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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May Fair at Rhayader
Dixie Glasgow, returning to Rhayader for a holiday from his advertising agency in New York, enlists the help of a prankster to add fun to the fair day.
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Overview
Dixie Glasgow [Robert Maclean Glasgow] returns to Rhayader, his birthplace, for a holiday from his life in New York. Taking his camera to the fair, he enlists the help of a prankster to add to the day’s fun and to provide good footage. Whilst home, he also manages to catch a day of celebration on film, when several football trophies are paraded through the town. The film closes with shots of what is probably his transatlantic crossing back to America.
Robert Maclean Glasgow ("Dixie Glasgow") was born in Rhayader in the early 1900s, emigrating to America with his parents as a small child. He set up one of the first advertising agencies in New York, utilising stills photography and then moving pictures. Several events of note took place during his holiday back home, firstly the fair and then the parade of football cups. These cups were thought to be Cardiff City’s trophies, since this team had won both the FA (or English) Cup and the Welsh Cup in 1927 and a newspaper report refers to these trophies touring the town, two of the team’s directors being from the Rhayader area. Neither cup seen, however, resembles the silverware in question.
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