Britain on film

The BFI have put 2,500 films (and more are to come) from their archives online and made them available to watch (UK only i think). The films on the Britain on film website range from Victorian times to the 80s and seem to cover all aspects of British life. Unfortunately you only seem to be able to search by geographic location and not subject unless there is an alternative search front end i haven't found yet...

But i searched for my local area anyway and found a fascinating film from the mid-1970s on a family who move out of their highrise flat in Castle Vale to a lovely little house on... Tyburn Road! I wonder if my (not so near to be honest as they lived right at the other end of the road to me) neighbours are still there?

The second film i found was on the construction of the Gravelly Hill Interchange aka Spaghetti Junction and was a truly amazing insight into the running and planning of the junction. All the overhead gantry signs were apparently run from a big computer at Perry Barr police station, i suspect they are run from a somewhat smaller computer on someone's desk now.

Actually maybe the BFI got the search front end right anyway, i might not have found the films if i had been searching for subjects...

Hillman Avenger

The Hillman Avenger was a small family car built by Hillman, Chrysler and Talbot between 1970 and 1981. The car was designed by Rootes and released under its Hillman marque, though Rootes itself had been taken over by Chrysler in the late 1960s and the car was released in the USA as the Plymouth Cricket (the world of car marques was especially complicated in the 1970s!) The Avenger took its styling cues from the latest US car designs though was in many ways technically conservative (for example sticking with a four speed gearbox instead of moving to a five speed). The Avenger was well received by the press and public and considered superior to its rival the Morris Marina. It also competed with the Ford Escort and Vauxhall Viva.

After 1976 the Avenger became a Chrysler proper as the Hillman marque was retired but in 1979, following the sale of Chrysler Europe to PSA, the Avenger was rebadged again as a Talbot! Time was running out for the car however as production only continued until 1981 in the UK. The Avenger was also built abroad, even appearing with a Volkswagen badge in Argentina! The Avenger was a popular car with the public and three quarters of a million were sold. Technically and conceptually the car was perfect for the 1970s though suffered from poor build quality and corner cutting to save money, however the Avenger was not alone in suffering from these problems.

The Avenger below is preserved at Coventry Transport Museum where it helps to demonstrate the production lines which enabled mass production of motorcars.

Daimler Fleetline

The Daimler (later Leyland) Fleetline was one of the major types of British bus in production from 1960 right through to 1983. The Fleetline was the second British bus to have an engine at the rear allowing for a much more convenient passenger entrance at the front. This also allowed for buses to much more easily converted to one-man operation as the driver could handle fares too. In a front engined bus like the Routemaster the driver was too isolated to do that job as well.

The Fleetline was a common bus throughout the country in the 1970s with large fleets in London (though it was not that popular there), Birmingham and elsewhere. My earliest bus memories are on a Fleetline on the number 55 heading down to Shard End to see my Nan, sometime in the mid-70s. Maybe the bus below, as preserved at the Aston Manor Transport Museum, was the bus i was on. If not i probably did travel on it back then at some stage.

The Fleetline remained in service in Birmingham until 1997 though had gone from London by the early 1980s. Many served on with other operators both at home and abroad.

2500 TC

The classic look of a 70s Triumph, this one preserved at Coventry Transport Museum.

Sucking in the 70s

I am obsessed with the 1970s. It is the decade i find most interesting in history, maybe it is because i was born near the start of it. Although i lived through most of the events that occurred in the decade i was more interested in toys and the like of course and so had little knowledge or interest in what was happening at the time. Now i can look back and help contextualise what i do remember. Like the power cuts, the living room lit with candles and my mum making toast using a fork and the gas fire!

For a while i have thought about having a blog or website on the 70s, one idea was to have a month by month review of the events of that decade. Ideally i should have started this back in 2010 so i could have recounted events from 40 years before...

I could still do this now of course, just starting at 1974. I could work my way through the rest of the decade (and in 6 years maybe return to 1970). Now my academic history career is coming to an end (at least for now) i need to think how i will continue to explore history and use my skills (ha) in this area. I have a few days at least to make up my mind anyway.

Christmas TV in 1978

Nothing is as good as it used to be including nostalgia. The glories of the past are often also overblown. However the Guardian maybe are onto something when they compare the variety and scope of the 1978 TV schedules with that of today. TV is much more limited now than it used to be despite the apparent "choice" of the digital TV era. In reality most of the extra channels do not offer anything other than the illusion of choice and instead allow media companies to be lazy and target tiny segments of the market instead of having to show a bit more effort and try and appeal to a wider audience.

That isn't to say that TV today is worthless, far from it, but the talent and budgets are spread more thinly now. There are some excellent programmes still, the documentaries on Pilgrimage for example and most of BBC4. However finding the gems is harder now. Its easy to lose them amid the deluge of bilge.

Or maybe its not, i grew up with 70s TV after all, maybe the younger generations think it was far too slow and dull compared to now...

The 70s house

Scanning a few old photographs yesterday i came upon this one taken in the first house i lived in, in Crosby. I was only a baby at the time so the photograph was likely taken sometime in 1972 or perhaps early 1973. What is most interesting about the photograph is probably what is missing. There seems to be a total absence of technology though there was probably was a TV out of shot. Nowadays a photo of a living room would include remote controls, mobile phones, consoles, DVDs and other technology. Back in the early 1970s you would have a TV and a telephone and little else, maybe a hi-fi or a radio. Other than that the room is very familiar and probably trendily retro these days. I wonder how the living room will change in another 40 years time.

Its interesting how much has changed though some items in the photo have survived all these years, the painting on the wall for example is right behind me on my own wall now as i type this!