There’s some great film at the East Anglian Film Archive
Inteboatshed.net readers Paul Mullings and John Button have been in touch to tell me about material they’ve found on the East Anglian Film Archive – and in doing so, they’ve opened a Pandora’s box.
There’s some wonderful stuff here. Typing the word ‘wherry‘ into the search box reveals a selection of videos about the craft and the trade they used to ply, including reminiscences from old wherryman Nat Bircham and a cracking sequence in which the Albion breaks her mast on-camera.
Punch in the word ‘barge‘ and you’re immediately rewarded with Venture On The Wind, an eleven-minute film made in 1970 and described as ‘an impressionistic study of an outing of cine film enthusiasts on a Thames sailing barge on the River Orwell‘. The barge sails from Pin Mill.
There’s a useful film about the history and tradition of maritime East Anglia, but my own personal favourite has to be Here’s A Health To The Barley Mow, filmed at the legendary Blaxhall Ship Inn some time in the fifties. The Ship is a wonderful put that I’m glad to say is still a singing pub today – in fact, they’ll be singing this lunchtime as they always do on a Monday. There should be more pubs like the Ship, and more singers too.
There’s a job to be done in searching the other film archives around the country for similar material – for someone who has the time. Meanwhile – thanks Paul and John!