The number of times I went up the screens you could count on the fingers of one hand. What a god-forsaken place that was. I'd rather be underground on the face hand filling. (I did do a month of hand filling on y62, I believe with a chap called John Dickinson.)
Regarding hand filling, I remember one day the guy next to us "the Hopper" he was called got his toecap caught in a joint on the face belt. Dragged him about 70 yards. He took out a dozen timber props with his body as he went down the face. Everyone screaming "STOP THE BELT!#"!"
We did manage to stop it before he reached the box end. He crawled off the face into the tailgate and just dusted himself off as if nothing was the matter. Hard gits.
