The 8th of November might have been a good day for American coal, at least in the short term. But the previous year had been quite good as the Telegraph reported last week with the global price of coal rising 100% during 2016, and the price of coking coal going up by 250%. Thus outfits like Glendora and Anglo American have had a good year as well. But the Telegraph ends its report with:
"If you were lucky enough to receive a lump of coal last year, I'd say it was time to sell."
Maybe. Meanwhile, here is Alex Glasgow's take on the price of coal from the magisterial 1960's drama, Close the Coalhouse Door.
Close the coalhouse door, lad. There's blood inside,
Blood from broken hands and feet,
Blood that's dried on blackened meat,
Blood from hearts that know no beat.
Close the coalhouse door, lad. There's blood inside.Close the coalhouse door, lad. There's bones inside,
Mangled, broken piles of bones,
Buried 'neath a mile of stones,
And there's no-one there to hear the moans.
Close the coalhouse door, lad. There's bones inside.Close the coalhouse door, lad. There's bairns inside,
Bairns that had no time to hide,
Bairns who saw the blackness slide,
Oh, there's bairns beneath the mountainside.
Close the coalhouse door, lad. There's bairns inside.Close the coalhouse door, lad, and stay outside.
For Geordie's standin' on the dole
While Mrs Jackson, like a fool,
Complains about the price of coal.
Close the coalhouse door, lad, and stay outside.
Here's the definitive rendition.
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