Hi Jim,
my brother had SIX kids at the time.
The miners were offered Courses to learn other trades, on pay, he learned to drive cranes, diggers and other kinds of Plant then working on the Motorway, ,
He did that for a while then he decided to buy the Guest house in Blackpool never looked back then sold up and retired,
The problem with Strikes like that is they always Hit the Innocent Public, No thought of people wanting to get home. or go away.
Brian