Published: 05/11/2008 00:00 -
Updated: 29/01/2010 12:37
OVER the last 19 years of painting the historic shrovetide balls, I have had many camerers pointed at me.
It was very daunting when I first started, but over the years, and in no way egotistical, I have got the ball descriptive off almost like lines to a play burnt into my mind.
Lest we forget the films made by the Pathe film corporation over the early years or 'golden years' of the game in the 1920s, 1930s, 1940s 1950s and up to 1963.
Sample stills of these can be viewed dear reader by logging onto www.britishpathe.com.
We should not forget, or do we indeed remember? Mr Geoffrey Morton who in 1953 won an award on his view of the game called 'The Toughest Game on Earth' in which we had set to a musical score, various scenes and characters of forgotten shrovetide with Lord John Manners turning up the ball on a snow laden day then to its eventual goal by a youthful Don Lowndes at Sturston Mill.
Bringing us up to the present day Yvonne and Harry Hithersay of Rodsley have been documenting the game since 1985, with a few years being filmed by Steve Watson from Big Time films.
Somehow all these people found the essence of magic that surrounds our game and tap it to produce memorable and credible results.
I wondered with mixed feelings if the efforts of film producers Peter Baxter and Jimmy Zalcman would find the same.
I sat with trepidation in a packed Empire Ballroom, I may add the venue of many a shrovetide film in the golden days before television when many newsreels of the game used to be shown on the weekend after the annual event.
I too called to mind many disasterous foreign interpretations of our game, and disasterous interviews given to television crews in our own country, onei call to mind referred to the hug as....'the hog'.
I think we had all been portrayed so many times as mindless vandals with axes to grind usually in the form of butch meaty men belting hell out of each other for a painted leather sphere!
As the film progressed those fears left me... I sat stunned to my seat, if we...the people of this town could have physically presented Peter and Jimmy the heart and very soul, its blood and bones of our game they could not have done us any more credit!
Players from both teams featured throughout, key players on now and yesterday intertwined with old film footage including exerpts from the Geoffrey Morton film and some excellent cine footage from 1974.
Humour was represented in all its partisans, especially Peter 'Plonk' Millward, who raised many laughs each time he was featured.
A touching moment for me, was the late Arthur Chadwick BEM singing the shrovetide song in the legion, it saddenedme to see him looking so frail, a far cry from the gentle giant I knew as a child who used to let me sit and watch him make the balls.
I turned to see also a legend. Don Lowndes sat in the audience, that loominary figure of shrovetide past was like a 'saint' to the early christians with just his presence...clearly Mr Shrovetide.
In conclusion I left with in my opinion one of the BEST cinematic views of our heritage, done in a fair, clear and great way.
Peter and Jimmy had access to the very spirit of our community and they could of easily abused it, but did nothing of the sort, instead they perpetuated the sportsmanship and friendly strife that make up our ancient tradition.
I only hope it is widely seen and appreciated, just as we who saw its premiere appreciated it too!
It was very daunting when I first started, but over the years, and in no way egotistical, I have got the ball descriptive off almost like lines to a play burnt into my mind.
Lest we forget the films made by the Pathe film corporation over the early years or 'golden years' of the game in the 1920s, 1930s, 1940s 1950s and up to 1963.
Sample stills of these can be viewed dear reader by logging onto www.britishpathe.com.
We should not forget, or do we indeed remember? Mr Geoffrey Morton who in 1953 won an award on his view of the game called 'The Toughest Game on Earth' in which we had set to a musical score, various scenes and characters of forgotten shrovetide with Lord John Manners turning up the ball on a snow laden day then to its eventual goal by a youthful Don Lowndes at Sturston Mill.
Bringing us up to the present day Yvonne and Harry Hithersay of Rodsley have been documenting the game since 1985, with a few years being filmed by Steve Watson from Big Time films.
Somehow all these people found the essence of magic that surrounds our game and tap it to produce memorable and credible results.
I wondered with mixed feelings if the efforts of film producers Peter Baxter and Jimmy Zalcman would find the same.
I sat with trepidation in a packed Empire Ballroom, I may add the venue of many a shrovetide film in the golden days before television when many newsreels of the game used to be shown on the weekend after the annual event.
I too called to mind many disasterous foreign interpretations of our game, and disasterous interviews given to television crews in our own country, onei call to mind referred to the hug as....'the hog'.
I think we had all been portrayed so many times as mindless vandals with axes to grind usually in the form of butch meaty men belting hell out of each other for a painted leather sphere!
As the film progressed those fears left me... I sat stunned to my seat, if we...the people of this town could have physically presented Peter and Jimmy the heart and very soul, its blood and bones of our game they could not have done us any more credit!
Players from both teams featured throughout, key players on now and yesterday intertwined with old film footage including exerpts from the Geoffrey Morton film and some excellent cine footage from 1974.
Humour was represented in all its partisans, especially Peter 'Plonk' Millward, who raised many laughs each time he was featured.
A touching moment for me, was the late Arthur Chadwick BEM singing the shrovetide song in the legion, it saddenedme to see him looking so frail, a far cry from the gentle giant I knew as a child who used to let me sit and watch him make the balls.
I turned to see also a legend. Don Lowndes sat in the audience, that loominary figure of shrovetide past was like a 'saint' to the early christians with just his presence...clearly Mr Shrovetide.
In conclusion I left with in my opinion one of the BEST cinematic views of our heritage, done in a fair, clear and great way.
Peter and Jimmy had access to the very spirit of our community and they could of easily abused it, but did nothing of the sort, instead they perpetuated the sportsmanship and friendly strife that make up our ancient tradition.
I only hope it is widely seen and appreciated, just as we who saw its premiere appreciated it too!
