Weekly meeting

Mining Heritage Poet at Howe Rotary Club

At their most recent meeting Howe Rotarians were delighted to welcome Fife mining engineer and poet Freddie Dickson, pictured with Rotarians Duncan Pickard left and Don Allan outside The Village Inn, Pitlessie, where the Rotay Club meets on Tuesday evenings.

Freddie Dickson spent almost all of his working life in Fife’s mining industry, latterly involved with the supply of hydraulic pit props - essential items for safe mine working in modern mining. During his working career Freddie experienced the disasters at the Michael, Francis and Seafield pits, disasters that hit hard in the close-knit communities of East Fife. Living in the Wemyss villages he saw the immediate and long-term impacts on families and communities.

In his illustrated talk Freddie described how the mining industry, which at one time had 700 pits in Scotland, shrank dramatically in the last decades of the twentieth century. He reminded his listeners of the very real cost in the 1500 lives lost and the many disabled through such work.

Helping maintain and support Fife’s mining heritage is now a central concern for Freddie, an accomplished poet. His poems, all written in the rich local Fife dialect, bring to life aspects of mining life and living, touching on topics serious and humorous.

All income from sales of Freddie's published books of poems is donated to support Fife’s mining heritage. Howe Rotary is a welcoming and friendly Club, always looking for new members to help with the community and charity work the Club carries out. Full details and contacts are on the Club website, just google for Howe Rotary Club. Contact the Club for an invitation to come along as an interested guest to hear about what they do and achieve. You will enjoy it!