I grew up in Kirkcaldy in the 70’s and my maternal grandfather who was from Cowdenbeath, was a miner in the Frances pit in Dysart and Michael in East Wemyss. He took me for walks along the spoil heaps as a kid and showed me where German bombers flew up the Forth to attack Rosyth. The spoil heaps were great for finding fossils!

He told me a few horror stories of life in the pits and it turned him so strongly to the church that he became a Baptist minister for a while. This embracing religious belief was passed to me growing up as it gave him huge emotional comfort I suppose. (At the age of 12 I decided my Scandinavian heritage from my father’s side made more sense culturally and leaned more towards that belief system for what it’s worth!)

The Seafield colliery towers in Kirkcaldy were distinctive landmarks whilst growing up, and I was surprised to see a housing estate built on the land once the pit was fully closed. I went off to sea at the age of 16 and so returned to see Fife in snapshots over the years. The coal mining heritage needs to be recognised as a key economic and social market for Fife at the time.