London’s Screen Archives enables Londoners see their past come alive on film. Managed by Film London, we are a unique network of historic film collections that cares for, collects and screens heritage film across the city. Together we preserve London’s rich film heritage from feature films to home movies, public information films, newsreels, and records of the capital’s many different industries.
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Skiing and Carol Singing in Newham
Get to know the side of Newham you never knew, thanks to this fantastic 1980s compilation of the weird and wonderful the borough has to offer.
From the collection of:
Overview
This excerpt from the compilation Filming the Unusual, showcases some of the quirkier phenomena that the borough plays host to, aside from capturing some of Newham's most well-known sites, such as London City Airport and the North Woolwich Station Railway Museum. Swish down the dry ski slope at Beckton Alps or enjoy a special Boxing Day ceremony - a parade of carol singers on horseback trotting down the road before entertaining local residents and receiving a tasty reward.
Princess Diana attended the opening of the Mountaintop dry ski slope at Beckton Alps on 7 December 1988. The unusual attraction was built on a toxic spoil heap left over from the defunct Beckton Gas Works and closed down in 2001. However, the contaminated mound remains on the site. This film is from the collection of Newham Local History Resource Centre, a member of the London's Screen Archives Network.
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