Archive for the 'Cine' Category

Radleys School, c.1973

Tuesday, April 5th, 2011

This clip is probably of interest to fewer people: it’s footage of a 1970s sports day at Radleys School (Warning: Comic Sans), in Kings Road, Rushall. Here’s the modern school from above, rebuilt in the 90s (I think) after a fire, with what was the sports track in the cine film outlined in red:

Radleys school aerial view

Radleys School as it is now. The running track is outlined in red, and the camera position was towards the top right of this area.

The building is now completely different, since it was the feature of an arson attack, but the grounds still have the same layout, and I reckon the view across to the nice old house at the bottom of Radley Road would still be there. If any former teachers from my time there see this post, you’ll be able to see my drawing skills never improved. Former pupils will recognise the running track and the shed used for games equipment.

The film shows a sports day in the 1970s, again taken by my Dad on Super 8. Do they still do this sort of sports day (and would parents be allowed to film it?) ?

Rushall Carnival, c. 1973/4

Tuesday, March 29th, 2011

More old cine footage. Though I live in Walsall Wood, I grew up in Rushall. This clip shows just how big a deal Rushall Carnival was in the 70s, and that it took in more of Rushall too: the floats are heading into the industrial estate in Westgate, right on the fringes of Rushall. Look at the crowds lining the streets…

There’s a lot of effort gone into the floats, and a fair few of them. In those days, it rivaled Pelsall’s carnival.

I notice that the aforementioned lorry from Reg Edwards’ coal yard appears briefly at around 2:15- they provided it every year.

Chasewater

Wednesday, March 23rd, 2011

Well, it took a while, but finally I delivered on my promise over at BrownhillsBob’s blog. Bob had asked for images of Chasewater, and as it was a place I visited a lot as a kid, i thought it was almost certain there’d be images somewhere at my Mom’s. An epic trawl through slides returned nothing, but eventually some footage turned up on Super 8 taken by my Dad in the early 1970s, which I’ve subsequently had converted to DVD, ripped, and edited. The film is unsurprisingly focused upon a very young me, family, and friends, but there’s a few wide shots of the area. Judging by ages, this would be around 1973 or 1974: