htm

Music and Dance

Clogs and Stepping – clog dancing was perfromed in Cumbria regularly – miners wore clogs to work and therefore this style of dance was borne out of this traditional use of footwear. Sadly it does not exist in a major form any longer in Cumbria but it does in other areas in northern England.

Step clog is essentially a solo dance performed in wooden soled clogs where a rhythm is beaten out by tapping various parts of the clog against the floor ... the other clog ... somebody else's clog ...

Although we usually dance as a group we don't do clog morris. The difference is simple - clog morris (North West morris done in clogs) has complicated moves and simple steps, our movements are simple to non-existent, but the steps are (sometimes) complicated.

These are typical Lancashire 'Dandy' clogs - meant for showing off, hence the extra eyelets, crimping (fancy patterns in the leather) and pointy toes. Note the steep ramp up at the toe - this makes for a point of balance with the heels well off the ground. Handy for Lancashire/Cheshire style competitions where a dancer was disqualified if his heels ever touched the ground!

By contrast North Eastern style clogs are very much flatter and the style of dance is correspondingly different with heel beat steps forming a large part of the repertoire.

Source - http://www.clogaire.binless.co.uk/ca__what.html and http://www.communigate.co.uk/lakes/ebuzz/page3.phtml

Brass Bands

Although most of the instruments used by British brass bands had existed and had been used together for some time they only became a mass activity in the 1840s and 1850s out of village, church and military bands. Brass bands were a response to the process of industrialisation, which produced a large working class population, technological advancements, including more efficient piston valve instruments which were easier to play and more accurate, and mass production that could quickly produce and distribute the instruments.

Arguably brass bands were an expression of the local solidarity and aspirations of newly formed or rapidly growing communities. This was particularly expressed in the rapid growth and organisation of bands, clearly seen in the creation of brass band competitions by the late 1850s.

Brass bands probably reached their peak of popularity in the early decades of the twentieth century, when, it has been estimated there were over 20,000 brass band instrumentalists in the country.

Many of the UK's bands originated as works bands or bands sponsored (and long identified with) various industrial concerns and particularly coal mines, like the Grimethorpe Colliery Band. Foden's, Fairey and Leyland Bands were sponsored by the respective truck, aircraft and vehicle manufacturers. With the decline of these industries several bands have dissolved and others now draw their membership from all industries and parts of the community.

The Brighouse and Rastrick Brass Band have operated continually at the highest level without the aid of sponsorship; the band makes money from their regular concerts, by selling recordings, other merchandise and from public donations.

Brass Bandsin the British tradition are limited to cornets, flugelhorns, tenor horns, baritones, euphoniums, trombones, tubas (known as basses in brass bands), and percussion; but not trumpets or french horns, since they are orchestral and concert band instruments.

With the exception of the bass trombone and percussion, all parts are transposing and written in the treble clef, which means that for every instrument, from the big basses right up to the soprano cornet, the fingering for the written notes is similar. This system, which is unique to UK-style brass bands, ensures most parts can be covered when there is less than a full complement of players.

Source - Wikipedia

South Africa Gumboot Dancing

Gumboot dancers are commonly sighted on the streets and plazas of tourist areas in South Africa, such as the V&A Waterfront in Cape Town. The dance likely originated among South African gold miners [1], and especially among their tough working conditions ( obscurity , dampness, ...). Many of the steps and routines are parodies of the officers and guards who controlled the mines and workers' barracks.

Like other forms of African dance, Gumboot utilizes the concepts of polyrhythm and total body articulation, drawing from the cultural dances of the African workers that manned the mines. It is a percutant dance made by idiophones or autophones (objects of the everyday life vibrating by themselves), and is similar in execution and style to forms of "Stepping" done by African-American fraternities and sororities.

The dance is the highlight of the performance of Black Umfolosi, a prominent Zimbabwean folk group.[3]

The album Graceland by the American pop singer Paul Simon has a song titled "Gumboots", which is performed in the style of South African township jive (mbaqanga) and contains performances by members of the Boyoyo Boys.

The British-American Composer David Bruce has written a Clarinet Quintet entitled Gumboots, which was inspired by Gumboot dancing. It was commissioned by Carnegie Hall in 2008 and can be heard in full on the Carnegie Hall website, performed by Todd Palmer and the St Lawrence String Quartet.

Since 1990's and 2000's, Drakensberg Boys' Choir School based at gumboot dancing the folk- African part of their repertoir and white gumboots are the part of the second variant of their concert costume (the first variant is a classical "white man's" costume).

History of Gumboot dancing

The history of Gumboot dancing is Proudly South African:

Born in the gold mines of South Africa, which opened in the 1880s. It was a way to survive the isolation workers felt under the weight of the migrant labour system and the oppressive pass laws. Working in the mines was long, hard, repetitive toil. Talking was forbidden. White foremen beat and kicked black workers. Hundreds of workers were (and continue to be) killed every year in accidents.

The floors of the mines often flooded due to poor or non-existent drainage. Hours of standing in the fetid water caused skin problems and ulcers and resulted in lost time. The white bosses, rather than spend the money needed to properly drain the shafts, issued rubber gumboots to the workers. ―Thus the `miners' uniform' was born‖, the Rishile Dancers explain. ―Heavy black Wellington boots to protect the feet ... jeans [or overalls], bare chests [temperatures underground can reach above 40° C], and bandannas to absorb eye-stinging sweat [and hard

In the dank, dark shafts, workers learned to send messages to each other by slapping on their boots. Back on the surface and in their overcrowded living quarters, the bosses refused to allow the workers to wear their traditional dress while they were not working. The bosses made all workers of the same ethnic or tribal background live together, in order to perpetuate divisions between different groups of African workers.

Faced with this repressive regime, workers adapted traditional dances and rhythms to the only instruments available -- their boots and bodies. The songs that were sung to go with the frenetic movements dealt with working-class life -- drinking, love, family, low wages and mean bosses.

Some ―enlightened‖ employers eventually allowed the best dancers to form troupes to represent the company, to entertain visitors and for PR. It was not unusual for these performers' songs to openly mock their bosses and criticise wages and conditions, while the bosses were blissfully ignorant of the content, sung in Xhosa, Sothu or Zulu.

Source: http://www.greenleft.org.au/back/1998/343/343p22.htm

[* More information can be added to the above as the project progresses]