In this first programme of a major new series, three families give up their 21st century creature comforts and time-travel back to face the hardships of life in the Welsh Valleys, 1927. Over the series we discover whether the community will survive without a microwave, mobile, fast car or fast food. Life is already getting tough for the community with the men on first shift at the coal face and the women working round the clock to keep the home fires burning.
As the families settle into the punishing routine of a 1927 mining community, the men face a tough training period to equip them for life at the coal-face, the children cope with school and discipline and the mams get to grips with mangles, ranges and the first tin bath.
It's not just the coal-mining men who are finding things hard. Their wives start to feel the pinch of life in 1927, with mouths to feed and a cleaning routine to stick to. There's some light relief, however, as the Cartwrights, Phillips and Griffiths families enjoy a rare night out and celebrate a special birthday
The pressure is on for the families living in the Coal House during week two, with the mothers working fourteen hour days to keep their houses and families in order. The children are coming to terms with their 1927 schooldays and the men are working at the coal face to make ends meet.
For the men, things are not getting any easier at the pit, with new skills to master and performance-related pay. The mams and children enjoy Halloween, but the expense involved has left the families on the verge of the financial precipice. For the children, exams at school are just around the corner, while the men live the reality of the 1927 coalfield where pit closures were the norm and poor wages all too common. Can the Griffiths, Cartwright and Phillips mams keep the fires burning, and more importantly, keep smiling?
For the mining men of Coal House, things are not getting any easier at the pit with new skills to master and performance related pay. The mams and children enjoy Halloween but has the expense involved left all the families on the verge of the financial precipice?
In the final week the heat is on as the families fight for survival. Washing pit clothes, baking and cleaning has taken over the lives of the mothers and daughters and the fathers and sons are exhausted and struggling at the coal face to earn a crust. But the community keeps their spirits high as they look forward to their return to the 21st century.
For the children of Coal House, exams at school are just around the corner. The men live the reality of the 1927 coalfield, where pit closures were the norm and poor wages all too common. Can the Griffiths, Cartwright and Phillips' mams keep the fires burning, and more importantly, keep smiling?
At the end of week two, money has become tight; food is short, and the families pull together to survive. Halloween brings some scary fun for the children but the mams and dads are worried about how to pay the butcher! Washing coal-black pit clothes, baking and cleaning has taken over their lives of the mothers and daughters. The fathers and sons are exhausted but struggle at the coal face to earn a crust. But the Coal House community keeps their spirits high as they begin to look forward to their return to the 21st century.
The families add preparation for the final concert to their exhausting daily life. As the Coal House community thinks about its goodbye to life in 1927, will the children be saying goodbye to the pigs and the mums goodbye to the tin baths? The drama shows no sign of stopping in the Coal House! As the experiment reaches its final week, the Cartwrights, Griffiths and Phillips families prepare to return to normal life. Who would have thought that three weeks in a Coal House could have created so many new friends, so much fun and so much pain?
Coal House is back and this time its war. Deep in the Welsh valleys, three families give up their 21st century creature comforts and time travel back to 1944 to face the hardships of life in World War II. Will the community survive without a microwave, mobile, fast car or fast food?
The families settle into the punishing routine of 1944. The men face a tough training period to equip them for life at the coal face and in the Home Guard. The children cope with school and discipline, and the women face the dangers of the munitions factory as well as running the home.
Three Welsh families give up their 21st century creature comforts and time travel back to 1944 to face the hardships of life in World War II. It's not just the coal-mining men who are finding it hard to reach their targets. The women are struggling to impress at the factory and the children find it tough to keep the school standards.
At the end of the first week in the Coal House, how are the children coping with no playstations or mobiles to occupy them? There's a strict school system to contend with and a daily dose of cod liver oil to swallow. Will they pass the school cleanliness inspection, and how will they get on with the animals at Stack Square?
The weekend provides a break from the pressures of work. While the men head off for football training, the women get their hair done Forties-style. Back at the Coal House there are new arrivals
The women take on a secret mission at the munitions factory, while the men struggle down the mine. Just as it seems things are looking up with a variety show, the families are brought face to face with the grim realities of war.
The new arrivals are settling in as the second week in the Coal House draws to a close. Home sickness is rife, school exams are looming, and the Bevin Boys are learning to cook. But who will give the best performance in the variety show?
Tensions are running high, the women reach a munitions milestone and there’s panic underground. The Bevin Boys take their first tentative steps underground and what little confidence they have soon begins to dwindle as the reality of the task ahead starts to dawn on them. The pressure is on to succeed, but their inexperience leads to some choice words from the other Stack Square men.
It’s been a rollercoaster week for the Coal House families. The families let their hair down and party like it’s 1944, some of the Stack Square chickens end up on the menu and there’s evacuation drama for the families.
With victory nearing, the pressure is on to fuel the frontline in the mining community of the Coal House. Will the men in the mine and the women at the munitions factory hit their deadlines? The scholarship exam looms at school, and a testing day in the mud leads to promotion for one of the Home Guard
It is time for the men to hang up their lamps, the women to take off their uniforms, and the evacuees to return to their parents in the city - but not before everyone gets in the swing at the community dance for a final send-off.
The children take the dreaded school exams as they spend their last week in the square. Who will receive the coveted trophy, and how will they feel about leaving their wartime lives behind?
Dance House 1944 takes a look at how people faced the music and danced during the Second World War despite bombs falling and bad news from abroad. Veterans of the fighting front and the home front describe how important dancing was for them and chart the changes in fashion from strictly ballroom to jitterbug and jive.
