Rescue

Bygone buildings and traditional crafts mingle in Beryl Armstrong's colourful film of an outing to the Weald & Downland Museum in West Sussex

Beryl Armstrong's colour film, with a sadly intermittent voice over, explores the ancient buildings that have been conserved at the Weald & Downland Open Air Museum near Singleton, West Sussex. It features many functional buildings and structures that have been relocated and reconstructed to their original form. The film also shows a variety of traditional craftsmen using hand-tools only to make baskets, fences, walking sticks and brooms. White cattle are also seen.

New Zealand born Beryl Armstrong has, in her lifetime, made well over 100 films, many of which capture various aspects of rural life in Sussex and Hampshire, from the 1960s to the 1990s. Beryl began making films while she was living in India and over the years entered many of her films into local amateur festivals and competitions. She also taught her sons Richard and Anthony, who appear in several of her films, the art of filmmaking. Both went on to create amateur film collections of their own ranging from short documentaries to comedies and animations. Beryl is also the successful author of twelve published novels.