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In the bleak midwinter
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Frosty wind made moan,
Earth stood hard as iron,
Water like a stone;
Snow had fallen,
Snow on snow,
Snow on snow,
In the bleak midwinter,
Long ago.
Christina Rossetti (1830-1894)
Set to music by Gustav Holst, this has become one of Britain's best loved Christmas Carols. However, the 'long ago' still applies with stark reality in places in our generation.
On this coal mine waste tip in northern China, local people still come to scavenge on the tip for even the smallest pieces of coal or semi-coal that may still have value as fuel. Although the majority of the scavenging is being done on the level part of the tip to the right of the track, many people are prepared to risk working on the steep side of the tip where the material is precariously balanced and a slip could result in a descent of more that 100 feet to the bottom. All this in temperatures between -10 and -20 degrees Celsius.
It's a reminder of the immense contrasts still to be found in a country which in places is as modern, brash and well-off as we are in western Europe. Christmas is a good time to be reminded of the hardships of others.
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