This short narrative holiday film is by amateur filmmaker and member of the Newcastle & District Amateur Cinematographers Association (ACA), George Cummin, and his wife Norah Cummin. George and Norah take a week’s holiday at a cottage in Weardale, County Durham. George decides to make a film of the holiday and settles down to write the script, but is not inspired. Whilst his wife rambles, gardens and does the housework, George repeatedly falls asleep in a deckchair and fails to script the...

This short narrative holiday film is by amateur filmmaker and member of the Newcastle & District Amateur Cinematographers Association (ACA), George Cummin, and his wife Norah Cummin. George and Norah take a week’s holiday at a cottage in Weardale, County Durham. George decides to make a film of the holiday and settles down to write the script, but is not inspired. Whilst his wife rambles, gardens and does the housework, George repeatedly falls asleep in a deckchair and fails to script the film. On the last day he finally decides on the title and rewards himself with a nap. Title: On holiday in Weardale once more George decided that any filming must be from a proper script, so on the Monday he stayed at home to work out a suitable theme – Norah strides down a country path, turns round and looks back. George, dressed in baggy brown trousers, stands outside a stone country holiday cottage next to two stripy deckchairs and waves his wife off. He settles into a deckchair with pen and notebook, thinking. His wife returns to the cottage after her walk and her husband is snoozing in the deckchair. She tiptoes past him along the path. He sleeps on. Title: Tuesday George has moved the two deckchairs in the shade of some trees. It’s a breezy day. The inspiration is not there for George so he opens a book and begins to read. His wife picks up a bottle of milk from the doorstep, sees old George, and shakes her head. George is fast asleep in his deck chair again. She shakes her head some more and retreats inside the cottage. George sleeps on. Title: Wednesday On the next day of the holiday, Norah does a spot of gardening at the cottage, digging over soil and weeding. She looks off into the distance, grumbling to herself. By the banks of a stony river George is back in his deckchair, fast asleep, his note paper still clutched in his hand, draped beside the deckchair. Title: truly the spirit is willing but the air is strong – maybe a walk on Thursday would get better results – Norah and George leave the cottage for a walk. They follow a path by the river, George still looking at his scrap of paper willing the ideas to come as he follows Norah. Norah crosses a foot bridge. She turns around and gestures to George to hurry up, a little annoyed. George follows slowly, looking distractedly at his paper. Still no inspiration! Norah pauses and looks at the countryside view of the river valley, with dry stone walls and the stream tumbling over rocks down the hill. George continues to walk with his thoughts on the script he wants to write, stumbling over clumps of grass. Norah arrives at the nearest village and walks down the street, George hurrying to catch up with her. Title: -But its only result was to make George too tired to do anything at all on Friday. Which left only Saturday – George paces up and down outside the cottage. He stares at his note paper and suddenly hits on an idea.  He rushes to the deckchairs and sits down to write. He has written the title of the film: “Cottage Loaf”. Happy with this, he settles back in the deckchair for a nap in the sunshine. Close-up of the scrap of paper next to his book titled “American Mystery”. Close-up of the title, followed by a blank page and the final words “The End”.