MINERS’ FESTIVAL

Series

Series Name

Mining Review 4th Year

Issue

Issue No.

12

Date Released

Aug 1951

Stories in this Issue:

1. 1DIGGING DEEP
2. 2MINERS’ FESTIVAL
3. 3FOX HUNT
4. 4Personal Call: 1. We Visit Donisthorpe

Story

Story No. within this Issue

2 / 4

Summary

BFI synopsis: Festival of Britain Show in Shotts, Lanarkshire.
NCB Commentary - Here’s a mining township with a Festival all of its won. Shotts, in Lanarkshire, decided to run a 14-day festival covering all the local activities, and they’ve achieved a show that’s an example to many a larger community.
Main exhibition is the one on local industries. Naturally coal is represented, for Shotts is a town that’s built on coal and iron and steel. But they haven’t left out light industry and all the others.
Opening time comes round before you know where you are, but everything’s ready for the crowds. Even if you’re a miner’s wife, you’ll find things here that you didn’t know about the pits or about the town you live in. The men are more interested in new developments and new techiniques. And new industries; a loom to illustrate the growth of local textile trades.
Lots of housewives went to the arts and crafts exhibition, and took the kids with them. There was everything here - dolls houses and toys, even an exhibition of Scottish artists’ paintings.
Then there’s the history of the town and district. This casting of The Last Supper was made over a century ago in the local foundry. They’ve remembered, too, the local men of the past who in their day keep the chronicles of the town alive and handed down their work to others.
The miners themselves weren’t left out. Putting on a play to run for a week means a lot of work from a lot of people, and they’re all from the Shott’s Miners’ Welfare Drama Guild. The play went over fine - people packed the hall. And when the curtain fell on the stage there were still things to do and fun to be had. Torchlight processions, music, dancing in the openair. Other towns nearby had the same idea. This was at Larkhall, another mining community the other side of the Clyde.
It was a good do. When a mining town sets out to go gay, it doesn’t do things by halves.

Researcher Comments

bfi sources suggest that this story was researched by Tharp on the 1st March 1951. It was then filmed from the 8th to the 11th June 1951. Commentary recorded 6 July 1951.

Keywords

Entertainment and leisure; Children; Women; Arts and crafts; Celebrations and festivals; Mining; Performing arts; History and archaeology; Exhibitions and shows; Toys and models

Locations

Scotland; Lanarkshire

Written sources

British Film Institute Databases   Used for synopsis
The National Archives COAL 32   /3 Scripts for Mining Review, 1949-1956

Credits:

Support services

Basil Somner

Camera

Charles Wilford Smith

Production Co.

Documentary Technicians Alliance

Director

John H. Shaw-Jones

Sponsor

National Coal Board

Director

Peter Pickering

Camera

Wolfgang Suschitzky