'The Struggle' is, of course, the miners’ strike of 1984 to 85, in which they were both deeply involved through Women Against Pit Closures. As a child Betty was urged to study and taken to C&A in Leeds twice a year for clothes, while Anne resolutely pedalled the secondhand tricycle that she loved to the Co-op and back in Barnsley. The young miner called Arthur, who she married, introduced her to the music of Big Bill Broonzy and debates on socialism v capitalism. Betty became a shop steward and was a member of the Labour party. The two women met through the mass movement of women in the mining communities in support of the strike. The miners were defeated – but their friendship and their political and social commitment carried on through the decades, Their warmth, thoughtfulness and humour resound on every page.
