Andrew
Standard 8mm film Colour Mute 1970 14:11
Summary: An intimate portrait of family life in the Ashlee household. An abundance of rabbits scamper about the garden in search of food, while the children make a valuable contribution to the baby's bath time. Different stages of the baby's development are shown as the family take him to the beach.
Title number: 19647
LSA ID: LSA/26034
Description: At first we see several greetings cards which celebrate the birth of a baby boy, they all have pictures of storks on the cover.
A teenage girl with long, light brown hair and a navy blue dress with white polka dots walks through a back garden on a sunny day, and opens a rabbit hutch. She opens the cover, and lets a large black and white rabbit out. Then she lets out three other small black and white rabbits, and six small brown rabbits. The large white rabbit munches green leaves. Two small rabbits munch grass on the lawn, they look up momentarily towards us. They scamper along a scrappy lawn which also has patches of daisies. The girl walks over to an unkempt flower bed and pulls out one of the small rabbits from behind a plant. A boy of about eleven years old, wearing a dark green t shirt and white shorts clambers behind a vegetable patch and picks up the large rabbit. The girl opens the rabbit hutch and the boy puts the rabbit in. The girl puts some green leaves into the hutch. The small brown rabbits try to wrestle some of the leaves from the large rabbit's mouth.
A lady in her mid-thirties with short brown hair looks around on a sunny day, a blue sky behind her. She is wearing a dark blue dress with sunflowers, a blue bow, and white collar, over this she wears a yellow cardigan. We then see her sitting in tall grass, with a small baby wearing a white cardigan on her shoulder. The baby looks upset and bewildered, the mother pats it's back and rocks it back and forth. The mother has the baby on her lap, she feeds it water from a small bottle, the baby rejects it and seems upset. The mother puts a handkerchief on the baby's head and resumes feeding, she rocks it on her shoulder. A man in a dark green t shirt and short brown hair holds the baby and pats it's back. He feeds the baby. The boy with the green t shirt stands next to a black car. The mother and baby get into the back seat, and the boy shuts the door. The boy and girl with the blue dress put a blue cot into the boot of the car. The car drives off down a small road in the country with all of the family inside.
A title appears: 'More Andrew'. A plump baby lying on a patterned rug next to some toys stares up at us, a small object is thrown towards him, it seems to be the baby from earlier a few months older. A boy in a dark blue jumper and brown shorts is crouched over near the baby writing in a pad. A woman in a brown cardigan and short brown hair places a bath with a stand in the centre of the room, there are curtains with a large red floral design in the background. The boy brings the baby to the mother and she takes off the baby's clothes, a girl with long hair in a red bow, gives a duck to the baby. The naked baby is placed in the bath, he splashes the water and puts the duck in his mouth. The mother takes the baby out of the bath and wraps him in a towel. She dries the baby's feet and pats him with talcum powder. The girl tests the baby's milk bottle on her hand. The baby smiles as the mother puts on his night clothes. She puts on his bib and feeds him with the milk bottle. A picture of an old-fashioned aeroplane in a book, the boy writes on paper. The girl is stitching a buckle on a brown satchel.
A title comes up: 'Watch This Space'. The baby on a beach in a white hat and light blue outfit is holding a spade. We see people on the beach and in the water. The girl with long hair pats the sand while the baby watches. The boy shakes sand off his black trunks. The baby is walked along the beach and into the water by two women in floral dresses. The baby picks up a red spade. The mother is wearing a pink floral dress, sitting on a deck chair inside a striped wind break, the baby crawls along and tries to open a suitcase. He stares towards us. We see the beach from a distance. The girl plays in the sand, the baby crawls along and playfully pats the sand. The girl and the boy bathe in the water. The baby in a pram with a red spade.
The baby stands on a lawn with a yellow jumper, he now has blonde hair, and seems to be enjoying the attention. The baby, now in blue next to a flower bed, he plays with a teddy bear, a boy in blue shorts is with him, he wheels a toy trolley towards the baby. An elderly couple, a lady in a black and white patterned dress and a gentleman in a grey suit stand over the children.
The baby is sitting on a beach in his nappy and red spade. The boy wears black trunks, we see a family of four in the background. The girl, looking slightly older, wears a yellow costume and sits on a deck chair next to the windbreak, a lady sits next to her in a black swimming costume. The boy shovels sand into a yellow bucket. The mother in black costume stands with the baby on the beach. The girl steps over seaweed to get to them. The baby sits in shallow water with the girl. The mother sits in the windbreak and coaxes the baby who is clambering out of a large hole in the sand. She takes off his nappy which is covered in sand. He wanders around the family area only wearing a white hat and blue t shirt. He wanders through seaweed, the mother walks over and dresses him with white dungarees. The baby wanders around the beach with his red spade.
Credits: Victor A Ashlee; filmmaker
Cast: Andrew Ashlee
Further information: Mr Victor Ashlee was a local resident and keen filmmaker. He lived at Eversley Avenue, Barnehurst and later at Caithness Gardens, Sidcup. His four children named Christine, Peter, Diane and Andrew were born between 1957 and 1969 and feature in many of the films in this collection.
Keywords: Swimming; Children; Rabbits; paddling; beaches; bucket and spade; family holiday; seaweed; greetings cards; suburban garden; rabbit hutch; pets; lady's fashions; mother and baby; baby's cot; bath time; rubber duck; baby's bottle; leather satchel; windbreak; teddy bear; grandparents
Locations: United Kingdom; England; London; Bexley
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