Gren Gaskell presents: Trapped – A Miner's Life

How many of us feel we control the events that shape our lives? Tommy recognises that he lives a ‘roll on Friday’ life with the ‘gonnas’ and the ‘couldas’. Young men who are gonna go to Australia, gonna go to night school, gonna train as a plumber. Older men who coulda gone to Australia, coulda gone to night school, coulda trained as a plumber. Tommy was a gonna, seemingly having no control over his life… until he was buried under a roof fall deep underground. As he lay trapped, he realised what he needed to do when, or if, he was rescued.

This is fascinating autobiographical writing (and reading) by Gren Gaskell, now Chairman of Malvern Writers’ Circle and ex-Chairman of U3A. It was originally written for Radio 4’s Afternoon Play.