British Pathe

High angle M/S looking down onto an old barge being lined up next to another on a canal; two other barges are seen, apparently in the stages of being renovated. Two young lads are seen cleaning the bottom of one of the old barges with a shovel and broom; two other lads look on from a bridge.

M/Ss...

High angle M/S looking down onto an old barge being lined up next to another on a canal; two other barges are seen, apparently in the stages of being renovated. Two young lads are seen cleaning the bottom of one of the old barges with a shovel and broom; two other lads look on from a bridge.

M/Ss as three men (and a dog) are seen fixing new wooden panels and window frames onto an old narrow boat as commentator tells us barges that have been left to rot "are brought from the North and Midlands to the Basingstoke Canal at West Byfleet, and here they're converted into self-contained floating homes". (It is not clear if the filming took place at West Byfleet in Surrey or Barnes). The structure is starting to take shape with roof supports being put into position and two of the men check a blueprint of the layout. Fade into L/S from the bridge of the boys painting the barge, while men work on the roof. M/S of another barge being sawn in half, with two men on one side and two on the other; they push the two halves away from each other and the sawing man jumps to the opposite side. The lad left on the other half drifts off down the river.

L/S of a man walking up to a finished 'floating home', moored by the riverbank. It looks very swish. He walks along the gangplank and in through the front door; M/S of the bow of the barge (exterior), showing curtains at the window and potted plants on the roof near the chimney. M/S in the kitchen showing the sink and cooker; very compact but 'gay' in blue gingham! A woman with her hair in a long plait turns down the gas and takes a coffee pot from the stove. She enters the living room where the man is sitting reading, and puts the coffee pot and a milk jug on the table; he shows her something in the book. C/U of a boxer puppy sitting next to a small stove heater. M/S of the bedroom (it is bed width!); M/S of the bathroom, as the man comes through the marble effect sliding doors, washes his hands and dries them on a towel. M/S of the houseboat exterior as a cat trots up the gangway.

Note: On file is a magazine article and leaflet from John Gerrard Floating Homes Ltd who did this work.