Tony Francis provides links into each of the reports. The first item from Alan Jones is about John and Sibohan Lister who have renovated a flour mill at Long Newnton near Tetbury in Gloucestershire. The couple now run Shipton Mill Ltd that produces stoneground flour to meet the increasing demand for traditional bread. Views of the mill and shots showing the production and bagging of flour. B/w stills of the mill prior to restoration. Interview with John Lister about his business. Shots of the Lister family eating bread. Interview with Alan MacEvoy who runs Berkswell Stores at Balsall Common which is a traditional bakery. He talks about his business which supplies hand-made bread produced from Shipton Mill flour. Shots of bakers at work kneading dough.
Next Len Tingle reports from Cannock Chase in Staffordshire on the work of the chief ranger John Smith. We see Smith driving his Land Rover through the park as he talks about his role and in particular the problems of vandalism and fly tipping. We see him inspecting a squirrel box that has been shot with an air rifle, discovering fly tipped furniture and night shots of a dead deer that has been hit by a car. There are also shots of fences being repaired, barriers to prevent cars driving over the land, shots of the wild deer and views across the landscape of Cannock Chase.
The final report from Tony Francis looks at the work of Dwina Gibb, an artist and poet who lives in a converted monastery at Thame in Oxfordshire (The Prebendal). Dwina is married to the musician Robin Gibb of the Bee Gees. We open with shots of a Scottish folk group called The Clan performing in her garden. She is then see walking through her organic garden chatting to her gardener. Inside the house she reads passages from her poems (including one written in response to the Enniskillen bomb in Northern Ireland). Tony talks to her about her garden, writing and art. B/w family photographs. We then see Dwina at the first exhibition of her art which is inspired by mythology. This takes place at the Jonathan Poole gallery at Woodstock in Oxfordshire. Tony talks to Robin Gibb who attends (he spends much of his time living in the USA). He talks about Dwina’s art and his long term plans in the music business.
Camera: Peter Mason; Barry Gregory; Dave Scott
Sound: Terry Cobb
Videotape Editors: Peter Mason; Barry Gregory; Barry Nicol
Research: Johannah Dyer; Jayne Stubbs
Reporters: Alan Jones; Len Tingle
Edited and Produced by Tony Francis
Production number 3613/89.