A Life Long Fear of Tractors (& Duncan Preston)
Apaches & the Public Information Films.
There was no better joy at school, than watching as the teacher rolled in the TV and video into the classroom. No Billy Blue Hat or Jennifer Yellow Hat, no adding up or taking away…just the treat of sitting crossed legged on the floor with friends, and watching the box for awhile. I remember one happy day when rain had stopped play outside and we got to watch The Flumps! Halcyon days indeed..
Another afternoon as we tried to get comfy on the scratchy carpet, we were presented with what at first appeared to be a film about six kids having jolly japes on a farm. Our village was rural and we had to walk past a farm to get to school, so this felt familiar and fun, until that is, one of the children fell of a tractor and got squished under one of its giant wheels. And so began the terror as the worst game of cowboys and Indians ever played.
Public Information Films.
Public information films were government commissioned short films shown in advert breaks, and in long form at schools. Covering everything from the use of seat belts in cars to buying bootleg DVD’s, the topics were endless. There is no doubt they were useful and important warnings, but in one particular case, it felt a little…brutal.
Apaches.
Apaches was like watching and much more intense episode of the BBC’s Casualty …little boy walks towards bonfire, you know it’s not going to end well. In Apaches the deaths were as horrific as they come. Drowning in a slurry pit, night time screams from Sharon as the poison she drank takes hold. The film is relentless in its tragedy and horror, no potential danger left uncovered as Robert is crushed by a falling gate, Danny crashes a tractor into a ditch and Michael knocked over. As if this all wasn’t enough to give us nightmares for the rest of our lives, the end credits (rolling over a post funeral tea) are preceded with all the names and ages of the children who actually died in farm related accidents the previous year.
I still live in a very rural area and most of the traffic here is tractors, I never ever drive one without wondering how I might avoid getting shredding by the spiral machinery dragging behind them. I am basically living in an idyllic childhood nightmare.
Fire the Agent.
There was another public information that served not only to warn us against taking sweets (or puppies) from strangers, but also, to slightly tarnish the programs of my favourite comedienne.
If you look on YouTube now there’s the bitesized, advert length version. We were ‘treated’ to the full extended horror. In a very early acting role, Duncan Preston, who would go on to find popularity in Victoria Wood sketches and her sitcom Dinner Ladies, plays a very sinister role.
He abducts a young girl from outside school, offering her sweets. What follows is a harrowing search from her parents and police, and images of her bruised body as a result of his abuse. I can still picture that bruised arm now.
Millions of school age children saw this in the 80’s and I’m pretty certain a large percentage of those have a slight shudder when his face appears on television, no matter how light hearted the part now.
All that said, I’m sure these films did the job intended. We never looked at electricity pylons and chip pans (damp tea towel anyone?) in the same way again. And for the most part we always look left then right and left again when crossing roads and we Clunk Click every trip.
Most children in the UK will not have set foot on a farm in their entire childhood, so the usefulness of one showing of the most horrific films ever made to otherwise unscarred children is debatable. I did refer back to Apaches when writing my first novel, Cold Cuts. Could weedkiller cause death quickly and how would that pain look? As I listened once again to Sharon’s blood curdling screams shot from outside her bedroom window, I shuddered just like the little girl I was all those years ago at school. So it was useful in some ways, I got my research and I know not to jump on a tractor trailer for laughs and giggles, but really? Give me The Flumps any day of the week.
If you wish to revisit any of the public information films (at your own peril), all can be watched here.
Sally-Anne x
AOB. Just a call out in case this person reads this. I received a lovely message from a reader of last weeks newsletter. Her name is Barbara. Unfortunately the message got lost and I was unable to reply, so just wanted to say here, thank you so much for your kind words, it was very much appreciated xx
The Clinic.
Here is the link to buy my debut novel, The Clinic. Available in paperback, digital and on Audible. BUY HERE.
