Lochgelly

The Happyland

New film classic is released

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 "The Happy Lands" is major  success with TV audience

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"The Happy Lands" the inspirational  film about life in the mining communities of the Lochgelly area was a huge hit with TV audiences when it was screened on BBC 2 on Sunday, December 15.

Having already attracted capacity audiences at various venues throughout Scotland and been made available on DVD, the film is now acclaimed by an even bigger audience.

Theatre Workshop Scotland Production developed and created the project along with members of the mining communities of Fife and the cast features dozens of local folk.

Set during  the General Strike 1926 - only seven years after the slaughter of the trenches - miners unions lead the country against savage austerity cuts handed to the nation by a Liberal-Conservative government.

Set in the fictional mining village of Carhill (Cardenden/Bowhill?) in the heart of the Fife coalfields, the film follows the journey of one mining community as they are pushed inevitably towards a labour conflict with the Kingdom Coal Company in a seven-month long lock-out.

"Not a penny off the pay, not a minute on the day" is the chant as the coal company demand longer hours for less pay.

The intimate portrayal of three families show the human consequences of an impersonal economics. The coal company practically owns the village and is colluding with government forces to keep the 'red threat' under control.

Standing up for their rights inspires national support and galvanizes a defiant spirit of the time. Faith forged through suffering grows and though the strike fails, the seed of a political awakening is sown.

Inspired by true stories from local families in Fife, the Happy Lands follows the journey of law-abiding citizens who become law-breakers in a heroic battle against the state. It's never a good time to stand up for your rights - but it's always the right time.

The Happy Lands is a masterpiece of community spirit and has received a spontaneous burst of applause whenever it has been screened.

Good news for all mining communities is that the DVD of "The Happy Lands" is now available on Amazon and other sites.

Link is www.thehappylands.com.  

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Former Andrew Street resident Eric Reid sent me this picture of his grandmother Bella Reid in her shop at 34 Melville Street in the Happyland.

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Lochgelly is the original Happyland