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Title: DOWN BOOKS UP COUNTRY

Reference number: 3941

Date: 1965*

Production company: SEFA (Dumfriesshire Group)

Sound: silent

Original format: 16mm

Colour: col

Fiction: non-fiction

Running time: 8.50 mins

Description: The activities of Dumfries Academy Adventure Club around Branrigg, Dumfries and Galloway, in the 1960s. Shows the young people preparing a base and enjoying outdoor activities such as orienteering, camping, cooking, pony-trekking, planting trees given by the forestry commission and printing their own newsletter.

Note: Beautiful Kodachrome colour film in good condition.

Credits: Dumfries Academy Adventure Club introduces......
p. Dumfriesshire Branch, SEFA

Shotlist: ecs (0.08) We wanted to explore, understand and enjoy the countryside ints end of school day, young people packing up in school classroom at Dumfries Academy, members of the adventure club looking at map with teacher (0.30) First we needed a base shot of car pulling up at forestry commission buildings, c/u of forestry commission crest on side of van (0.39) c/u someone marking map, writing down place names (Shial, Castlemaddy, Holehouse, Branrigg) (0.46) shots of these places being inspected by teacher and man from forestry commission, derelict farm buildings rejected, until finally house in Branrigg is chosen as base (1.09) shot of house high on hillside, overlooking forest and winding road. Keys are handed over (1.36) Cash and equipment were given or loaned children unloading equipment (furniture, crockery, cooking utensils, bedding etc), shots of them cleaning house inside and out, including shot of boy making a makeshift chimney sweeper out of bracken, and climbing on to roof in order to clean chimney (3.26) filling oil lamps from can (3.36) We then went exploring shots of boys walking with rucksacks on their backs, setting up tents beside river, cooking on outdoor gas stove (4.18) shots of girls doing the same on their trip, cooking egg and bacon on stove, washing arms and legs in river, settling in sleeping bags in tent for the night (4.48) And orienteering gvs same, boys running through woods, using compass (6.04) The girls wanted pony-trekking: so first we prepared a corral gvs boys building stone wall, shots of ponies in field, girls riding (6.55) We are also developing other interests boy looking through telescopes, climbing tree, girls picking wild flowers, typing, printing their own adventure club newletter 'Duisg', boy fishing (7.47) forestry commission present the Adventure Club with small seedling trees, which boys are then seen planting (8.22) What next? shot of children with teacher at the end of school day again, this time pointing to Skye on the map (8.34) But that is another story! (8.37) ecs (8.50)