SCOTTISH youth activists on a specially chartered bus from Motherwell left half an hour after my train from Glasgow Central — but they still managed to arrive at the Durham Miners’ Gala half an hour ahead of me.

While trade unionists once feared for the future of the Big Meeting in the post-mining era, the crowd now looks more youthful each year.

Some are energised Labour Party joiners and union members who speak of “Fomo” — fear of missing out — if they don’t make the annual pilgrimage.