A Man Between Three Rivers (1975)
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 4 ต.ค. 2015
- A biography of Ernie James, the last of the Fen Tigers who made a living by eel catching and punt gunning. A film especially dear to me since it was directed and produced by my grandfather.
Director: Ron Downing
Executive Producer: Dick Joice
Production: Ron Downing, Geoffrey Weaver
Wildlife Photography: Ted Eales
Winner of both the Royal Television Society’s Regional Programme Award and the Writer's Award 1976.
rts.org.uk/sites/default/files...
Musical credits:
1. 00:27 - 01:20 Introduction and Allegro, Op. 47 - Edward Elgar (1905)
2. 05:24 - 06:12 Symphony in G minor: III. Vivace - Ernest John Moeran (1934/1937)
3. 07:53 - 08:55 Symphony in G minor: II. Theme & Variations - Ernest John Moeran (1944)
4. 10:15 - 10:55 Symphony in G minor: III. Vivace - Ernest John Moeran (1934/1937)
5. 11:37 - 12:43 TBC
6. 13:05 - 13:55 Symphony in G minor: I. Allegro - Ernest John Moeran (1944)
7. 14:40 - 15:40 Symphony in G minor: III. Vivace - Ernest John Moeran (1934/1937)
8. 15:45 - 17:00 Sonata for Flute, Viola and Harp: I. Pastorale - Claude Debussy (1915)
Intermission
9. 17:45 - 18:50 Sonata for Flute, Viola and Harp: I. Pastorale - Claude Debussy (1915)
10. 19:10 - 19:50 Symphony in G minor: III. Vivace - Ernest John Moeran (1934/1937)
11. 22:42 - 23:22 Symphony in G minor: III. Vivace - Ernest John Moeran (1934/1937)
12. 24:10 Symphony in G minor: I. Allegro - Ernest John Moeran (1944)
13. 30:45 Sonata for Flute, Viola and Harp: I. Pastorale - Claude Debussy (1915)
14. 33:00 Sonata for Flute, Viola and Harp: II. Interlude - Claude Debussy (1915)
15. 37:30 Lonely Waters - Ernest John Moeran (1932)
A simple life, no consumer pressure, no TV, no Mac Donald’s, no social media. Wonderful. I would trade the modern world for the old anytime.
Thanks for sharing this it brought tears I was 9 at the time of making this film although tougher times financially the country was a safer and mentally healthier place.
People had different concerns. There can’t be many things worse than knowing where your next meal’s coming from.
Immigration
@@Roscoe.P.Coldchain your comment certainly is bollocks
@@Roscoe.P.Coldchain Not immigration but Super markets. They drove down food prices by forcing farmers to accept less money. They had to pay lower wages but Brits didn't want so little pay and naturally in order for many farms to survive they employed migrant labour. Now theres barely any migrant labour here, super markets still pay less and farms have folded all over Lincolnshire and elsewhere. Only super farms owned by the likes of those such as James Dyson thrive. Only they can operate on lower margins and afford to automate. There's also the fact we compete internationally and import >40% of our food
@@fishfingers160 why though?
Ernie lived to the ripe old age of 99 years old and died in 2005, where he was born and lived, in Norfolk.
You must feel very privileged to have a grandfather like this what a man they dont make them like this anymore really enjoyed it ❤
"Plastic has put an end to the willow trade." I can't tell you how depressed that simple statement made me feel.
*desire to weave intensifies*
What a beautiful way to earn a living such a shame I bet most of these men have died and not got to pass on there knowledge a true river man I'm not the same person in the close season
True story sir
I'm from Northern Ireland and its just wonderful watching the English way of life. This footage is priceless, Ernie learned so much on the fells. The Pub is a meeting place for these wonderful characters. Loving the accents and both sharing the craic. Thanks for sharing 😊👍💚☘☘☘
I doubt that exact accent is spoken by anybody these days. Died out with Ernie.
Thank you Barry I'm a devon boy and plenty who speak like Ernie 👍 , I refuse to bow down and give my english british culture up. Still alive and well in the countryside to the point the anti hunters are wondering why they are putting up a show buoy
Simply wonderful ,
I'm back watching this a year later, even better the second time around,
Ernie was 69 when this was made,he went on to live longer than the Queen ,a ripe age of 99 I suppose he was king of his own way of life🌈👌
Ernie is dead and so are his skills. that makes me feel sad no one will ever do this again like old Ernie
I know.
His skills aren't dead
This documentery is a joy to watch.
When ernie goes to the pub, you notice he leaves his bicycle outside without locking it, britain when it was a more civilised place.
What an amazing snippet of what is sadly a bygone age. It’s horrific to think that we at the present time are missing the importance of all the sustainability and conservation of resources that Ernie’s generation fostered and lived by. I cannot thank you enough for sharing what is a milestone in the history of how country folk lived. I will be sure to share this. All the best from Scotland. Garry
i blame Governments, they want the mighty dollar and want the Plebs (us) to be fully dependent on them or big business, they do NOT want us to be independent.
What a wonderful programme. It saddens me how our country has changed and not for the better. For those of us of a certain age, we all knew an Ernie James and we lament that they’ve all gone now and taken that knowledge and those skills and memories with them.
A simpler time, a happier time. Mention the word globalist to these people and they would genuinely enquire ‘what are they?’
They were the last generation of great Englishmen. They were not politicians, war heroes, movie stars or philanthropists. They were people at one with nature and knew what was best for the countryside. They were happy. No one seems to be happy anymore. I hope we find our feet again soon.
Cant believe this was on the net.brilliant ,the wife had ernie's Violin given to her as a present to see it on here was amazing.
I hope it's been tuned since then!
If we could only wind the clocks back.
Be nice mate wouldent it.
Made the year I was born. Seems like a hell of a lot longer than 44 years. Truly better times.
My dad was a wild fowler, punt gunner using the punt and gun he inherited from his father, my grandfather. Dad also also used a rifle for shooting. He didn’t shoot for profit but to feed his family. My father was born and bred in Poole so his location for shooting was Poole Harbour, and he was a founder member of the Dorset Wildfowlers. Poole harbour is a very large but shallow harbour with lots of winter wildfowl. Now unfortunately those days are gone, when my sister and I as children, were living on one of the 5 small island when dad worked as the boatman before becoming the first National Trust Head Warden for Brownsea Island and looking after rather than shooting wild fowl. Before that time in the winter our main meal fare consisted roast wildfowl. When the shooting was good we had a whole duck each! Mallard and widgeon were my favourite but teal and pintail etc we’re always welcome to the table. I particularly liked the ferreting out of the last pieces of meat from the carcass with my fingers, nothing was wasted!
I have to buy the taste of my childhood food now, but am happy to relive those wonderful flavours. It’s a time gone bye but I’m so grateful to be one of the last generation who remember those days, when life was more natural and hunting shooting and fishing was for the table. Christine
Thanks for the lovely comment Christine. I'm happy to say that fowling continues to take place on the harbour (I'm a member of Dorset WA) and what I manage to take home is still very much enjoyed by me and my loved ones!
Thank you for uploading this 😃. Ernie was my Great Grandad!
What a man he was , lived a live we can only dream about
You are very lucky. Make sure you can pass this video on to your grandchildren.
Lovely wish it was like that now, streams and rivers today are choked to death with weed, nobody gives a damn in this day and age. Bring the fen man back I say 🙂
Hello Catastrophe Cats 😺, Thank you for introducing yourself and your connection to this remarkable man and his way of life. What a beautiful documentary. As with a lot of vintage programes I like to try and guess the age and birth of certain characters....With the healthy lifestyle of Ernie's I'm guessing he may have been older than he looks at the time of filming in 1975....could he have perhaps been around 65 - 70 yrs old when this film was made? That would have put him at a similar age/generation as my grandad, who was born in 1905.....I am 46, born 1973 (he was 15 yrs senior to my grandmother). The old brain cogs were whirring then, as you said Ernie was your great grandad! I was just wondering what age you are? (as I find the different generation ages quite fascinating...). Regards Jane p.s. I really enjoyed Elwyn and Django's antics. I too am a cat lover, we have three 😻
Show a 18 year old this its another world.. What a fantastic way it was then sadly never to return and at what cost.
Time lost forever. Beautiful and sad.
Evidently it's gone but not forgotten
Why can’t they make programmes like this anymore.Anglia made some excellent television as did all the ITV companies.Now we have an ITV that just appeals to the lowest common denominator.
Thankyou Wildfowler
I agree entirely with this comment. It's all fake tans and false eyelashes on ITV now. And that's just the blokes
@@paulbillingham4594 😜👏👏
Totally agree Edward ,today's TV I find utterly depressing & peurile .
I spent ten years shepherding cattle on the washes, it was a privilege to go to work in such an otherworldly place. The natural silence of a summer morning at 4.30am, if only it could be bottled! Sunrises and sunsets beyond imagination. You might as well have been a thousand miles from human habitation.
Glad you enjoyed the video and interesting to hear your experiences on the washes.
Amazing glimpse into a forgotten story! Imagine looking at this in 2022 using a handheld device. Everything men like Ernie was meticulous thought out and past along. Device , location, time, bait ! All experienced through generations. Sadly the world of today is the poorer . More traditional ways going forever 🇮🇪☘️
Not only a splendid documentary of an extinct way of life but television of a rare quality. Thank you.
I just found this on a wet Sunday morning. It let me escape for a while from the grim reality of 2021. I'm no fan of water generally, but this is fascinating. I'm now retired on the edge of the Somerset levels, but up until two and a half years ago lived in a farm cottage in South Oxfordshire. I spent all my spare time with farmers and keepers, did a lot of deer and vermin control with a rifle. When we went there, you could hear lapwings most of the time. Not now. Buzzards, Red Kites, fox, badger, all the usual predators. Anything that nested on the ground had no chance, despite my best efforts. And the likes of Packham want to introduce more.
Peckham hasn.t clue bout wildlife or countryside
One of the most enjoyable documentaries i've ever watched, back when shops used
to close, and only clergymen worked on a Sunday!
manonamountain you might enjoy watching this vid also, th-cam.com/video/F4XNv0QGwdA/w-d-xo.html
Yes we could do with a world cull so that we can all relax more ....20 million people is more than enough for the size of England
@@Roscoe.P.Coldchain you can be first then.
A wonderful programme & snapshot of a time long gone. Absolutely loved it & the way it captured this man's life. Wish there were more like it.
I've lived in SW Middlesex most of my life, born and bred apart from time in the RAF. But 10 years ago I went to Sutton Gault on the New Bedford River, and fell in love with it. Most people don't get it. They find the Fens boring, but I love the area. It has a unique timeless feel of huge sunsets and sunrises, and clean air. One day I'll move there. One day....
I was born there. It breaks my heart I ever left. I found the people too conservative, didn't like outsiders or if you were different. But they were kind. Now I'm approaching 54 with my own children, stuck in London. I've let them down badly :(
@@annabizaro-doo-dah You should not feel like you have let them down. At the time you did what you felt was right and followed your instinct. Life is a journey and we have to choose which paths to take, you chose to move away no doubt for good reasons.
I'm a fenman, don't forget your wellies😁
Whenever I see 1975 next to any video, I have to watch it.
For me, everything culturally, changed forever from '76 [I was only 17/18 at the time].
I agree.. it did seem to all turn after that hot summer of 76 scorched England's sward. Punk rock arrived, and in its wake came all the hell of social engineering. In a way it was like a swansong for the end of a story.
@@Lytton333 You summed it up beautifully. The culture of the whole country started it's long change to where we are now. I've been in mourning for 46 years.
Wow, very fascinating. My parents now run the lamb and flag, they celebrated 20 years of running it this year!
I'll be there with my dog sometime this year.
Where is it ? I,m doing a UK tour next summer
I have eaten there and it was wonderful. My bedroom window looks out over the washes from a little further up at Mepal.
Has it changed much
@@davidwarren4824 physically no but the characters are fewer and farther between now. The Cambridgeshire accents of my youth are mostly gone, replaced by estuarine Essex. The wildlife happily is much the same. I even have my old fen skates!
All familiar territory. I lived in Ely for years, and delivered and collected post in Welney before that. Lovely to see the beautiful Fens
Glad you enjoyed it Adrian.👍
Never mind the Gym these guys were as fit as a Flea... that was proper work Wow at there age as well !!!
Quite simply, that film is a masterpiece. Thank you.
Thanks, great to hear you enjoyed it.
Oh what have we lost? something so true, genuine and beautiful. A hard time but a time of perfect harmony for man and nature never to be seen again.What a terrible loss. Thank you for sharing this wonderful glimpse into a lost era.
Nick Rae -- It's interesting as a piece of history, but the world has changed and you're not seriously telling me that you'd prefer to live this way over your current situation.
@@Liofa73 obviously , he is ! And i agree
@@britbyname3620 I agree, would much rather live this simpler life!
I came across this fantastic film while on lockdown for covid 19 . It is one of the best things I have seen on you tube , and has brought a smile to my face in these dark times . A time when you appreciate the most important things in your life family, health this film shows all what we are missing in life . Thank you for sharing it with us
Glad you enjoyed it Paul. I end up re-watching this a couple of times a year, helps keep life in perspective I think!
Old school hard work but I loves watching it
Great little bit of history that. We'll worth watching.
Many thanks, glad you enjoyed it.
What a beautiful chap, and a great film.
Life everywhere and no RSPB in sight
Well, strictly speaking they've always been down the way in Sandy☺️
James Smart was my Gt Grandfather and my Gt Uncle Hargie, James' son, was a great friend of Ernie James...
And?????
@@AwesomeAngryBiker I get the feeling you don't socialize well .
Wildfowler, thank you for sharing this.
What a wonderful video to watch, a real pleasure. It seems such a shame that we are loosing all the people like those featured in the video just as we are starting to loose all of the field and country crafts that they were so "educated in". Oh to be back in "the good old days" when most of us knew how to live with what nature offered us. Let's face it, how many local butchers do you see nowadays that have (For instance) fresh wild rabbits hanging, hares or pheasants hanging in their windows, not many I'll bet compared to say 50 years ago!
As someone who grew up with this sort of chap as mentors I cried watching this , thank you for uploading it.
I know exactly how u feel .Though i.m a angler .can.t help but think. The best of countryside pursuits are long gone .many of these reminisces bring a tear to my eye .member watchin programme of old wexford punt gunner .cant remember exact figure but think he downed bout 180 golden plover in one shot
This is what we have lost.
What a cracking piece of film totally engrossed in it superb !!!
He lived for another 30 years passing away aged 99 in 2005
Wow, I enjoyed this film, but hearing Ernie James's outlook on it all at the end really puts a cap this whole experience!
Thanks for this, how sad we didn’t preserve more of the old ways.
Felt privileged to watch this film, a fascinating insight into a magical era and Ernie pulled us into that part of time that has now gone.
I'm glad someone had the forthoug to document it before it was gone. It makes me sad to think how life could be compared how we've made it.
this is a wonderful film about wonderful people who lived and breathed the fen lifestyle,,,the only thing i find hard to grasp is the "conversation" with someone four miles away!,,my point being,how ,back then ,would they know if someone was opening a conversation.!!
Love those unique, hand-made, hand-tools the gentleman uses, to make the eel traps.
We will never see those times again...thanks for preserving those memories.
Thank you for this utter gem of a film. Ah,can we not go back to those times.
We may have to ( blessed are the meak?)
@@patchthesinclair5896 Indeed. Not too far short of the folk I was brought up around as a nipper. I'd go back to that way of living in a heart beat. Like you say, we may have too. Personal perspective I guess.
@@Rameman33 ten different jobs according to the season of the year!
That is living by the moon seasons and not as a servant of the sun dial.
I have lived largely by seasons and have been the baby boy of the last generation to have worked with a horse for transport, to have memory of the days before a strand of plastic on every beach. It's sad what we have done in the name of progress.
Tell any young person any thing about things that will be lost after us. Any young person that wants to listen.
It could save us from following the dinosaurs.
Thank you so much for posting this, after a tough day it really helped, such a beautiful film and reminder what life is all about.
godbless you . Buddhist Teachings also a great way to remind ourselves what life is really about. Ajahn Brahm and Thich Nhat Hanh two great teachers of Buddism. It will change your life.
Fantastic film. What a grand fella Ernie was, never get knowledge and charactors like him again.
Ernie and the film move to a different rhythm. Keep watching for five minutes or so and you become a part of the film.
Greetings from Ireland.thank you for this nice film
Yes, I definatly agree. I have been to Welney before because my family lived there for century... Ernie was my Great Grandad. I was really surprised when I saw this.
Wonderful listening to that Norfolk accent.
Not in Norfolk
What a lovely little reminder of how some people lived back then.Real experts!
Wonderful. Lovely to hear such a strong regional accent as well. I bet there’s not many who still talk like this on the Fens.
No, the accent is still very common around Suffolk and Norfolk, though im from there, i occasionally come across folk i find hard to understand. It's a delightful accent and language used is extremely interesting
And villiages in northants they still have it..like rung un (wrong one) git the dug ewt, as in( get the dog out) , kent(can not) shent,(Shall not) enna gunna... ( not going to)..
It's a way of life that has gone by for a while but I have no doubt it will return though maybe not for hundreds of years or maybe even sooner. But nature tends towards beauty in all things and nature will have it's way. The wheel turns. Learn some good crafts because " it's important to do what You want to do and live how you want to do". Thanks for sharing this film
Superb, I used to love fishing out in the fens in the 1960's
I'm so pleased I found this ! I stayed in Welney early 1970 s Old Bedford ,New Bedford Rivers ! There was a store that sold 'everything' ,even a mantle for my Tilly ! Another lovey pub was 'Three Tuns' close to bridge !!!
This was made the year I was born. Sadly in general it’s all been downhill from there. I lived in rural community, so at least I had a little taste of this kind of life in my younger years before everything went to hell, which in a way makes it even sadder that I knew those days that are now lost forevermore.
Seeing this makes you realise just how much knowledge and traditional skills are lost and how much we destroy with our lack of sustainability
Bought back my memories whence I was young lad.
Real life. Thanks for posting.
Wonderful film thanks
Many thanks, glad you enjoyed it.
What a delighful film!
What efforts are made to preserve this way of life? Probably less than the preservation of lapwings...
Just found this wonderful documentary. Totally fascinating. Ernie James and his friends were such colourful characters. Thank you for sharing.
Very few people today could live like this . What wonder awaited your everyday activity fantastic film .
A fascinating insight into what life used to be like, many thanks for posting.
Superb...Thank you. and I'm happy to report that the pub in the film is still open for business.
Brilliant production. Respect and thanks to Grandad Wildfowler and the people like Ernie James.
7.40 "All this knowledge that Ernie holds, is either picked up from personal experience or else he's had it handed onto him as part of a tradition from the fowlers and fisherman before him and like the horseman's magic on the farm, it will die with its owners, for none of it is written down". Makes me sad thinking about that. What a simple life they lived.
Amazing heart warming documentary of a bygone time
What a wonderful calming and heart warming story. I was 4yrs old when this was made. Brings back so many memories of my childhood. ☺️
What a fantastic feature of years gone by i was 7 years old in 1975 as local boy from Outwell how things have changed !!
I REALLY enjoyed watching that mate ... Thanks
I have been fascinated by the Norfolk/Fenland way of life for a long time. A lot of it not dissimilar to my youth as my father was a Wildfowler/eel fisherman on similar washes. I seen this film before and although I'm a long way from Norfolk I had a pilgrimage to that special place and with the hospitality of a very kind Norfolk man,I spent the best part of a week doing and seeing amazing things that meant so much to me.Ernie James is a legend as is men such as Phil Gray who is of similar ilk! Thanks for the upload.
I was 12 years old in 1975 .what fond memories this film has brought back.can remember well this way of life and these old characters.Totally in tune with nature,it's ways and how it worked.Sadly now those ways and men have gone and all of their knowledge with them.Not a university degree amongst them all, but surely some of the most educated and knowledgeable people ever. Thanks for sharing 👍
Beautiful old school and a dream that I would love to have had. If only I could do it. Love it
If You want it then You can have it.
How fascinating, what an insight into his life and how he used the river!
Fantastic these times where the best and thank you for showing us
What an enjoyable half hour.
Beautiful
Lovely peaceful narrative.
Thank you for uploading this wonderful film.
You're welcome, glad you enjoyed it.
Thanks for uploading this brilliant film.
A gem. Kept and preserved with pride.
What a beautiful movie
The eels like the shade of the willows. Fish too.
Good on you ernie.very peaceful.
Fantastic bit of history about the fens a place deep in my heart love owning a property in newborough fen Cambridgeshire fishing other country persuits on me door step thanks for posting this film kind regards 👍
Boy, that's a documentary. So calming and reflective got any more?
What an absolute gem....... thanks for this
Brilliant history video. I was 21 years old, it just seemed like yesterday, that world. Peace be unto you.
Fantastic! Thank you so much for sharing this, it's marvellous!
Thanks, glad you enjoyed it Anthony!
beautiful thanks for posting
Thanks for the upload of a lovely, evocative film. I watched 'Tom's River' last night (also on TH-cam); about a riverkeeper looking back (in the late 1980s) on nearly thirty years looking after a stretch of the Hampshire Avon. Apart from the wildlife and the insights into their working lives, what I particularly enjoyed was the fact that, in both films, the men were doing much of the narration themselves. This gives authenticity, as it comes from the heart and soul. They really don't make natural history films like that anymore. Now, everything is scripted and narrated, either by a professional voice-over actor, or (much worse, and alas more common) a 'celebrity' is brought in as a hired hand to read the script. It is as though the television companies think that nobody will be interested unless there is a known celebrity involved. Modern natural history television works on the assumption that viewers are ignorant or naive (what I would call a '1970s Blue Peter' style) and the result is that the audience can feel patronised or insulted. I know that I often do.
Completely agree - the modern style is 'ram it down your throat'
A lovely well put together 4 season life diary of a man whose skills are slowly fading into some lines in history books. Thanks for sharing this little escape into the simple but meaningful existence.
What a great treat. Thanks Wildfowler
Marvellous film, so enjoyable.
What a pleasure that was to watch and narrated by Alan Dobie. I`d recognise his voice anywhere. Thank you for uploading it.