0:00:06 > 0:00:09For more than half a century, the BBC have captured
0:00:09 > 0:00:12the changing face of everyday life in Northern Ireland.
0:00:14 > 0:00:18It all seems so innocent today, but without these moments,
0:00:18 > 0:00:23something of who we are now would be lost forever.
0:00:23 > 0:00:24These are the archives
0:00:24 > 0:00:26and Those Were The Days...
0:00:29 > 0:00:30With film archive,
0:00:30 > 0:00:33it's important to preserve it in and of itself -
0:00:33 > 0:00:36a picture, a snapshot of how we were then.
0:00:36 > 0:00:38It makes the past live.
0:00:38 > 0:00:40It brings it to life
0:00:40 > 0:00:41and makes sense of it for us.
0:00:41 > 0:00:44CHILDREN CHEER
0:00:44 > 0:00:47It is easy to look back on a nation by simply looking at news footage,
0:00:47 > 0:00:52but I think the best way to find out what things were really like is to talk to ordinary people.
0:00:53 > 0:00:59You cannot beat a person on the street telling you, "Yeah, this is what it is like to be alive.
0:00:59 > 0:01:01"This is what I do when I go home."
0:01:01 > 0:01:05And although there is a place for the footage of the big news incidents of that day,
0:01:05 > 0:01:09you can't beat somebody just telling the way it was, because, you know what,
0:01:09 > 0:01:11that is the way it was.
0:01:19 > 0:01:21In the 1950s, flying from
0:01:21 > 0:01:25Aldergrove Airport meant dressing for the occasion.
0:01:25 > 0:01:28# Come fly with me, let's fly
0:01:28 > 0:01:31# Let's fly away... #
0:01:31 > 0:01:33This stylish runway
0:01:33 > 0:01:36showcased a new generation of jet-setters,
0:01:36 > 0:01:39blissfully unencumbered by baggage restrictions
0:01:39 > 0:01:41and upgrades for in-flight meals.
0:01:41 > 0:01:44# Let's fly Let's fly away... #
0:01:44 > 0:01:48For these passengers, the novelty of airline food
0:01:48 > 0:01:50and dreams of far-off destinations
0:01:50 > 0:01:53represented the very height of sophistication.
0:01:53 > 0:01:55# In llama land there's a one-man band... #
0:01:55 > 0:02:01'I remember my mother and father going to Nutts Corner, to fly to,'
0:02:01 > 0:02:05must have been, London, I think, from there.
0:02:05 > 0:02:09And I just couldn't comprehend how far away London was,
0:02:09 > 0:02:12because the furthest I had been at that time was probably Bangor,
0:02:12 > 0:02:14which was a long trip, to me.
0:02:14 > 0:02:17So anything beyond that, I couldn't actually comprehend.
0:02:17 > 0:02:19# Oh, they say
0:02:19 > 0:02:23# Come fly with me, let's fly,
0:02:23 > 0:02:24# Let's fly... #
0:02:26 > 0:02:32# Pack up, let's fly away! #
0:02:32 > 0:02:37Now, horizons have expanded and people talk quite nonchalantly
0:02:37 > 0:02:40about heading towards the Caribbean
0:02:40 > 0:02:42or heading off to Scandinavia or whatever,
0:02:42 > 0:02:46as though it was just an everyday occurence.
0:02:50 > 0:02:55And one destination, in particular, was enticing a new wave of ex-pats.
0:02:55 > 0:02:57Trans-Atlantic flights had brought
0:02:57 > 0:03:00the fast-paced North American continent even closer.
0:03:01 > 0:03:03For many Northern Irish people,
0:03:03 > 0:03:06the lure of a better life in Toronto, Canada,
0:03:06 > 0:03:08was too tempting to turn down,
0:03:08 > 0:03:12as this 1968 documentary revealed.
0:03:13 > 0:03:15The piece of film, A New City, 1968,
0:03:15 > 0:03:17was absolutely fascinating,
0:03:17 > 0:03:21because, in a way, Toronto is a very, very new city.
0:03:21 > 0:03:25150 years ago...certainly 200 years ago, there was nothing there.
0:03:25 > 0:03:28# Give me some lovin'... #
0:03:28 > 0:03:32TV: 'And it is to this city, over the last 100 years or so,
0:03:32 > 0:03:33'that thousands upon thousands
0:03:33 > 0:03:36'of Ulster men and woman have come to make their homes.'
0:03:36 > 0:03:40The relationship between Ulster and Toronto is very strong.
0:03:40 > 0:03:42In recent history, in the 20th century,
0:03:42 > 0:03:46there was some large-scale emigration from Ulster to Canada.
0:03:46 > 0:03:51I live in Tyrone and it always interests me the number of people
0:03:51 > 0:03:54who had relatives who lived in Toronto.
0:03:54 > 0:03:58And so to see this film was really, really interesting.
0:03:58 > 0:04:01It was a cleverly put together piece of filming, as well,
0:04:01 > 0:04:05because it showed you people from across all the classes and all the age groups.
0:04:05 > 0:04:07# It's been a hard day... #
0:04:07 > 0:04:09And one of those people was Dave Beatty,
0:04:09 > 0:04:12a Banbridge man who embraced
0:04:12 > 0:04:15the locals' love of all things automobile.
0:04:16 > 0:04:19Now a suited and booted car salesman,
0:04:19 > 0:04:21Dave had also acquired a new lingo.
0:04:22 > 0:04:26It drives as high as 30,000 miles a year...
0:04:26 > 0:04:27The first thing that
0:04:27 > 0:04:30I noticed about Dave Beatty was the accent.
0:04:31 > 0:04:34CANADIAN TWANG: For instance, when I came to this country,
0:04:34 > 0:04:37I didn't have the cash to buy, say, a television.
0:04:37 > 0:04:42I bought it on terms. That's a small item, really,
0:04:42 > 0:04:44and you put one third down
0:04:44 > 0:04:47and you off pay the balance over, say, 12 months.
0:04:47 > 0:04:53His absolute wonderment at hire purchase was a joy to behold.
0:04:53 > 0:04:57He said when he went at first, he had been able to buy a TV and paid it off over 12 months.
0:04:57 > 0:04:59Then he got a suite.
0:04:59 > 0:05:03So you buy a suite of furniture, which is more money.
0:05:03 > 0:05:06You pay that off, your credit rating becomes good,
0:05:06 > 0:05:08you can buy a car, then you buy a house.
0:05:08 > 0:05:10He clearly was
0:05:10 > 0:05:14someone who had assimilated himself entirely into Toronto society.
0:05:14 > 0:05:21Another ex-pat profiled was Constable Everett Douglas, from Limavady,
0:05:21 > 0:05:24who had joined the Toronto Police Force in the 1950s.
0:05:24 > 0:05:29Unlike his contemporary, Everett had retained the local vernacular,
0:05:29 > 0:05:32as he patrolled his new city's streets.
0:05:32 > 0:05:36It depends what age they come out. If they come young...
0:05:36 > 0:05:39'Everett Douglas was a fascinating figure.'
0:05:39 > 0:05:43I was very drawn to his accent. I never really got beyond that,
0:05:43 > 0:05:46because he sounded like he was driving around Limavady or something.
0:05:46 > 0:05:52I just talk into this, almost like a tape recorder, at headquarters.
0:05:52 > 0:05:53And they will type them out.
0:05:53 > 0:05:57'He talked about Ulster as being a very quiet place, compared to Toronto.
0:05:57 > 0:05:59'You can understand that.'
0:05:59 > 0:06:03He emigrated in the 1950s and he is talking about a time
0:06:03 > 0:06:05just before the start of The Troubles.
0:06:05 > 0:06:09As we all know, the place got very, very busy after that.
0:06:09 > 0:06:12Belfast is quiet compared to Toronto.
0:06:13 > 0:06:17You don't get the same amount of domestics or crime, particularly,
0:06:17 > 0:06:20indictable offences, as you would down here.
0:06:20 > 0:06:23'We know that, even in the height of The Troubles,'
0:06:23 > 0:06:26what you might call traditional crime and how you define crime,
0:06:26 > 0:06:28there wasn't very much of it going on.
0:06:28 > 0:06:31Maybe because there was a lot of the other stuff going on,
0:06:31 > 0:06:35but he's right, in that sense. What I liked about him was he'd kept the accent
0:06:35 > 0:06:39and he was still very much connected, in that way.
0:06:39 > 0:06:42I did wonder if there is a class thing going on there.
0:06:42 > 0:06:46The other people we see are quite middle class in their aspirations
0:06:46 > 0:06:49and so on, but he is still a working-class man.
0:06:56 > 0:06:59TV: 'John Cross, an accountant, and his wife, Daisy...'
0:06:59 > 0:07:03Leaving home may have seemed a journey too far for some,
0:07:03 > 0:07:07but for the Cross family, from Belfast, settling in Canada
0:07:07 > 0:07:10meant acclimatising to the harsh winters.
0:07:10 > 0:07:15And when summer came, the Cross's escaped the big city,
0:07:15 > 0:07:18in search of downtime at the country retreat.
0:07:18 > 0:07:21MR CROSS: Our cottage, from here right to the cottage door,
0:07:21 > 0:07:23is about 80 miles.
0:07:23 > 0:07:27We can go up... Oh, I've timed it - an hour and 20 minutes, it takes us.
0:07:32 > 0:07:35'The cottage is representative of'
0:07:35 > 0:07:40the kind of goals to which you can aspire.
0:07:40 > 0:07:43MRS CROSS: And, of course, you just live for Friday afternoon,
0:07:43 > 0:07:46to get the gear in the car and head for the summer cottage.
0:07:46 > 0:07:49'I think anyone seeing that in Northern Ireland'
0:07:49 > 0:07:53would have been very jealous of the lifestyle that this couple
0:07:53 > 0:07:54appeared to have.
0:07:57 > 0:08:00Their general lifestyle - you saw them having a barbeque -
0:08:00 > 0:08:02and the size of the steaks
0:08:02 > 0:08:06and they painted a picture of a very affluent kind of lifestyle.
0:08:09 > 0:08:12And it wasn't just the steaks that were supersized,
0:08:12 > 0:08:15as fellow Belfast emigrant, Anne O'Donnell discovered,
0:08:15 > 0:08:19when she shopped in Toronto's majestic, modern superstores.
0:08:21 > 0:08:23But when it came to convenience and choice,
0:08:23 > 0:08:27Anne still harboured halcyon memories of home.
0:08:27 > 0:08:31# To show, to show you what... #
0:08:31 > 0:08:33Clothes are much more expensive over here.
0:08:33 > 0:08:37I honestly don't think that they are as well finished as they are at home.
0:08:37 > 0:08:39'She was continually smoking, you could see the smoke,'
0:08:39 > 0:08:42and she looked like a dark-haired Dusty Springfield,
0:08:42 > 0:08:47but she could not get away from her roots, and so she would
0:08:47 > 0:08:50talk about how this was a very modern city and had good opportunities,
0:08:50 > 0:08:51but she shopped in Eaton's.
0:08:51 > 0:08:56The two main stores are right down in the centre of town.
0:08:56 > 0:08:59They are Simpson's and Eaton's.
0:08:59 > 0:09:03Eaton's, of course, is an old Northern Irish family,
0:09:03 > 0:09:06from Ballymena, and they... It's a very, very big store.
0:09:06 > 0:09:10'Eaton's was an absolute institution'
0:09:10 > 0:09:13in Canada and, of course, there is a local connection,
0:09:13 > 0:09:16because Timothy Eaton came from just outside Ballymena.
0:09:19 > 0:09:22One of the things they would do is bring turf from Northern Ireland
0:09:22 > 0:09:27to Canada and they would include a piece of turf in these Christmas hampers,
0:09:27 > 0:09:32so you could put it on your open fire and you could smell the smells of Ulster.
0:09:37 > 0:09:40'Toronto is seen as being a highly-modern city.
0:09:40 > 0:09:44'However, a city that was like Belfast.'
0:09:44 > 0:09:48This is what we could be in the future if we would just get our act together.
0:09:48 > 0:09:52This is where we are going. We can be the Toronto of Northern Ireland.
0:09:52 > 0:09:54I think that connection was being made.
0:09:54 > 0:09:56# Don't it always seem to go
0:09:56 > 0:10:00# That you don't know what you've got till it's gone... #
0:10:00 > 0:10:01'When I first watched the film,
0:10:01 > 0:10:03'thinking about what people from here'
0:10:03 > 0:10:08would get from it. I would say, a great sense of envy, a great sense of jealousy,
0:10:08 > 0:10:11thinking, "I want some of that, too! I want to be there."
0:10:17 > 0:10:21Back home, Aldergrove Airport aided the annual exodus,
0:10:21 > 0:10:25as sunseekers sought respite from the gathering storm.
0:10:25 > 0:10:26The Troubles were taking hold
0:10:26 > 0:10:29and dreams of a bright new metropolis had failed to take off.
0:10:29 > 0:10:32But while the city had a long way to go,
0:10:32 > 0:10:36increased air links between Northern Ireland and Toronto
0:10:36 > 0:10:40saw the arrival of a giant of the skies.
0:10:40 > 0:10:44TV: Canada seems set to become big business for Ulster tour operators.
0:10:44 > 0:10:46To cope with expanding demand,
0:10:46 > 0:10:50Aer Lingus's only jumbo jet in its own service has been chartered...
0:10:50 > 0:10:51It was the one and only jumbo jet
0:10:51 > 0:10:55ever to land in Aldergrove and take off again.
0:10:55 > 0:10:57It was a really big thing in Belfast at the time,
0:10:57 > 0:11:00because everybody that was on that flight
0:11:00 > 0:11:03all had some sort of relative in Canada.
0:11:03 > 0:11:09The Atkinson family are going to North America for the first time in 15 years.
0:11:09 > 0:11:12'I just remember us all going on the plane, and the family.
0:11:12 > 0:11:13'And I was quite'
0:11:13 > 0:11:18surprised when I seen myself on this film, after all them years.
0:11:18 > 0:11:23I like Northern Ireland and I can't see me going back to the States to live.
0:11:23 > 0:11:28'He never got a word in. I was doing all the talking on the film!'
0:11:28 > 0:11:31I must say, it didn't sound too bad!
0:11:31 > 0:11:36- I would prefer our way of bringing up a family.- Why?
0:11:36 > 0:11:41I don't know, I can't really give you a definite answer...
0:11:41 > 0:11:45'Well, I basically thought it was a better place to be,'
0:11:45 > 0:11:50rearing a family here, than America.
0:11:50 > 0:11:56'To me, it was safer and you were in the country and they were
0:11:56 > 0:11:59'running about and they could play.'
0:11:59 > 0:12:00I know travel is good,
0:12:00 > 0:12:04but as I say, I would still favour Northern Ireland
0:12:04 > 0:12:06over these other countries, so I would.
0:12:06 > 0:12:08# That's the way, uh-huh, uh-huh
0:12:08 > 0:12:10# I like it, uh-huh, uh-huh
0:12:10 > 0:12:12# That's the way, uh-huh, uh-huh
0:12:12 > 0:12:14# I like it, uh-huh, uh-huh
0:12:14 > 0:12:16# That's the way... #
0:12:16 > 0:12:19'We actually spent three days in Toronto and, as I say,
0:12:19 > 0:12:25it had a massive connection from the Northern Ireland people there in Toronto.
0:12:28 > 0:12:33The Canadian National Tower is a monument to a new attempt
0:12:33 > 0:12:37to forge a new sense of Canadian national unity.
0:12:39 > 0:12:42'In the 1970s, there arose'
0:12:42 > 0:12:45this great structure in downtown Toronto called the CN Tower.
0:12:45 > 0:12:47# That's the way, uh-huh, uh-huh I like it... #
0:12:47 > 0:12:50It's right across the lake from the United States.
0:12:50 > 0:12:53You can imagine that it is, sort of, throwing up a finger,
0:12:53 > 0:12:56in a very interesting gesture, to the United States, saying,
0:12:56 > 0:12:57"Look what we can achieve."
0:12:57 > 0:13:00# Hey
0:13:00 > 0:13:02# Hey... #
0:13:02 > 0:13:03It was like something
0:13:03 > 0:13:06from another world, when you got on that lift and went up
0:13:06 > 0:13:09and seen it. It was really magic, so it was.
0:13:09 > 0:13:14At that time, they made it look like something from outer space.
0:13:14 > 0:13:16I'd never seen anything like that. It was amazing.
0:13:16 > 0:13:19# I like it, uh-huh, uh-huh
0:13:19 > 0:13:21# That's the way, un-huh, uh-huh... #
0:13:21 > 0:13:27This archive reminded me very much of who I was in the 1960s and '70s.
0:13:27 > 0:13:32I certainly recognise a lot of the buildings and a lot of the places.
0:13:32 > 0:13:34For me, it made me very proud to be Canadian.
0:13:37 > 0:13:40From the skyscrapers of Canada's urban sprawl
0:13:40 > 0:13:42to the mountains of Northern Iran.
0:13:44 > 0:13:48In 1978, the BBC embarked on
0:13:48 > 0:13:50on a 3,000-mile coach trip,
0:13:50 > 0:13:53with a group of altogether more adventurous travellers.
0:13:53 > 0:13:56# On the first part of the journey
0:13:56 > 0:14:01# I was looking at all the lights... #
0:14:01 > 0:14:03On board were 21 mountaineers,
0:14:03 > 0:14:06eager to explore this little-known outpost.
0:14:09 > 0:14:13Among them, a nun, a lawyer,
0:14:13 > 0:14:15a BBC television presenter
0:14:15 > 0:14:17and a 19-year-old health worker
0:14:17 > 0:14:21from Castlewellan, Mary Hawkins.
0:14:22 > 0:14:25'I had never been in the Middle East before'
0:14:25 > 0:14:30and I just thought of Iran as being just so exotic.
0:14:33 > 0:14:36# In the desert you can remember your name
0:14:36 > 0:14:40# Cos there ain't no-one for to give you no name... #
0:14:40 > 0:14:45Joining Mary on this journey of a lifetime was her father, Teddy Hawkins,
0:14:45 > 0:14:48himself an experienced climber from the Mournes.
0:14:50 > 0:14:51'I had already been'
0:14:51 > 0:14:54in Afghanistan and I had been in the Pyrenees
0:14:54 > 0:14:57and I had been climbing in France, so this was
0:14:57 > 0:15:02a different part of the world and I think that is the exciting part of it for any mountaineer.
0:15:10 > 0:15:15But even the most rocksteady climber had to be daunted by the challenge ahead.
0:15:15 > 0:15:19This remote mountain range had remained largely unexplored
0:15:19 > 0:15:22and essentially isolated from the rest of the world.
0:15:22 > 0:15:25In terms of its general location,
0:15:25 > 0:15:29it was certainly well away from civilisation.
0:15:30 > 0:15:34What happens if somebody breaks a leg, somebody takes seriously ill?
0:15:34 > 0:15:38How quickly can you get professional aid?
0:15:38 > 0:15:40You're talking four or five days.
0:15:41 > 0:15:46So, it's not just a matter of phoning 999 and getting help.
0:15:47 > 0:15:51It wasn't like in the Mournes, where if something goes wrong, you call mountain rescue.
0:15:51 > 0:15:55If something goes wrong out there, you have to carry the person out.
0:15:55 > 0:15:57Goodbye.
0:15:58 > 0:16:02Despite the lack of multi-lingual tourist guides,
0:16:02 > 0:16:05an advance party has reached the valley chosen for base camp.
0:16:05 > 0:16:08Jeremy Paxman was with us,
0:16:08 > 0:16:14and I suspect that Jeremy, being a very ambitious lad, was a bit miffed
0:16:14 > 0:16:20at being sent off with a group of mountaineers from Northern Ireland.
0:16:20 > 0:16:23Compared to what was going on in Belfast at the time,
0:16:23 > 0:16:24it mustn't have seemed exciting.
0:16:29 > 0:16:32From the relative comfort of base camp,
0:16:32 > 0:16:37Paxman and his fellow trekkers split into smaller exploring parties.
0:16:37 > 0:16:42And, for one such group, ahead lay a gruelling five-day trek
0:16:42 > 0:16:47in search of the mythical, unchartered Valley of the Assassins.
0:16:47 > 0:16:50Nowadays, you could actually go onto Google Earth
0:16:50 > 0:16:54and you could get much, much more detailed maps of Iran
0:16:54 > 0:16:58and the Alborz mountains than we had access to at that time.
0:16:58 > 0:17:02The maps that we had were terrible.
0:17:02 > 0:17:06I think we'll have to go... I'm not quite sure. We'll have to go down and see.
0:17:06 > 0:17:08'We had to piece together a map for ourselves.
0:17:08 > 0:17:10'Whenever we were out in the mountains,
0:17:10 > 0:17:13'we had to do reconnaissance trips
0:17:13 > 0:17:15'and try to map out what looked like the route
0:17:15 > 0:17:18'to the Valley of the Assassins.'
0:17:18 > 0:17:22I think that's actually the head of the Assassins Valley that we can see,
0:17:22 > 0:17:23just straight through there,
0:17:23 > 0:17:26but we're not quite sure till we get there.
0:17:26 > 0:17:28'Although we could see down the Valley of the Assassins,
0:17:28 > 0:17:31'we could see the first castle or habitation,
0:17:31 > 0:17:36'the scale of the place was much bigger than what we had anticipated.'
0:17:39 > 0:17:41As one group grappled with the valley,
0:17:41 > 0:17:43a world away from the Mournes,
0:17:43 > 0:17:47another was tackling Iran's second-highest peak.
0:17:48 > 0:17:51At 800 metres, the granite north face of Alam-Kuh
0:17:51 > 0:17:55is one of Asia's most-treacherous ascents.
0:17:57 > 0:17:59Do you as a group feel yourselves different
0:17:59 > 0:18:01to the rest of the expedition?
0:18:01 > 0:18:03We just feel different.
0:18:03 > 0:18:06We just feel we have been given a particular job to do.
0:18:07 > 0:18:11Rock climbing is very much a competition
0:18:11 > 0:18:13between you and the rock.
0:18:13 > 0:18:18"That's a piece of rock there. I wonder, could I find a way up it?"
0:18:18 > 0:18:22I think the challenge itself overcomes the fear.
0:18:22 > 0:18:25There's a lot of exhilaration involved in this as well,
0:18:25 > 0:18:28and perhaps what's not coming across very well is that fear
0:18:28 > 0:18:30is part of the exhilaration.
0:18:31 > 0:18:34We knew it was going to be quite a difficult climb.
0:18:34 > 0:18:37We knew, by the look of it, at some parts it was overhanging,
0:18:37 > 0:18:39that is wasn't just a straightforward face.
0:18:39 > 0:18:44So there was about nine of us getting up at four in the morning,
0:18:44 > 0:18:47get to the bottom of it and just start heading for it.
0:18:47 > 0:18:52# If I leave here tomorrow... #
0:18:52 > 0:18:55Every step of the way, you're concentrating,
0:18:55 > 0:18:58and it's natural stress, it grows on you.
0:18:58 > 0:19:04When the two of us got to the top, it was coming up to nightfall.
0:19:04 > 0:19:06We had set out to do a short climb,
0:19:06 > 0:19:09and we finished up climbing to the top of the mountain.
0:19:09 > 0:19:14# There's too many places I've got to see... #
0:19:14 > 0:19:17When we were approaching the top, it was getting dark.
0:19:17 > 0:19:21We ran into a few problems, getting up, finding which way to go and how to get up it.
0:19:21 > 0:19:25And then we finished up on this charcoal rock.
0:19:25 > 0:19:30There was nothing to hold onto, there was nothing to anchor to.
0:19:30 > 0:19:32It was just faith and a prayer to keep going, get up,
0:19:32 > 0:19:34there was no turning back.
0:19:34 > 0:19:42# Cos I'm as free as a bird now... #
0:19:42 > 0:19:45I've seen people that got to the top of their first climb,
0:19:45 > 0:19:48and they're just bursting with joy.
0:19:48 > 0:19:52It's a terrific feeling, to have conquered,
0:19:52 > 0:19:55especially someone young, getting to the top of something like that.
0:19:57 > 0:20:00It's something that you will always look back on.
0:20:00 > 0:20:03I was a lucky individual to have the opportunity to take part
0:20:03 > 0:20:08in something like that, and it went well, so that's more of a bonus.
0:20:10 > 0:20:15It's a great euphoria to realise that you have climbed a new route,
0:20:15 > 0:20:18and so on, and of course, because it was 12th July,
0:20:18 > 0:20:20they called it the Ulster Route. Why not?
0:20:23 > 0:20:25After a month exploring Iran,
0:20:25 > 0:20:29this eclectic mix of climbers had formed an enduring bond.
0:20:30 > 0:20:34And making that journey from 1970s Northern Ireland to a country
0:20:34 > 0:20:38on the cusp of revolution had inspired camaraderie
0:20:38 > 0:20:41and ensured lifelong friendships.
0:20:41 > 0:20:43When you think of Northern Ireland in the 1970s,
0:20:43 > 0:20:46and that we had a couple of students,
0:20:46 > 0:20:49a social worker, we had two doctors,
0:20:49 > 0:20:54we had a QC who was top of the line at that particular time
0:20:54 > 0:20:56and a policeman,
0:20:56 > 0:21:02in 1978, to me, that was the most astounding thing about it.
0:21:04 > 0:21:08People that were in it, I know that I could walk into their houses
0:21:08 > 0:21:10any day of the week, and nothing's changed.
0:21:12 > 0:21:17I just feel very lucky I was selected to go on it.
0:21:17 > 0:21:20It's just one of those occasions that stay with you forever.
0:21:21 > 0:21:24I'm envious of that younger me, in a way.
0:21:24 > 0:21:28I'm envious that I got the chance to do that, and I wish I'd done more.
0:21:29 > 0:21:33It was a very special time, with a very special group of people.
0:21:47 > 0:21:51In the 1980s, travel for many young people meant a passport
0:21:51 > 0:21:55out of Northern Ireland and into the world of working holidays.
0:21:55 > 0:21:59This was the gap-year generation of jetsetters,
0:21:59 > 0:22:03and BBC Northern Ireland was on the trail.
0:22:03 > 0:22:05The idea was no more complicated than saying,
0:22:05 > 0:22:09"If you want to go off and work this summer, here's what it's about,
0:22:09 > 0:22:11"these are the things to think about."
0:22:11 > 0:22:14This is pre-internet, pre-everything. We're still in the land of leaflets.
0:22:14 > 0:22:17The purpose of the programme was really to say,
0:22:17 > 0:22:19"Let's go and have a look for ourselves."
0:22:23 > 0:22:25Hello, and welcome to Working Holiday,
0:22:25 > 0:22:29live from Broadcasting House here in Belfast.
0:22:29 > 0:22:33There were some depressing things going on in the town around then,
0:22:33 > 0:22:36in and around Belfast, and you thought, "It's time to get out,"
0:22:36 > 0:22:38and a lot of the young people I dealt with said,
0:22:38 > 0:22:41"I want to try something different." And if you're young,
0:22:41 > 0:22:45you've got to make it happen cheap, so a lot of guys were going,
0:22:45 > 0:22:46"Where can we go?"
0:22:46 > 0:22:49"You can go to Israel on something called a kibbutz."
0:22:49 > 0:22:51And we're going, "What the hell is a kibbutz?"
0:22:54 > 0:22:56We sent somebody out to go to a kibbutz,
0:22:56 > 0:22:58and when you look back at the film,
0:22:58 > 0:23:01everybody that worked on these places looked like
0:23:01 > 0:23:04mini David Hasselhoffs. They were all walking around
0:23:04 > 0:23:07with very dodgy curly perms. These are the blokes.
0:23:07 > 0:23:09And very tight shorts that shouldn't have been allowed.
0:23:09 > 0:23:10That was the '80s!
0:23:12 > 0:23:15I also remember, we interviewed this girl, but she kept saying,
0:23:15 > 0:23:17"It's great to go and get a life experience
0:23:17 > 0:23:20"that you can't get in Belfast," and she was herding cows.
0:23:20 > 0:23:24It looked like a scene from anywhere in Northern Ireland! I'm thinking,
0:23:24 > 0:23:27"Is that what you do at a kibbutz, work on a farm like anybody else?!"
0:23:29 > 0:23:31Let's get the ball rolling.
0:23:31 > 0:23:34You're the co-ordinator of Project 67, the organisation responsible
0:23:34 > 0:23:37for recruiting people to go to that particular kibbutz.
0:23:37 > 0:23:41'We brought a guy in to plug kibbutz, and his name was Efrim.'
0:23:41 > 0:23:44Talk about a guy trying to sell the kibbutz to you,
0:23:44 > 0:23:47he was the most bland person I think I've ever interviewed in my life.
0:23:47 > 0:23:50Lovely gentleman, but very straight and very serious.
0:23:50 > 0:23:52It nearly put them off going to the kibbutz.
0:23:52 > 0:23:57What type of people, Efrim, are best suited to working on a kibbutz?
0:23:59 > 0:24:04Well, to be between the age of 18 and 32,
0:24:04 > 0:24:07healthy and fit,
0:24:07 > 0:24:10almost everyone can do that.
0:24:10 > 0:24:12Healthy and fit rules me out, Efrim, you know that?!
0:24:12 > 0:24:14We'll go over to our audience now, Efrim.
0:24:14 > 0:24:17'I remember on one of the particular programmes,'
0:24:17 > 0:24:20Jackie Hamilton actually being the lucky one
0:24:20 > 0:24:22that got to go to New York City,
0:24:22 > 0:24:26and I remember thinking at the time, "What a fantastic opportunity,"
0:24:26 > 0:24:29because that was as different as it could get.
0:24:33 > 0:24:38I don't know if it's still the same now, but certainly for my generation, America was the holy grail.
0:24:42 > 0:24:44And it does take you in.
0:24:44 > 0:24:48The simple things for me were, like, the car horn sounded different.
0:24:50 > 0:24:52He told me it was like going into a cinema,
0:24:52 > 0:24:54going into a television programme,
0:24:54 > 0:24:58steam coming out of the ground, dudes hanging out on the corner,
0:24:58 > 0:25:00traditional New York traffic lights.
0:25:00 > 0:25:03It's like a movie when you walk into that.
0:25:03 > 0:25:08I suppose New York, it's one of those cities that is an iconic city,
0:25:08 > 0:25:11it is somewhere that is known for being so magnetic,
0:25:11 > 0:25:13so alive, so vibrant.
0:25:14 > 0:25:17When you saw the presenter in New York, again,
0:25:17 > 0:25:20it was that whole wide-eyed approach,
0:25:20 > 0:25:24"Oh, my God, we're in this massive city, we're not in Belfast anymore!"
0:25:24 > 0:25:25And that came through
0:25:25 > 0:25:27in terms of the presenting style.
0:25:27 > 0:25:30# Living in America... #
0:25:34 > 0:25:37Here we are in New York. It's fast, and it's a real culture shock.
0:25:37 > 0:25:40I'm telling you, even the car horns sound different.
0:25:40 > 0:25:43If you fancy coming to America during the summer
0:25:43 > 0:25:45to work and live for a few months, you've got to be very pushy,
0:25:45 > 0:25:49and you've got to be streetwise. If you're not, you soon will be.
0:25:49 > 0:25:51'I think I was being mindful that,
0:25:51 > 0:25:53'if you choose to go to work and not be on holiday,'
0:25:53 > 0:25:56you've got to know how it works and be up to speed on it,
0:25:56 > 0:25:59cos if you don't, there'll be somebody else in the line
0:25:59 > 0:26:02who'll come up behind you. So I think that was the intention,
0:26:02 > 0:26:04if you like, of that kind of link.
0:26:05 > 0:26:09It's common knowledge, a lot of Irish people come out here every year
0:26:09 > 0:26:11to work illegally on their holiday visas.
0:26:11 > 0:26:13The money's good if you can get the work,
0:26:13 > 0:26:15but there are some things to think about.
0:26:16 > 0:26:19I thought it was interesting when Jackie Hamilton spoke
0:26:19 > 0:26:22to some of the people who were there as illegal workers.
0:26:22 > 0:26:25Is it difficult to get work in New York?
0:26:25 > 0:26:26It's difficult...
0:26:26 > 0:26:28'Suddenly, we were in a bar,
0:26:28 > 0:26:31'talking to some anonymous figure who'd gone the illegal route.'
0:26:31 > 0:26:33It was quite funny. Again, it was quite...
0:26:33 > 0:26:36There was something quite innocent about it.
0:26:36 > 0:26:38"Right, here's the proper way to do things,
0:26:38 > 0:26:40"and here's the improper way to do things,
0:26:40 > 0:26:43"and don't be doing it the bad way!"
0:26:43 > 0:26:46To put a figure on it, if you work four or five nights a week,
0:26:46 > 0:26:48you can make about 600 or 700.
0:26:48 > 0:26:50They could make, actually, good money.
0:26:50 > 0:26:53I'm sitting there going, "Am I doing the wrong job here?!
0:26:53 > 0:26:55"Tell me that bit again!"
0:26:58 > 0:27:02I think when you look back at the people who got an opportunity
0:27:02 > 0:27:05to travel, it was always to the greater good.
0:27:05 > 0:27:08It was always giving people a different perspective on life.
0:27:08 > 0:27:13# Living in America I feel good! #
0:27:14 > 0:27:18We kind of take it for granted now, because travel is relatively cheap,
0:27:18 > 0:27:22but back in those days, that chance to travel and do something like that
0:27:22 > 0:27:25was a big opportunity, and there was no doubt whatsoever
0:27:25 > 0:27:26that it was a mind-expanding thing
0:27:26 > 0:27:29and probably helped society in Northern Ireland today.
0:27:36 > 0:27:38I think travelling does broaden the mind.
0:27:38 > 0:27:42I think it's good for people to experience different cultures,
0:27:42 > 0:27:45different ways of doing things, different ways of seeing things.
0:27:45 > 0:27:47So in general, for people from Northern Ireland,
0:27:47 > 0:27:50no bad thing to get out and see the world.
0:27:50 > 0:27:52The story of how we travelled
0:27:52 > 0:27:56and saw the world is also the story of how we used to live.
0:27:56 > 0:28:01And, thanks to our rich archive and the magic of film,
0:28:01 > 0:28:05we can still bring those bygone days back to life.
0:28:06 > 0:28:08# Those were the days, my friend
0:28:08 > 0:28:10# We thought they'd never end
0:28:10 > 0:28:14# We'd sing and dance forever and a day
0:28:14 > 0:28:17# We'd live the life we choose
0:28:17 > 0:28:20# We'd fight and never lose
0:28:20 > 0:28:21# Those were the days
0:28:21 > 0:28:23# Oh, yes, those were the days... #
0:28:23 > 0:28:24Everyone!
0:28:24 > 0:28:26# La, la, la, la, la, la
0:28:26 > 0:28:29# La, la, la, la, la, la
0:28:29 > 0:28:31# These are the days
0:28:31 > 0:28:34# Oh, yes, these are the days. #
0:28:34 > 0:28:36E-mail subtitling@bbc.co.uk