Pitmatic brings together a wonderful regional pit language ? its words, jokes, stories and songs that are fast disappearing from our culture. This book helps attest to the remarkable vitality of the region's dialect and the inventiveness and humour of its speakers. The last major mine in the North East region closed in 2005 and with it went a way of life. Through dialect words, humour, stories and songs Pitmatic will help you to understand the everyday lives and work of miners. Miners who provided fuel, helped sustain an economy, consolidated communities and created a unique and rich regional culture. This book is a joyous celebration of the history of the North East bringing together the words spoken by miners and their families and how they related to the wider languages of the world. AUTHOR: The late Bill Griffiths was a poet, scholar, archivist, pianist, historian as well as a champion of the North East, its people and heritage. Born in Middlesex, he read history before graduating in 1969. Bill ran his own independent press and published political pamphlets and essays on the arts and poetry. After gaining a PhD in Old English he left London and settled in Seaham where he embraced the northern way of life. SELLING POINTS: . A well-researched guide for anyone wanting to know more about the people, the dialect, the humour and of course to better understand the way the way of life in the North East coal mining communities . Other titles in the series include Stotty 'n' Spice Cake: Stories and traditional recipes of North East Cooking and Whare de yea belang? A Dictionary of North East Dialect 15 b/w illustrations