An amateur film made by David Williams of an educational visit by a delegation from Durham University to the country of Lesotho in southern Africa in 1968. The film begins with a group of adults playing in a field beside a school followed by the pupils being conducted in song. This is followed by a group of men and women working together to build a wall, part of a building on top of a hill. A school visit to a government agricultural farm follows next with pupils being shown around and...

An amateur film made by David Williams of an educational visit by a delegation from Durham University to the country of Lesotho in southern Africa in 1968. The film begins with a group of adults playing in a field beside a school followed by the pupils being conducted in song. This is followed by a group of men and women working together to build a wall, part of a building on top of a hill. A school visit to a government agricultural farm follows next with pupils being shown around and looking at the various plants and animals there. A tree planting ceremony featuring King Moshoeshoe II and a second VIP is followed by a garden party taking place for he delegation at the Blue Mountain Inn in the town of Teyateyaneng. The film ends at an airport with the delegation leaving to fly back to the UK. The film opens in a field in front of a school building where a group of men and women, including a number of nuns in religious habits, play with skipping ropes. They take part in a skipping rope race followed by views of them running around the field individually and then holding hands in pairs. General views of a woman from the Durham delegation conducting a group of children in song. Some of the smaller children stand in chairs. Two local women, one wearing the traditionally woven hat known as a Mokorotlo, comes over to watch. With the singing over, some of the older children organise the younger ones. The film cuts to show a boy holding up an open book to the camera. There is an image on a giraffe on the page. General views of children painting a number of colourful banners on the ground. One of female delegates from Durham helps. The film changes to show a three men sitting on the ground using hammer and chisel to split rocks. General views of a group of men and women building a stonewall using some of the split rocks, many of them wear the traditional Mokorotlo hats. Water is poured into a mixture of cement and sand to create mortar. A plank of wood is placed on the wall and a bowl of water is used to check the level of their work. Hands fill caps with smaller stones to make the plank level. From the top of a hill a view of the surrounding landscape cuts to show a group walking along a track. The group stands around the wall that can now be seen to be part of a partially constructed building. Nearby a number of Giant Aloe grows, their flowers growing high into the sky. The film cuts to show the group now walking away from the building. The camera follows someone’s feet as they walk through sand. Nearby a group of women, begin to sing and dance. General viewsshowf them performing, some men join in. They all dance happily in a circle. A man from the Durham delegation speaks with a number of men, some holding papers and a clipboard. From the edge of the hill a view looks down onto a small village and fields below. A group walks along a track cutting to a view of a Land Rover.   The film cuts to show three boys standing beside a sign that reads ‘Crop and Herbage Observation’. Standing beside a wooden fence a school group look at the field beyond with various plots laid out. The school group walk along a track then the film cuts to a boy looking down on a prickly plant. Another boy poses for the camera. A number of boys look out onto a flat landscape with mountains in the distance, sprinklers water an irrigated field of crops. A group of children watch a heavy earth-moving machine drive past them. The film cuts to show the group standing beside a cow in a barn. Beside a doorway, a number of children look tentatively inside, a man encourages them to go in. General views show a farmyard with a number of pieces of farming equipment lying around. The film cuts to show a group looking into a chicken coop. A sign above it reads ‘Poultry Project’. Another sign reads ‘Feed Your Chickens. R. Lehloaea and B. Mohaea’. The film cuts to show some of the children being helped into the back of a Land Rover and the vehicle driving away. The film changes to show the flag of Lesotho flying from a pole. General views show King Moshoeshoe II walking through a crowd speaking with some of them and shaking hands with others. He makes his way over to a black Mercedes vehicle, climbs in and is driven away. The film cuts to show a poster of a man wearing a Mokorotlo hat resting against a tree. The text reads ‘Temo Ea Lifate 5 Phato 1968". A second man wearing a colourful shawl and carrying a stick stands beside a car. A number of people, including members of the Durham delegation, approach and shakes his hand. The film cuts to show both King Moshoeshoe II and the man with the stick sitting together with a large crowd standing around, some taking photographs. King Moshoeshoe II helps to plant a tree and uses a watering can to water the sapling. The second man stamps down the ground around a second sapling and also waters it. General views foillow of others planting saplings including those from Durham. The film cuts to a phantom car ride showing the landscape on the way to Teyateyaneng in the district of Berea. Another road sign points towards the Blue Mountain Inn where the film changes to show general views of the Durham delegation enjoying a garden party and drinking beer from large tankards. The film changes to another phantom car ride passing under an archway with writing over the top. The film cuts to show a small aircraft taking off from a dusty runway and a second aircraft flying overhead. Three men in red shirts push a luggage wagon across the runway and another aircraft come into land. The Lesotho Airways airplane taxi’s along the runway and the film ends with a woman waving from the steps of the plane as she boards.