May Pole Dance July 1956; Picnic Trip to Finchley July 1956; London Zoo Aug 1956; Windsor Castle Sept 1956
16mm film Colour Mute 1956 12:41
Summary: Four films capturing an eventful family summer in 1956. Highlights include London Zoo, where a very different attitude to animal care is on display, and Windsor Castle, with the children imitating the marching soldiers.
Title number: 19678
LSA ID: LSA/26117
Description: A number of girls perform a May Pole celebration dance and ceremony at St George's church, Harrow Road (Sudbury, Wembley). The girls are possibly a Sunday school group or a brownie's group. Glynis and her brothers are eating sandwiches, joined by their mum, who looks a bit bashful at the camera, and is joined by Glynis for an embrace. Glynis is carefully walking across a stream, which is in some woods in the Harrow and Finchley area, she then helps Alan walk in the stream.
Some children (including the Lawford children) are seated at a table in a secluded garden. A man plays with a small dog, while the children look on. We see a view of the garden/allotment area with some red flowers.
A guardsman marches up and down outside Buckingham Palace, watched by tourists and the children with their mother. They are feeding pigeons in Trafalgar Square and we see close-ups of the children feeding the birds.
At London Zoo, an elephant is in his pen being fed by the crowd. Mum succeeds in feeding him and glances and smiles at the camera. The zoo is very crowded and a number of children are getting onto a camel helped by the zoo keepers, who take them around for a ride. The children all climb onto an elephant's back and are seen enjoying their ride. Two bears in a small pen are playing on a swing. Children feed the animals. A polar bear is in his pen, a bear performs for the crowd and succeeds in getting food, and a variety of other animals are shown.
Beautiful landscaped gardens are seen in Windsor on a grey day, together with aerial shots of Windsor and the river winding around the town. On a rainy day the children are playing outside Windsor Castle, pretending to march like the guards, to and from a sentry box. They are joined by Michael, a next-door neighbour. We see the Changing of the Guards, with a crowd of spectators watching the guards as they perform the ceremony.
Cast: Glynis Lawford; David Lawford; Alan Lawford; Mr Lawford; Mrs Lawford
Further information: From the Lawford family films collection. Three siblings are featured, David, Alan and Glynis. Mr Lawford worked for Kodak.
The Bear Mountain, on which the great grizzly was filmed, now houses wallabies.
Keywords: dancing; family trip; Summer holiday; Zoo
Locations: United Kingdom; England; London; Harrow / United Kingdom; England; London; Regent's Park / United Kingdom; England; Windsor
Related
Comments