0:00:14 > 0:00:18Good evening. Tonight, we're going to look at factories.
0:00:18 > 0:00:19Isn't that lovely?
0:00:19 > 0:00:23For example, this TV studio I'm in right now is a factory.
0:00:23 > 0:00:25A factory of dreams.
0:00:25 > 0:00:29Since the advent of moving pictures, documentary makers have always
0:00:29 > 0:00:33had a ready appetite for revealing the working populace in situ.
0:00:33 > 0:00:37Busily filming the proletariat, sometimes even as they created
0:00:37 > 0:00:40the very television sets on which the programme would be shown.
0:00:40 > 0:00:42Which strikes me as a bit of a waste of time.
0:00:42 > 0:00:44The point is, in honest toil
0:00:44 > 0:00:46and in the great cathedrals of manufacturing,
0:00:46 > 0:00:49television traditionally seeks to illuminate
0:00:49 > 0:00:54the very qualities it sees in itself - integrity, diligence, dignity.
0:00:54 > 0:00:56- GLASS SMASHES - There you go.
0:01:02 > 0:01:04All that stuff being made.
0:01:04 > 0:01:07We were really good at making stuff in this country once.
0:01:07 > 0:01:11All sorts of stuff. It used to say so as you came in at the airports.
0:01:11 > 0:01:14'Welcome to the United Kingdom, makers of various stuff.'
0:01:17 > 0:01:21But now, this is what the modern generation in Britain
0:01:21 > 0:01:23think of on hearing the word factory.
0:01:23 > 0:01:26Abandoned fortresses of long forgotten ambition.
0:01:26 > 0:01:28Eyesores awaiting the wrecking ball.
0:01:28 > 0:01:30Creepy, gutted mausoleums
0:01:30 > 0:01:33in which are buried the promise of gainful mass employment.
0:01:33 > 0:01:36This was R Davey and Sons, Preston,
0:01:36 > 0:01:38which once made toothbrushes for the Empire.
0:01:38 > 0:01:42At its peak, it turned out over two million toothbrushes a week.
0:01:42 > 0:01:44Though one feels the local sign makers
0:01:44 > 0:01:47might have done a better job branding the plant.
0:01:47 > 0:01:51Hopton's Rubble Work, Leeds. Once Britain's leading rubble provider.
0:01:51 > 0:01:55And SAFTENG in Liverpool, whose air raid siren factory crucially
0:01:55 > 0:01:59opened for business just as the Second World War came to a close.
0:01:59 > 0:02:02It's hard to envisage any of these places
0:02:02 > 0:02:04as they were but a century before.
0:02:04 > 0:02:09Cacophonous beehives providing society with tall ships masts,
0:02:09 > 0:02:11quill pens, chimney sweep accessories
0:02:11 > 0:02:13and bustles for ladies' skirts.
0:02:13 > 0:02:16And yet somehow, they all went out of business.
0:02:16 > 0:02:20But this programme is not a lament to vanished industry,
0:02:20 > 0:02:23but rather to see how these industries were reflected
0:02:23 > 0:02:25back at us through documentaries.
0:02:25 > 0:02:29Documentaries often made by university graduates who had never done a day's work in their lives!
0:02:29 > 0:02:31Take this noise for instance.
0:02:31 > 0:02:33SIREN WAILS
0:02:33 > 0:02:35Play that to kids today
0:02:35 > 0:02:39and they won't recognise it as the call to the daily grind.
0:02:39 > 0:02:41No. They've been brought up to believe that this...
0:02:41 > 0:02:43SIREN WAILS
0:02:43 > 0:02:46..is simply the noise of a cartoon cat being surprised.
0:02:48 > 0:02:51Smiling employees skipping joyfully into work.
0:02:51 > 0:02:54A dead giveaway that this is a state-controlled film.
0:02:54 > 0:02:56Though, not so fast, ladies.
0:02:56 > 0:03:01Before you are allowed into this workers paradise, you are required to pass a little test.
0:03:01 > 0:03:04We give all people who come to work in the factory
0:03:04 > 0:03:08for the assembly departments or the manufacturing departments,
0:03:08 > 0:03:10a dexterity test.
0:03:10 > 0:03:12I must tell you before we start
0:03:12 > 0:03:15that you can either pass or fail this test.
0:03:15 > 0:03:18Now, you see this board, it's got two sets of holes.
0:03:18 > 0:03:22What I want you to do is concentrate on the small holes first.
0:03:22 > 0:03:26Take the tweezers, pick up one of these pins
0:03:26 > 0:03:28and put it in one of the holes like that.
0:03:33 > 0:03:36Then, take one of these little caps and put it on top.
0:03:40 > 0:03:44I'm going to give you three minutes and I'd like to see how many you can do in that time.
0:03:44 > 0:03:47We like to think we've moved on from such mind-numbing drudgery,
0:03:47 > 0:03:50but what you are looking at here is basically The Apprentice
0:03:50 > 0:03:53meets Philip Schofield's The Cube.
0:03:53 > 0:03:56Happily, big business today realises you can't treat adults like
0:03:56 > 0:04:01menial drones and so now give such work to small children in Indonesia.
0:04:01 > 0:04:05That said, the real action was always out on the production line.
0:04:05 > 0:04:08Ah, cream. Now, doesn't that look good?
0:04:08 > 0:04:12Well, you know how the apple gets into the dumpling.
0:04:12 > 0:04:16But I bet you never guessed how these creams are made. Now, watch closely.
0:04:16 > 0:04:18Or better yet, listen closely.
0:04:18 > 0:04:21It's hard to fully absorb the information in these early films
0:04:21 > 0:04:25because the band behind the voice-over always sound so completely drunk.
0:04:25 > 0:04:26OUT OF TUNE MUSIC PLAYS
0:04:26 > 0:04:29This ingenious machine works so fast.
0:04:29 > 0:04:32First, the lower half receives just the right amount of cream
0:04:32 > 0:04:36and emerging, passes under the hopper which supplies the other half.
0:04:36 > 0:04:38No waiting though.
0:04:43 > 0:04:45And here we see the biscuits taking shape.
0:04:47 > 0:04:50We have been watching the famous Crumpsall cream cracker in the making.
0:04:54 > 0:04:58By the 1950s, production line film supporting orchestras
0:04:58 > 0:05:01were really starting to get it together.
0:05:01 > 0:05:04There is nothing like a dame and at John Waddington's,
0:05:04 > 0:05:07no machine has yet been found to do this work more efficiently
0:05:07 > 0:05:09than the gentle sex.
0:05:09 > 0:05:11Did I say gentle sex?
0:05:11 > 0:05:14Well, yes. We can play it back for you, if you want.
0:05:14 > 0:05:16The gentle sex.
0:05:16 > 0:05:18MUSIC PLAYS
0:05:18 > 0:05:20Listen to it.
0:05:20 > 0:05:23A simple doc about thrashing packaging
0:05:23 > 0:05:25elevated to the status of a Broadway show.
0:05:25 > 0:05:28Yes, sonically, things are really starting to cook now.
0:05:28 > 0:05:33And by the '70s, no accompanying soundtrack would be considered too brash.
0:05:33 > 0:05:35BIG BAND MUSIC PLAYS
0:05:39 > 0:05:42You are looking at a Gripper Jacquard Weaving Machine.
0:05:42 > 0:05:44Gripper because the yarn is gripped by a mechanism,
0:05:44 > 0:05:47which looks like the neck, head and beak of a bird.
0:05:47 > 0:05:50I say, belt up, mate. We're all trying to dance over here.
0:05:50 > 0:05:52BIG BAND MUSIC PLAYS
0:05:55 > 0:05:57Swing it, fellas!
0:05:57 > 0:06:00We're a long way from Crumpsall cream crackers now, eh?
0:06:02 > 0:06:04Here's something that always divides people.
0:06:04 > 0:06:06When you cook, say, a turkey,
0:06:06 > 0:06:09what side of the tinfoil should you have facing outwards?
0:06:09 > 0:06:13Most people say shiny. Some insist dull.
0:06:13 > 0:06:15The right answer is it doesn't matter.
0:06:15 > 0:06:17Shiny or dull has no significance. Fact.
0:06:17 > 0:06:21It's purely cosmetic and just how it comes off the machines.
0:06:21 > 0:06:22Machines like this.
0:06:22 > 0:06:26These 20th century wonders give an output in each eight hour shift
0:06:26 > 0:06:29of enough oil to cover the road from London to Inverness and back.
0:06:29 > 0:06:32A distance of over 1,000 miles.
0:06:32 > 0:06:34It is fascinating to watch
0:06:34 > 0:06:37and one marvels at the ingenuity of those who created it.
0:06:37 > 0:06:40The machine operators would no doubt be at home
0:06:40 > 0:06:43pulling out the stops of a cinema organ.
0:06:43 > 0:06:45They call the tune. The machine obeys.
0:06:45 > 0:06:48What's he talking about? Plainly bored by the provided script,
0:06:48 > 0:06:52he's suddenly taken this foil saga way off-piste.
0:06:52 > 0:06:55Like Old Man River, the strip keep... Just keeps rolling along.
0:06:55 > 0:06:58Now they're even leaving in mistakes. Listen to that again.
0:06:58 > 0:07:01Like Old Man River, the strip keep... Just keeps rolling along.
0:07:01 > 0:07:04They must have been up against a deadline to go with that take, eh?
0:07:04 > 0:07:07It is hard to believe that what we are now looking at is to become
0:07:07 > 0:07:10the colourful and attractive wrapping we know so well.
0:07:10 > 0:07:13Now he's suggesting that tinfoil is colourful!
0:07:13 > 0:07:15Yes. It's available in silver, metallic grey
0:07:15 > 0:07:16and reflective rocket ship!
0:07:16 > 0:07:20From this furnace, the metal cools and solidifies
0:07:20 > 0:07:22as it falls into the casting pits.
0:07:22 > 0:07:24- Casting?- Casting pits.
0:07:24 > 0:07:28Oh, casting pits. For a moment there, I thought he'd gone completely nuts.
0:07:28 > 0:07:32Still, we shouldn't chastise our vocal sherpa to hard there.
0:07:32 > 0:07:36It's difficult sometimes to whip up enthusiasm for these processes.
0:07:36 > 0:07:39The voice-overs can be hard work. Tell me about it!
0:07:39 > 0:07:43And when you're dealing with workmen, you're bound to get, well, workmanlike.
0:07:43 > 0:07:45That said, at least make an effort.
0:07:45 > 0:07:48The plaster is coated with plumbago,
0:07:48 > 0:07:52Sprayed with silver nitrate and immersed in an electroplating bath.
0:07:52 > 0:07:55A hard coat of nickel is deposited on the cast,
0:07:55 > 0:07:58followed by a coating of copper.
0:07:58 > 0:08:01Any attempt to thrill the audience here is spurned as our host appears
0:08:01 > 0:08:05simply to read from the instructions that came with the equipment.
0:08:05 > 0:08:08After the plaster has been stripped from the electrotype copy,
0:08:08 > 0:08:10the rough metal edge trimmed and the surface polished,
0:08:10 > 0:08:12it is mounted on the reducing machine.
0:08:12 > 0:08:15As it revolves, the details are followed by a tracer,
0:08:15 > 0:08:17mounted at the free end of a bar.
0:08:17 > 0:08:20At a suitable point, depending on the size of dye required,
0:08:20 > 0:08:23the revolving cutter cuts into a block of steel,
0:08:23 > 0:08:25the main features of the original.
0:08:25 > 0:08:28With scripts like he's riffing on here, it's ironic we are told
0:08:28 > 0:08:30not to operate heavy machinery while drowsy.
0:08:30 > 0:08:33And now watch the fascinating processes
0:08:33 > 0:08:35of half crowns being minted.
0:08:35 > 0:08:38The first step is the making of the blanks.
0:08:38 > 0:08:41Just show us the half crowns being minted.
0:08:41 > 0:08:44Engage the punters, my friend. Tease them, even.
0:08:44 > 0:08:47This is a factory where the workers have to have regular manicures
0:08:47 > 0:08:50because soft, smooth fingers are essential
0:08:50 > 0:08:52and yet the machinery doesn't look particularly fragile.
0:08:52 > 0:08:57On the contrary, it's solid enough to turn out nuts and bolts, but it doesn't.
0:08:58 > 0:09:01So what does it do? Well, look at another part of the operation.
0:09:04 > 0:09:07No, it's nothing to do with brewing beer, making detergents,
0:09:07 > 0:09:08or testing foam baths.
0:09:08 > 0:09:12For a further clue, try eavesdropping on two of the workers.
0:09:12 > 0:09:16- What's the matter then? - The draw is slipping.- Oh, God.
0:09:16 > 0:09:18It's been banging away all morning.
0:09:18 > 0:09:23- I tell you what we'll have to do, we'll have to put a new cooling can on there, I reckon.- Oh, crikey.
0:09:23 > 0:09:25I reckon that's slipped out once before.
0:09:25 > 0:09:27Still haven't guessed what they are making?
0:09:27 > 0:09:31Well, it's not combine harvesters, bulldozers, wheels for railway engines,
0:09:31 > 0:09:35boilers for fuel tankers or turbines for hydroelectric stations.
0:09:35 > 0:09:38No, this factory makes nothing more complicated than nylon stockings.
0:09:38 > 0:09:43Huh! Top three unlikely factories - mirrors, balloons, nylon stockings.
0:09:43 > 0:09:47Now, that looks like a lot of fun, as does...
0:09:51 > 0:09:53# You've got to use it up Before it sits
0:09:53 > 0:09:55# You lift it with a scraper but it's heavy, you bet
0:09:55 > 0:09:57# You slap it and you bang it and you roll it so
0:09:57 > 0:10:00# Drop it on the floor and go man go. #
0:10:02 > 0:10:04Now, everyone always gets a kick out of this.
0:10:04 > 0:10:07The inner workings of a seaside rock factory.
0:10:07 > 0:10:11We are actually watching here the making of your classic 12 inch
0:10:11 > 0:10:15cylindrical pinks with integrated greetings message and or resort ID.
0:10:15 > 0:10:19But just think, elsewhere in the plant they must be creating
0:10:19 > 0:10:23the other design classics, peculiar to this most coastal of candies -
0:10:23 > 0:10:28the baby's dummy, the lady's leg and the full English breakfast.
0:10:30 > 0:10:32# Momma will you look At the long red snake
0:10:32 > 0:10:34# Raised bow and arrow Just look at the break. #
0:10:34 > 0:10:37You couldn't ever have the hump working at a seaside rock factory, could you?
0:10:37 > 0:10:40You're a heartbeat away from being a munchkin or something.
0:10:40 > 0:10:43They must show the staff Willy Wonka as a training film.
0:10:43 > 0:10:46I'll bet their kids haven't got a tooth in their head.
0:10:46 > 0:10:50Suck it and see, as they used to say. Yes, I can't think of a better factory in which to work.
0:10:50 > 0:10:52Oh, hang on.
0:10:57 > 0:10:59Ah, look at this. Heaven.
0:10:59 > 0:11:02Or more accurately, Hayes, Middlesex.
0:11:02 > 0:11:06Living the dream, as far as I'm concerned. All that precious vinyl.
0:11:06 > 0:11:08Worth fortunes today.
0:11:08 > 0:11:11This place forged music by the Beatles, Pink Floyd,
0:11:11 > 0:11:16the Sex Pistols and Wout Steenhuis' Hawaiian all-stars.
0:11:16 > 0:11:18Why, and there's old Wout himself
0:11:18 > 0:11:20with a hands-on approach to his genius.
0:11:20 > 0:11:23At one of the biggest record making factories in the world,
0:11:23 > 0:11:27the EMI plant at Hayes near London, production of five million records
0:11:27 > 0:11:31and tapes a month goes on around the clock to meet a booming
0:11:31 > 0:11:34worldwide demand for music at the touch of a button.
0:11:34 > 0:11:37The factory ends up with the nickel discs they call a stamper.
0:11:37 > 0:11:40The stamper does exactly what its name indicates.
0:11:40 > 0:11:44It stamps out hundreds of plastic copies of a quality good enough
0:11:44 > 0:11:46to please the most discriminating hi-fi enthusiast.
0:11:46 > 0:11:51Wait a minute. Hundreds of copies? That's not going to trouble the top ten, is it?
0:11:51 > 0:11:55I think even Victoria Beckham's records sold more than that! Speaking of which.
0:11:55 > 0:12:00Paddy Dooley has one of the most satisfying scientific jobs - destroying rejects.
0:12:00 > 0:12:02He's broken more records than any sportsman!
0:12:02 > 0:12:05But the Duke refrained from asking, "Was this a record?"
0:12:05 > 0:12:08It turned out that Paddy Dooley didn't even work there.
0:12:08 > 0:12:10He just really, really hated music.
0:12:10 > 0:12:14Paddy Dooley - music hater, disgruntled employee.
0:12:14 > 0:12:18The man who made Prince Philip momentarily forget the burdens of Empire.
0:12:18 > 0:12:21And in saluting this forgotten court jester,
0:12:21 > 0:12:24it is perhaps fitting to at last step back from giant corporations,
0:12:24 > 0:12:28mass production and heavy machinery and asked the age-old question.
0:12:28 > 0:12:30What about the workers?
0:12:30 > 0:12:36My job is very monotonous and hot but I think the worst part about it
0:12:36 > 0:12:39is not being able to get off your bench when you want to.
0:12:39 > 0:12:41You have to get a supervisor to relieve you
0:12:41 > 0:12:44if you want to go to the toilet or to get a drink
0:12:44 > 0:12:47or if you're not feeling well.
0:12:47 > 0:12:50I think that makes you feel as if you are really chained to your job.
0:12:52 > 0:12:58Our job is very boring and of course, it's very tiring.
0:12:58 > 0:13:00I tend to find that now,
0:13:00 > 0:13:06after the amount of years I've done on the job, I can cope with it.
0:13:07 > 0:13:11Some days, the boredom gets so bad
0:13:11 > 0:13:14that I have to walk away from the machine
0:13:14 > 0:13:21because I tend to get angry when I really go over the top with boredom.
0:13:21 > 0:13:24Now, you can't be flippant about material like that.
0:13:24 > 0:13:27To me, those women were noble, honest and astounding.
0:13:27 > 0:13:29My mum did something similar.
0:13:29 > 0:13:31So let me stay with the intended mood of this show
0:13:31 > 0:13:34and just say the next line with a smile.
0:13:34 > 0:13:37How come we've never had a revolution in this country?
0:13:37 > 0:13:41And just when you thought conditions couldn't get any worse...
0:13:41 > 0:13:43Del Perry is a Gateshead groover
0:13:43 > 0:13:47who daily turns on 400 fab and lovely factory birds.
0:13:47 > 0:13:48Hello, hello, hello, hello.
0:13:48 > 0:13:52- Are you all right?- Yes.- Smile. That's lovely isn't it?
0:13:52 > 0:13:54Hello. It's Joan, isn't it?
0:13:54 > 0:13:57He's got his own studio on the boss' floor,
0:13:57 > 0:14:01£6,000 worth of gear and that doesn't include his shirts,
0:14:01 > 0:14:04and virtually a free hand from the management to do his own thing
0:14:04 > 0:14:07in setting the pinstripe business to music.
0:14:07 > 0:14:09With a blast on the harmonica.
0:14:09 > 0:14:11HARMONICA PLAYS
0:14:11 > 0:14:13Yep, Del was the works' DJ.
0:14:13 > 0:14:16The man who makes the factory floor fun.
0:14:16 > 0:14:20A cheery voice amidst the chores. In other words, a right nuisance.
0:14:20 > 0:14:23Hey, hey, hey, don't drag David Bowie into this!
0:14:23 > 0:14:27# I walk an empty street
0:14:27 > 0:14:30# And somehow we meet. #
0:14:30 > 0:14:33Note how the slippery old ham is leaning into shot,
0:14:33 > 0:14:35hijacking her moment.
0:14:35 > 0:14:39And why, in that era of Bowie is he still rocking the summer of love?
0:14:39 > 0:14:42Look at him. Gateshead's answer to the Marrakesh Express!
0:14:42 > 0:14:46And sometimes, management would double the DJ threat.
0:14:46 > 0:14:49- Emily.- Yes, papa? - Let me see your hands.- Yes, papa.
0:14:49 > 0:14:53Emily, your hands are filthy and nails are dirty.
0:14:53 > 0:14:55Emily, I've told you about this before.
0:14:55 > 0:14:58Hamish, give him a riding crop.
0:14:59 > 0:15:04Mercifully, not a word of this can be heard above the roar of the machinery downstairs.
0:15:04 > 0:15:06MUFFLED RADIO
0:15:12 > 0:15:16The boss' idea of what peps up the proles on their payroll
0:15:16 > 0:15:18is traditionally a bad fit.
0:15:18 > 0:15:19In this factory,
0:15:19 > 0:15:23where clearly no-one could find the button to turn off the chip-maker,
0:15:23 > 0:15:26the staff are served up a scintillating Harley Grenade.
0:15:26 > 0:15:30We have a birthday request for Brenda. Brenda Smith.
0:15:30 > 0:15:32Come on up, Brenda.
0:15:32 > 0:15:36Almost no-one cares as underpowered salutations are paid
0:15:36 > 0:15:39on a stage that could comfortably house the Berlin Philharmonic.
0:15:40 > 0:15:43- What department are you on, Brenda? - The assembly.- The assembly.
0:15:43 > 0:15:50Anyway, from the girls on the C70, we are playing Indian Reservation.
0:15:51 > 0:15:54Edgy stand-up over, the film's director then convinces
0:15:54 > 0:15:59half a dozen frankly unwilling girls to party like it's 1959.
0:15:59 > 0:16:01MUSIC PLAYS
0:16:04 > 0:16:10Workers crowded the canteen to feast their eyes on a special mannequin display while eating.
0:16:10 > 0:16:14In a 20-minute show, the workers can dream about swimming pools.
0:16:14 > 0:16:16A one-piece swimsuit with Cubana sandals.
0:16:16 > 0:16:18Blimey!
0:16:18 > 0:16:22Look at that bloke eating. He couldn't care less about the show or the cameras.
0:16:24 > 0:16:27A swimsuit in brightly-coloured octopus print.
0:16:27 > 0:16:30Might be all right for some folks but I'd rather have a good drop of tea.
0:16:30 > 0:16:34If people want to take part in activities,
0:16:34 > 0:16:36they are very welcome to do so.
0:16:36 > 0:16:37Such as what?
0:16:37 > 0:16:41Social clubs, cultural activities, sports clubs.
0:16:41 > 0:16:43Quite a number of things.
0:16:43 > 0:16:46- Do you take part in any of these things yourself?- Yes, rather.
0:16:46 > 0:16:49I've always been interested in cycling
0:16:49 > 0:16:54and I've been elected the president of the local cycling club.
0:16:54 > 0:16:56It gives me great pleasure.
0:16:56 > 0:16:58The problem is, these discerning factory folk
0:16:58 > 0:17:01don't want to be fobbed off with amateur hour.
0:17:01 > 0:17:05They want proper big-time talent to illuminate their ho-hum schedules.
0:17:08 > 0:17:10Guess where I've rode to today?
0:17:10 > 0:17:13Well, it's not a million miles from home.
0:17:13 > 0:17:16A sweet little place. Follow me.
0:17:18 > 0:17:20I'm at a chocolate factory today
0:17:20 > 0:17:24and I'm very pleased to introduce you to Valda and John.
0:17:24 > 0:17:27- Hello, Valda.- Hello, Rusty.
0:17:27 > 0:17:30- What are you doing? - I am a knot straightener.
0:17:30 > 0:17:34- A what?- A knot straightener.
0:17:34 > 0:17:37- You're a knot straightener? - I'm a knot straightener.
0:17:37 > 0:17:39John, how long have you been working here?
0:17:39 > 0:17:42- 31 years this year.- 31 years!
0:17:42 > 0:17:46Goodness gracious! You should know how to straighten your knots by now!
0:17:46 > 0:17:48I hope so.
0:17:50 > 0:17:53Rusty! Rusty! Get your elbow out of the chocolate, Rusty.
0:17:54 > 0:17:57As more and more companies fell under foreign ownership,
0:17:57 > 0:18:01so alternative methods of workplace stimulation crept in.
0:18:23 > 0:18:25You might think that was a bit of a factory joke
0:18:25 > 0:18:27but I know a factory joke when I hear one.
0:18:27 > 0:18:30From the Two Ronnies 1981 Christmas special.
0:18:30 > 0:18:33Good evening. There was an explosion at a ball bearing factory this morning.
0:18:33 > 0:18:37One man lost his bearings while another man was completely unharmed.
0:18:37 > 0:18:42You see? No, obviously, you've got to take health and safety very seriously.
0:18:42 > 0:18:44Good morning. This is your first day at the factory
0:18:44 > 0:18:46and before you go on the factory floor,
0:18:46 > 0:18:48I need to give you a short talk on safety.
0:18:48 > 0:18:51When we get on to the factory floor the instructors will tell you
0:18:51 > 0:18:55about the individual machines and the safety factors you must comply with
0:18:55 > 0:18:57while you are operating these machines.
0:18:57 > 0:19:00To start with, at the front here is a welding mask.
0:19:00 > 0:19:04This pair look like they wish that the suffragettes had kept their traps shut!
0:19:04 > 0:19:08This mask has got a very dark glass in it to protect the operator's eyes.
0:19:08 > 0:19:12It's fair to say that these tough young women would need
0:19:12 > 0:19:14all the help they can get under such conditions.
0:19:14 > 0:19:16This is perilous, dangerous work.
0:19:16 > 0:19:19And only one thing could make it worse.
0:19:19 > 0:19:22- Emily?- Yes, papa? - Let me see your hands.- Yes, papa.
0:19:22 > 0:19:25Emily, your hands are filthy, your nails are dirty.
0:19:25 > 0:19:28Emily, I've told you about this before.
0:19:28 > 0:19:30Hamish, get my riding crop.
0:19:30 > 0:19:32# Safety shoes
0:19:32 > 0:19:36# Go down to personnel and get yourself a pair
0:19:38 > 0:19:42# Then you'll across slippery floors and never have to care. #
0:19:44 > 0:19:47In 1970, the generous length of women's skirts
0:19:47 > 0:19:50was worrying the hell out of the Midlands.
0:19:50 > 0:19:53The accident prevention officer for Birmingham has described
0:19:53 > 0:19:56the maxi as a potential killer on the factory floor.
0:19:56 > 0:19:59A series of fashionistas were quizzed about it.
0:19:59 > 0:20:01The environment of any factory,
0:20:01 > 0:20:05particularly where you have a great deal of machines,
0:20:05 > 0:20:10is such that the area is congested and in this particular case
0:20:10 > 0:20:16we felt that the girl's skirt was right down to ground level
0:20:16 > 0:20:19and there was a serious danger that she might catch her heal.
0:20:19 > 0:20:22It seems to me to be a pretty strong case against the maxi.
0:20:22 > 0:20:25Look at the bloke on the South TV behind.
0:20:25 > 0:20:27He's furious they are not coming to him.
0:20:27 > 0:20:29She was there saying what a marvellous way to dress it was.
0:20:29 > 0:20:33I'm sure the gentleman is quite right to err on the side of safety
0:20:33 > 0:20:38but how come gentlemen with long hair have to wear hairnets in case it gets caught in the machinery
0:20:38 > 0:20:40and girls not be allowed to wear long skirts?
0:20:40 > 0:20:45Also, it can be so very long since ladies actually went down the mines wearing long skirts
0:20:45 > 0:20:48and they didn't seem to make that much fuss about it.
0:20:48 > 0:20:51Anyway, once workers were armed with a mask and apron
0:20:51 > 0:20:52and the correct length skirt,
0:20:52 > 0:20:56they were considered fully protected and a caring factory would
0:20:56 > 0:21:00expect to lose no more than 35% of its workforce in any given week.
0:21:00 > 0:21:04Actually, that sequence contains my favourite employee of the programme.
0:21:04 > 0:21:07The bloke in the goggled mask who turns to camera and says,
0:21:07 > 0:21:10"What do you want from me?"
0:21:10 > 0:21:14However, we shouldn't think that every boss is riding a gravy train with biscuit wheels.
0:21:14 > 0:21:18With great office comes great responsibility.
0:21:19 > 0:21:21Ici Stephen Roper, Churchill.
0:21:21 > 0:21:25Avez-vous recu las assiettes blanc?
0:21:25 > 0:21:29Stephen Roper, the middle brother is managing director
0:21:29 > 0:21:31and an adventurous salesman.
0:21:31 > 0:21:34Although he is always keen to find new markets,
0:21:34 > 0:21:36it can be a problem making the leap.
0:21:37 > 0:21:40We've been notified by the time desk that you've been absent
0:21:40 > 0:21:43or late quite a number of times recently.
0:21:43 > 0:21:45Have you any excuse for this?
0:21:45 > 0:21:48Well, this morning I got up late, you know.
0:21:48 > 0:21:50And it was the traffic as well.
0:21:51 > 0:21:53Anyway, you realise another twice
0:21:53 > 0:21:57- and you'll be sent home for the day without pay. All right?- Yes.
0:21:57 > 0:21:59Your work is all right.
0:21:59 > 0:22:02But it isn't just your work that counts, it's your timekeeping.
0:22:02 > 0:22:06Please ensure in future you do get here early. Do you realise this?
0:22:06 > 0:22:07Yes.
0:22:09 > 0:22:13And these two ladies, do they do nothing but that?
0:22:13 > 0:22:17- They do nothing but that.- Doesn't that drive them up the wall? - No. They sing.
0:22:17 > 0:22:21Of course they sing. They are happy to work for you!
0:22:21 > 0:22:24You know they are saying, "We love you, boss."
0:22:24 > 0:22:28Senior foreman is commonly known as Hitler or Little Hitler.
0:22:29 > 0:22:33There is no way I'm paying five hours and only getting three hours' work.
0:22:33 > 0:22:38I'll pay you 10 hours and put five hours' allowance in. It's not that far out.
0:22:39 > 0:22:45He's very arrogant. He's got a terrible attitude towards people.
0:22:45 > 0:22:49Basically, it's the way he talks to you.
0:22:49 > 0:22:52And you've got to watch him because he twists...
0:22:52 > 0:22:54He twists everything you say.
0:22:54 > 0:22:56I want to know what I'm getting off you.
0:22:58 > 0:23:00Work and you'll get it.
0:23:00 > 0:23:02- BLEEP- Come on!- BLEEP
0:23:02 > 0:23:04Straight enough?!
0:23:04 > 0:23:07With so much rancour and division between the two sides,
0:23:07 > 0:23:12it's no wonder so many management take up golf or something similar.
0:23:12 > 0:23:17Len is a supervisor at a metal factory in the Sussex town of Crawley
0:23:17 > 0:23:20and here he also prepares to defend his championship.
0:23:20 > 0:23:23Right now, Len has got something on his mind.
0:23:23 > 0:23:26An important event will soon take place.
0:23:28 > 0:23:31He's preparing for another championship final.
0:23:36 > 0:23:39Lavatories have helped Len to hold the world championship
0:23:39 > 0:23:41longer than any other man alive.
0:23:43 > 0:23:46Len lovingly hammers his piece of lavatory into shape.
0:23:48 > 0:23:51Grinding down the toilet has taken years of training to perfect.
0:23:56 > 0:23:59Finally, it is a piece of lavatory no more.
0:23:59 > 0:24:04Len puts the finishing touches to what is now a marble.
0:24:04 > 0:24:05A marble in the hands of a champion
0:24:05 > 0:24:09who is better at playing with marbles than anyone else on earth.
0:24:13 > 0:24:17He has won the World Marbles Championship more times than anyone
0:24:17 > 0:24:22since marbling first came to Britain in the days of good Queen Bess.
0:24:22 > 0:24:26You are basically the Muhammad Ali, Denis Compton,
0:24:26 > 0:24:31- the Stanley Matthews...- Joe Davies, all of them.- ..of marbles.- Yes.
0:24:31 > 0:24:34I know I'm the greatest at marbles.
0:24:34 > 0:24:37Cass knew he was the greatest at boxing.
0:24:37 > 0:24:40The only differences, I don't go shouting it around.
0:24:40 > 0:24:41Good for him.
0:24:41 > 0:24:46You know, there's a quiet dignity in being a 50-year-old man whose a giant at marbles.
0:24:46 > 0:24:49Not like that jerk down the road who runs the mattress factory,
0:24:49 > 0:24:51always going on about how great he is at conkers.
0:24:51 > 0:24:53SIREN WAILS
0:24:53 > 0:24:57Yes! Knocking off time. The wheels of industry stop.
0:24:57 > 0:25:00Workers, shake off the grey yolk of subjugation
0:25:00 > 0:25:03and don the rainbow hues of hard-won leisure.
0:25:03 > 0:25:05Yes, even you.
0:25:05 > 0:25:08Your time is at last your own. Let's take to the streets.
0:25:08 > 0:25:11Not only that, but it's the holiday break.
0:25:11 > 0:25:14Tools are downed in factories all over the North of England.
0:25:14 > 0:25:18Somebody roll call these suddenly silent places.
0:25:18 > 0:25:21Bolton, Burnley, Nelson, Colne, Blackburn,
0:25:21 > 0:25:24Darwen, Horwich and Todmorden.
0:25:24 > 0:25:27Accrington, Blackburn, Chorley,
0:25:27 > 0:25:30Haslingden, Bacup, Rawtenstall and Waterfoot.
0:25:33 > 0:25:36We all think it's so much better in life to have one day
0:25:36 > 0:25:40away from everything when we haven't got to meet for work.
0:25:40 > 0:25:43Then one of the girls said, "Why not have an outing?"
0:25:43 > 0:25:46ACCORDION MUSIC PLAYS
0:25:49 > 0:25:57SINGING
0:25:57 > 0:26:00I know, you wonder if the Beatles ever saw this.
0:26:00 > 0:26:04SINGING
0:26:04 > 0:26:07# Hanging around
0:26:07 > 0:26:09# Our driver wants to
0:26:09 > 0:26:11HORN BEEPS
0:26:11 > 0:26:13# Our driver wants to...
0:26:13 > 0:26:15HORN BEEPS
0:26:15 > 0:26:16# Everyone wants to...
0:26:16 > 0:26:19HORN BEEPS
0:26:20 > 0:26:23ACCORDION MUSIC PLAYS
0:26:31 > 0:26:34# Ee-ay-ee-ay-oh... #
0:26:34 > 0:26:40THEY SING KNEES UP MOTHER BROWN
0:26:40 > 0:26:44Well done, girls. You've hard earned every one of those tiddly giggles
0:26:44 > 0:26:47through days of repetitious industry
0:26:47 > 0:26:48and laborious toil.
0:26:48 > 0:26:51Management can keep their clunky callisthenics,
0:26:51 > 0:26:52dodgy DJs
0:26:52 > 0:26:55and their rotten toilet-quarried marbles.
0:26:55 > 0:26:57The nation's heart lies with you.
0:26:57 > 0:27:00And it does, or rather it did.
0:27:00 > 0:27:03That way of life, that social framework
0:27:03 > 0:27:04so clear cut by class divisions
0:27:04 > 0:27:06has all but vanished.
0:27:06 > 0:27:08It's still there, but now blurred,
0:27:08 > 0:27:10more tacit and insidious.
0:27:10 > 0:27:13At one time at least there was a pretence of us
0:27:13 > 0:27:15all being in it together.
0:27:15 > 0:27:18In 1968, the British Government launched an initiative to get
0:27:18 > 0:27:21everyone to work a little harder, a little longer
0:27:21 > 0:27:22and for free.
0:27:22 > 0:27:24I'm Backing Britain they called it.
0:27:24 > 0:27:28Spearheading this appeal to British workers and management alike
0:27:28 > 0:27:30was none other than Bruce Forsyth.
0:27:30 > 0:27:33It failed, of course, bound to.
0:27:33 > 0:27:35But somehow it had the right spirit,
0:27:35 > 0:27:39hinting at the now dormant heart of UK manufacturing.
0:27:39 > 0:27:40You tell 'em, Brucie.
0:27:40 > 0:27:41And good night.
0:27:45 > 0:27:46# In offices and factories
0:27:46 > 0:27:48# Up and down the country
0:27:48 > 0:27:52# An extra half an hour is all we need each day
0:27:52 > 0:27:54# In shops and supermarkets
0:27:54 > 0:27:57# Everybody's started to work a little more
0:27:57 > 0:27:59# Without the pa-a-ay
0:28:01 > 0:28:04# I'm backing Britain yes, I'm backing Britain
0:28:04 > 0:28:08# We're all backing Britain today
0:28:08 > 0:28:12# The feeling is growing so let's keep it going
0:28:12 > 0:28:15# The good times are going our way
0:28:15 > 0:28:19# I'm backing Britain yes, I'm backing Britain,
0:28:19 > 0:28:22# We're all backing Britain today
0:28:22 > 0:28:24# The feeling is growing
0:28:24 > 0:28:26# So let's keep it going
0:28:26 > 0:28:30# The good times are going our way
0:28:30 > 0:28:33# I'm backing Britain, we're all backing Britain
0:28:33 > 0:28:38# I'm backing Britain, we're all backing Britain... #
0:28:38 > 0:28:40Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd