WITH their groomed hair, immaculate make-up and stylish clothes, Jeanette Morrell and Carol Wilson are all set for a glamorous day at the races.

The pair, who both come from mining families, received a stunning make-over for the annual Pitmen's Derby held at Newcastle Racecourse tomorrow.

The Northern Echo arranged for Jeanette, 48, and Carol, 49, both of Chester-le-Street, County Durham, to spend the morning being pampered, courtesy of Binns of Darlington.

They emerged from the Regis Salon in the latest summer make-up, modelling outfits from House of Fraser's Platinum Range - a look perfect for the North's biggest social event of the racing calendar.

Their glamorous morning was a far cry from the tough days of the miners' strikes of 1974 and 1984, when expensive clothes were not an option.

Jeanette was a 20-year-old student nurse when her father, James McGuire, went on strike in 1974 at Kibblesworth Pit, near Gateshead. She recalled having to burn the furniture to keep warm after the men's coal allowance was stopped.

"They would burn anything - old chairs, things they'd had for years in the shed, and they would go out looking for tree stumps," said Jeanette.

"If they went out on the picket lines they would get £3 a week and they could be sent anywhere. They would be out all day, absolutely frozen.

"It was really hard for our parents, trying to feed the family. Basically, we lived on things like stew because you could make a big pan full and it would fill you up."

Like many North-East families, mining was a way of life for Carol and her dad John, brother John and husband Norman. When the '84 strike hit, Norman worked at Dawdon Colliery in Seaham.

"You didn't save any money because there wasn't any to save," said Carol.

"I can remember food kitchens being opened and everyone just helping each other out. You couldn't buy clothes for the children and that was hard. Hand-me-downs were passed on to them, and then on to other families.

"You would never buy biscuits or cakes. To think a biscuit was a luxury in 1984. We just thought that strike was never going to end."

Both can recall watching families growing increasingly desperate as their debts piled up.

"They lost their homes and their cars, and there were divorces over it," said Jeanette.

"The clothes we are sitting in now we just wouldn't be able to afford. You learnt not to be materialistic."

Both ladies say the stringent days watching every penny taught them the value of money, something they have tried to pass on to their children.

But they may manage to spare a few pennies for a flutter on the Pitmen's Derby tomorrow.

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