Do you ever go online to look for something and then end up - hours later - not having found what you were looking for - but finding something much more interesting? Well, that happened to me today.
I found this old family photograph, it shows my great-grandmother, my grandfather and his brothers. I have no idea where the photograph was taken, but I noticed the sign for "Turner's Cameras" behind them and decided to have a wee look and see if I could find out perhaps where the photo was taken. Needless to say, I didn't! But I was absolutely captivated by what I did find.
First of all my search took me to the Northern Region Film and Television Archive - an absolute treasure trove of little films from the past. My favourites were -
"Your Tea Madam" - a film about Ringtons Tea Ltd from 1932. It followed the tea as it arrived at the docks, through all its processes until it reached the housewife or the consumer, as we would say today.
"Turners Camera Shop" from 1947 - fantastic clips of Newcastle street scenes from that time as well as interiors of the shop. Not the same one as in my photograpy, unfortunately.
"Old Folks Excursion" - 1923 film showing old folks from the west end of Newcastle on an outing to Little Benton. The lovely old ladies are resplendent in their bonnets and best coats. The gents are all wearing hats too! As well as the essential cuppa, they took part in races, tug of war, dancing and even skipping ropes! Fantastic!
Some of the NRFTA's films have not been digitised yet, but there's enough to keep you going here! There's a sweet little road safety film for primary children - check it out.
Another great time waster, I mean research tool is the BBC's "Nation on Film" archive which has lots of little films on various subjects - the shopping films are great!
Hope you enjoy looking at some of these. I was enthralled! Warning - don't lose track of time!
Love, Liz
14 comments:
Hello Liz:
As if the internet was not labyrinthine and time wasting enough, you tempt us here with so many delicious diversions!! We shall certainly be following up your recommendation of the BBC Film Archive as that sounds to be exactly our cup of 'Rington's' tea!!
Thanks for sharing that info .... I'll have to take a look as my nan was from Newcastle and would have been living in Walker/Jesmond area at that time x
what fun you found looking around. That picture of your grandparents is wonderful and all the other pictures you found
It is amazing all the stuff to be found out there , and I definitely often end up completely sidetracked by unexpected finds. You wonder how we ever managed to fill our days in the days before computers!
x
i love looking at old photos, it makes me sad that people dont get their photos printed these days
The 'Nation On Film' archive sounds great Liz. I meant to watch that Melvyn Bragg archive film thing on TV but missed the first one then forgot all about it. I love social history.
K xx
You obviously had a lovely time trawling through the past!
Pomona x
A lovely little adventure Liz, without even leaving the house. Amazing isn't it.
Doesn't sound like a time waster at all! You found a treasure. What else could you have possibly done with that time, but lost it with nothing to show for it...
Hi Liz, what a great family photo.
I must admit I find myself researching all the time! Looking for one thing and then finding more...
How cool to find a family pic.
Liz, thanks for pointing us to these resources. I have to say we laughed out loud at the Road Safety one. Norman Shelley, who did the voiceover, was very respected radio actor and this was not his best work!
What a lovely story and a great way to spend your time researching into the background of the picture of your grandmother, grandfather and his brothers. I always enjoy discovering something new and you can't beat going online to look for that elusive bit of information. Thank you for sharing.
Liz-
That kind of thing happens to me all the time, lol! I tend to follow the links to something of interest and completely get off track from what I was originally researching. That site looks wonderful. It will be great when they digitise the rest of the footage!
-Pam
Post a Comment