Metadata
WORK ID: NEFA 21692 (Master Record)
Title | Year | Date |
FETE '84 | 1984 | 1984-01-01 |
Details
Original Format: Super 8 Colour: Colour Sound: Sound Duration: 5 mins 25 secs Credits: Individual: Derek Mathieson Genre: Amateur Subject: Sport Rural Life |
Summary An amateur firm by Derek Mathieson of the annual Cleasby and Stapleton combined fete taking place on the village green at Stapleton near Darlington in June 1984. |
Description
An amateur firm by Derek Mathieson of the annual Cleasby and Stapleton combined fete taking place on the village green at Stapleton near Darlington in June 1984.
Title: Fete ’84
The film opens with general views of the village of Stapleton near Darlington showing The Bridge Inn public house and a row of terraced houses off the village green.
People arrive in the village, some carrying tables and chairs. A policeman puts out ‘No Parking’ bollards along the road. A woman lays out cakes on a...
An amateur firm by Derek Mathieson of the annual Cleasby and Stapleton combined fete taking place on the village green at Stapleton near Darlington in June 1984.
Title: Fete ’84
The film opens with general views of the village of Stapleton near Darlington showing The Bridge Inn public house and a row of terraced houses off the village green.
People arrive in the village, some carrying tables and chairs. A policeman puts out ‘No Parking’ bollards along the road. A woman lays out cakes on a table whilst another tends to a series of potted plants and chats with a friend.
People arrive at the fete and browse the various stalls set up on the village green. A queue of people wait to pick numbers from a drum shaped tombola machine. A number of items wrapped in newspaper stand on a table nearby.
A woman conducts a Norwegian brass band. While the adults sit on deck chairs or the grass relaxing, children bounce around on an inflatable.
A man explains the obstacle course to a number of young competitors. They head off to the starting line and the race gets underway with an older boy out in front. He races around the green over a low fence, climbs under tarpaulin and rolls a tyre to the end of the course. A young boy walks past wearing a number of rosettes.
General views of people relaxing around the green or browsing horticultural stalls. A young couple sit near the pub, the woman holding a pint of beer. An older woman sits on a deck chair behind a table selling indoor plants. Four women stand beside the tombola stall looking at a piece of paper. A sign beside an empty table reads ‘Bottle Stall’. Around a low table, members of the Women’s Institute offer cups of tea.
A signpost points towards ‘Church Flower Festival’. A welcome sign stands by the gate into St Peter’s parish church. A general view of the churchyard is followed by interior shots of the stained glass window and floral displays.
The film ends with an overhead view of the village green.
End credit: A film by Derek Mathieson
Context
A country fete a stone’s throw from the Tees
The village green is a hive of activity as locals take in the atmosphere and enjoy the revelry of the Cleasby and Stapleton summer fete in the 80s. Women set out stalls of home-made cakes and a visiting Norwegian brass band performs as children play on a bouncy castle and take part in a fun obstacle course. The amateur filmmaker lingers awhile in The Church of St Peter, Cleasby, to admire a beautiful stained glass window that once illuminated the...
A country fete a stone’s throw from the Tees
The village green is a hive of activity as locals take in the atmosphere and enjoy the revelry of the Cleasby and Stapleton summer fete in the 80s. Women set out stalls of home-made cakes and a visiting Norwegian brass band performs as children play on a bouncy castle and take part in a fun obstacle course. The amateur filmmaker lingers awhile in The Church of St Peter, Cleasby, to admire a beautiful stained glass window that once illuminated the west wing at Bristol Cathedral. Fete ’84 was made by Derek Mathieson, who began shooting film at the age of eleven using a clockwork 8mm Kodak Brownie camera. Leaving school aged 15, he first worked at the Inverness Empire Theatre, learning the craft of theatre production, including lighting design, and abandoned filmmaking for several years. He joined Darlington Cine Club in 1977 after attending a talk at the club by the South Shields animator Sheila Graber. He shot his first amateur documentary on the Lily Laundry in Darlington, built in 1912, where he then worked as an accountant and company secretary. He has since made over seventy documentary and holiday movies, moving to video production in 1992. |