Days of Hope

TV doesn't get any better than this. During the 1970's there was a golden age of TV drama which produced some magnificent series. I Claudius, Fall of Eagles, the Glittering Prizes and the very naturalistic Days of Hope which was more of a fly-on-the wall style of drama. For the first time regional accents were not confined to the lower working class, simpletons, maids, char ladies and criminals, but were spoken by real people. The class struggle of the working class to obtain a better life and not be used as cheap labor and serfs by the upper classes, who seemed to think that they had a right to superiority and that the underclass should be grateful for their guidance, and the ultimate betrayal of their struggle is shown in this drama which begins in WWI where the poor were cannon fodder, and ends with the general strike of 1926. It may seem shocking to modern audiences, but the men returning from WWI faced wage cuts combined with longer hours as their wages were tied to the commodity price of their production. For many there was only unemployment. There was no national health care. Wages were subsistence. Housing was tied to employment, lose your job and out on the street you go. There was no further education for the children of the poor, in fact at 12 they went on half time, half the day at school and the other half in the mine or the mill.

It would not be until after the second world war that they would begin to rise above poverty and inferiority and be treated as individuals. Just as the returning soldiers from WWI were betrayed by the politicians, as were the countries of the middle east and far east which were divided up as spoils of war, the working men and their families were treated as a disposable commodity by the ruling class. Even in the 60's a regional accent was a barrier to advancement in employment or society, and the class system definitely still existed.

The sad thing today is seeing how the descendants and beneficiaries of the labor movement have abused and taken for granted the fruits of the struggle.

I have searched high and low in video stores for this. I think it is the most memorable TV drama I have seen, even though it is now almost 30 years since I saw it. I kept waiting for replays. I was gratified to read a couple of years ago that Phillip Adams, a prominent Australian commentator on movies and everything else (and heavily involved in Oz film and advertising) placed this #1 on his list of TV shows. You want reasons? All I remember now is the emotional power, the deep sense of injustice, the face of the CO given white feathers in England, later in France taken out to be wired to a post in No Man's Land. Why is this not shown again? Or did the BBC destroy the tapes, like they did with most of 'Not only, but also'?

Kenneth Loach's story of three people living through the period between the world wars covers the recovery from the slaughter after 1918, the conflict in Ireland, the Depression and the general strike. Though the overall outcome is a betrayal of the hopes of ordinary people, it is not depressing or preachy. The director's point of view is always overt, but the great impressions are of compassion and of complete truthfulness in the representation of characters. After seeing and hearing one of the group scenes, of conversations in a pub, for example, you realise that every similar scene you've experienced before in film or on television was quite artificial. The rather drawn face of the (then young) Paul Copley in the leading role is unforgettable. This is at the top of my great experiences on television.

This is a brilliant and moving Film Verite that shows the complicated lives of a single family directly after the first world war Loach comments on the chaos, stitch-up, and buried hopes of a world full of hope for a better world after the war to end all wars. The acting is first-class and this film deserves to be seen by everyone. Unfortunately, the BBC were told not to show the film again in the UK, though it was sold abroad to many countries, Rumour has it that the originals were actually destroyed at the behest of the British government. In 1975 we named our lefty football team after it,which played in Bristol on Sundays till 2005. It would be fantastic if someone could admit to having a copy of the film. There are so many who would like to see and appreciate it again.

I was an extra in the Days of Hope as a school child in Langley Park where it was filmed and would dearly love to see a copy of the drama, which is only available now to schools and colleges.Being so young at the time I have very fond memories of taking part, queuing up to be kitted out in the period costume at the make shift costume department on location at the local youth centre. Waiting around in the rain for the weather to clear for shooting, enjoying the black leather boots and scruffy brown dress and shawl.I would love to see it now and follow the plot, which I was too young to appreciate at the time and to try to recognise fellow school mates who sadly I have now lost touch with.