Introduction

I had spent the previous few days in London with my family, where we bought a new Canon video in Dixons of Bond Street, together with blank films. We had then driven the long way down to Cornwall in thunderstorms and had spent the staying at a hotel in Bude. When we were in a hotel in Bude, I was occupied in reading fully the instructions on how to use the beast that night before seeing Freda the following day

Detailed Content

The sequence opens with some video footage of The Granville Hotel in Bude on Wednesday 22nd August 1984 where we had stayed in order to visit the smallholding then owned by my sister Freda and husband Alf in Holsworthy, near Bude in Cornwall the next day. There are nice interviews with Daniel (37s) on the balcony, who describes the hotel as the film pans around before we go into the room and see the young Debbie (1m21s) trying to carry on describing the inside playroom. We pan to Diana (1m40s) with the new baby Daniella, just a month old) as Di describes the facilities for babies. Then outside with Debbie (2m19s-2m35s) and into the shopping centre of Bude where Diana and Debbie describe the town (3m0s) before back to the hotel where the kids play calmly in the hotel room as baby Della sleeps (3m31s) We had bought Debbie a My Little Pony present and Daniel a computer book, which he was reading, and Diana describes the room. On to the beach (5m14s- with some nice shots of Diana describing it and explaining what the children have been doing (6m50s). Daniel and Debbie take over the story as a nice relaxing family scene until we have to stop filming at dusk (9m15s).
The following day, on Thursday 23rd August 1984, the children set off for the hotel swimming pool (09m.35s) where we have some lovely shots of them swimming before we take our final film of the setting by the sea. The scene next shifts (14m39s) to us spent looking at the Mechanical Music museum near Holsworthy, where there were some classic machines and a demonstration (16m30s) by the enthusiastic owner; after which we had lunch at the hotel in our newly acquired Jaguar (A66 VEG, 17m29s)) and then drove to their house.

We arrive at the smallholding (18m09s) to be greeted by Alf and Freda (18m19s). Daniel shows us around the grounds (18m51s), and to look at their big boxer dog (19m15s) and the chicken with its chicks. Their daughter Stacey joins the fray (20m0s) and later on (24m18s) and then their son Chris (20m08s) both dressed as Grebos with Chris in a dog collar! Inside (20m25s) we look around to see all of the work that needed doing and the aspect looking over Holsworthy. Then on to the 4acre field and smallholding (21m) to see the livestock sheds, with lots of egg-laying and free range turkeys, three goats, two flocks of geese, quail, and all manner of critters so as to be a complete menagerie. Freda’s ‘own space’ (22m). The family love to watch then (25m) Back in our hotel (26m) with a family cuddling scene where I was worrying about them making a success of this smallholding financially as they do not seem to want to harvest their livestock

The next day (26m5s), Friday 24th August 1984, we show our farewell shots of the hotel and the family walking and skipping to the car (27m25s) to the seaside where they play on a bouncy thing (30m0s) and then go Karts before leaving. A cameo sequence on me (31m20s) before a better one of Diana and Della shopping (31m38s) and then Debbie( 32m30s) and both of them on the go Karts (33m) although Daniel’s legs are too long to make progress! Leaving the hotel (35m48s) and then a stop at a café (36m) and lunch on a bench where there was more fowl to watch and play equipment to before leaving for home. We stopped at Stonehenge 37m20s at the end of a windy few days.

Summarised from journal entries transcribed 10th April 2013. David Broad