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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

What type of coke would you immediately think of here?

64 replies

AgonyAgatha · 18/03/2023 21:54

Reading an old childhood favourite to my kids. Come across this passage. My first thought was coca cola. Then they mentioned coke dust and I was a bit confused...🤔What kind of a side business has this council got going on behind their village hall anyway? 😂

Only once the kids had gone to bed did it click that it probably means coke as in coal? (Right?)

There is no mention of this being set in a mining town at all (though the name of the town is mentioned and is apparently in Leicester (having looked it up!)).

So AIBU for having thought there was some Breaking Bad stuff going on behind the scenes or would it have been common knowledge that there would be a pile of coke behind the village hall back in the 90s?

It amused me for a bit at least

What type of coke would you immediately think of here?

OP posts:

Whyisitsososohard · 19/03/2023 19:54

Coal

Wheretheskyisblue · 19/03/2023 19:54

We had a coal bunker in a new house in SW England in the 80s and 90s and used it to power the boiler. I seem to remember it was a complete pain as it kept going out and my parents were relieved when gas finally arrived in our village in the early 90s.

Morph22010 · 19/03/2023 19:57

My grandad used to put coke on his open fire in the80s, I’d completely forgotten it was a thing until I read this thread, it was a manufactured type of coal, felt much lighter than actual coal like it had a lot of air in it

Sugarfish · 19/03/2023 19:58

AgonyAgatha · 19/03/2023 18:30

Well what a bunch of misery arses this thread attracted.

Firstly - wikipedia says it is set in Cuddington, in Leicester. So fuck off with the "how is it IN Leicester?" crap.

en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Sleepover_Club

If you'd read my first post, I did figure out it meant coke as in coal. But I've not seen a piece of coal since about 1993 and I think the only time I've ever heard of coke as in coal was in a chemistry lesson circa 2004! So no, it wasn't the first thing on my mind.

But that shouldn't matter because the whole point of the post is because it made me laugh and as I was sat alone after putting the kids to bed, I thought I'd share here.

As if every other thread on this website is the height of sophistication. But don't worry, I'll avoid boring you all from now on and keep the board free for the next 100 threads of parking dramas or penis beakers.

It made me laugh OP but I do have the sense of humour of a teenager 😀

Galatine · 19/03/2023 20:29

jcyclops · 18/03/2023 22:52

Coke is made by heating coal without oxygen in large ovens at around 1000 centigrade for around 24 hours. It is called pyrolysis and removes most of the impurities in coal leaving almost pure carbon. Coke burns better and cleaner than coal. Charcoal is made from wood in a very similar process. Coke is used in blast furnaces with iron ore and limestone in the steel making process.

There used to be several coking plants in the UK in coalfield areas. Orgreave, where the massed battles took place during the miners strike in the 80s was a coking plant. British Steel are currently in the process of closing their last coking plant at Scunthorpe.

Coke was also a by-product of the production of 'Town Gas'. which is what most places used before appliances were converted to use 'Natural Gas'. most towns of any size had a gas works. In Leicester conversion was in 1970. It was a massive operation as each and every gas appliance had to have the burners changed on the same day as the new gas was fed to the pipes. Natural gas when burned in town gas burners produced enormous flames. Team of surveyors visited every houses to find out which appliances were there and the right kit of parts for each was brought by the fitters. We had one gas fire which was converted but some weeks later it was decided that ype were no longer safe so the conversion team collected it and we received £5 in compensation.
Incidentally Leicester has a fascinating gas museum. It is open only intermittently for casual visitors, so you would need to check the website for details.

Galatine · 19/03/2023 21:02

There is not a place called Cuddington in Leicester or Leicestershire. The nearest match would be Cossington, a small rural village about 7 miles north of Leicester.

Gablonz · 19/03/2023 21:06

We had a boiler which ran on coke until 1988 or 89 or so. There was also a coke works just down the road.
We had a gas boiler installed when the coke one was on its last legs, but plenty of people still had coke boilers. I'm from the North East originally.
We had a coal bunker which had two sections - one for coal for the open fire and one for coke for the boiler.
The open fire was also replaced with a gas one when the boiler was installed.
I don't think the village had gas at all until much before we swapped the boiler and fire.

Galatine · 19/03/2023 21:11

Galatine · 19/03/2023 21:02

There is not a place called Cuddington in Leicester or Leicestershire. The nearest match would be Cossington, a small rural village about 7 miles north of Leicester.

Rose Impey used to live in the next village to me. I'm not sure if she still does.

LaraMargot · 19/03/2023 21:17

The town gas produced as a by-product of coke manufacture was stored in giant gas holders (gasometers as they were erroneously called). Several of these are preserved e.g next to the Oval cricket ground and approaching St Pancras Station.

BertieBotts · 19/03/2023 21:42

It's obviously a fictional town made up by the author which is supposed to be set in Leicestershire.

Ktime · 19/03/2023 22:17

To be fair to OP, Wiki says ‘While the books were set in Cuddington, Leicester, England, the television show was set in the fictional Australian beachside suburb of Crescent Bay.’ Doesn’t imply it’s a fictional place.

Toddlerteaplease · 19/03/2023 22:19

Pretty obvious it's the fuel coke. 🙄

BrioNotBiro · 19/03/2023 22:24

I remember coke from childhood in the 70s. It was much lighter in colour and weight than coal, didn't leave as much dust and was sort of aerated. It had the sort of texture/noise that set my teeth on edge when it jangled together.

FrankColumbo · 19/03/2023 22:27

We had a solid fuel range that ran on 'smokeless fuel' in the 80s, would this be the same thing as coke? I did know that there was a solid fuel called coke, but had forgotten about it until reading the op.
The other types are mentioned more nowadays ime.

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