Early local topical of the annual Seaton Burn Flower Show and amateur sports that took place at the Recreation Ground on Saturday 30 August 1919, nine months after the end of World War One. The film focuses on the crowds of local people enjoying both events. Whilst the mainly female audience is pictured at the flower show, no footage of the horticultural displays is included. The athletics and sports include quoits, sprint races and high jump events. Title: Seaton Burn Flower Show &...

Early local topical of the annual Seaton Burn Flower Show and amateur sports that took place at the Recreation Ground on Saturday 30 August 1919, nine months after the end of World War One. The film focuses on the crowds of local people enjoying both events. Whilst the mainly female audience is pictured at the flower show, no footage of the horticultural displays is included. The athletics and sports include quoits, sprint races and high jump events. Title: Seaton Burn Flower Show & Sports Sat. Aug. 30th The first sequence records the queues of mainly women visitors moving along or standing behind a pole barrier on a wooden viewing platform at the Seaton Burn Flower Show. The horticultural displays are not shown. Many are holding brochures or pamphlets. A man in bowler hat and suit, with pocket watch chain visible in his waistcoat, hops off the platform in the foreground. Tracking shot of the rows of women, and one or two men, lined up behind the barrier. They smile, laugh and chat, looking towards camera. One woman in a back row blows a kiss as she peers between two women in front. One or two of the women wave to camera. A man at the show speaks briefly to a smartly dressed man, probably a flowers show official, on the near side of the barrier. In the next shot he smiles and speaks to camera. In the next scene a group of men and boys are playing and watching traditional games of quoits at the recreation ground. A man throws his metal ring at the quoits spike. Two men pick up their metal rings at the quoits match. A boy wearing a baker boy cap and several other male spectators notice the camera. A man with crutches walks between spectators at the quoits match, as a group of men and boys nearby stare towards the camera. Various track events take place at the event. General view of four young men taking part in a sprint race, running towards the finish line and camera. Crowds of spectators surround the track. Two young boys run onto the track after the sprinters cross the finish line. The Seaton Burn Colliery chimney and pithead winding gear can be seen in the distant background. Fairground rides and marquees stand at the edge of the field track. General view of a second sprint race with three young male contestants, and again two young boys run onto the track after they cross the finish line. A very thin young man in baggy shorts is helped into a tee-shirt by a male companion or trainer, who then massages his legs. Another man in a suit and homburg hat stands with them, staring towards the camera. As the trainer continues to massage the athlete’s legs, all three look towards the camera. A strong wind blows the branches of trees to their rear. General view of a third sprint race with six runners competing. The camera records from the finish line. A man in a suit lights up his pipe on the side lines. Two brief shots of the crowds of men and boys beside the track follow, the men standing with their hands in the pockets of their suits, most wearing hats. General view of the crowds of men and boys beside the track, some leaning in, some crouching or waving hats. Some younger boys sprawl on the grass. Fairground rides stand in the near background, and the carousel ride is turning. The camera pans along the crowds of men behind the trackside rope barrier, young boys huddled on the ground and trying to get in shot. Some of the men at the back wave their hats. The camera continues to pan along the crowd of spectators, the majority of men dressed in suits and caps, trilby or homburg hats. One woman stands at the rope barrier. Men race past camera in another sprint race, spectators watching on the far side of the track. Terraced houses adjoin the recreation ground in the background. General view of the crowds of men and children behind the trackside rope barrier. One man, possibly a sports official, stands on the track smoking a pipe. Shot of young sportsmen at the pistol start of a sprint race, with crowds gathered behind them. A cluster of showman’s wagons and the carousel stand in the near background. The athletes run out of shot and the camera lingers on the crowd of spectators. A group of male sports handicappers or starters walk amongst the marked out lanes at the start of the race track, making written notes on cards. Shot of the crowd of spectators in the windy weather, with five women amongst the men, laughing as they realise they are on camera. A cluster of young boys are standing together in the trackside crowd. A sports official with pipe in hand stands on the track in the foreground. Shot from behind the starting lines, four men run towards the finish line in the distance, watched by the many spectators. Group portrait of men, women and children at the sports event. A small girl in best bonnet and coat stands in front of an elderly man with grey hair and beard, dressed in a homburg hat and overcoat. Young lads in caps are up front. The group pose, jostle and chat to each other. A girl edges into the shot clutching a younger girl by the shoulders. Group portrait shot of young girls and boys posing in front of a swing boat ride, encouraged by a man in a homburg hat. They stand in front of a fairground swing boat ride, which children are playing on. Children whizz round on a carousel amusement ride, seated on wooden animals and model cars, a young boy winding the mechanical handle in the centre. Group portrait of men, women and children of all ages grouped beside and on a fairground wagon. A distinguished man with a cane tweaks his moustache. Many young children are gathered for the camera. The swing boat ride is in action in the background behind a lattice work fence. Group portrait of a woman with a pram in which two young boys are seated face to face, one wearing a cowboy hat. The woman smiles and her blouse collar flaps in the wind. Standing in front of the pram, a young boy poses, well dressed in light coloured jumper and shorts. Older boys cluster around the mother and her three children. One taller boy defiantly takes drags from a cigarette, looking around mischievously. Portrait shot of a small baby boy dressed in very light smock and hat perched side saddle on a horse amongst the crowd. His father encourages the child to look at the camera and jokingly makes a boxing gesture with his fists. Group portrait shot of men, women and children posing near a football pitch at Seaton Burn recreation grounds. Two young boys pose rigidly without smiling as the senior men behind them pass a bottle of alcohol between them, swigging straight from the bottle. Group portrait of another band of younger men and women having fun at the recreation ground and edge of the funfair, linking arms. One young man holds a bottle of alcohol and another man has his arm around two young women, one of whom he passionately kisses twice, to her delight. A brief shot of some of the visitors milling around at the event, one man swinging a bottle in his hand. A succession of men compete in a high jump sports event. All clear the bar. Some people watch behind the jump. Travelling fairground wagons and rides can be seen in the background.