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Title: BO'NESS FAIR

Reference number: 7793

Date: 1974

Director: d. Michael Alexander

Sponsor: Bo'ness Town Council and Films of Scotland

Production company: Pelicula Film

Sound: sound

Original format: 16mm

Colour: col

Fiction: Non-Fiction

Running time: 28.28 mins

Description: An official record of the Bo'ness Fair in 1974, filmed between 22nd - 28th June 1974.

Additional Information, correspondence and commentary held in paper archives.

An exhaustive list of participants in the 1974 Fair can be found at https://www.thefairday.com/characters/#1466535622174-77f5e599-f574 [last accessed 12/2/2018]

In April 2009, the Hippodrome reopened as a working cinema - see http://www.falkirkcommunitytrust.org/venues/hippodrome/ for further information. You can also find out about the Hippodrome Silent Film Festival which is held there annually: http://www.hippfest.co.uk

Credits: comm. Charles Kearney
camera Gordon Coull, Mark Littlewood, Ed McConnell, Jon Schorstein
sd. Ian Leslie, Jeff Robertson
ed. Keith Alexander

Shotlist: [shotlisted with the aid of transcription of commentary and picture held in accompanying paper archives]

[COL] gvs Bo'ness harbour, view of town (0.56) tracking shot in to Kinneil House (1.16) [BW] archive footage of coalmining, the link-up between Kinneil and Valleyfield collieries (1.55) [COL] gvs of preparations for the Fair including preparation of Arches outside the Queen's house, painting of signs, decorating house with flowers (2.51) Deanburn School Band perform outside Provost Snedden's house (3.36) The band at archway outside Queen's house. Linda Dow at her window, hair in curlers (4.05) shot of Arch at sunset (4.27) "Fair E'en goes out in a blaze of fire and fireworks" - gvs torches, bonfire, fireworks, spectators at Queen's Arch (5.30) Kinneil Colliery Silver Band pay their resects, playing and marching outside Lady-in-Waiting's house (5.55) Linda, the Queen Elect, leaving her house, and setting off in car (6.32) Linda under the arch of flowers (7.18) Procession on the march (7.27) High angle looking down on Glebe Park (7.42) arrival of the Deanburn procession in park and singing of "Our Festal Day"(10.28) Linda makes her way to the throne (11.30) chief Lady-in-Waiting, Elaine Robertson, attends to Linda (11.37) the Queen's Champion, Kenneth McLeod makes the challenge, defending the Queen's title (12.09) Mrs G. B. McFarlane crowns Linda at the stroke of eleven. Singing of "Hail To Our Queen" (12.58) Provost Snedden makes presentation to the new Queen, on behalf of the Town Council (13.26) the six presentees (one from each school in the town) perform before the new Queen. First performance by Deanburn Primary School of "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" (16.23) Kinneil Primary School perform "A Hunting We Will Go" (16.42) Grange Primary School perform "World Cup 1974" (17.29) Bo'ness Public Primary School perform "Country Style" (18.54) Blackness Primary School perform "Yellow Rose of Texas" (19.26) St. Mary's High School perform "Watch With Mother" (20.28) Queen Linda departs through the flower arch (20.50) the Crowning Ceremony now complete, the whole town joins in the celebrations. General views of the Big Parade winding its way through the town - a spectacular display of colour, multi-coloured floats, children in costume, with an array of brass, silver, pipe and military bands playing (25.27) at Douglas Park, children perform as 'black and white minstrels', singing to the amassed crowd (26.58) gvs crowds and massed bands (27.51) ecs, overlaid on panning shots of the Forth as seen from the golf course (28.28)