My father had one of those blue stones from Belgium that he wore down to a
little slip over the years.  This stone was perfect for butcher/meat
cutting knives (another one of his many practical skills).    His brother
got it for him from Belgium (BTW, his brother worked in the coal mines in
Belgium and died of coal miner pneumoconiosis - AKA "black lung"- in his
late 30's, echoing earlier comments about horrific working conditions in
those days.  Although health and safety people are sometimes a little
overboard, let's not forget all of the good they have accomplished).
As another aside:  Did anyone else notice that the bottom rung of the
ladder was broken during the introductory scene when the first man
descended into the mine?  I thought that was foreboding...
Cheers from Waterloo

On Thu., Jun. 30, 2022, 12:51 p.m. michael petre, 
wrote: