Fete '84

The village green is a hive of activity as locals take in the atmosphere and enjoy the revelry of the Cleasby and Stapleton summer fete in the 80s. Women set out stalls of home-made cakes and a visiting Norwegian brass band performs as children play on a bouncy castle and take part in a fun obstacle course. The amateur filmmaker lingers awhile in The Church of St Peter, Cleasby, to admire a beautiful stained glass window that once illuminated the west wing at Bristol Cathedral.

Fete ’84 was made by Derek Mathieson, who began shooting film at the age of eleven using a clockwork 8mm Kodak Brownie camera. Leaving school aged 15, he first worked at the Inverness Empire Theatre, learning the craft of theatre production, including lighting design, and abandoned filmmaking for several years. He joined Darlington Cine Club in 1977 after attending a talk at the club by the South Shields animator Sheila Graber. He shot his first amateur documentary on the Lily Laundry in Darlington, built in 1912, where he then worked as an accountant and company secretary. He has since made over seventy documentary and holiday movies, moving to video production in 1992.