National Screen and Sound Archive of Wales preserves and celebrates the sound and moving image heritage of Wales, making it accessible to a wide range of users for enjoyment and learning. Its film collection reflects every aspect of the nation’s social, cultural and working life across the 20th century, giving a fascinating insight into Welsh filmmaking, both amateur and professional.
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Annual Horse Sale & Fair
Here are horses, ponies, pigs and sheep, a parrot, a monkey, hot dogs and rock, waltzers, dodgems, coconuts and dolls and Syd’s Murder Van – “He don’t cut prices, he murders ‘em!”.
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Overview
Every year on the 24th October there would be a horse sale and fair in Menai Bridge. The town would be full of horses, ponies and other livestock. A parrot and a monkey might appear, to entertain the crowds. Hot dogs and rock would be bought and consumed, rides taken on the waltzers and dodgems. The coconut shy and the dart board would claim many a penny and Syd would be there with his ‘“Murder Van”: “He Don't Cut Prices He Murders 'Em!”.
Shot and with commentary by David E Sutcliffe, a Bull Bay based cinema operator and BBC ‘stringer’. Stringers were the men (usually) on the ground who would provide footage from their locality if a story broke there or the BBC wanted specific shots of the area. He started off in the textile industry, like his great-grandfather in Manchester, setting up two linen shops in/near Amlwch but his sideline, a business hiring films to cinemas, took off and the shops were sold. He began operating a travelling cinema, screening films in local halls on Anglesey during the summer, mainly to audiences of holidaymakers. He also did twice weekly screenings on the Wylfa site, whilst the power station was being built.
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