Made by Eric Hall, this film documents the process of making skeps carried out by a local artisan, Albert Gaff of Eccleshall, now aged 73. Skeps were used to deliver yarn to the mills in Yorkshire and consisted of a large, rectangular wicker basket. The commentary provides a history of Albert's working life and a detailed explanation of the process of making skeps and the tools used. The film opens with men and women wearing blue coats who are working work inside a factory on a large...

Made by Eric Hall, this film documents the process of making skeps carried out by a local artisan, Albert Gaff of Eccleshall, now aged 73. Skeps were used to deliver yarn to the mills in Yorkshire and consisted of a large, rectangular wicker basket. The commentary provides a history of Albert's working life and a detailed explanation of the process of making skeps and the tools used. The film opens with men and women wearing blue coats who are working work inside a factory on a large production line. A woman threads up a large weaving machine with cotton. A man closes the lid of a skep and fastens the straps. Inside the warehouse, a man loads boxes onto the back of a trailer using a fork lift truck. The boxes are labelled "HAGGAS". Albert is seated inside the workshop with the panel of a skep lid on his lap. Using a knife, he cuts the wicker on the skep. Albert stands to lift the two sides of the skep up to make a triangle shape. Title - Albert's Last Skep by J Eric Hall. Exteriors of the factory show the road that passes by it, with the factory sign "Fred Ambler - Worsted Spinner - Dumb Mills", based in Shipley, which closed in 1978. Albert stands smiling. He is wearing blue overalls and black rimmed glasses. Albert walks towards several bundles of wicker that are propped up against the workshop wall, and he picks up as small skep. Albert takes bundles of wicker out of a metal vat filled with water. He then lays the wicker on the floor and covers them with damp sacking. Next, he takes a length of wicker and cuts it in half using metal pliers. He then places a metal hoop, a commander, around the wicker and pushes it to bend the wood. Albert then takes a knife and cuts grooves into the bottom end of the wood before placing it vertically in a vice and hammering it into place. He places eight pieces of wicker into the vice in this way. Albert then weaves two thinner pieces of wicker around the larger pieces of wicker, moving up towards the top of the pieces of wood. A variety of metal tools are laid out on wooden tables. Albert adds the last few weaves of wicker to the panel of the skep before using a pair of large cutting pliers to cut off the tops of the eight wicker canes to make a flat surface. He then takes the skep panel out of the vice and sits with it on his lap as he uses a strange shaped knife to cut away the stray pieces of wicker from the panel.  Several of the specialist tools are shown. Next, Albert dips the skep panel into a metal vat of wood treating liquid. He then places strips of wicker into the panel and bends the ends by hitting them with a hammer. He does this with eight pieces of wicker to build another panel of the skep. Albert then repeats this process on the opposite side of the skep to create the other panel. He then pulls each of the canes on both sides upwards to meet in the middle and keeps them in place by putting a wicker hoop over the top. Albert lays the frame of the skep on the floor to make the other two sides by placing eight pieces of wicker canes through the base and over lapping the stray ends to make the corners of the skep. Albert uses a metal measuring stick with spots on to line up the centre of the base of the skep. He then uses this mark to place the skep onto a wooden board with a rotating spike in the middle. Albert places a weight into the middle of the skep. He then begins to weave wicker around the outside of the frame to create the skep's sides, and as he works, he cuts away the stray ends with the cutting knife. Next, he begins to weave with a different shade of wicker, creating a patter on the sides of the skep. Albert lays blankets over the top of the frame and splashes water over them from a metal bucket. On one side, half way up the skep, Albert places wicker through the panel and begins to twist the wood. He does this with several pieces of wicker and eventually he has formed a handle. Albert then continues to weave the wicker as he did before making the top of the skep. It is now time to make the lid, and Albert does this in the same way that he created the base of the skep. He starts with the eight pieces of tick wicker before beginning to weave up them. Using the metal measuring stick, he marks out places on one side of the lid and then loops a leather buckle in place before he continues weaving up to the second place for the buckle loop. Albert fixes two metal rods with spikes on to the side of the lid and fastens them with strips of metal by banging them into place with a hammer. Two planks of wood are placed on the base of the skep to measure up the bolt fixtures before tightening them into place. Albert fixes metal hinges into the back of the frame to create the lid. Next, he connects the other part of the fastening strap to the front of the skep. Albert lifts the skep on one side and begins to paint on the front "H Bros" then on the side "1019" , for that particular skep, and then he paints the metal that is attached to the skep. Albert stands next to the finished skep and lifts the lid. He then holds out his hands and smiles. A van is parked out the factory building "Fred Ambler Ltd Worsted Spinners Bradford 2". A man lines the inside of the skep with brown paper, and a woman wearing a blue coat threads up the weaving machine with cotton. A man loads the skep with coils of thread, bobbins. He then fastens the straps of the skep with the cotton reels inside. Two men load skeps onto a truck inside the warehouse. The truck is driven out of the warehouse with Albert's last skep on the back of the trailer "1019". Title - Albert's Last Skep by J Eric Hall Title - The End.