Accession Number

B13

Series Title

COUNTRY CONCERNS

Programme Title

HERRING FLEET, SLATE QUARRY, BLACKSMITH

Producer

[Unknown]

Other Credits

[Unknown]

Transmission Date

15/10/74

colour , sound (sep), 22 mins 25 secs

Synopsis

B13/1: Frank Mellor highlights three traditional ways of life in the North West: slate mining in the Lake District, herring fishing on the Isle of Man and blacksmithing in Lancashire. Mellor visits a slate quarry near the Kirkstone Pass in Cumbria, where he watches slatesman Ted Faulkner splitting blocks of green slate. He then goes to Douglas Harbour during the Manx herring season and accompanies local Skipper Terry Lang on the 'Three Sisters' trawler. Lang describes the competition the local fisherman have from large foreign boats. Includes busy scenes at a herring auction at Douglas Quay and shots of trawlers out at sea. Mellor also visits a very quiet Peel on the Isle of Man, where two Scottish fishermen claim Manx fishermen can't afford the sophisticated boats required to fish there. Finally Mellor meets Pendle blacksmith Ron Carter who speaks about his love for the job and demonstrates his craft by making a polker in his workshop (sections missing). 22m25s